US 12,434,766 B2
Methods and systems for lane changes using a multi-corridor representation of local route regions
Neal Seegmiller, Pittsburgh, PA (US); Christopher Cunningham, Pittsburgh, PA (US); Ramadev Burigsay Hukkeri, Pittsburgh, PA (US); Thomas Petroff, Gibsonia, PA (US); and Albert Costa, Pittsburgh, PA (US)
Assigned to Ford Global Technologies, LLC, Dearborn, MI (US)
Filed by FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC, Dearborn, MI (US)
Filed on Jul. 7, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/811,164.
Application 17/811,164 is a continuation of application No. 16/597,273, filed on Oct. 9, 2019, granted, now 11,414,130.
Prior Publication US 2022/0340201 A1, Oct. 27, 2022
Int. Cl. B60W 30/00 (2006.01); B60W 30/18 (2012.01); B62D 15/02 (2006.01); G01C 21/36 (2006.01); G08G 1/16 (2006.01); H04W 4/02 (2018.01)
CPC B62D 15/0255 (2013.01) [B60W 30/18163 (2013.01); G01C 21/3626 (2013.01); G08G 1/163 (2013.01); G08G 1/164 (2013.01); H04W 4/02 (2013.01); B60W 2554/80 (2020.02); B60W 2556/50 (2020.02)] 19 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method of maneuvering an autonomous vehicle, the method comprising:
generating a multi-corridor representation corresponding to a local region around the autonomous vehicle while travelling on a route, the multi-corridor representation comprising a plurality of adjacent corridors that each include one or more lane segments of a road network;
generating, using the multi-corridor representation and perception data corresponding to the local region, a trajectory for the autonomous vehicle to traverse the local region, wherein a location of executing a lane change along the route is determined dynamically during a trajectory generation phase based on the perception data;
generating a stay-in-lane candidate trajectory for the autonomous vehicle to stay in a current corridor in the local region;
generating one or more lane change candidate trajectories for the autonomous vehicle to change from the current corridor to a destination corridor using a permissible lane change region between the current corridor and the destination corridor, wherein the permissible lane change region is associated with a continuous cost-to-go;
using the perception data and the continuous cost-to-go associated with the permissible lane change region to determine a dynamic cost associated with each of the following: the stay-in-lane candidate trajectory and the one or more lane change candidate trajectories, wherein the dynamic cost is associated with passenger comfort and safety; and
identifying the trajectory for the autonomous vehicle to traverse the local region as a candidate trajectory that has a minimum dynamic cost.