Consideration of risks in active sensing for an autonomous vehicle

• US 10,427,672 B2
• Filed: 05/23/2017
• Issued: 10/01/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 05/14/2012
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Waymo LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Waymo LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Teller, Eric, Lombrozo, Peter
• Primary Examiner(s): Black, Thomas G
• Assistant Examiner(s): Huynh, Luat T
• Application Number:
  US15/603,265
• Publication Number:
  US 20170320491A1
• Time in Patent Office: 861 Days
• Field of Search: 701 23
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/175 Autonomous driving
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/28 characterised by the type of the output information, e.g. video entertainment or vehicle dynamics information; characterised by the purpose of the output information, e.g. for attracting the attention of the driver
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2420/10 Transducer, e.g. piezoelectric elements
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2420/403 Image sensing, e.g. optical camera
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2420/408 Radar; Laser, e.g. lidar
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2420/50 Magnetic or electromagnetic sensors
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2420/54 Audio sensitive means, e.g. ultrasound
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2520/125 Lateral acceleration
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2520/14 Yaw
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2520/16 Pitch
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2520/18 Roll
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/12 Brake pedal position
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/14 Clutch pedal position
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/00 Input parameters relating to objects
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/20 Static objects
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/4029 Pedestrians
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/4041 Position
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/806 Relative heading
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/50 of positioning data, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System] data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2900/00 Indexing codes relating to the purpose of, or problem solved of road vehicle drive control systems not otherwise provided for in groups B60W30/00
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/00 : Purposes of road vehicle drive control systems not related to the control of a particular sub-unit, e.g. of systems using conjoint control of vehicle sub-units
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/08 : Active safety systems predicting or avoiding probable or impending collision or attempting to minimise its consequences
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/18163 : Lane change; Overtaking manoeuvres
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 60/0016 : of the vehicle or its occupants

Abstract

An autonomous vehicle configured for active sensing may also be configured to weigh expected information gains from active-sensing actions against risk costs associated with the active-sensing actions. An example method involves: (a) receiving information from one or more sensors of an autonomous vehicle, (b) determining a risk-cost framework that indicates risk costs across a range of degrees to which an active-sensing action can be performed, wherein the active-sensing action comprises an action that is performable by the autonomous vehicle to potentially improve the information upon which at least one of the control processes for the autonomous vehicle is based, (c) determining an information-improvement expectation framework across the range of degrees to which the active-sensing action can be performed, and (d) applying the risk-cost framework and the information-improvement expectation framework to determine a degree to which the active-sensing action should be performed.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

(i) receiving, by a computing system, information from one or more sensors of an autonomous vehicle, wherein one or more control processes for the autonomous vehicle are based upon the information;

(ii) determining, by the computing system, an information-improvement value that corresponds to an active-sensing action including a lane change from a current lane to another lane, wherein the lane change is performable by the autonomous vehicle to potentially improve the information upon which at least one of the control processes for the autonomous vehicle is based;

(iii) determining, by the computing system, a risk cost that corresponds to the active-sensing action including the lane change;

(iv) determining, by the computing system, whether or not the risk cost is less than a threshold risk cost;

(v) if the risk cost is less than the threshold risk cost, then initiating the active-sensing action including the lane change; and

(vi) otherwise, if the risk cost is greater than or equal to the threshold risk cost, then making an adjustment to the active-sensing action including the lane change.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein autonomous vehicle comprises an autonomous or semi-autonomous road vehicle, and wherein the lane change comprises a lane change from a first lane to a second lane on a road.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

determining that improved sensor data could result from the lane change, and responsively performing the method of claim 1.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the information-improvement value that corresponds to the active-sensing action including the lane change comprises:

determining a value corresponding to additional information related to one or more features of an environment of the autonomous vehicle that could be obtained from image data captured after the lane change is performed.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the one or more features of the environment include one or more of the following features:

a traffic light, a traffic signal, a traffic sign, another vehicle, a pedestrian, a road feature, and a building feature.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more sensors comprise one or more of:

(a) at least one camera, (b) at least one microphone, (c) a Global Positioning System (GPS), (d) at least one accelerometer, (e) at least one gyroscope, (f) at least one compass, (g) a RADAR, (h) at least one laser rangefinder, (i) LIDAR, (j) at least one steering sensor, (k) a throttle sensor, and (l) at least one brake sensor.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein, in addition to the lane change, the active-sensing action further comprises one or more of the following actions:

(a) a change in speed of the autonomous vehicle, (b) a change in position of the autonomous vehicle relative to an aspect of an environment of the autonomous vehicle, (c) a change in position of at least one of the sensors, (d) a change in operation of at least one of the sensors, and (e) a change to the processing of sensor data from at least one of the sensors.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the information-improvement value that corresponds to the active-sensing action comprises:

determining an information value of sensor data in a first state of the autonomous vehicle;

determining an expected information value of the sensor data that is expected to be provided in a second state of the autonomous vehicle; and

subtracting the information value from the expected information value to determine an information-improvement value for the active sensing action.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the information-improvement value that corresponds to the active-sensing action comprises:

(i) determining an information-improvement value of a given improvement to the information upon which the at least one of the control process is based;

(ii) determining a probability of the given improvement occurring as a result of the autonomous vehicle performing the active-sensing action; and

(iii) multiplying the information value of the given improvement by the probability of the given improvement occurring to determine an expected information value for the given improvement.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the risk cost is indicative of a risk associated with the autonomous vehicle performing the lane change.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the risk cost is indicative of a change in risk associated with the autonomous vehicle performing the lane change.

12. An autonomous-vehicle system comprising:

one or more sensor interfaces operable to receive data from one or more sensors of an autonomous vehicle; and

a computer system configured to;

(i) receive, via the one or more sensor interfaces, information from the one or more sensors, wherein one or more control processes for the autonomous vehicle are based upon the information;

(ii) determine an information-improvement value that corresponds to an active-sensing action including a lane change from a current lane to another lane, wherein the lane change is performable by the autonomous vehicle to potentially improve the information upon which at least one of the control processes for the autonomous vehicle is based;

(iii) determine a risk cost that corresponds to the active-sensing action including the lane change;

(iv) determine whether or not the risk cost is less than a threshold risk cost;

(v) if the risk cost is less than the threshold risk cost, then initiate the active-sensing action including the lane change; and

(vi) if the risk cost is greater than or equal to the threshold risk cost, then make an adjustment to the active-sensing action including the lane change.

13. The autonomous-vehicle system of claim 12, wherein the adjustment to the active-sensing action comprises a change in extent of the active-sensing action.

14. The autonomous-vehicle system of claim 12, wherein autonomous vehicle comprises an autonomous or semi-autonomous road vehicle, and wherein the lane change comprises a lane change from a first lane to a second lane on a road.

15. The autonomous-vehicle system of claim 12, wherein the computer system is further configured to:

determine that improved sensor data could result from the lane change, and responsively perform (i) to (vi).

16. The autonomous-vehicle system of claim 12, wherein, to determine the information-improvement value that corresponds to the active-sensing action including the lane change, the computer system is configured to:

determine a value corresponding to additional information related to one or more features of an environment of the autonomous vehicle that could be obtained from image data captured after the lane change is performed.

17. A method comprising:

receiving, by a computing system, information from one or more sensors of an autonomous vehicle, wherein one or more control processes for the autonomous vehicle are based upon the information;

determining, by the computing system, a risk-cost framework that indicates risk costs across a range of degrees to which an active-sensing action can be performed, wherein the active-sensing action includes a lane change from a current lane to another lane and is performable by the autonomous vehicle to potentially improve the information upon which at least one of the control processes for the autonomous vehicle is based;

determining, by the computing system, an information-improvement value framework that indicates information-improvement values across the range of degrees to which the active-sensing action including the lane change can be performed;

applying, by the computing system, the risk-cost framework and the information-improvement value framework to determine a degree to which the active-sensing action including the lane change should be performed; and

initiating the active-sensing action of the determined degree.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the determined degree maximizes the information-improvement value corresponding to the active-sensing action, with a constraint that a score corresponding to the active-sensing action is less than a threshold score.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein determining the information-improvement value framework comprises:

determining information-improvement value data across one or more of the following ranges;

(a) a range of speed changes for the autonomous vehicle associated with the lane change, (b) a range of positional changes of at least one of the sensors associated with the lane change, and (c) a range of operational adjustments to at least one of the sensors.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein autonomous vehicle comprises an autonomous or semi-autonomous road vehicle, and wherein the lane change comprises a lane change from a first lane to a second lane on a road.