Method, system and apparatus for self-driving vehicle obstacle avoidance

Abstract

A system for path control for a mobile unmanned vehicle in an environment is provided. The system includes: a sensor connected to the mobile unmanned vehicle; the mobile unmanned vehicle configured to initiate a first fail-safe routine responsive to detection of an object in a first sensor region adjacent to the sensor;and a processor connected to the mobile unmanned vehicle. The processor is configured to: generate a current path based on a map of the environment; based on the current path, issue velocity commands to cause the mobile unmanned vehicle to execute the current path; responsive to detection of an obstacle in a second sensor region, initiate a second fail-safe routine in the mobile unmanned vehicle to avoid entry of the obstacle into the first sensor region and initiation of the first fail-safe routine.

1 - 20 . (canceled) 
     
     
         21 . A method for obstacle avoidance for a self-driving vehicle in an environment, the method comprising:
 defining a first sensor region and a second sensor region for at least one sensor of one or more sensors mounted to the self-driving vehicle, wherein a range of the second sensor region is greater than a range of the first sensor region;   operating the vehicle to autonomously navigate the environment;   monitoring a speed of the vehicle;   based on the monitoring, detecting a change in the speed of the vehicle;   in response to detecting the change of speed, adapting the range of the first and second sensor regions based on the current speed of the vehicle;   based on sensor data generated by the at least one sensor, detecting an object in at least one of the first or second sensor regions; and   in response to detecting the object in at least one of the first or second sensor regions, adjusting an operation of the self-driving vehicle to reduce a risk of colliding with the object.   
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein the first and second sensor regions correspond to detection ranges of the at least one sensor. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein the range of one or more of the first and second sensor regions is increased if an increase in speed is detected, and decreased if a decrease in speed is detected. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein the detected change of speed is one or more of a detected change in a translational speed and a rotational speed of the vehicle. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein adjusting the range for the first sensor region comprises:
 determining a stopping distance for the vehicle based on the current speed of the vehicle; and   adjusting the range for the first sensor region based on the determined stopping distance, wherein the range is adjusted to be equal to or greater than the stopping distance.   
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein the method further comprises:
 detecting an obstacle in the second sensor region;   in response, initiating a fail-safe routine comprising:   initiating generation of a new trajectory for the vehicle;   during generation of the new trajectory, reducing the vehicle speed to a speed that reduces the size of the range of the second sensor region such that the obstacle falls outside the second sensor region.   
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein the vehicle is operated to follow a vehicle trajectory, the vehicle trajectory comprising a plurality of segments each defining a portion of the vehicle trajectory and having a corresponding segment-specific vehicle speed, and the method further comprises:
 determining a current location of the vehicle along the vehicle trajectory;   identifying a segment corresponding to the current location of the vehicle;   determining a segment-specific vehicle speed which corresponds to the identified segment; and   adjusting the range of at least one of the first and second sensor regions based on the segment-specific vehicle speed.   
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 27 , further comprising:
 accessing a map of the environment, wherein the map includes information of the plurality of segments and the corresponding segment-specific vehicle speeds; and   determining the current segment and the next segment based on the map and the current location of the vehicle.   
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein detecting the change of speed comprises detecting a change of speed that is above a pre-determined threshold. 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 21 , further comprising:
 detecting an object in at least one of the first and second sensor regions;   in response to detecting the object in the first sensor region, triggering an emergency stop to avoid collision with the object;   otherwise, in response to detecting the object in the second sensor region, generating a vehicle trajectory to avoid the object; and   operating the vehicle to follow the vehicle trajectory.   
     
     
         31 . A self-driving vehicle configured for obstacle avoidance in an environment, the vehicle comprising:
 a processor;   one or more sensors mounted to the self-driving vehicle and in communication with the processor, at least one sensor of the one or more sensors being configured to detect an object, wherein the processor is configured to:
 define a first sensor region and a second sensor region for the at least one sensor, wherein a range of the second sensor region is greater than a range of the first sensor region; 
 operate the vehicle to autonomously navigate the environment; 
 monitor a speed of the vehicle; 
 based on the monitoring, detect a change in the speed of the vehicle; 
 in response to detecting the change of speed, adapt the range of the first and second sensor regions based on the current speed of the vehicle; 
 based on sensor data generated by the at least one sensor, detect an object in at least one of the first or second sensor regions; and 
 in response to detecting the object in at least one of the first or second sensor regions, adjust an operation of the self-driving vehicle to reduce a risk of colliding with the object. 
   
     
     
         32 . The vehicle of  claim 31 , wherein the first and second sensor regions correspond to detection ranges of the at least one sensor. 
     
     
         33 . The vehicle of  claim 31 , wherein the range of one or more of the first and second sensor regions is increased if an increase in speed is detected, and decreased if a decrease in speed is detected. 
     
     
         34 . The vehicle of  claim 31 , wherein the detected change of speed is one or more of a detected change in a translational speed and a rotational speed of the vehicle. 
     
     
         35 . The vehicle of  claim 31 , wherein adjusting the range for the first sensor region comprises the processor being further configured to:
 determine a stopping distance for the vehicle based on the current speed of the vehicle; and   adjust the range for the first sensor region based on the determined stopping distance, wherein the range is adjusted to be equal to or greater than the stopping distance.   
     
     
         36 . The vehicle of  claim 31 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
 detect an obstacle in the second sensor region;   in response, initiate a fail-safe routine comprising:
 initiate generation of a new trajectory for the vehicle; 
 during generation of the new trajectory, reduce the vehicle speed to a speed that reduces the size of the range of the second sensor region such that the obstacle falls outside the second sensor region. 
   
     
     
         37 . The vehicle of  claim 31 , wherein the processor is configured to operate the vehicle to follow a vehicle trajectory, the vehicle trajectory comprising a plurality of segments each defining a portion of the vehicle trajectory and having a corresponding segment-specific vehicle speed, and the processor is configured to:
 determine a current location of the vehicle along the vehicle trajectory;   identify a segment corresponding to the current location of the vehicle;   determine a segment-specific vehicle speed which corresponds to the identified segment; and   adjust the range parameter of at least one of the first and second sensor regions based on the segment-specific vehicle speed.   
     
     
         38 . The vehicle of  claim 37 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
 access a map of the environment, wherein the map includes information of the plurality of segments and the corresponding segment-specific vehicle speeds; and   determine the current segment and the next segment based on the map and the current location of the vehicle.   
     
     
         39 . The vehicle of  claim 21 , wherein detecting the change of speed comprises the processor being configured to detect a change of speed that is above a pre-determined threshold. 
     
     
         40 . The vehicle of  claim 31 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
 detect object in at least one of the first and second sensor regions;   in response to detecting the object in the first sensor region, trigger an emergency stop to avoid collision with the object;   otherwise, in response to detecting the object in the second sensor region, generate a vehicle trajectory to avoid the object; and   operate the vehicle to follow the vehicle trajectory.