US 12,422,861 B2
Methods and system for predicting trajectories of uncertain road users by semantic segmentation of drivable area boundaries
Gregory Boyd Nichols, Franklin Park, PA (US)
Assigned to Volkswagen Group of America Investments, LLC, Reston, VA (US)
Filed by Volkswagen Group of America Investments, LLC, Reston, VA (US)
Filed on Sep. 14, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/467,111.
Application 18/467,111 is a continuation of application No. 17/141,850, filed on Jan. 5, 2021, granted, now 11,880,203, issued on Jan. 23, 2024.
Prior Publication US 2024/0004394 A1, Jan. 4, 2024
Int. Cl. G05D 1/617 (2024.01); B60W 60/00 (2020.01); G01C 21/00 (2006.01); G01C 21/34 (2006.01); G05D 1/00 (2024.01); G08G 1/16 (2006.01)
CPC G05D 1/617 (2024.01) [B60W 60/0027 (2020.02); G01C 21/3492 (2013.01); G01C 21/3819 (2020.08); G05D 1/0214 (2013.01); G08G 1/166 (2013.01); B60W 2554/4029 (2020.02)] 18 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method for controlling navigation of an autonomous vehicle for traversing a drivable area, the method comprising, by a processor:
receiving information relating to a drivable area in an environment of the autonomous vehicle, wherein the drivable area comprises a plurality of polygons;
identifying a plurality of logical edges that form a boundary of the drivable area;
determining whether there exists at least one logical edge that has a concavity greater than a threshold;
in response to determining that there exists at least one logical edge that has the concavity greater than the threshold:
sequentially, starting from an initial one of the plurality of logical edges and along the boundary of the drivable area, analyzing concavities of each the plurality of logical edges until identification of a first logical edge that has a concavity greater than the threshold;
upon identification of the first logical edge:
creating a first logical segment of the boundary of the drivable area, the first logical segment comprising:
the initial one of the plurality of logical edges,
logical edges between the initial one of the plurality of logical edges and the first logical edge, and
at least a portion of the first logical edge;
repeating the sequentially analyzing and creating steps until each of the plurality of logical edges has been classified into one of a plurality of logical segments of the boundary of the drivable area, each of the plurality of logical segments representative of a potential goal of an actor when traversing the drivable area;
in response to determining that there does not exist at least one logical edge that has the concavity greater than the threshold, forming a single logical segment of the boundary of the drivable area;
creating a data representation of the drivable area that comprises an indication of one or more logical segments;
adding the data representation to a road network map comprising the drivable area;
using the data representation for:
predicting a trajectory of a pedestrian for traversing the drivable area; and
using the trajectory to control navigation of the autonomous vehicle for avoiding collision with the pedestrian while traversing the drivable area.