IDENTIFYING A STOPPING PLACE FOR AN AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE

• US 20180113457A1
• Filed: 10/20/2016
• Published: 04/26/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/20/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Motional AD, LLC (Aptiv PLC)
• Original Assignee: nuTonomy, Inc. (BorgWarner Incorporated)
• Inventors: Iagnemma, Karl, Ravichandran, Harshavardhan
• Granted Patent: US 11,627,450 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/146 Display means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/40 High definition maps
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/50 of positioning data, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System] data
• 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 30/06 Automatic manoeuvring for parking
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/14 Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 60/0011 involving control alternatives for a single driving scenario, e.g. planning several paths to avoid obstacles
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3605 Destination input or retrieval
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0011 associated with a remote control arrangement
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0112 from the vehicle, e.g. floating car data [FCD]
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0133 for classifying traffic situation
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0145 for active traffic flow control
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096811 where the route is computed offboard
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/70 Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC]

Abstract

Among other things, a vehicle is caused to drive autonomously through a road network toward a defined goal position, and, if no potential stopping place that is in the vicinity of the goal position and is acceptable and feasible can be identified, a human operator not onboard the vehicle is enabled to drive the vehicle to a stopping place.

Claims

1. A computer-based method comprising:

causing a vehicle to drive autonomously through a road network toward a defined goal position, and

if no potential stopping place that is in the vicinity of the goal position and is acceptable and feasible can be identified, enabling a human operator not onboard the vehicle to drive the vehicle to a stopping place.

2. The method of claim 1 comprising providing information for presenting to the human operator a view associated with a state of the vehicle.

3. The method of claim 1 comprising enabling the human operator to provide inputs to the steering, throttle, brake, or other actuators of the vehicle.

4. The method of claim 1 comprising enabling the human operator to directly control a trajectory planning process for the vehicle by manually selecting a goal position for the vehicle or influencing the planned trajectory to the goal position.

5. The method of claim 1 comprising informing a passenger in the vehicle or requesting consent by a passenger in the vehicle to the human operator driving the vehicle to the stopping place.