Granted Patent B2

US 12,515,713 · App. 17/814,503 · Granted Jan 6, 2026

Inventors: Scott Drew Pendleton (Singapore, SG); Hans Andersen (Singapore, SG); Juraj Kabzan (Boston, MA); Titus Chua (Singapore, SG)

Assignee: Motional AD LLC

B60W60/0027B60W40/04B60W60/0011B60W60/0013B60W60/0015

Abstract

Claims (32)

1 . A method for operating an autonomous vehicle, the method comprising:

obtaining, by at least one processor, sensor data associated with an environment in which an autonomous vehicle is operating;

determining, by the at least one processor, a set of agents in the environment based on the sensor data;

determining, by the at least one processor, a plurality of corridors available to the autonomous vehicle based on different homotopy options for the autonomous vehicle, wherein each of the corridors comprises a plurality of sets of navigation options for the autonomous vehicle corresponding to different paths within the corridor, wherein each path within the corridor is associated with a different trajectory and wherein at least one corridor is associated with at least one agent of the set of agents;

selecting, by the at least one processor, a corridor from the plurality of corridors based at least in part on a first set or priorities;

selecting, by the at least one processor, a set of navigation options from the plurality of sets of navigation options based on a second set of priorities, wherein the set of navigation options corresponds to a path within the selected corridor and

controlling the autonomous vehicle based on the selected set of navigation options corresponding to the path.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein selecting by the at least one processor the set of navigation options comprises selecting a navigation option from each set of navigation options of the plurality of sets of navigation options.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein determining by the at least one processor, the plurality of corridors comprises determining at least one corridor that corresponds to at least one agent of the set of agents.

4 . The method of any of claim 1 , wherein determining a first set of navigation options of the plurality of sets of navigation options is dependent on selecting a particular navigation option from a second set of navigation options of the plurality of sets of navigation options.

5 . The method of any of claim 1 , further comprising scoring the corridor based on predetermined criteria corresponding to the first set of priorities.

6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein selecting by the at least one processor the corridor from the plurality of corridors comprises selecting a first plurality of navigation options, and

wherein the method further comprises:

determining at least one additional set of navigation options, wherein the at least one additional set of navigation options comprises a first additional navigation option and a second additional navigation option;

selecting a second set of navigation options from the plurality of sets of navigation options and the at least one additional set of navigation options; and

generating a second corridor for the autonomous vehicle based on the second set of navigation options.

7 . The method of claim 6 , further comprising:

scoring the second corridor based on the predetermined criteria;

determining the path using one of the corridor or the second corridor based on the scoring of the corridor and the scoring of the second corridor; and

causing the autonomous vehicle to move along the determined path.

8 . The method of any of claim 1 , further comprising determining, by the at least one processor, at least one map element, wherein at least one navigation option is associated with at least one map element.

9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein determining, by the at least one processor, at least one map element comprises determining, by the at least one processor, a lane of a road.

10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first set of priorities comprises at least one of safety priorities, regulatory priorities, or comfort priorities.

11 . The method of any of any of claim 1 , wherein selecting the corridor from the plurality of corridors comprises selecting the corridor associated with a prediction of an interaction between the autonomous vehicle and at least one agent of the set of agents.

12 . The method of any of any of claim 1 , wherein selecting the set of navigation options comprises comparing a lateral shift rate of the corridor to a turning capability of the autonomous vehicle.

13 . The method of any of any of claim 1 , further comprising transmitting the selected navigation options to a control system which transmits the selected navigation options to a drive-by-wire system.

14 . The method of any of any of claim 1 , further comprising determining at least one vehicle trajectory, wherein, the vehicle trajectory is a subspace of the corridor.

15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein determining the at least one vehicle trajectory comprises determining a plurality of vehicle trajectories, and wherein the method further comprises comparing and scoring the plurality of vehicle trajectories and controlling the autonomous vehicle based on the vehicle trajectories.

16 . The method of claim 15 , further comprising selecting the vehicle trajectory from the plurality of vehicle trajectories based on predetermined priorities.

17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein selecting the vehicle trajectory based on predetermined priorities comprises selecting a vehicle trajectory associated with at least one of safety priorities, regulatory priorities, and comfort priorities.

18 . The method of any of any of claim 1 , further comprising, forgoing selection of a navigation option in a set of navigation options.

19 . The method of claim 18 , further comprising selecting an alternative navigation option from the set of navigation options of the plurality of sets of navigation options of the corridor that is not associated with the set of navigation options which includes the navigation option.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (45)