Systems and methods for predicting vehicle trajectory

1. A system for predicting a trajectory of a vehicle, the system comprising:

one or more processors; and

a memory communicably coupled to the one or more processors and storing:

a trajectory-prediction module including instructions that when executed by the one or more processors cause the one or more processors to:

generate a first predicted vehicle trajectory using a first trajectory predictor, wherein the first trajectory predictor generates the first predicted vehicle trajectory based, at least in part, on a plurality of inputs that include past trajectory information and information from one or more vehicle sensors;

generate a second predicted vehicle trajectory using a second trajectory predictor, wherein the second trajectory predictor generates the second predicted vehicle trajectory based, at least in part, on the plurality of inputs; and

generate a confidence score for each of the first and second predicted vehicle trajectories using a confidence estimator that includes a first deep neural network, wherein the confidence scores are computed as a function of time within a predetermined temporal horizon;

a trajectory-output module including instructions that when executed by the one or more processors cause the one or more processors to output the first and second predicted vehicle trajectories and their respective confidence scores; and

a control module including instructions that when executed by the one or more processors cause the one or more processors to control operation of the vehicle based, at least in part, on one or more of the first predicted vehicle trajectory, the second predicted vehicle trajectory, the confidence score for the first predicted vehicle trajectory, and the confidence score for the second predicted vehicle trajectory.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first trajectory predictor is a probabilistic variational trajectory predictor that includes a second deep neural network.

3. The system of claim 2 , wherein the trajectory-prediction module includes instructions to generate the first predicted vehicle trajectory, at least in part, by computing Gaussian mixture model (GMM) parameters for one or more projection coefficients of a basis function.

4. The system of claim 3 , wherein the GMM parameters include at least one of a weight, a mean, and a variance.

5. The system of claim 2 , further comprising:

a model-training module including instructions that when executed by the one or more processors cause the one or more processors to train the first and second deep neural networks.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the past trajectory information includes a sequence of spatial coordinates projected onto one or more coefficients of a basis function.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the information from one or more vehicle sensors includes at least one of image data, Control Area Network (CAN bus) data, Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) data, light detection and ranging (LIDAR) data, radar data, and sonar data.

8. The system of claim 7 , wherein:

the CAN bus data includes steering wheel angle and gas pedal position; and

the IMU data includes linear velocity and angular velocity.

9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the second trajectory predictor is a physics-based model.

10. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first and second trajectory predictors use different computational models to generate the respective first and second predicted vehicle trajectories.

11. The system of claim 1 , wherein the trajectory-output module includes further instructions to output, as a most likely predicted trajectory of the vehicle, the one of the first and second predicted vehicle trajectories whose confidence score corresponds to a higher level of confidence, and the control module includes instructions to:

determine that the most likely predicted trajectory is unsafe; and

intervene automatically in operation of the vehicle to prevent the vehicle from traversing the most likely predicted trajectory.

12. A non-transitory computer-readable medium for predicting a trajectory of a vehicle and storing instructions that when executed by one or more processors cause the one or more processors to:

generate a first predicted vehicle trajectory using a first trajectory predictor, wherein the first trajectory predictor generates the first predicted vehicle trajectory based, at least in part, on a plurality of inputs that include past trajectory information and information from one or more vehicle sensors;

generate a second predicted vehicle trajectory using a second trajectory predictor, wherein the second trajectory predictor generates the second predicted vehicle trajectory based, at least in part, on the plurality of inputs;

generate a confidence score for each of the first and second predicted vehicle trajectories using a confidence estimator that includes a first deep neural network, wherein the confidence scores are computed as a function of time within a predetermined temporal horizon;

output the first and second predicted vehicle trajectories and their respective confidence scores; and

control operation of the vehicle based, at least in part, on one or more of the first predicted vehicle trajectory, the second predicted vehicle trajectory, the confidence score for the first predicted vehicle trajectory, and the confidence score for the second predicted vehicle trajectory.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12 , wherein:

the first trajectory predictor is a probabilistic variational trajectory predictor that includes a second deep neural network;

the second trajectory predictor is a physics-based model; and

the instructions to generate the first predicted vehicle trajectory include instructions to compute Gaussian mixture model (GMM) parameters for one or more projection coefficients of a basis function, the GMM parameters including at least one of a weight, a mean, and a variance.

14. A method of predicting a trajectory of a vehicle, the method comprising:

generating a first predicted vehicle trajectory using a first trajectory predictor, wherein the first trajectory predictor generates the first predicted vehicle trajectory based, at least in part, on a plurality of inputs that include past trajectory information and information from one or more vehicle sensors;

generating a second predicted vehicle trajectory using a second trajectory predictor, wherein the second trajectory predictor generates the second predicted vehicle trajectory based, at least in part, on the plurality of inputs;

generating a confidence score for each of the first and second predicted vehicle trajectories using a confidence estimator that includes a first deep neural network, wherein generating the confidence scores includes computing the confidence scores as a function of time within a predetermined temporal horizon;

outputting the first and second predicted vehicle trajectories and their respective confidence scores; and

controlling operation of the vehicle based, at least in part, on one or more of the first predicted vehicle trajectory, the second predicted vehicle trajectory, the confidence score for the first predicted vehicle trajectory, and the confidence score for the second predicted vehicle trajectory.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the first trajectory predictor generates the first predicted vehicle trajectory in accordance with a probabilistic variational model that includes a second deep neural network.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein generating the first predicted vehicle trajectory includes computing Gaussian mixture model (GMM) parameters for one or more projection coefficients of a basis function.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the GMM parameters include at least one of a weight, a mean, and a variance.

18. The method of claim 15 , further comprising training the first and second deep neural networks.

19. The method of claim 14 , wherein the first and second trajectory predictors generate the respective first and second predicted vehicle trajectories in accordance with different computational models.

20. The method of claim 14 , further comprising:

outputting a most likely predicted trajectory of the vehicle by selecting the one of the first and second predicted vehicle trajectories whose confidence score corresponds to a higher level of confidence;

determining that the most likely predicted trajectory is unsafe; and

automatically intervening in operation of the vehicle to prevent the vehicle from traversing the most likely predicted trajectory.