US 11,835,948 B2
Systems and methods for improving vehicle operations using movable sensors
Ryan Trumpore, Pittsburgh, PA (US); Theodore Alden, Pittsburgh, PA (US); Grigoriy Dubrovskiy, Pittsburgh, PA (US); Sachit Kaul, Pittsburgh, PA (US); Manuel Weiss, Aspinwall, PA (US); Sai Sonti, Pittsburgh, PA (US); Nicholas Merritt, Mars, PA (US); Meshari Alhemaidi, Pittsburgh, PA (US); Bing Han, Pittsburgh, PA (US); Priyanka Ashok, Monroeville, PA (US); Katherine Colwell, Pittsburgh, PA (US); Jeong Hwan Jeon, Somerville, MA (US); and Jonathan L. Wieskamp, Pittsburgh, PA (US)
Assigned to Motional AD LLC, Boston, MA (US)
Filed by Motional AD LLC, Boston, MA (US)
Filed on Oct. 30, 2019, as Appl. No. 16/668,475.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/774,685, filed on Dec. 3, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2020/0174469 A1, Jun. 4, 2020
Int. Cl. G05D 1/00 (2006.01); G05D 1/02 (2020.01); G01S 7/00 (2006.01); B64C 39/02 (2023.01); G01S 17/02 (2020.01); G01S 17/86 (2020.01); B64U 10/13 (2023.01)
CPC G05D 1/0033 (2013.01) [B64C 39/022 (2013.01); B64C 39/024 (2013.01); G01S 7/006 (2013.01); G01S 17/86 (2020.01); G05D 1/0094 (2013.01); G05D 1/0248 (2013.01); G05D 1/0278 (2013.01); B64U 10/13 (2023.01); B64U 2201/202 (2023.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A vehicle comprising:
a plurality of sensors, the plurality of sensors comprising at least one movable sensor configured to:
move in at least one direction, and
capture sensor data;
a computer-readable medium comprising computer-executable instructions; and
at least one processor communicatively coupled to the plurality of sensors, including the at least one movable sensor, and configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to:
receive data associated with an environment in which the vehicle is operating;
determine, based on the received data, a context of the vehicle, including identifying that the context is that the vehicle is traversing a highway onramp;
in response to determining that the vehicle is traversing the highway onramp, cause the at least one movable sensor to move in a direction such that the at least one movable sensor is capable of capturing sensor data at locations opposite a direction of traverse of the vehicle;
determine, based on the context of the vehicle, that additional data is to be captured;
determine if the at least one movable sensor is capable of capturing the additional data based on a current mechanical configuration of the at least one movable sensor; and
cause, based on a determination that the at least one movable sensor is unable to capture the additional data in the current mechanical configuration, the at least one movable sensor to move in a direction such that the at least one movable sensor is able to capture the additional data at locations opposite a direction of traverse of the vehicle, including rotating the at least one movable sensor and orienting a field of view of the at least one movable sensor toward a rear of the vehicle, wherein the at least one movable sensor is configurable to stay within predefined heights relative to the vehicle, and wherein the predefined heights include user-selectable configurations of at least one of a minimum height, a maximum height, or a range of heights.