System and method to help determine intent of third-party autonomous vehicle

1. A method for determining an intent of a third-party vehicle by a vehicle, the method comprising:

capturing sensor data related to the third-party vehicle;

identifying the third-party vehicle;

identifying a behavior signature associated with the third-party vehicle;

analyzing the captured sensor data to determine behaviors of the third-party vehicle; and

using the behavior signature associated with the third-party vehicle to determine if the behaviors of the third-party vehicle indicate a specific intent of the third-party vehicle.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the behavior signature is created by:

identifying behaviors of the third-party vehicle that precede an intent of the third-party vehicle; and

associating the behaviors with the intent of the third-party vehicle to create a behavior signature for the third-party vehicle.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the behaviors associated with the intent are not perceivable by a person.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the third-party vehicle is identified using a visual image from camera sensors.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the third-party vehicle is identified using wireless signals originating from the third-party vehicle.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the behavior signature is stored in a network element.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the behavior signature is communicated to the vehicle after the third-party vehicle is identified by the vehicle.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the third-party vehicle is an autonomous vehicle.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the behavior signature of the third-party vehicle is unique to the third-party vehicle.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the vehicle is not in direct communication with the third-party vehicle.

11. A vehicle for determining an intent of a third-party autonomous vehicle, comprising:

a sensor suite including external vehicle sensors to sense an environment and generate sensor data, wherein the environment includes the third-party autonomous vehicle; and

a perception system to:

determine a specific identity of the third-party autonomous vehicle;

determine a behavior of the third-party autonomous vehicle; and

predict an action by the third-party autonomous vehicle based on the specific identity of the third-party autonomous vehicle and the determined behavior of the third-party autonomous vehicle.

12. The vehicle of claim 11 , further comprising:

a third-party autonomous vehicle behavior signature, wherein the third-party autonomous vehicle behavior signature is associated with the third-party autonomous vehicle and is used to predict the action by the third-party autonomous vehicle based on the specific identity of the third-party autonomous vehicle and the determined behavior of the third-party autonomous vehicle.

13. The vehicle of claim 12 , wherein the third-party autonomous vehicle behavior signature was created by previously identifying behaviors of the third-party autonomous vehicle and associating the behaviors with an intent of the third-party autonomous vehicle.

14. The vehicle of claim 11 , wherein the determined behavior of the third-party autonomous vehicle is unique to the third-party autonomous vehicle.

15. The vehicle of claim 11 , wherein the vehicle is not in direct communication with the third-party autonomous vehicle.

16. The vehicle of claim 11 , wherein the vehicle is an autonomous vehicle.

17. A method comprising:

training a system to identify a specific third-party autonomous vehicle using data collected by a sensor suite on an autonomous vehicle;

training the system to recognize one or more behaviors of the specific third-party autonomous vehicle that precede a specific action by the specific third-party autonomous vehicle; and

create a behavior signature for the specific third-party autonomous vehicle, wherein the behavior signature includes features of the specific third-party autonomous vehicle that can be used to recognize the specific third-party autonomous vehicle, the recognized one or more behaviors, and the specific action.

18. The method of claim 17 , further comprising:

communicating the behavior signature to the autonomous vehicle;

identifying the specific third-party autonomous vehicle using data collected by a sensor suite on an autonomous vehicle;

identifying when the specific third-party autonomous vehicle exhibits the one or more behaviors; and

determining an intent of the specific third-party autonomous vehicle to perform the specific action in the behavior signature that is associated with the one or more behaviors.

19. The method of claim 17 , wherein the one or more behaviors exhibited by the third-party autonomous vehicle are not perceivable by a person.

20. The method of claim 17 , wherein the one or more behaviors of the specific third-party autonomous vehicle are unique to the third-party autonomous vehicle.