LANE TRACKING SYSTEM AND METHOD
A method for detecting lane boundaries includes operating a vehicle on a road that has a lane marking in a visible condition. A position of a stationary object and a position of the lane marking are detected. Data regarding the positions of the stationary object and the lane marking are stored. The vehicle is operated on the road having the lane marking in a not visible condition while referencing the stored data.
1 . A method for detecting lane boundaries, comprising:
operating a vehicle on a road having a lane marking in a visible condition;
detecting a position of a stationary object and a position of the lane marking;
storing data regarding the positions of the stationary object and the lane marking; and
operating the vehicle on the road having the lane marking in a not visible condition while referencing the stored data.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the vehicle is an autonomous vehicle.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the stationary object is one of a guard rail, a sign, a road edge, an overpass, a building, a sign, a pole, a tree, and an image corner detected by a computer vision algorithm.
4 . The method of claim 1 , comprising detecting multiple stationary objects.
5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the lane marking is a painted lane line.
6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the detecting step is performed by at least one of a radar detector, a lidar detector, and a camera.
7 . The method of claim 1 , comprising storing global position system (GPS) data with the positions of the stationary object and the lane marking.
8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the vehicle is configured to correct a position of the vehicle on the road in the not visible condition based on the stored data.
9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the not visible condition is one of the lane markings worn off the road and precipitation obscuring the lane markings.
10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the detecting and storing steps repeat in an iterative fashion during the visible condition.
11 . A system for detecting lane boundaries, comprising:
a detector and a global position system (GPS) mounted on a vehicle;
a computing module in communication with the detector and the GPS, the computing module configured to:
determine a position of a stationary object and a position of the lane marking relative to one another based on data from the detector when the lane marking is in a visible condition;
store the relative positions of the lane marking and the stationary object; and
access the stored relative positions when the lane marking is in a not visible condition.
12 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the vehicle is an autonomous vehicle.
13 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the stationary object is one of a guard rail, a sign, a road edge, an overpass, a building, a sign, a pole, a tree, and an image corner detected by a computer vision algorithm.
14 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the computing module is configured to determine the position of multiple stationary objects.
15 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the lane marking is a painted lane line.
16 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the detector includes at least one of a radar detector, a lidar detector, and a camera.
17 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the computing module is configured to store GPS data with the positions of the stationary object and the lane marking.
18 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the vehicle is configured to correct a position of the vehicle on the road in the not visible condition based on the stored data.
19 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the not visible condition is one of the lane markings worn off the road and precipitation obscuring the lane markings.
20 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the computing module is configured to update the stored data periodically.