US 11,713,978 B2
Map creation and localization for autonomous driving applications
Amir Akbarzadeh, San Jose, CA (US); David Nister, Bellevue, WA (US); Ruchi Bhargava, Redmond, WA (US); Birgit Henke, Seattle, WA (US); Ivana Stojanovic, Berkeley, CA (US); and Yu Sheng, San Diego, CA (US)
Assigned to NVIDIA Corporation, Santa Clara, CA (US)
Filed by NVIDIA Corporation, Santa Clara, CA (US)
Filed on Aug. 31, 2020, as Appl. No. 17/8,100.
Application 17/008,100 is a continuation of application No. 17/007,873, filed on Aug. 31, 2020.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/894,727, filed on Aug. 31, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2021/0063199 A1, Mar. 4, 2021
Int. Cl. G01C 21/00 (2006.01); G06N 3/02 (2006.01); G01C 21/16 (2006.01)
CPC G01C 21/3841 (2020.08) [G01C 21/1652 (2020.08); G01C 21/3811 (2020.08); G01C 21/3867 (2020.08); G01C 21/3878 (2020.08); G01C 21/3896 (2020.08); G06N 3/02 (2013.01)] 31 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method comprising:
computing, using one or more neural networks (NNs) and based at least on sensor data generated using one or more sensors of a vehicle, one or more outputs indicative of one or more locations in two-dimensional (2D) image space corresponding to one or more detected landmarks;
generating a distance function representation of the one or more detected landmarks based at least on the one or more locations;
generating a cost space by, for at least two poses of a plurality of poses of the vehicle represented in the cost space:
projecting one or more map landmarks corresponding to a map into the 2D image space to generate one or more projected map landmarks;
comparing the one or more projected map landmarks to the distance function representation;
computing a cost based at least on the comparing; and
updating a point of the cost space corresponding to an individual pose of the at least two poses based at least on the cost;
localizing the vehicle to the map based at least on the cost space; and
causing, at least in part and based at least on the localizing of the vehicle to the map, the vehicle to navigate along a trajectory.