Using obstacle clearance to measure precise lateral gap
AssigneeWaymo LLC
InventorsNathaniel Fairfield, Ian James Mahon
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system and method is provided for identifying an object along a road, where the object may be represented by a bounding box, and projecting a set of obstacle points within the bounding box corresponding to the identified object. In one aspect, a two-dimensional plane oriented perpendicular to a direction of the movement of the vehicle may be identified. In another aspect, the areas of the plane that may be occupied based on the set of obstacle points may be determined to generate a contour of the identified object. Thereafter, the height profiles of the identified object and the vehicle may be determined and identified, respectively. Based on the height profiles, a minimum clearance may be determined.
Claims20
A method comprising:
- identifying, by one or more computing devices having one or more processors, an object, wherein the object is represented by a bounding box having a three-dimensional volume and a set of three-dimensional points within the bounding box corresponding to the identified object;
- projecting, by the one or more computing devices, the set of three-dimensional points into the three-dimensional volume of the bounding box;
- maneuvering, by the one or more computing devices, a vehicle towards the object at a particular heading;
- determining, by the one or more computing devices, a two-dimensional plane oriented perpendicular to the particular heading;
- determining, by the one or more computing devices, a cross-sectional area of the bounding box having a three-dimensional volume and a subset of the projected three-dimensional points, the cross sectional area corresponding to a grid on the two-dimensional plane;
- identifying, by the one or more computing devices, occupied cells of the grid;
- determining, by the one or more computing devices, a two-dimensional contour of the object within the bounding box based on the occupied cells of the grid;
- and
- maneuvering, by the one or more computing devices, the vehicle alongside of the object based on at least the determined two-dimensional contour and a predetermined threshold clearance value.
A system comprising one or more computing devices having one or more processors, the one or more computing devices being configured to:
- identify an object, wherein the object is represented by a bounding box having a three-dimensional volume and a set of three-dimensional points within the bounding box corresponding to the identified object;
- project the set of three-dimensional points into the three-dimensional volume of the bounding box;
- maneuver a vehicle towards the object at a particular heading;
- determine a two-dimensional plane oriented perpendicular to the particular heading;
- determine a cross-sectional area of the bounding box having a three-dimensional volume and a subset of the projected three-dimensional points, the cross sectional area corresponding to a grid on the two-dimensional plane;
- identify occupied cells of the grid;
- determine a two-dimensional contour of the object within the bounding box based on the occupied cells of the grid;
- and
- maneuver the vehicle alongside of the object based on at least the determined two-dimensional contour and a predetermined threshold clearance value.
A non-transitory computer readable medium on which instructions are stored, the instructions, when performed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform a method, the method comprising:
- identifying an object, wherein the object is represented by a bounding box having a three-dimensional volume and a set of three-dimensional points within the bounding box corresponding to the identified object;
- projecting the set of three-dimensional points into the three-dimensional volume of the bounding box;
- maneuvering a vehicle towards the object at a particular heading;
- determining a two-dimensional plane oriented perpendicular to the particular heading;
- determining a cross-sectional area of the bounding box having a three-dimensional volume and a subset of the projected three-dimensional points, the cross sectional area corresponding to a grid on the two-dimensional plane;
- identifying occupied cells of the grid;
- determining a two-dimensional contour of the object within the bounding box based on the occupied cells of the grid;
- and
- maneuvering the vehicle alongside of the object based on at least the determined two-dimensional contour and a predetermined threshold clearance value.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.