Autonomy first route optimization for autonomous vehicles

A vehicle, comprising:

• a first set of sensors to sense an environment surrounding the vehicle;
• a second set of sensors to sense an activity of an occupant in the vehicle;
• a third set of sensors to sense a state of the vehicle;
• a vehicle control system for autonomously controlling driving functions of the vehicle;
• a navigation system in communication with the first, second, and third sets of sensors and the vehicle control system, to provide a selected route to the vehicle control system for autonomously controlling the vehicle along the selected route;
• and
• a processor in communication with the first, second, and third sets of sensors, the navigation system, and the vehicle control system, the processor:
• receiving static route characteristics that are not anticipated to change for each of the two or more routes;
• receiving dynamic route characteristics that change for each of the two or more routes;
• selecting a level of autonomy, from among a plurality of levels of autonomy, based on the sensed activity of the occupant;
• selecting, based on the static route characteristics, the dynamic route characteristics, and occupant route preferences for each of the two or more routes, a route of the two or more routes that best fits the selected level of autonomy, the sensed environment surrounding the vehicle, and the sensed state of the vehicle;
• and
• providing the selected route to the navigation system.

A method, comprising:

• receiving, for each of two or more routes between a common start point and a common end point, static route characteristics that are not anticipated to change for each of the two or more routes;
• receiving dynamic route characteristics that change for each of the two or more routes;
• receiving sensor data about a sensed environment surrounding the vehicle, a sensed activity of the occupant of the vehicle, and a sensed state of the vehicle;
• selecting a level of autonomy, from among a plurality of levels of autonomy, based on the sensed activity of the occupant;
• selecting based on the static route characteristics, the dynamic route characteristics, and occupant route preferences for each of the two or more routes, a route of the two or more routes that best fits the selected level of autonomy, the sensed environment, and the sensed state of the vehicle;
• and
• providing route directions for the selected route to a vehicle control system for controlling the vehicle along the selected route.

A non-transitory information storage media having stored thereon one or more instructions, that when executed by one or more processors, cause a vehicle to perform a method, the method, comprising:

• receiving, for each of two or more routes between a common start point and a common end point, static route characteristics that are not anticipated to change for each of the two or more routes;
• receiving dynamic route characteristics that change for each of the two or more routes;
• receiving sensor data about a sensed environment surrounding the vehicle, a sensed activity of the occupant of the vehicle, and a sensed state of the vehicle;
• selecting a level of autonomy, from among a plurality of levels of autonomy, based on the sensed activity of the occupant;
• selecting, based on the static route characteristics and the dynamic route characteristics for each of the two or more routes, a route of the two or more routes that best fits the selected level of autonomy, the sensed environment, and the sensed state of the vehicle;
• and
• providing route directions for the selected route to a vehicle control system for controlling the vehicle along the selected route.