Systems and Methods for Costing Autonomous Vehicle Maneuvers

A computing system, the computing system comprising:

• one or more processors;
• and
• one or more tangible, non-transitory, computer readable media that collectively store instructions that when executed by the one or more processors cause the computing system to perform operations, the operations comprising:
• obtaining a plurality of sub-cost functions configured to evaluate a trajectory for controlling a motion of an autonomous vehicle, wherein each sub-cost function is configured to generate a respective sub-cost value indicative of the trajectory's impact on one or more motion planning criteria, wherein each sub-cost function is configured to generate the respective sub-cost value based, at least in part, on sensor data indicative of a surrounding environment of the autonomous vehicle, a period of time, and the trajectory;
• obtaining one or more relational propositions associated with the plurality of sub-cost functions, wherein each relational proposition is indicative of a desired relationship between at least two of the plurality of sub-cost functions;
• generating verification data indicative of whether the plurality of sub-cost functions achieve the one or more relational propositions based, at least in part, on the plurality of sub-cost functions and the one or more relational propositions;
• and
• providing for display, via one or more display devices, the verification data.

An autonomous vehicle comprising:

• one or more processors;
• and
• one or more tangible, non-transitory, computer readable media that collectively store instructions that when executed by the one or more processors cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
• obtaining an initial travel path for the autonomous vehicle from a first location to a second location;
• obtaining sensor data describing one or more objects within an environment of the autonomous vehicle, wherein the one or more objects are positioned along the initial travel path;
• generating a plurality of trajectories for the autonomous vehicle based, at least in part, on the sensor data and the initial travel path;
• generating one or more respective costs for each respective trajectory of the plurality of trajectories, wherein the one or more respective costs comprise a safety cost and a total cost;
• determining a subset of trajectories from the plurality of trajectories based, at least in part, on the safety cost associated with each trajectory of the plurality of trajectories;
• determining an optimal trajectory from the subset of trajectories based, at least in part, on the total cost associated with each trajectory of the subset of trajectories;
• and
• controlling motion of the autonomous vehicle based, at least in part, on the optimal trajectory.