Method, apparatus and computer program product for differential policy enforcement for roadways

Abstract

A method, apparatus and computer program product are provided for enforcing a differential policy for autonomous vehicles along a road. In the context of a method, the may include: determining location information of a vehicle including a road segment and a direction of travel; identifying capabilities of sensors of the vehicle; determining an autonomous or semi-autonomous policy for the road segment specific to the vehicle in response to identifying the capabilities of the sensors of the vehicle; providing a first set of instructions for autonomous control in response to the capabilities of the sensors of the vehicle satisfying a first level of capability; and providing a second set of instructions for autonomous control in response to the capabilities of the sensors of the vehicle satisfying a second level of capability.

That which is claimed: 
     
         1 . An apparatus to facilitate autonomous or semi-autonomous control of a vehicle comprising at least one processor and at least one non-transitory memory including computer program code instructions, the computer program code instructions configured to, when executed, cause the apparatus to at least:
 determine location information of a vehicle including a road segment and a direction of travel;   identify capabilities of sensors of the vehicle;   access map data comprising road segment policy information associated with the road segment, wherein the road segment policy information comprises predefined operational limits for the road segment associated with the map data;   determine an autonomous or semi-autonomous policy for the road segment specific to the vehicle based on the road segment policy information and in response to identifying the capabilities of the sensors of the vehicle; and   provide instructions for autonomous control of the vehicle based, at least in part, on the determined autonomous or semi-autonomous policy for the road segment.   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein map data comprising road segment policy information associated with the road segment comprises different predefined operational limits for the road segment based on differing capabilities of sensors of vehicles. 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the different predefined operational limits for the road segment based on differing capabilities of sensors of vehicles comprises relatively higher speed limits for fully autonomous vehicles. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein map data comprising road segment policy information associated with the road segment comprises different predefined operational limits for the road segment based on differing vehicle types. 
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the apparatus is further caused to:
 determine at least one of a time of day or a weather condition, wherein causing the apparatus to determine an autonomous or semi-autonomous policy for the road segment comprises causing the apparatus to determine an autonomous or semi-autonomous policy for the road segment based, at least in part, on the determined time of day or the weather condition.   
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the apparatus is further caused to:
 determine a traffic level along the road segment in the direction of travel of the vehicle, wherein causing the apparatus to determine an autonomous or semi-autonomous policy for the road segment comprises causing the apparatus to determine an autonomous or semi-autonomous policy for the road segment based, at least in part, on the determined traffic level along the road segment.   
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein road segment policy information associated with the road segment differs based on a degree of autonomy of the vehicle. 
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 7 , wherein road segment policy information is dynamically adjusted in response to a level of traffic on the road segment. 
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein causing the apparatus to identify capabilities of sensors of the vehicle comprises causing the apparatus to identify types of sensors of the vehicle. 
     
     
         10 . A computer program product comprising at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable program code instructions stored therein, the computer-executable program code instructions comprising program code instructions to:
 determine location information of a vehicle including a road segment and a direction of travel;   identify capabilities of sensors of the vehicle;   access map data comprising road segment policy information associated with the road segment, wherein the road segment policy information comprises predefined operational limits for the road segment associated with the map data;   determine an autonomous or semi-autonomous policy for the road segment specific to the vehicle based on the road segment policy information and in response to identifying the capabilities of the sensors of the vehicle; and   provide instructions for autonomous control of the vehicle based, at least in part, on the determined autonomous or semi-autonomous policy for the road segment.   
     
     
         11 . The computer program product of  claim 10 , wherein map data comprising road segment policy information associated with the road segment comprises different predefined operational limits for the road segment based on differing capabilities of sensors of vehicles. 
     
     
         12 . The computer program product of  claim 11 , wherein the different predefined operational limits for the road segment based on differing capabilities of sensors of vehicles comprises relatively higher speed limits for fully autonomous vehicles. 
     
     
         13 . The computer program product of  claim 10 , wherein map data comprising road segment policy information associated with the road segment comprises different predefined operational limits for the road segment based on differing vehicle types. 
     
     
         14 . The computer program product of  claim 10 , further comprising program code instructions to:
 determine at least one of a time of day or a weather condition, wherein the program code instructions to determine an autonomous or semi-autonomous policy for the road segment comprise program code instructions to determine an autonomous or semi-autonomous policy for the road segment based, at least in part, on the determined time of day or the weather condition.   
     
     
         15 . The computer program product of  claim 10 , further comprising program code instructions to:
 determine a traffic level along the road segment in the direction of travel of the vehicle, wherein the program code instructions to determine an autonomous or semi-autonomous policy for the road segment comprise program code instructions to determine an autonomous or semi-autonomous policy for the road segment based, at least in part, on the determined traffic level along the road segment.   
     
     
         16 . The computer program product of  claim 10 , wherein road segment policy information associated with the road segment differs based on a degree of autonomy of the vehicle. 
     
     
         17 . The computer program product of  claim 16 , wherein road segment policy information is dynamically adjusted in response to a level of traffic on the road segment. 
     
     
         18 . The computer program product of  claim 10 , wherein causing the apparatus to identify capabilities of sensors of the vehicle comprises causing the apparatus to identify types of sensors of the vehicle. 
     
     
         19 . A method comprising:
 providing location information to a service provider including a road segment and a direction of travel;   providing sensor capability information to the service provider;   determining location information of a vehicle including a road segment and a direction of travel;   receiving road segment policy information from the service provider including predefined operational limits for the road segment, wherein the road segment policy information is determined based, at least in part, on the sensor capability information;   determining an autonomous or semi-autonomous policy for the road segment based on the road segment policy information; and   providing for autonomous control of the vehicle based, at least in part, on the determined autonomous or semi-autonomous policy for the road segment.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , further comprising:
 providing at least one of a time of day or a weather condition to the service provider, wherein road segment policy information for the road segment is based, at least in part, on the determined time of day or the weather condition.