Invention Grant
- Patent Title: Positioning vehicles to improve quality of observations at intersections
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Application No.: US15006657Application Date: 2016-01-26
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Publication No.: US09910439B1Publication Date: 2018-03-06
- Inventor: David Ian Franklin Ferguson , Nathaniel Fairfield , Bradley Templeton
- Applicant: Waymo LLC
- Applicant Address: US CA Mountain View
- Assignee: Waymo LLC
- Current Assignee: Waymo LLC
- Current Assignee Address: US CA Mountain View
- Agency: McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP
- Main IPC: G01C22/00
- IPC: G01C22/00 ; G05D1/00 ; G05D1/02

Abstract:
Disclosed herein are methods and apparatus for controlling autonomous vehicles utilizing maps that include visibility information. A map is stored at a computing device associated with a vehicle. The vehicle is configured to operate in an autonomous mode that supports a plurality of driving behaviors. The map includes information about a plurality of roads, a plurality of features, and visibility information for at least a first feature in the plurality of features. The computing device queries the map for visibility information for the first feature at a first position. The computing device, in response to querying the map, receives the visibility information for the first feature at the first position. The computing device selects a driving behavior for the vehicle based on the visibility information. The computing device controls the vehicle in accordance with the selected driving behavior.
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