IP Library Granted Patent US 12,650,313
Granted Patent B2
US 12,650,313 · App. 17/115,576 · Granted Jun 9, 2026

Lane line creation for high definition maps for autonomous vehicles

Inventors: Mark Damon Wheeler (Saratoga, CA); Lin Yang (San Carlos, CA); Dongzhen Piao (San Mateo, CA); Yu Zhang (Mountain View, CA)
Assignee: NVIDIA Corporation
G01C21/3638B60W40/04G01C21/3635G01C21/3867G05D1/0088G06T17/00G06T17/05G06V10/34G06V10/457G06V20/582G06V20/588B60W2420/403B60W2420/408
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,650,313
App. No.
17/115,576
Granted
Jun 9, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

An HD map system represents landmarks on a high definition map for autonomous vehicle navigation, including describing spatial location of lanes of a road and semantic information about each lane, and along with traffic signs and landmarks. The system generates lane lines designating lanes of roads based on, for example, mapping of camera image pixels with high probability of being on lane lines into a three-dimensional space, and locating/connecting center lines of the lane lines. The system builds a large connected network of lane elements and their connections as a lane element graph. The system also represents traffic signs based on camera images and detection and ranging sensor depth maps. These landmarks are used in building a high definition map that allows autonomous vehicles to safely navigate through their environments.

Claims (36)

1 . A method comprising:

identifying, based at least on sensor data, a plurality of clusters of points in which individual clusters of the plurality of clusters respectively correspond to individual lane line segments of a plurality of lane line segments corresponding to a lane line;

identifying a plurality of center lines of the plurality of clusters in which individual center lines of the plurality of center lines are respectively identified as being respective lines running substantially along lengths of and through centers of the individual clusters of the plurality of clusters;

identifying the lane line based at least on the plurality of center lines; and

causing performance of one or more control operations corresponding to a machine based at least on the lane line as identified.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the sensor data includes image data.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the identifying of one or more clusters of points of the plurality of clusters of points is based at least on relative proximities of points with respect to one another.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein one or more clusters of points of the plurality of clusters of points are identified from a set of points classified as generally corresponding to lane lines.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the lane line is identified by at least connecting endpoints corresponding to the plurality of center lines.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein one or more center lines of the plurality of center lines are identified based at least on one or more respective geometric fit lines determined with respect to one or more corresponding clusters of points.

7 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising generating, based at least on the lane line as identified, a lane element graph that includes lane elements and connections between lane elements.

8 . A system comprising:

one or more processors to perform operations comprising:

identifying a plurality of center lines in which individual center lines of the plurality of center lines are respectively identified as being respective lines running lengthwise substantially through respective centers of individual clusters of a plurality of clusters of points in which individual clusters of the plurality of clusters respectively correspond to individual lane line segments of a plurality of lane line segments corresponding to a lane line;

identifying the lane line based at least on the plurality of center lines;

generating, based at least on the lane line as identified, a lane element graph that includes one or more lane elements of a lane corresponding to the lane line; and

causing performance of one or more control operations corresponding to a machine based at least on the lane element graph.

9 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the generating of the lane element graph includes identifying the lane line as a boundary of at least one lane element of the one or more lane elements.

10 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the lane element graph includes at least one of:

one or more semantic associations between the one or more lane elements; or

one or more features respectively corresponding to the one or more lane elements.

11 . The system of claim 8 , wherein one or more clusters of points of the plurality of clusters of points are identified based at least on relative proximities of points with respect to one another.

12 . The system of claim 8 , wherein one or more clusters of points of the plurality of clusters of points are identified from a set of points classified as generally corresponding to lane lines.

13 . The system of claim 8 , wherein one or more center lines of the plurality of center lines are identified based at least on one or more respective geometric fit lines determined with respect to one or more corresponding clusters of points.

14 . One or more processors comprising:

processing circuitry to perform operations comprising:

identifying one or more clusters of points respectively corresponding to individual lane line segments of one or more lane line segments corresponding to a lane line;

identifying the lane line based at least on one or more center lines that respectively run substantially through one or more respective centers of the one or more clusters of points;

generating, based at least on the lane line as identified, a lane element graph that includes lane elements and connections between lane elements; and

causing performance of one or more control operations corresponding to a machine based at least on the lane element graph.

15 . The one or more processors of claim 14 , wherein the generating of the lane element graph includes identifying the lane line as a boundary of at least one lane element of the one or more lane elements.

16 . The one or more processors of claim 14 , wherein the identifying of at least one cluster of points is based at least on relative proximities of points with respect to one another.

17 . The one or more processors of claim 14 , wherein at least one cluster of points is identified from a set of points classified as generally corresponding to lane lines.

18 . The one or more processors of claim 14 , wherein the lane line is identified by at least connecting endpoints corresponding to the one or more center lines.

19 . The one or more processors of claim 14 , wherein at least one center line of the one or more center lines is identified based at least on one or more respective geometric fit lines determined with respect to a corresponding cluster of points.

20 . The one or more processors of claim 19 , wherein the one or more center lines are identified based at least on removal of one or more outlier points corresponding to the one or more geometric fit lines.

Assignments (2)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Mar 16, 2026
From: WHEELER, MARK DAMON; YANG, LIN; PIAO, DONGZHEN; ZHANG, YU
To: DEEPMAP INC.
Reel/Frame 074084/0300 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Mar 16, 2026
From: DEEPMAP INC.
To: NVIDIA CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 075145/0877 →
Continuity (4)
Continuation 15859194 · Dec 29, 2017
Provisional Application 62441080 · Dec 30, 2016
Provisional Application 62441065 · Dec 30, 2016
Related Publication 20210172756A1 · Jun 10, 2021
References Cited (41)
US 6868421B1 · Lin · 2005 [cited by applicant]
US 8527199B1 · Burnette et al. · 2013 [cited by applicant]
US 9170115B2 · Kim · 2015 [cited by applicant]
US 20050137798A1 · Furukawa · 2005 [cited by applicant]
US 20050288836A1 · Glass et al. · 2005 [cited by applicant]
US 20070002040A1 · Oldroyd · 2007 [cited by applicant]
US 20090027651A1 · Pack et al. · 2009 [cited by applicant]
US 20090202107A1 · Wilson · 2009 [cited by applicant]
US 20100157280A1 · Kusevic et al. · 2010 [cited by applicant]
US 20110109618A1 · Nowak et al. · 2011 [cited by applicant]
US 20110202273A1 · Nogtev et al. · 2011 [cited by applicant]
US 20120124113A1 · Zalik et al. · 2012 [cited by applicant]
US 20130011013A1 · Takiguchi et al. · 2013 [cited by applicant]
US 20130253753A1 · Burnette · 2013 [cited by examiner]
US 20150138310A1 · Fan et al. · 2015 [cited by applicant]
US 20150206017A1 · Sakamoto · 2015 [cited by examiner]
US 20150354976A1 · Ferencz · 2015 [cited by examiner]
US 20160217611A1 · Pylvaenaeinen et al. · 2016 [cited by applicant]
CN 101290228A · 2008 [cited by applicant]
CN 102168983A · 2011 [cited by applicant]
CN 202685953U · 2013 [cited by applicant]
CN 104210439A · 2014 [cited by applicant]
CN 105551284A · 2016 [cited by applicant]
CN 105783936A · 2016 [cited by applicant]
EP 1939837A2 · 2008 [cited by applicant]
EP 2927875A2 · 2015 [cited by applicant]
WO 2005038402A1 · 2005 [cited by applicant]
WO 2009045096A1 · 2009 [cited by applicant]
Chen, C. et al., “City-scale Map Creation and Updating Using GPS Collections,” KDD '16, ACM, Aug. 13-17, 2016, 10 pages. [cited by applicant]
Huang, H. et al., “L1-Medical Skeleton of Point Cloud,” ACM Transactions, 2013, 8 pages. [cited by applicant]
Li Y. et al., “Lidar-Incorporated Traffic Sign Detection From Video Log Images of Mobile Mapping System,” The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remove Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, vol. XLI-BI, 2… [cited by applicant]
PCT International Search Report and Written Opinion, PCT Application No. PCT/US2017/069128, May 14, 2018, 19 pages. [cited by applicant]
PCT Invitation to Pay Additional Fees and, Where Applicable, Protest Fee, PCT Application No. PCT/US2017/069128, Mar. 22, 2018, 2 pages. [cited by applicant]
U.S. Appl. No. 15/859,194, filed Dec. 29, 2017. [cited by applicant]
Marius Dupuis E.A., “OpenDRIVE® Format Specification, Rev. 1.4,” VIRES Simulationstechnologie GmbH, vol. VI2014.106, Issue H, pp. 1-103 (Nov. 4, 2015). [cited by applicant]
Heiko G. Seif, et al., “Autonomous Driving in the iCity-HD Maps as a Key Challenge of the Automotive Industry,” Engineering, vol. 2, Issue 2, pp. 159-162 (Jun. 23, 2016). [cited by applicant]
Chinese Office Action dated Feb. 28, 2023 as received in Application No. 201780085909.3. [cited by applicant]
K. Massow, et al., “Deriving HD maps for highly automated driving from vehicular probe data,” 2016 IEEE 19th International Conference on Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITSC), (Nov. 1-4, 2016). [cited by applicant]
CN Office Action dated Jun. 6, 2023 as received in Application No. 201780085909.3. [cited by applicant]
“Review on China's Traffic Engineering Research Progress: 2016,” China Journal of Highway and Transport, vol. 29, Issue 6, pp. 1-161 (Jun. 2016). [cited by applicant]
CN Decision to Grant Dated Jul. 2, 2024 as received in Application No. 201780086388.3. [cited by applicant]