Systems and methods of autonomously controlling vehicle lane change maneuver

1. A method of controlling a vehicle, the method comprising:

receiving, by a vehicle control system of the vehicle, data associated with one or more vehicles;

determining, by the vehicle control system, a range of lane change initiation times based on the data associated with the one or more vehicles;

for a plurality of lane change initiation times in the range of lane change initiation times, determining, by the vehicle control system, a set of reachable states, the set of reachable states comprising a plurality of reachable states;

for two or more reachable states of the plurality of reachable states, computing, by the vehicle control system, a corresponding ensuing trajectory;

comparing, by the vehicle control system, each of the computed corresponding ensuing trajectories corresponding to the two or more reachable states; and

based on the comparison of each of the computed corresponding ensuing trajectories, determining, by the vehicle control system, an optimal lane change maneuver from a first lane to a second lane to be executed by the vehicle; and

causing, by the vehicle control system, the vehicle to perform the optimal lane change maneuver.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein each reachable state of the plurality of reachable states comprises a distance travelled by the vehicle and a velocity of the vehicle.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein causing the vehicle to perform the optimal lane change maneuver comprises repositioning the vehicle in the first lane to a reachable state of the two or more reachable states used to compute the optimal lane change maneuver.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein causing the vehicle to perform the optimal lane change maneuver further comprises computing a speed profile to reach the reachable state used to compute the optimal lane change maneuver.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the speed profile comprises a bang-bang profile.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the bang-bang profile comprises a minimum acceleration rate and a maximum acceleration rate.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the optimal lane change maneuver comprises determining an optimal following distance for a leading vehicle in the first lane.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the optimal lane change maneuver comprises determining an optimal following distance for a leading vehicle in the second lane.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the optimal lane change maneuver comprises determining an optimal following distance for a first leading vehicle in the first lane and a second leading vehicle in the second lane.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the set of reachable states is limited by one or more of a position of a leading vehicle and a speed limit.

11. A vehicle control system for controlling a vehicle, the vehicle control system comprising:

a memory; and

a processor in communication with the memory, the processor operable to:

receive data associated with one or more vehicles;

determine a range of lane change initiation times based on the data associated with the one or more vehicles;

for a plurality of lane change initiation times in the range of lane change initiation times, determine a set of reachable states, the set of reachable states comprising a plurality of reachable states;

for two or more reachable states of the plurality of reachable states, compute a corresponding ensuing trajectory;

compare each of the computed corresponding ensuing trajectories corresponding to the two or more reachable states;

based on the comparison of each of the computed corresponding ensuing trajectories, determine an optimal lane change maneuver from a first lane to a second lane; and

cause the vehicle to perform the optimal lane change maneuver from a first lane to a second lane.

12. The vehicle control system of claim 11 , wherein each reachable state of the plurality of reachable states comprises a distance travelled by the vehicle and a velocity of the vehicle.

13. The vehicle control system of claim 11 , wherein causing the vehicle to perform the optimal lane change maneuver comprises repositioning the vehicle in the first lane to a reachable state of the two or more reachable states used to compute the optimal lane change maneuver.

14. The vehicle control system of claim 13 , wherein causing the vehicle to perform the optimal lane change maneuver further comprises computing a speed profile to reach the reachable state used to compute the optimal lane change maneuver.

15. The vehicle control system of claim 14 , wherein the speed profile comprises a bang-bang profile.

16. The vehicle control system of claim 15 , wherein the bang-bang profile comprises a minimum acceleration rate and a maximum acceleration rate.

17. The vehicle control system of claim 11 , wherein determining the optimal lane change maneuver comprises determining an optimal following distance for a leading vehicle in the first lane.

18. The vehicle control system of claim 11 , wherein determining the optimal lane change maneuver comprises determining an optimal following distance for a leading vehicle in the second lane.

19. The vehicle control system of claim 11 , wherein determining the optimal lane change maneuver comprises determining an optimal following distance for a first leading vehicle in the first lane and a second leading vehicle in the second lane.

20. A computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions that cause a processor of a vehicle control system of a vehicle to execute a method, the method comprising:

receiving, by the vehicle control system, data associated with one or more vehicles;

determining, by the vehicle control system, a range of lane change initiation times based on the data associated with the one or more vehicles;

for a plurality of lane change initiation times in the range of lane change initiation times, determining, by the vehicle control system, a set of reachable states, the set of reachable states comprising a plurality of reachable states;

for one or more reachable states of the plurality of reachable states, computing, by the vehicle control system, a corresponding ensuing trajectory;

comparing, by the vehicle control system, each of the computed corresponding ensuing trajectories;

based on the comparison of each of the computed corresponding ensuing trajectories, determining, by the vehicle control system, an optimal lane change maneuver; and

executing, by the vehicle control system, the optimal lane change maneuver by controlling the vehicle from a first lane to a second lane.