Systems and methods for vehicle lane estimation

1. A method for determining a scene representation for a vehicle, the method comprising:

acquiring data from one or more sensors of the vehicle;

detecting, using processing circuitry, one or more objects in a surrounding of the vehicle based on the acquired data;

expanding a line from a center of the vehicle in a direction of travel or a direction opposite to the direction of travel;

expanding the line by a fixed amount in a lateral direction to obtain an expanded lane;

determining whether the expanded lane intersects with an object of the detected one or more objects;

determining that the object is in a vehicle lane of travel in response to determining that the expanded lane intersects with the object

determining a gap and any cut-ins between the object and the vehicle; and

rendering a scene representation including the gap and any cut-ins between the object and the vehicle.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the scene representation is a dynamic scene representation.

3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising continuously updating a trajectory associated with the object and the vehicle.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the trajectory is a planned travel path generated by control circuitry, further comprising obtaining the planned travel path from the control circuitry.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

expanding a line from a center of the vehicle in a direction of travel of the vehicle or a direction opposite to the direction of travel;

determining whether the expanded line intersects with the object; and

determining that the object is in the vehicle lane of travel in response to determining that the expanded line intersects with the object.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the object includes a point, further comprising determining one or more dimensions associated with the object.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the one or more sensors include at least one sensor configured to generate data indicative of a vehicle size or a lane size; and wherein the method further comprises determining a width of the object based on the data from the at least one sensor.

8. The method of claim 6 , wherein the object is in the lane of travel when the expanded line intersects with a target area of the object.

9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:

determining a time period corresponding to the expanded line intersecting with the target area; and

determining that the object is in the vehicle lane of travel when the time period exceeds a predetermined threshold.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the expansion of the line in the lateral direction is equal to a width of the vehicle or a factor of the width.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the object is in the lane of travel when at least a predetermined area of the object overlaps with the expanded lane.

12. The method of claim 11 , further comprising adjusting the predetermined area based on false positive and false negative determinations.

13. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:

determining a time period corresponding to the object being in the expanded lane; and

determining that the object is in the expanded lane when the time period exceeds a predetermined threshold.

14. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining a gap factor between the vehicle and the object; and

adjusting a speed of the vehicle based on the gap factor.

15. The method of claim 14 , further comprising monitoring a rate of change in the gap factor.

16. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining whether the object is in an adjacent lane relative to the vehicle; and

tracking the object as a potential cut-in when the object is in the adjacent lane.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining whether the object is in the vehicle lane of travel is a function of a filtered position of the object.

18. A system for determining a scene representation for a vehicle, the system comprising:

processing circuitry configured to

acquire data from one or more sensors of the vehicle,

detect one or more objects in a surrounding of the vehicle based on the acquired data,

expand a line from a center of the vehicle in a direction of travel or a direction opposite to the direction of travel,

expand the line by a fixed amount in a lateral direction to obtain an expanded lane,

determine whether the expanded lane intersects with an object of the detected one or more objects,

determine that the object is in a vehicle lane of travel in response to determining that the expanded lane intersects with the object,

determine a gap and any cut-ins between the object and the vehicle, and

render a scene representation including the gap and any cut-ins between the object and the vehicle.

19. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing computer-readable instructions therein which when executed by a computer cause the computer to perform a method for determining a scene representation for a vehicle, the method comprising:

acquiring data from one or more sensors of the vehicle;

detecting one or more objects in a surrounding of the vehicle based on the acquired data;

expanding a line from a center of the vehicle in a direction of travel or a direction opposite to the direction of travel;

expanding the line by a fixed amount in a lateral direction to obtain an expanded lane;

determining whether the expanded lane intersects with an object of the detected one or more objects;

determining that the object is in a vehicle lane of travel in response to determining that the expanded lane intersects with the object;

determining a gap and any cut-ins between the object and the vehicle; and

rendering a scene representation including the gap and any cut-ins between the object and the vehicle.