Detecting lane closures and lane shifts by an autonomous vehicle
View Patent ↗In an example implementation, an autonomous vehicle is configured to detect closures and lane shifts in a lane of travel. The vehicle is configured to operate in an autonomous mode and determine a presence of an obstacle substantially positioned in a lane of travel of the vehicle using a sensor. The lane of travel has a first side, a second side, and a center, and the obstacle is substantially positioned on the first side. The autonomous vehicle includes a computer system. The computer system determines a lateral distance between the obstacle and the center, compares the lateral distance to a pre-determined threshold, and provides instructions to control the autonomous vehicle based on the comparison.
1. A method comprising:
determining, using at least one sensor of an autonomous vehicle, a presence of an obstacle substantially positioned in a lane of travel of the autonomous vehicle, wherein the lane of travel has a first side, a second side, and a center, and wherein the obstacle is substantially positioned on the first side;
determining, using a processor, a lateral distance between the obstacle and the center;
comparing the lateral distance to a pre-determined threshold; and
providing instructions to control the autonomous vehicle based on the comparison.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein providing instructions to control the autonomous vehicle based on the comparison comprises based on the lateral distance being greater than the pre-determined threshold, providing instructions to control the autonomous vehicle to continue operating in the lane of travel.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein providing instructions to control the autonomous vehicle based on the comparison comprises based on the lateral distance being less than the pre-determined threshold, providing instructions to control the autonomous vehicle to adjust operating in the lane of travel.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein providing instructions to control the autonomous vehicle based on the comparison comprises based on the lateral distance being less than the pre-determined threshold:
determining, using the at least one sensor, a presence of a second obstacle, wherein the second obstacle is substantially positioned on the second side, wherein the second obstacle is different than the obstacle, and wherein the second obstacle is at a second lateral distance to the center;
determining, based on the lateral distance and the second lateral distance, a lane constraint that defines an amount of space between the obstacle and the second obstacle;
making a second comparison, using the processor, of the lane constraint to the pre-determined threshold; and
providing instructions to control the autonomous vehicle based on the second comparison.
5. The method of claim 4 , further comprising based on the lane constraint being greater than the pre-determined threshold and the second lateral distance being greater than the pre-determined threshold, providing instructions to control the autonomous vehicle to continue operating in the lane of travel in a manner that allows the autonomous vehicle to travel between and past the obstacle and the second obstacle.
6. The method of claim 4 , further comprising based on the lane constraint being less than the pre-determined threshold or the second lateral distance being less than the pre-determined threshold, providing instructions to control the autonomous vehicle to adjust operating in the lane of travel.
7. The method of claim 4 , further comprising determining the lane constraint based on an absolute value of a difference between the lateral distance and the second lateral distance.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first side comprises a left side of the autonomous vehicle and the second side comprises a right side of the autonomous vehicle.
9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining the pre-determined threshold based on a width of the autonomous vehicle.
10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining the pre-determined threshold based on a width of the lane of travel.
11. A vehicle comprising:
a sensor configured to determine a presence of an obstacle substantially positioned in a lane of travel of the vehicle, wherein the vehicle is configured to operate in an autonomous mode in the lane of travel, wherein the lane of travel has a first side, a second side, and a center, and wherein the obstacle is substantially positioned on the first side; and
a computer system, wherein the computer system is configured to:
determine a lateral distance between the obstacle and the center;
compare the lateral distance to a pre-determined threshold; and
provide instructions to control the vehicle based on the comparison.
12. The vehicle of claim 11 , wherein the computer system is further configured to provide instructions to control the vehicle to continue operating in the lane of travel.
13. The vehicle of claim 11 , wherein the computer system is further configured to provide instructions to control the vehicle to adjust operating in the lane of travel.
14. The vehicle of claim 11 , wherein the computer system is further configured to based on the lateral distance being less than the pre-determined threshold:
determine, using the at least one sensor, a presence of a second obstacle, wherein the second obstacle is substantially positioned on the second side, wherein the second obstacle is different than the obstacle, and wherein the second obstacle is at a second lateral distance to the center;
determine, based on the lateral distance and the second lateral distance, a lane constraint that defines an amount of space between the obstacle and the second obstacle;
making a second comparison, using the processor, of the lane constraint to the pre-determined threshold; and
provide instructions to control the autonomous vehicle based on the second comparison.
15. The vehicle of claim 14 , wherein the computer system is further configured to based on the lane constraint being greater than the pre-determined threshold and the second lateral distance being greater than the pre-determined threshold, provide instructions to control the autonomous vehicle to continue operating in the lane of travel in a manner that allows the autonomous vehicle to travel between and past the obstacle and the second obstacle.
16. The vehicle of claim 14 , wherein the computer system is further configured to based on the lane constraint being less than the pre-determined threshold or the second lateral distance being less than the pre-determined threshold, provide instructions to control the autonomous vehicle to adjust operating in the lane of travel.
17. The method of claim 14 , further comprising determining the lane constraint based on calculating an absolute value of a difference between the lateral distance and the second lateral distance.
18. A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored therein instructions, that when executed by a computer system in an autonomous vehicle, cause the computer system to perform functions comprising:
determining, using at least one sensor of the autonomous vehicle, a presence of an obstacle substantially positioned in a lane of travel of the autonomous vehicle, wherein the lane of travel has a first side, a second side, and a center, and wherein the obstacle is substantially positioned on the first side;
determining, using a processor, a lateral distance between the obstacle and the center;
comparing the lateral distance to a pre-determined threshold; and
providing instructions to control the autonomous vehicle based on the comparison.
19. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 18 , wherein the instructions are further executable by the computer system to perform functions comprising:
based on the lateral distance being greater than the pre-determined threshold, providing instructions to control the autonomous vehicle to continue operating in the lane of travel; and
based on the lateral distance being less than the pre-determined threshold, providing instructions to control the autonomous vehicle to adjust operating in the lane of travel.
20. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 18 , wherein the instructions are further executable by the computer system to perform functions comprising based on the lateral distance being less than the pre-determined threshold:
determining, using the at least one sensor, a presence of a second obstacle, wherein the second obstacle is substantially positioned on the second side, wherein the second obstacle is different than the obstacle, and wherein the second obstacle is at a second lateral distance to the center;
determining, based on the lateral distance and the second lateral distance, a lane constraint that defines an amount of space between the obstacle and the second obstacle;
making a second comparison, using the processor, of the lane constraint to the pre-determined threshold; and
providing instructions to control the autonomous vehicle based on the second comparison.