Systems and methods for autonomous vehicle motion control and motion path adjustments

1 . A computer-implemented method for generating autonomous vehicle paths, the method comprising:

accessing map data for a geographic area, the map data including information associated with a nominal path;

obtaining data describing a target zone along the nominal path, wherein the target zone is an area which an autonomous vehicle is instructed to traverse before continuing to travel along a travelway;

identifying, based on data representing a position of one or more lane boundaries included in the map data, whether the target zone is at least partially outside the one or more lane boundaries;

altering, in accordance with the target zone being at least partially outside the one or more lane boundaries, the data representing the position of the one or more lane boundaries such that the target zone is within a space designated by altered data representing the position of the one or more lane boundaries;

generating, based on the altered data, an altered nominal path to traverse the target zone before continuing to travel along the travelway;

accessing perception data describing one or more objects in an environment of the autonomous vehicle;

generating a trajectory for the autonomous vehicle, the trajectory based on a target velocity, the one or more objects, and the altered nominal path; and

controlling the autonomous vehicle based on the trajectory.

2 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:

identifying a first coordinate in a series of coordinates that falls within the target zone;

identifying a last coordinate in the series of coordinates that falls within the target zone; and

designating the first coordinate, the last coordinate, and any coordinates between the first and the last coordinates as being included in a region for a designated action, wherein the nominal path includes the series of coordinates, and the series of coordinates is associated with a series of time steps.

3 . The computer-implemented method of claim 2 , wherein the trajectory is generated based at least in part on the region for a designated action.

4 . The computer-implemented method of claim 3 , further comprising:

generating a longitudinal plan for the autonomous vehicle through the geographic area based on the altered nominal path; and

generating a target velocity for one or more portions of the altered nominal path within the region for the designated action.

5 . The computer-implemented method of claim 4 , wherein the trajectory is generated based at least in part on the longitudinal plan.

6 . The computer-implemented method of claim 2 , wherein the designated action is a turn.

7 . The computer-implemented method of claim 6 , further comprising:

identifying a preferred turning velocity for the turn; and

setting a target velocity for at least one portion of the nominal path within the region for the designated action to the preferred turning velocity.

8 . The computer-implemented method of claim 2 , further comprising:

laterally altering a plurality of coordinates in the region for the designated action such that the altered nominal path traverses the target zone.

9 . The computer-implemented method of claim 8 , wherein the method further comprises:

identifying that the altered nominal path does not satisfy at least one of an acceleration threshold or a velocity threshold; and

laterally altering one or more coordinates outside the region for the designated action such that the nominal path satisfies the at least one acceleration threshold or velocity threshold.

10 . The computer-implemented method of claim 9 , wherein the nominal path represents a path through the environment of the autonomous vehicle without accounting for obstacles within the environment.

11 . The computer-implemented method of claim 2 , wherein the nominal path is precalculated prior to generating the trajectory.

12 . The computer-implemented method of claim 11 , wherein each geographic coordinate has an associated position and pose for the autonomous vehicle.

13 . A computing system for altering vehicle paths, the system comprising:

one or more processors and one or more non-transitory computer-readable memories;

wherein the one or more non-transitory computer-readable memories store instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the computing system to perform operations, the operations comprising:

accessing map data for a geographic area, the map data including information associated with a nominal path;

obtaining data describing a target zone along the nominal path, wherein the target zone is an area which an autonomous vehicle is instructed to traverse before continuing to travel along a travelway;

identifying, based on data representing a position of one or more lane boundaries included in the map data, whether the target zone is at least partially outside the one or more lane boundaries;

altering, in accordance with the target zone being at least partially outside the one or more lane boundaries, the data representing the position of the one or more lane boundaries such that the target zone is within a space designated by altered data representing the position of the one or more lane boundaries;

generating, based on the altered data, an altered nominal path to traverse the target zone before continuing to travel along the travelway;

accessing perception data describing one or more objects in an environment of the autonomous vehicle;

generating a trajectory for the autonomous vehicle, the trajectory based on a target velocity, the one or more objects, and the altered nominal path; and

controlling the autonomous vehicle based on the trajectory.

14 . The computing system of claim 13 , wherein the nominal path represents a path through the environment of the autonomous vehicle without accounting for obstacles within the environment.

15 . The computing system of claim 13 , wherein each geographic coordinate has an associated position and pose for the autonomous vehicle.

16 . An autonomous vehicle, comprising:

one or more processors; and

one or more 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, the operations comprising:

accessing map data for a geographic area, the map data including information associated with a nominal path;

obtaining data describing a target zone along the nominal path, wherein the target zone is an area which the autonomous vehicle is instructed to traverse before continuing to travel along a travelway;

identifying, based on data representing a position of one or more lane boundaries included in the map data, whether the target zone is at least partially outside the one or more lane boundaries;

altering, in accordance with the target zone being at least partially outside the one or more lane boundaries, the data representing the position of the one or more lane boundaries such that the target zone is within a space designated by altered data representing the position of the one or more lane boundaries;

generating, based on the altered data, an altered nominal path to traverse the target zone before continuing to travel along the travelway;

accessing perception data describing one or more objects in an environment of the autonomous vehicle;

generating a trajectory for the autonomous vehicle, the trajectory based on a target velocity, the one or more objects, and the altered nominal path; and

controlling the autonomous vehicle based on the trajectory.

17 . The autonomous vehicle of claim 16 , the operations further comprising:

identifying a first coordinate in a series of coordinates that falls within the target zone;

identifying a last coordinate in the series of coordinates that falls within the target zone; and

designating the first coordinate, the last coordinate, and any coordinates between the first and the last coordinates as being included in a region for a designated action, wherein the nominal path includes the series of coordinates, and the series of coordinates is associated with a series of time steps.