# US 2019/0377342 A1 · Navigational constraints for autonomous vehicles

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- Number: US 2019/0377342 A1
- Document ID: US20190377342A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 16/434,501
- Filed: 2019-06-07
- Published: 2019-12-12
- Earliest claimed: 2018-06-11
- Assignees: Uber Technologies, Inc.
- Applicants: Uber Technologies, Inc.
- Inventors: Adam Panzica; Brett Bavar; Julie Derence; Marcial Hernandez; Tashwin Khurana; Bryan Nagy; Jordan Romaidis; Adrian Rechy Romero
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20190377342A1

## CPC

- B60W 60/00276: {for two or more other traffic participants}
- G01C 21/3461: {Preferred or disfavoured areas, e.g. dangerous zones, toll or emission zones, intersections, manoeuvre types or segments such as motorways, toll roads or ferries}
- G01C 21/343: {Calculating itineraries (travelling salesman problem G06Q10/04; optimisation of routes G06Q10/047)}
- G01C 21/3492: {employing speed data or traffic data, e.g. real-time or historical (traffic control systems for road vehicles involving transmission of navigation instructions to the vehicle G08G1/0968)}
- G05D 1/0027: {involving a plurality of vehicles, e.g. fleet or convoy travelling (fleet control of land vehicles from a control room G05D1/0297; traffic control systems for road vehicles G08G1/00; for marine craft G08G3/00; for aircraft G08G5/00)}
- G08G 1/20: {Monitoring the location of vehicles belonging to a group, e.g. fleet of vehicles, countable or determined number of vehicles}
- B60W: CONJOINT CONTROL OF VEHICLE SUB-UNITS OF DIFFERENT TYPE OR DIFFERENT FUNCTION; CONTROL SYSTEMS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR HYBRID VEHICLES; ROAD VEHICLE DRIVE CONTROL SYSTEMS FOR PURPOSES NOT RELATED TO THE CONTROL OF A PARTICULAR SUB-UNIT
- G01C: MEASURING DISTANCES, LEVELS OR BEARINGS; SURVEYING; NAVIGATION; GYROSCOPIC INSTRUMENTS; PHOTOGRAMMETRY OR VIDEOGRAMMETRY (measuring liquid level G01F; radio navigation, determining distance or velocity by use of propagation effects, e.g. Doppler effects, propagation time, of radio waves, analogous arrangements using other waves G01S)
- G05D: SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES
- G08G: TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS (guiding railway traffic, ensuring the safety of railway traffic B61L; arrangement of road signs or traffic signals E01F9/00; radar or analogous systems, sonar systems, lidar systems specially adapted for traffic control G01S13/91, G01S15/88, G01S17/88; {radar or analogous systems, sonar systems, lidar systems specially adapted for anti-collision purposes G01S13/93, G01S15/93, G01S17/93})

## Abstract

A computing system can generate a map constraint interface enabling a fleet operator to update map constraints for autonomous vehicles (AVs). The map constraint interface can comprise a unified document model enabling the fleet operator to configure a set of constraint layers of autonomy maps utilized by the AVs. Each constraint layer can include a toggle feature that enables the fleet operator to enable and disable the constraint layer. The system can receive, via the map constraint interface, a set of inputs configuring the set of constraint layers of the one or more autonomy maps, compile a set of updated map constraints, corresponding to the configured set of constraint layers, into a document container, and output the document container to a subset of the AVs to enable the subset of AVs to integrate the set of updated map constraints with the autonomy maps.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A computing system comprising:
a communication interface communicating, over one or more networks, with autonomous vehicles (AVs) that utilize autonomy maps to navigate throughout a given region;
one or more processors; and
one or more memory resources storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing system to:
generate a map constraint interface enabling a fleet operator to update map constraints for the AVs, the map constraint interface corresponding to a unified document model enabling the fleet operator to configure a set of constraint layers of one or more of the autonomy maps, each constraint layer in the set of constraint layers comprising a toggle feature that enables the fleet operator to activate and deactivate the constraint layer;
receive, via the map constraint interface, a set of inputs configuring the set of constraint layers of the one or more autonomy maps;
compile a set of updated map constraints, corresponding to the configured set of constraint layers, into a document container; and
output, via the communication interface over the one or more networks, the document container to a subset of the AVs to enable the subset of AVs to integrate the set of updated map constraints with the one or more autonomy maps.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The computing system of claim 1, wherein map constraint interface enables the fleet operator to configure select route portions in the one or more autonomy maps upon which the set of updated map constraints apply.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The computing system of claim 2, wherein the set of constraint layers comprises at least one navigational constraint layer that controls navigational constraints for the subset of AVs on the select route portions included in the one or more autonomy maps.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The computing system of claim 3, wherein the at least one navigational constraint layer comprises at least one of a forbidden routing constraint, an autonomy mode routing constraint, or a high-cost avoidance constraint applicable to the select route portions.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The computing system of claim 4, wherein the autonomy mode routing constraint, when enabled, allows for manual operation of the subset of AVs through the select route portions.

### Claim 6 (depends on 4)

The computing system of claim 4, wherein the forbidden routing constraint, when enabled, forbids the subset of AVs from operating through the select route portions.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The computing system of claim 1, wherein the map constraint interface enables the fleet operator to configure a set of subsumption rules for the set of constraint layers, the set of subsumption rules comprising a control hierarchy for applying the set of updated map constraints on-board the subset of AVs.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The computing system of claim 1, wherein prior to receiving the document container, the subset of AVs navigate according to a set of existing policies associated with the autonomy maps, and wherein integration of the document container by the subset of AVs causes the subset of AVs to update the set of existing policies to include the set of updated map constraints.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The computing system of claim 8, wherein the map constraint interface enables the fleet operator to configure one or more policy masks that override one or more corresponding policies in the set of existing policies.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The computing system of claim 1, wherein the set of constraint layers comprises a plurality of map constraint categories, each map constraint category of the plurality of map constrain categories comprising one or more constraint layers.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The computing system of claim 10, wherein the plurality of map constraint categories comprises one or more of a navigational constraint category, a perception constraint category, or an object prediction constraint category.

### Claim 12 (depends on 2)

The computing system of claim 2, wherein the map constraint interface enables the fleet operator to configure the select route portions by generating a shape on an autonomy map document corresponding to an affected autonomy map on which the set of updated map constraints apply, the shape encompassing the select route portions.

### Claim 13 (depends on 12)

The computing system of claim 12, wherein the executed instructions cause the computing system to tabulate, in metadata of the document container, a set of lane identifiers of the select route portions.

### Claim 14 (depends on 13)

The computing system of claim 13, wherein the set of lane identifiers comprises entry point identifiers and exit point identifiers for each lane of the select route portions.

### Claim 15 (depends on 12)

The computing system of claim 12, wherein the executed instructions cause the computing system to further generate metadata for the document container indicating at least one of a creation time for the document container, a number of constraint layers created, a number of constraints created, or a number of shapes created.

### Claim 16

The computing system of the 15, wherein the executed instructions further cause the computing system to:
manage a set of audit logs for tracking history of map constraint updates based on the generated metadata of each compiled document container.

### Claim 17 (depends on 1)

The computing system of claim 1, wherein the map constraint interface enables the fleet operator to select the subset of AVs to which the set of updated map constraints will apply.

### Claim 18 (depends on 1)

The computing system of claim 1, wherein the map constraint interface enables the fleet operator to input annotations into the constraint layer, the inputted annotations being readable by the subset of AVs to provide the subset of AVs with contextual information regarding one or more map constraints included in the constraint layer.

### Claim 19

A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:
generate a map constraint interface enabling a fleet operator to update map constraints for autonomous vehicles (AVs), the map constraint interface corresponding to a unified document model enabling the fleet operator to configure a set of constraint layers of one or more autonomy maps utilized by the AVs for navigation, each constraint layer in the set of constraint layers comprising a toggle feature that enables the fleet operator to activate and deactivate the constraint layer;
receive, via the map constraint interface, a set of inputs configuring the set of constraint layers of the one or more autonomy maps;
compile a set of updated map constraints, corresponding to the configured set of constraint layers, into a document container; and
output, via a communication interface over one or more networks, the document container to a subset of the AVs to enable the subset of AVs to integrate the set of updated map constraints with the one or more autonomy maps.

### Claim 20

A computer-implemented method of outputting map constraints to autonomous vehicles (AVs), the method being performed by one or more processors and comprising:
generating a map constraint interface enabling a fleet operator to update map constraints for autonomous vehicles (AVs), the map constraint interface corresponding to a unified document model enabling the fleet operator to configure a set of constraint layers of one or more autonomy maps utilized by the AVs for navigation, each constraint layer in the set of constraint layers comprising a toggle feature that enables the fleet operator to activate and deactivate the constraint layer;
receiving, via the map constraint interface, a set of inputs configuring the set of constraint layers of the one or more autonomy maps;
compiling a set of updated map constraints, corresponding to the configured set of constraint layers, into a document container; and
outputting, via a communication interface over one or more networks, the document container to a subset of the AVs to enable the subset of AVs to integrate the set of updated map constraints with the one or more autonomy maps.