US 12,005,926 B2
Traffic light viewsheds
David Yonchar Margines, Sunnyvale, CA (US)
Assigned to Waymo LLC, Mountain View, CA (US)
Filed by Waymo LLC, Mountain View, CA (US)
Filed on Nov. 29, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/536,909.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/132,978, filed on Dec. 31, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2022/0204032 A1, Jun. 30, 2022
Int. Cl. B60W 60/00 (2020.01); B60W 30/18 (2012.01); B60W 40/04 (2006.01); G06V 20/58 (2022.01)
CPC B60W 60/0011 (2020.02) [B60W 30/18154 (2013.01); B60W 40/04 (2013.01); G06V 20/584 (2022.01)] 18 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method comprising:
obtaining, by an on-board computer system of vehicle, viewshed data comprising a plurality of viewsheds for a plurality of respective traffic lights, each viewshed being generated from sensor detections of traffic lights by one or more vehicles, wherein each viewshed defines a three-dimensional volume for a respective traffic light;
receiving an indication of a candidate driving plan based on input from a traffic light detection of a particular traffic light, wherein the particular traffic light is associated with a particular viewshed of the plurality of viewsheds;
obtaining a current pose of the vehicle representing a location of the vehicle;
computing a sensor position of a sensor relative to the pose of the vehicle;
and
generating, by the on-board computer system of the vehicle, a modified driving plan that causes the vehicle to move such that the sensor position enters the three-dimensional volume defined by the particular viewshed for the particular traffic light; and
executing the modified driving plan and continuing to execute the modified driving plan while the sensor position of the vehicle is within the three-dimensional volume defined by the particular viewshed for the particular traffic light.