US 12,485,903 B2
Road surface estimation using vehicle detection
Gustav Lars Henrik Jagbrant, Linköping (SE); Per Cronvall, Linköping (SE); and Gustav Nils Ture Persson, Ljungsbro (SE)
Assigned to QUALCOMM Incorporated, San Diego, CA (US)
Filed by Qualcomm Auto LTD., Cambridge (GB)
Filed on Mar. 21, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/187,395.
Prior Publication US 2024/0317237 A1, Sep. 26, 2024
Int. Cl. B60W 40/06 (2012.01); G06T 7/70 (2017.01); G06V 20/56 (2022.01); G06V 20/58 (2022.01)
CPC B60W 40/06 (2013.01) [G06T 7/70 (2017.01); G06V 20/58 (2022.01); G06V 20/588 (2022.01); B60W 2420/403 (2013.01); B60W 2554/4041 (2020.02); B60W 2554/80 (2020.02); G06T 2207/20081 (2013.01); G06T 2207/30252 (2013.01)] 30 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method for road surface estimation using vehicle detection, comprising:
obtaining, by one or more of a camera-based vision system, a lidar system, or a radar system of an ego vehicle, a series of images that depict a reference vehicle traveling along a road segment ahead of the ego vehicle;
estimating, by a device of the ego vehicle, a size of the reference vehicle and a position of the reference vehicle relative to the ego vehicle based on the series of images, wherein the estimating the size comprising:
determining a plurality of estimated trajectories corresponding to a plurality of height estimates of the reference vehicle, and
selecting a height estimate of the reference vehicle, from among the plurality of height estimates, that minimizes an error between an actual trajectory of the ego vehicle and an estimated trajectory of the plurality of estimated trajectories that corresponds to the height estimate;
tracking, by the device, a trajectory of the reference vehicle along the road segment ahead of the ego vehicle based at least in part on the height estimate of the reference vehicle;
estimating, by the device, a surface geometry associated with the road segment ahead of the ego vehicle based on the tracked trajectory of the reference vehicle; and
adjusting, by the device, trajectory of the ego vehicle based on the estimated surface geometry.