US 12,276,519 B1
Creation of sunlight occupancy grid map for electric vehicles
Anne Kickton, Santa Clara, CA (US); Yooseong Kim, Santa Clara, CA (US); Christopher Monaco, Sunnyvale, CA (US); and Manuel Schier, Hayward, CA (US)
Assigned to Mercedes-Benz Group AG, Stuttgart (DE)
Filed by Mercedes-Benz Group AG, Stuttgart (DE)
Filed on Jan. 31, 2024, as Appl. No. 18/428,021.
Int. Cl. G01C 21/00 (2006.01); G06V 10/60 (2022.01); G06V 20/56 (2022.01)
CPC G01C 21/3811 (2020.08) [G01C 21/3841 (2020.08); G06V 10/60 (2022.01); G06V 20/56 (2022.01)] 18 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A computing system comprising:
a control circuit comprising one or more processors configured to perform operations to:
obtain sensor data from a plurality of vehicles, the sensor data comprising respective sensor data acquired by respective vehicles of the plurality of vehicles, wherein the respective sensor data is indicative of: (i) sensor measurement data acquired by a perception sensor of the respective vehicles, (ii) a time the sensor measurement data was acquired, and (iii) a pose of the respective vehicles at the time the sensor measurement data was acquired, and wherein the sensor data comprises respective metadata indicative of: (i) sensor position of the perception sensor on the respective vehicles, (ii) vehicle type of the respective vehicles, and (iii) sensor modality of the perception sensor;
based on the sensor data, determine a plurality of solar irradiance levels for a plurality of locations within a geographic area, wherein determining the plurality of solar irradiance levels comprises:
processing the sensor data to determine one or more sunlit regions and associated infrared measurements depicted in the sensor data; and
analyzing the one or more sunlit regions to determine whether the infrared measurements are consistent with sunlight;
generate a map layer based on the plurality of solar irradiance levels, the map layer being indicative of a respective solar irradiance level of respective sunlit regions of the one or more sunlit regions within the geographic area; and
output the map layer to the plurality of vehicles or other vehicles that are in addition to the plurality of vehicles, wherein the plurality of vehicles or the other vehicles update map data by integrating the map layer to facilitate an estimation of solar charging potential for the plurality of locations within the geographic area, and wherein at least one vehicle of the plurality of vehicles or the other vehicles displays, on a user interface display, the updated map data indicating the estimated solar charging potential for the plurality of locations within the geographic area.