Identifying stopping place for autonomous vehicle

1. A computer-based method comprising:

selecting, by a vehicle computer, a proximity region that is within a first distance from a goal position;

obtaining, by the vehicle computer, a goal region by excluding from the proximity region one or more portions of the proximity region where stopping is not feasible;

discretizing, by the vehicle computer, the goal region into a set of potential stopping places, wherein each potential stopping place includes an area that accommodates a footprint of the vehicle;

determining, by the vehicle computer, a quality score for each potential stopping place;

in response to the vehicle identifying a stopping place from the potential stopping places in the goal region within a specified period of time, causing the vehicle to drive autonomously to and stop at an identified stopping place with a highest quality score; and

in response to the vehicle not identifying the stopping place from the potential stopping places in the goal region after the specified period of time, receiving, from a human teleoperator located at a central operations control center, a signal to cause the vehicle to drive to a different stopping place of the potential stopping places;

wherein the signal from the human teleoperator indicates a selection by the human teleoperator of the different stopping place for the vehicle or a trajectory to the different stopping place for the vehicle.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising providing information for presenting a state of the vehicle to the human teleoperator.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising receiving from the human teleoperator one or more inputs to steering, throttle, brake, or other actuators of the vehicle.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising receiving from the human teleoperator a signal to manually control a trajectory planning process for the vehicle, the signal from the human teleoperator indicating a selection of a goal position by the human teleoperator for the vehicle or determine a trajectory to the goal position.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising informing a passenger in the vehicle or requesting consent by a passenger in the vehicle to allow the human teleoperator to drive the vehicle to the stopping place.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising expanding the proximity region by increasing the first distance from the goal position.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the quality score comprises determining a second distance from the stopping place to the goal position.

8. A vehicle comprising:

one or more computer processors;

one or more non-transitory storage media storing instructions that when executed by the one or more computer processors, cause performance of operations comprising:

selecting a proximity region that is within a first distance from a goal region;

obtaining a goal region by excluding from the proximity region one or more portions of the proximity region where stopping is not feasible;

discretizing the goal region into a set of potential stopping places, wherein each potential stopping place includes an area that accommodates a footprint of the vehicle;

determining a quality score for each potential stopping place;

in response to the vehicle identifying a stopping place from the potential stopping places in the goal region within a specified period of time, causing the vehicle to drive autonomously to and stop at an identified stopping place with a highest quality score; and

in response to the vehicle not identifying the stopping place from the potential stopping places in the goal region after the specified period of time, receiving, from a human teleoperator, located at a central operations control center, a signal to cause the vehicle to drive to a different stopping place of the potential stopping places;

wherein the signal from the human teleoperator indicates a selection by the human teleoperator of the different stopping place for the vehicle or a trajectory to the different stopping place for the vehicle.

9. The vehicle of claim 8 , wherein the operations further comprise: providing information for presenting a state of the vehicle to the human teleoperator.

10. The vehicle of claim 8 , wherein the operations further comprise: receiving from the human teleoperator one or more inputs to steering, throttle, brake, or other actuators of the vehicle.

11. The vehicle of claim 8 , wherein the operations further comprise: receiving from the human teleoperator a signal to manually control a trajectory planning process for the vehicle, the signal from the human teleoperator indicating a selection of a goal position by the human teleoperator for the vehicle or determine a trajectory to the goal position.

12. The vehicle of claim 8 , wherein the operations further comprise: informing a passenger in the vehicle or requesting consent by a passenger in the vehicle to allow the human teleoperator to drive the vehicle to the stopping place.

13. The vehicle of claim 8 , wherein the operations further comprise: expanding the proximity region by increasing the first distance from the goal position.

14. The vehicle of claim 8 , wherein determining the quality score comprises determining a second distance from the stopping place to the goal position.

15. One or more non-transitory storage media storing instructions which, when executed by one or more computing devices, cause performance of operations comprising:

selecting a proximity region that is within a first distance from a goal position;

obtaining a goal region by excluding from the proximity region one or more portions of the proximity region where stopping is not feasible;

discretizing the goal region into a set of potential stopping places, wherein each potential stopping place includes an area that accommodates a footprint of a vehicle;

determining a quality score for each potential stopping place;

in response to the vehicle identifying a stopping place from the potential stopping places in the goal region within a specified period of time, causing the vehicle to drive autonomously to and stop at an identified stopping place with a highest quality score; and

in response to the vehicle not identifying the stopping place from the potential stopping places in the goal region after the specified period of time, receiving, from a human teleoperator, located at a central operations control center, a signal to cause the vehicle to drive to a different stopping place of the potential stopping places;

wherein the signal from the human teleoperator indicates a selection by the human teleoperator of the different stopping place for the vehicle or a trajectory to the different stopping place for the vehicle.

16. The non-transitory storage media of claim 15 , wherein the operations further comprise: providing information for presenting a state of the vehicle to the human teleoperator.

17. The non-transitory storage media of claim 15 , wherein the operations further comprise: receiving from the human teleoperator one or more inputs to the steering, throttle, brake, or other actuators of the vehicle.

18. The non-transitory storage media of claim 15 , wherein the operations further comprise: receiving from the human teleoperator a signal to manually control a trajectory planning process for the vehicle, the signal from the teleoperator indicating a selection a goal position by the human teleoperator for the vehicle or determine a trajectory to the goal position.

19. The non-transitory storage media of claim 15 , wherein the operations further comprise: informing a passenger in the vehicle or requesting consent by a passenger in the vehicle to allow the human teleoperator to drive the vehicle to the stopping place.

20. The non-transitory storage media of claim 15 , wherein the operations further comprise: expanding the proximity region by increasing the first distance from the goal position.