TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to vehicles such as assisted-driving vehicles or autonomous vehicles (AVs), and in particular, some embodiments relate to such vehicles determining trajectories and following the trajectories while driving. The trajectories may be determined using trajectories of other vehicles, driving rules or conventions, and/or current road situations or conditions.

BACKGROUND

Vehicles, such as autonomous vehicles (AVs), attempt to follow road markings such as lane dividers, arrows, and traffic signs while navigating and driving. During navigation, a vehicle may utilize on-board sensors such as camera, Lidar, radar, GPS, sonar, ultrasonic, IMU (inertial measurement unit), accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers, and FIR (far infrared) sensors. Data from these sensors may provide information such as locations of lane dividers, arrows, other lane markings, and traffic signs. However, merely using data from these sensors in vehicle navigation is inadequate because it fails to account for conventions or behaviors of other vehicles and for other road situations, which may otherwise be undetected. These shortfalls are addressed by the present disclosures, which provide a safe and effective system and method to navigate a vehicle using trajectories that are adjusted or modified to account for behaviors of other vehicles and road conditions.

SUMMARY

Described herein are systems and methods for navigating a vehicle using trajectories. Various embodiments of the present disclosure provide a system comprising one or more sensors; one or more processors; and a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, causes the system to perform: generating initial trajectories along a route to be travelled by the vehicle; acquiring one or more trajectories of other vehicles along the route; adjusting the initial trajectories based on the one or more trajectories of other vehicles; and navigating the vehicle based on the adjusted initial trajectories.

In some embodiments, the generating the initial trajectories comprises: detecting one or more road markings or lane dividers; and generating the initial trajectories based on the detected one or more road markings or lane dividers.

In some embodiments, the generating the initial trajectories comprises creating the initial trajectories to be centered between two adjacent detected lane dividers.

In some embodiments, the generating the initial trajectories comprises: determining whether a road marking or lane divider can be detected; in response to determining that no road marking or lane divider can be detected: determining an initial trajectory that does not coincide with a path of an oncoming vehicle or a parked vehicle; and generating the determined initial trajectory.

In some embodiments, the adjusting the initial trajectories based on the one or more trajectories of other vehicles comprises adjusting the initial trajectories to match an average of the one or more trajectories of other vehicles.

In some embodiments, the adjusting the initial trajectories based on the one or more trajectories of other vehicles comprises determining an updated trajectory that maintains a predetermined distance between the updated trajectory and one or more trajectories of other vehicles on neighboring lanes.

In some embodiments, the generating the initial trajectories comprises: during a turn, generating a semicircular trajectory from a lane from which the vehicle is making a turn to a lane to which the vehicle is turning.

In some embodiments, the adjusting the initial trajectories comprises: during a turn, adjusting the initial trajectories based on a trajectory of another vehicle making a turn from another lane.

In some embodiments, the adjusting the initial trajectories comprises: during a turn, adjusting the initial trajectories based on a trajectory of another vehicle traveling from a lane opposite to the lane to which the vehicle is turning.

In some embodiments, the adjusting the initial trajectories comprises selecting, from the one or more trajectories of other vehicles, a trajectory corresponding to another vehicle based on a distance between the another vehicle and adjacent traffic or opposing traffic.

Various embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method implemented by a computing system including one or more processors and storage media storing machine-readable instructions, wherein the method is performed using the one or more processors. The method comprises generating initial trajectories along a route to be travelled by the vehicle; acquiring one or more trajectories of other vehicles along the route; adjusting the initial trajectories based on the one or more trajectories of other vehicles; and navigating the vehicle based on the adjusted initial trajectories.

In some embodiments, the generating the initial trajectories comprises: detecting one or more road markings or lane dividers; and generating the initial trajectories based on the detected one or more road markings or lane dividers.

In some embodiments, the generating the initial trajectories comprises creating the initial trajectories to be centered between two adjacent detected lane dividers.

In some embodiments, the generating the initial trajectories comprises: determining whether a road marking or lane divider can be detected. In response to determining that no road marking or lane divider can be detected: determining an initial trajectory that does not coincide with a path of an oncoming vehicle or a parked vehicle; and generating the determined initial trajectory.

In some embodiments, the adjusting the initial trajectories based on the one or more trajectories of other vehicles comprises adjusting the initial trajectories to match an average of the one or more trajectories of other vehicles.

In some embodiments, the adjusting the initial trajectories based on the one or more trajectories of other vehicles comprises determining an updated trajectory that maintains a predetermined distance between the updated trajectory and one or more trajectories of other vehicles on neighboring lanes.

In some embodiments, the generating the initial trajectories comprises: during a turn, generating a semicircular trajectory from a lane from which the vehicle is making a turn to a lane to which the vehicle is turning.

In some embodiments, the adjusting the initial trajectories comprises: during a turn, adjusting the initial trajectories based on a trajectory of another vehicle making a turn from another lane.

In some embodiments, the adjusting the initial trajectories comprises: during a turn, adjusting the initial trajectories based on a trajectory of another vehicle traveling from a lane opposite to the lane to which the vehicle is turning.

In some embodiments, the adjusting the initial trajectories comprises selecting, from the one or more trajectories of other vehicles, a trajectory corresponding to another vehicle based on a distance between the another vehicle and adjacent traffic or opposing traffic.

These and other features of the systems, methods, and non-transitory computer readable media disclosed herein, as well as the methods of operation and functions of the related elements of structure and the combination of parts and economies of manufacture, will become more apparent upon consideration of the following description and the appended claims with reference to the accompanying drawings, all of which form a part of this specification, wherein like reference numerals designate corresponding parts in the various figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for purposes of illustration and description only and are not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention.

