US 12,275,404 B2
Behaviors that reduce demand on autonomous follower vehicles
Michael David George, Pittsburgh, PA (US); Tekin Alp Meriçli, Pittsburgh, PA (US); Cetin Alp Meriçli, Pittsburgh, PA (US); Venkataramanan David Rajagopalan, Sewickley, PA (US); and Alonzo James Kelly, Edgeworth, PA (US)
Assigned to Stack AV Co., Mount Pleasant, PA (US)
Filed by Stack AV Co., Mount Pleasant, PA (US)
Filed on Oct. 15, 2020, as Appl. No. 17/071,105.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/915,795, filed on Oct. 16, 2019.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/915,808, filed on Oct. 16, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2021/0129843 A1, May 6, 2021
Int. Cl. B60W 30/165 (2020.01); B60W 30/12 (2020.01); B60W 30/18 (2012.01)
CPC B60W 30/165 (2013.01) [B60W 30/12 (2013.01); B60W 30/18163 (2013.01); B60W 2420/403 (2013.01); B60W 2552/53 (2020.02); B60W 2554/4041 (2020.02); B60W 2554/4048 (2020.02); B60W 2554/801 (2020.02); B60W 2554/802 (2020.02)] 30 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A system for operating a plurality of vehicles in a platoon, the vehicles including a leader and a follower, the system comprising one or more processors, memory, and one or more programs stored in the memory for execution by the one or more processors, the one or more programs including instructions that when executed by the one or more processors cause the system to:
at the follower,
detect a series of positions of the leader along a path (p1, p2, . . . , pn);
control longitudinal positions of the follower such that the follower arrives at the same corresponding longitudinal positions along the path as the leader;
detect attributes of a travel lane currently occupied by the follower;
further control a lateral position of the follower with respect to the travel lane using the detected travel lane attributes without regard to any detected lateral position of the leader along the path unless the follower either is informed of, or detects a condition that, the leader is deviating from its respective travel lane, and if so, then,
in accordance with determining the leader is deviating from its respective travel lane, position, by the follower, itself directly behind the leader such that the follower follows the same path as the leader, including the same lateral position that the leader followed, until the condition is no longer present.