IP Library Granted Patent US 11,945,440
Granted Patent B2
US 11,945,440 · App. 16/996,785 · Granted Apr 2, 2024

Data driven rule books

Inventors: Andrea Censi (Somerville, MA); Kostyantyn Slutskyy (Singapore, SG); Asvathaman Asha Devi (Singapore, SG); Chua Zhe Xuan (Singapore, SG); Zhiliang Chen (Singapore, SG)
Assignee: Motional AD LLC
B60W30/18159B60W30/18163G05D1/0088G05D1/0214G08G1/0133G08G1/0145B60W2400/00B60W2520/10B60W2554/802
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,945,440
App. No.
16/996,785
Granted
Apr 2, 2024
Kind
B2
Abstract

The current disclosure provides techniques for using human driving behavior to assist in decision making of an autonomous vehicle as the autonomous vehicle encounters various scenarios on the road. For each scenario, a model may be generated based on human driving behavior that governs how an autonomous vehicle maneuvers in that scenario. As a result of using these models, reliability and safety of autonomous vehicle may be improved. In addition, because the model is programmed into the autonomous vehicle, the autonomous vehicle, in many instances, need not consume resources to implement complex calculations to determine driving behavior in real-time.

Claims (43)

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

determining, by at least one processor, driving behavior of a plurality of manually-operated vehicles, each manually-operated vehicle having engaged in traffic merging behavior at a corresponding uncontrolled traffic intersection;

determining, by the at least one processor, an autonomous vehicle driving model comprising a neural network, wherein data associated with manually-operated vehicles is input to the neural network in order to train the neural network to implement an autonomous vehicle driving behavior of an autonomous vehicle driving to merge with traffic at an uncontrolled traffic intersection; and

controlling, by the at least one processor, at least one control function of the autonomous vehicle according to the autonomous vehicle driving model.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the driving behavior of the plurality of manually-operated vehicles comprises sensing the driving behavior at or near one or more uncontrolled traffic intersections.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the driving behavior comprises:

identifying a vehicle that merged into a corresponding uncontrolled traffic intersection; and

determining (1) respective speeds of the plurality of manually-operated vehicles driving towards the corresponding uncontrolled traffic intersection, (2) a distance of each other vehicle of the plurality of manually-operated vehicles from the vehicle that merged and (3) a lane of each of the plurality of manually-operated vehicles.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the driving behavior comprises:

identifying vehicles that did not merge into the corresponding uncontrolled traffic intersection; and

for each vehicle of the vehicles that did not merge into the corresponding uncontrolled traffic intersection, determining respective speeds of the plurality of manually-operated vehicles in a vicinity of the each vehicle that were driving towards the corresponding uncontrolled traffic intersection, a distance of each other vehicle of the plurality of manually-operated vehicles from each vehicle that did not merge and a lane of each other vehicle of the plurality of manually-operated vehicles.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the driving behavior of the plurality of manually-operated vehicles comprises:

collecting data;

identifying a data set from the collected data; and

fitting the data set to a baseline model.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the driving behavior includes a velocity and a heading of each manually-operated vehicle.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the autonomous vehicle driving model maps, for a particular vehicle that was driving towards the uncontrolled traffic intersection, a speed of the plurality of manually-operated vehicles driving towards the uncontrolled traffic intersection, a distance of each other vehicle from the particular vehicle and a lane of each other vehicle.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the driving behavior comprises determining whether the plurality of manually-operated vehicles attempted to merge with traffic at the uncontrolled traffic intersection or did not attempt to merge with traffic at the uncontrolled traffic intersection.

9. A system, comprising:

at least one processor, and

at least one non-transitory storage media storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:

determine driving behavior of a plurality of manually-operated vehicles, each manually-operated vehicle having engaged in traffic merging behavior at a corresponding uncontrolled traffic intersection;

determine an autonomous vehicle driving model comprising a neural network, wherein data associated with manually-operated vehicles is input to the neural network in order to train the neural network to implement an autonomous vehicle driving behavior of an autonomous vehicle driving to merge with traffic at an uncontrolled traffic intersection; and

control at least one control function of the autonomous vehicle according to the autonomous vehicle driving model.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein a tracking system at or near one or more uncontrolled traffic intersections senses the driving behavior of the plurality of manually-operated vehicles.

11. The system of claim 9 , wherein determining the driving behavior comprises:

identifying a vehicle that merged into a corresponding uncontrolled traffic intersection; and

determining (1) respective speeds of the plurality of manually-operated vehicles driving towards the corresponding uncontrolled traffic intersection, (2) a distance of each other vehicle of the plurality of manually-operated vehicles from the vehicle that merged and (3) a lane of each of the plurality of manually-operated vehicles.

12. The system of claim 9 , wherein determining the driving behavior comprises:

identifying vehicles that did not merge into the corresponding uncontrolled traffic intersection; and

for each vehicle of the vehicles that did not merge into the corresponding uncontrolled traffic intersection, determining respective speeds of the plurality of manually-operated vehicles in a vicinity of the each vehicle that were driving towards the corresponding uncontrolled traffic intersection, a distance of each other vehicle of the plurality of manually-operated vehicles from each vehicle that did not merge and a lane of each other vehicle of the plurality of manually-operated vehicles.

13. The system of claim 9 , wherein determining the driving behavior of the plurality of manually-operated vehicles comprises:

collecting data;

identifying a data set from the collected data; and

fitting the data set to a baseline model.

14. The system of claim 9 , wherein the driving behavior includes a velocity and a heading of each manually-operated vehicle.

15. The system of claim 9 , wherein the autonomous vehicle driving model maps, for a particular vehicle that was driving towards the uncontrolled traffic intersection, a speed of the plurality of manually-operated vehicles driving towards the uncontrolled traffic intersection, a distance of each other vehicle from the particular vehicle and a lane of each other vehicle.

16. The system of claim 9 , wherein determining the driving behavior comprises determining whether the manually-operated vehicle attempted to merge with traffic at the uncontrolled traffic intersection or did not attempt to merge with traffic at the uncontrolled traffic intersection.

17. A non-transitory storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:

determine driving behavior of a plurality of manually-operated vehicles, each manually-operated vehicle having engaged in traffic merging behavior at a corresponding uncontrolled traffic intersection;

determine an autonomous vehicle driving model comprising a neural network, wherein data associated with manually-operated vehicles is input to the neural network in order to train the neural network to implement an autonomous vehicle driving behavior of an autonomous vehicle driving to merge with traffic at an uncontrolled traffic intersection; and

control at least one control function of the autonomous vehicle according to the autonomous vehicle driving model.

18. The non-transitory storage medium of claim 17 , wherein determining the driving behavior of the plurality of manually-operated vehicles comprises sensing the driving behavior at or near one or more uncontrolled traffic intersections.

Assignments (2)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Sep 23, 2020
From: APTIV TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED
To: MOTIONAL AD LLC
Reel/Frame 053863/0746 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Sep 3, 2020
From: CENSI, ANDREA; SLUTSKYY, KOSTYANTYN; DEVI, ASVATHAMAN ASHA; XUAN, CHUA ZHE; CHEN, ZHILIANG
To: APTIV TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED
Reel/Frame 053686/0984 →
Continuity (2)
Provisional Application 62891002 · Aug 23, 2019
Related Publication 20210053569A1 · Feb 25, 2021