US 12,230,140 B2
Actively modifying a field of view of an autonomous vehicle in view of constraints
David I. Ferguson, San Francisco, CA (US); and Jiajun Zhu, Sunnyvale, CA (US)
Assigned to Waymo LLC, Mountain View, CA (US)
Filed by Waymo LLC, Mountain View, CA (US)
Filed on Oct. 19, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/490,520.
Application 18/490,520 is a continuation of application No. 18/049,134, filed on Oct. 24, 2022, granted, now 11,829,152.
Application 18/049,134 is a continuation of application No. 16/588,746, filed on Sep. 30, 2019, granted, now 11,507,102, issued on Nov. 22, 2022.
Application 16/588,746 is a continuation of application No. 15/675,857, filed on Aug. 14, 2017, granted, now 10,466,712, issued on Nov. 5, 2019.
Application 15/675,857 is a continuation of application No. 13/423,143, filed on Mar. 16, 2012, granted, now 9,760,092, issued on Sep. 12, 2017.
Prior Publication US 2024/0045438 A1, Feb. 8, 2024
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. G08G 1/16 (2006.01); G05D 1/00 (2024.01); G05D 1/24 (2024.01); G05D 1/243 (2024.01); G05D 1/43 (2024.01); G06V 20/56 (2022.01)
CPC G08G 1/167 (2013.01) [G05D 1/0214 (2013.01); G05D 1/0231 (2013.01); G05D 1/24 (2024.01); G05D 1/2437 (2024.01); G05D 1/43 (2024.01); G06V 20/56 (2022.01); B60R 2300/301 (2013.01); B60R 2300/302 (2013.01); B60R 2300/307 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method comprising:
causing a sensor in an autonomous vehicle to sense information about an environment in a first field of view, wherein a portion of the environment is obscured in the first field of view;
determining a desired field of view in which the portion of the environment is not obscured;
based on the desired field of view, determining a second field of view in which the portion of the environment is less obscured than in the first field of view and more obscured than in the desired field of view; and
modifying the sensor's field of view, from the first field of view to the second field of view, wherein the second field of view is an improved field of view of the sensor.