DETERMINATION OF PATH TO VEHICLE STOP LOCATION IN A CLUTTERED ENVIRONMENT

1 . A method of determining a path to a stopping location for an autonomous vehicle, the method comprising:

by a processor of an autonomous vehicle (AV), upon receipt of a service request:

determining a desired stop location (DSL) and state information that is associated with the service request;

using the DSL and the state information to define a pickup/drop-off interval that comprises an area of a road that includes the DSL;

identifying a path to the DSL, wherein the path traverses at least part of the pickup/drop-off interval;

causing a motion control system of the AV to move the AV along the path toward the pickup/drop-off interval;

upon approaching or reaching the pickup/drop-off interval, using one or more sensors of a perception system of the AV to determine whether an object is occluding the DSL; and

either:

upon determining that no object is occluding the DSL, causing the motion control system of the AV to move the AV along the path toward the DSL, or

upon determining that an object is occluding the DSL, identifying an alternate stop location (ASL) that is a location within the pickup/drop-off interval that is not occluded and which satisfies one or more permissible stopping location criteria, and causing the motion control system of the AV to move the AV toward the ASL.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein identifying the ASL within the pickup/drop-off interval comprises:

identifying a plurality of candidate ASLs;

for each of the candidate ASLs, determining a cost to the AV for stopping at the ASL; and

selecting, from the candidate ASLs, an ASL having the lowest determined cost.

3 . The method of claim 2 wherein, for each of the candidate ASLs, determining the cost to the AV for stopping at the ASL comprises:

determining a distance between the ASL and the DSL;

assigning a cost factor to the distance, wherein the cost factor increases with distance from the DSL; and

determining the cost as a function of the cost factor.

4 . The method of claim 2 wherein, for each of the candidate ASLs, determining the cost to the AV for stopping at the ASL comprises:

determining a distance between the ASL and a starting position of the pickup/drop-off interval;

assigning a cost factor to the distance, wherein the cost factor increases with distance from the starting position; and

determining the cost as a function of the cost factor.

5 . The method of claim 2 wherein, for each of the candidate ASLs, determining the cost to the AV for stopping at the ASL comprises:

detecting, via the one or more sensors of the AV, a plurality of objects in the pickup/drop-off interval;

identifying a gap between each successive pair of objects in the pickup/drop-off interval;

for each ASL that is positioned in one of the gaps, determining a cost factor as a function of size of the gap, wherein the cost factor decreases with size of the gap; and

determining the cost as a function of the cost factor.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein using the DSL and the state information to define the pickup/drop-off interval comprises:

in response to the service request including receiving a package that exceeds a threshold weight or picking up a passenger with limited mobility, requiring that the ASL not extend beyond a threshold distance from the DSL.

7 . The method of claim 1 further comprising, before causing the motion control system of the AV to move the AV into the DSL or the ASL:

determining whether moving to the DSL or the ASL would impose greater than a threshold cost on another actor that is proximate to the AV; and

in response to determining that moving to the DSL or the ASL would impose greater than the threshold cost on the other actor:

selecting a different ASL in the pickup/drop-off interval that will not impose greater than the threshold cost on the other actor, and

causing the motion control system of the AV to move the AV into the different ASL.

8 . The method of claim 1 further comprising, before moving the AV into the DSL or ASL:

in response to determining that an obstacle that was not previously present has entered the DSL or the ASL:

selecting a different ASL in the pickup/drop-off interval that does not include an obstacle, and

causing the motion control system of the AV to move the AV into the different ASL.

9 . A vehicle, comprising:

a perception system comprising a plurality of sensors;

a motion control system; and

a motion planning system comprising a processor and a memory containing programming instructions that are configured to cause the processor to:

determine a desired stop location (DSL) and state information that is associated with a service request,

use the DSL and the state information to define a pickup/drop-off interval that comprises an area of a road that includes the DSL,

identify a path to the DSL, wherein the path traverses at least part of the pickup/drop-off interval,

cause the motion control system to move the vehicle along the path toward the pickup/drop-off interval;

upon approaching or reaching the pickup/drop-off interval, use one or more sensors of the perception system to determine whether an object is occluding the DSL, and

either:

upon determining that no object is occluding the DSL, cause the motion control system to move the vehicle along the path toward the DSL; or

upon determining that an object is occluding the DSL, identify an alternate stop location (ASL) that is a location within the pickup/drop-off interval that is not occluded and which satisfies one or more permissible stopping location criteria, and cause the motion control system to move the vehicle toward the ASL.

10 . The vehicle of claim 9 , wherein the instructions to identify the ASL within the pickup/drop-off interval comprise instructions to:

identify a plurality of candidate ASLs;

for each of the candidate ASLs, determine a cost to the vehicle for stopping at the ASL; and

select, from the candidate ASLs, an ASL having the lowest determined cost.

11 . The vehicle of claim 10 , wherein the instructions to determine the cost to the vehicle for stopping at the ASL comprise instructions to, for each of the candidate ASLs:

determine a distance between the ASL and the DSL;

assign a cost factor to the distance, wherein the cost factor increases with distance from the DSL; and

determine the cost as a function of the cost factor.

12 . The vehicle of claim 10 wherein the instructions to determine the cost to the vehicle for stopping at the ASL comprise instructions to, for each of the candidate ASLs:

determine a distance between the ASL and a starting position of the pickup/drop-off interval;

assign a cost factor to the distance, wherein the cost factor increases with distance from the starting position; and

determine the cost as a function of the cost factor.

13 . The vehicle of claim 10 wherein the instructions to determine the cost to the vehicle for stopping at the ASL comprise instructions to, for each of the candidate ASLs:

detect, via the perception system, a plurality of objects in the pickup/drop-off interval;

identify a gap between each successive pair of objects in the pickup/drop-off interval;

for each ASL that is positioned in one of the gaps, determine a cost factor as a function of size of the gap, wherein the cost factor decreases with size of the gap; and

determine the cost as a function of the cost factor.

14 . The vehicle of claim 10 , wherein the instructions to use the DSL and the state information to define the pickup/drop-off interval comprise instructions to:

in response to the service request including receiving a package that exceeds a threshold weight or picking up a passenger with limited mobility, require that the ASL not extend beyond a threshold distance from the DSL.

15 . The vehicle of claim 9 further comprising additional instructions to, before causing the motion control system to move the vehicle into the DSL or the ASL:

determine whether moving to the DSL or the ASL would impose greater than a threshold cost on another actor that is proximate to the vehicle; and

in response to determining that moving to the DSL or the ASL would impose greater than the threshold cost on the other actor:

select a different ASL in the pickup/drop-off interval that will not impose greater than the threshold cost on the other actor, and

cause the motion control system to move the vehicle into the different ASL.

16 . The vehicle of claim 9 further comprising additional instructions to, before causing the motion control system to move the vehicle into the DSL or the ASL:

in response to determining that an obstacle that was not previously present has entered the DSL or the ASL:

select a different ASL in the pickup/drop-off interval that does not include an obstacle, and

cause the motion control system to move the vehicle into the different ASL.

17 . A computer program product for determining a path to a stopping location for an autonomous vehicle (AV), the computer program product comprising instructions that are stored on a memory device and configured to cause an on-board processor of the AV to:

determine a desired stop location (DSL) and state information that is associated with a service request;

use the DSL and the state information to define a pickup/drop-off interval that comprises an area of a road that includes the DSL;

identify a path to the DSL, wherein the path traverses at least part of the pickup/drop-off interval;

cause a motion control system of the AV to move the AV along the path toward the pickup/drop-off interval;

upon approaching or reaching the pickup/drop-off interval, use a perception system of the vehicle to determine whether an object is occluding the DSL; and

either:

upon determining that no object is occluding the DSL, cause the motion control system to move the AV along the path toward the DSL, or

upon determining that an object is occluding the DSL, identify an alternate stop location (ASL) that is a location within the pickup/drop-off interval that is not occluded and which satisfies one or more permissible stopping location criteria, and cause the motion control system to move the AV toward the ASL.

18 . The computer program product of claim 17 , wherein the instructions to identify the ASL within the pickup/drop-off interval comprise instructions to:

identify a plurality of candidate ASLs;

for each of the candidate ASLs, determine a cost to the vehicle for stopping at the ASL by one or more of the following:

determining a distance between the ASL and the DSL, assigning a cost factor that increases with distance from the DSL, and determining the cost as a function of the cost factor,

determining a distance between the ASL and a starting position of the pickup/drop-off interval, assigning a cost factor that increases with distance from the starting position, and determining the cost as a function of the cost factor, or

detecting a plurality of objects in the pickup/drop-off interval, identifying a gap between each successive pair of objects in the pickup/drop-off interval, and for each ASL that is positioned in one of the gaps, determining a cost factor as a function of size of the gap, wherein the cost factor decreases with size of the gap; and

select, from the candidate ASLs, an ASL having the lowest determined cost.

19 . The computer program product of claim 17 , wherein the instructions to use the DSL and the state information to define the pickup/drop-off interval comprise instructions to:

in response to the service request including receiving a package that exceeds a threshold weight or picking up a passenger with limited mobility, require that the ASL not extend beyond a threshold distance from the DSL.

20 . The computer program product of claim 17 further comprising additional instructions to, before causing the motion control system to move the AV into the DSL or the ASL:

determine whether moving to the DSL or the ASL would impose greater than a threshold cost on another actor that is proximate to the vehicle; and

in response to determining that moving to the DSL or the ASL would impose greater than the threshold cost on the other actor:

select a different ASL in the pickup/drop-off interval that will not impose greater than the threshold cost on the other actor, and

cause the motion control system to move the vehicle into the different ASL.

21 . The computer program product of claim 17 further comprising additional instructions to, before causing the motion control system to move the vehicle into the DSL or the ASL:

in response to determining that an obstacle that was not previously present has entered the DSL or the ASL:

select a different ASL in the pickup/drop-off interval that does not include an obstacle, and

cause the motion control system to move the vehicle into the different ASL.