System and method for proximate vehicle intention prediction for autonomous vehicles

1. A system comprising:

a data processor; and

a memory for storing a proximate vehicle intention prediction module, executable by the data processor, the proximate vehicle intention prediction module being configured to perform a proximate vehicle intention prediction operation for autonomous vehicles, the proximate vehicle intention prediction operation being configured to:

receive perception data associated with a host vehicle;

extract features from the perception data to detect a proximate vehicle in a vicinity of the host vehicle;

generate a trajectory of the detected proximate vehicle based on the perception data;

produce a smoothed trajectory of the detected proximate vehicle by performing a temporal smoothing of the trajectory of the detected proximate vehicle;

generate a predicted intention of the detected proximate vehicle using the perception data, the smoothed trajectory of the detected proximate vehicle, and a trained intention prediction model;

generate a predicted trajectory of the detected proximate vehicle using the predicted intention of the detected proximate vehicle; and

output the predicted intention and the predicted trajectory for the detected proximate vehicle to another subsystem,

wherein said generate the predicted intention of the detected proximate vehicle comprises:

generate a distribution of probabilistic maneuvers associated with the detected proximate vehicle using the perception data and the smoothed trajectory of the detected proximate vehicle;

obtain a filtered distribution of probabilistic maneuvers associated with the detected proximate vehicle by applying a Bayesian filter to the distribution of probabilistic maneuvers associated with the detected proximate vehicle; and

modify the filtered distribution of probabilistic maneuvers associated with the detected proximate vehicle using a Hidden Markov Model (HMM).

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the perception data comprises data received from at least one of: a camera, an image capture device, an inertial measurement unit (IMU), a Global Positioning System (GPS) transceiver, a RADAR unit, or a laser range finder/LIDAR unit.

3. The system of claim 1 being further configured to use semantic segmentation to extract features from the perception data.

4. The system of claim 1 being further configured to train the intention prediction model with training data gathered during an offline training phase.

5. The system of claim 1 being further configured to generate the trajectory of the detected proximate vehicle by aggregating perception data for the detected proximate vehicle across multiple image frames using object tracking identifiers.

6. The system of claim 1 being further configured to filter the trajectory of the detected proximate vehicle.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the predicted intention and predicted trajectory for the detected proximate vehicle are output to a vehicle system causing the host vehicle to follow a proposed motion plan.

8. A method comprising:

receiving perception data associated with a host vehicle;

extracting features from the perception data to detect a proximate vehicle in a vicinity of the host vehicle;

generating a trajectory of the detected proximate vehicle based on the perception data;

producing a smoothed trajectory of the detected proximate vehicle by performing a temporal smoothing of the trajectory of the detected proximate vehicle;

generating a predicted intention of the detected proximate vehicle using the perception data, the smoothed trajectory of the detected proximate vehicle, and a trained intention prediction model;

generating a predicted trajectory of the detected proximate vehicle using the predicted intention of the detected proximate vehicle; and

output the predicted intention and the predicted trajectory for the detected proximate vehicle to another subsystem,

wherein said generating the predicted intention of the detected proximate vehicle comprises:

generating a distribution of probabilistic maneuvers associated with the detected proximate vehicle using the perception data and the smoothed trajectory of the detected proximate vehicle;

obtaining a filtered distribution of probabilistic maneuvers associated with the detected proximate vehicle by applying a Bayesian filter to the distribution of probabilistic maneuvers associated with the detected proximate vehicle; and

modifying the filtered distribution of probabilistic maneuvers associated with the detected proximate vehicle using a Hidden Markov Model (HMM).

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the perception data comprises data received from a sound navigation and ranging (sonar) device.

10. The method of claim 8 comprising using semantic segmentation on image frame sequences from the perception data to identify the proximate vehicle.

11. The method of claim 8 comprising configuring parameters used for the trained intention prediction model during an offline training phase.

12. The method of claim 8 comprising removing or filtering outlier data corresponding to the trajectory of the detected proximate vehicle.

13. The method of claim 8 comprising removing noise and spurious data of the trajectory of the detected proximate vehicle.

14. The method of claim 8 wherein the host vehicle follows an output proposed motion plan corresponding to the predicted intention and the predicted trajectory for the detected proximate vehicle.

15. A non-transitory machine-useable storage medium embodying instructions which, when executed by a machine, cause the machine to:

receive perception data associated with a host vehicle;

extract features from the perception data to detect a proximate vehicle in a vicinity of the host vehicle;

generate a trajectory of the detected proximate vehicle based on the perception data;

produce a smoothed trajectory of the detected proximate vehicle by performing a temporal smoothing of the trajectory of the detected proximate vehicle;

generate a predicted intention of the detected proximate vehicle using the perception data, the smoothed trajectory of the detected proximate vehicle, and a trained intention prediction model;

generate a predicted trajectory of the detected proximate vehicle using the predicted intention of the detected proximate vehicle; and

output the predicted intention and the predicted trajectory for the detected proximate vehicle to another subsystem,

wherein said generate the predicted intention of the detected proximate vehicle comprises:

generate a distribution of probabilistic maneuvers associated with the detected proximate vehicle using the perception data and the smoothed trajectory of the detected proximate vehicle;

obtain a filtered distribution of probabilistic maneuvers associated with the detected proximate vehicle by applying a Bayesian filter to the distribution of probabilistic maneuvers associated with the detected proximate vehicle; and

modify the filtered distribution of probabilistic maneuvers associated with the detected proximate vehicle using a Hidden Markov Model (HMM).

16. The non-transitory machine-usable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the perception data comprises data received from at least one of: a camera, an image capture device, an inertial measurement unit (IMU), a Global Positioning System (GPS) transceiver, a RADAR unit, or a laser range finder/LIDAR unit.

17. The non-transitory machine-usable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the machine, cause the machine to use semantic segmentation to extract features from the perception data.

18. The non-transitory machine-usable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the machine, cause the machine to generate the trajectory of the detected proximate vehicle by aggregating perception data for the detected proximate vehicle across multiple image frames using object tracking identifiers.

19. The non-transitory machine-useable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the machine, cause the machine to filter the trajectory of the detected proximate vehicle.

20. The non-transitory machine-usable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the machine, cause the machine to output the predicted intention and predicted trajectory for the detected proximate vehicle to a vehicle system causing the host vehicle to follow a proposed motion plan.