System and method for general driving behavior for an autonomous vehicle

Abstract

Systems and methods for general driving behavior of an autonomous vehicle are disclosed. In one aspect, an autonomous vehicle includes a trailer, at least one perception sensor, a non-transitory computer readable medium, and a processor. The processor is configured to estimate a grade of the roadway based on the perception data, provide a first control input to the autonomous vehicle based on the grade of the roadway, determine a response of the autonomous vehicle to the first control input based on the perception data, estimate a trailer load of the trailer based on the response of the autonomous vehicle to the first control input, and provide a second control input to the autonomous vehicle based on the grade of the roadway and the trailer load.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An autonomous vehicle configured to travel on a roadway, comprising:
 a trailer;   at least one perception sensor configured to generate perception data indicative of: i) one or more parameters of the roadway and ii) a movement of the autonomous vehicle;   a processor; and   a non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:
 estimate a grade of the roadway based on the perception data indicative of the one or more parameters of the roadway, 
 provide a first control input to the autonomous vehicle based on the grade of the roadway, 
 determine a response of the autonomous vehicle to the first control input based on the perception data indicative of the movement of the autonomous vehicle, 
 estimate a trailer load of the trailer based on the response of the autonomous vehicle to the first control input, and 
 provide a second control input to the autonomous vehicle based on the grade of the roadway and the trailer load. 
   
     
     
         2 . The autonomous vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein the first control input comprises a throttle input and/or a brake input. 
     
     
         3 . The autonomous vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
 determine a wheel torque for one or more wheels of the autonomous vehicle, and   estimate a mass of the trailer based on the determined wheel torque,   wherein the second control input is further based at least in part on the mass of the trailer.   
     
     
         4 . The autonomous vehicle of  claim 3 , wherein the processor is further configured to estimate a force to move the trailer based on the wheel torque, wherein the second control input includes a throttle control and a brake control determined based on the force to move the trailer. 
     
     
         5 . The autonomous vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to determine a road curvature in front of the autonomous vehicle with a distance greater than a natural deceleration distance based on the perception data indicative of the one or more parameters of the roadway, wherein the second control input is further based on the road curvature. 
     
     
         6 . The autonomous vehicle of  claim 5 , wherein the processor is further configured to limit a lateral acceleration of the autonomous vehicle in curves based on a distance to reduce a speed of the autonomous vehicle to limit a lateral acceleration taking into account braking capabilities of the autonomous vehicle. 
     
     
         7 . The autonomous vehicle of  claim 5 , wherein the processor is further configured to reduce a speed of the autonomous vehicle to limit a lateral acceleration based on a maximum curvature of the road curvature. 
     
     
         8 . The autonomous vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein the second control input includes a throttle control, and wherein the processor is further configured to dynamically adjust the throttle control based on the grade of the roadway and the trailer load to provide a longitudinal control robustness for the throttle control. 
     
     
         9 . The autonomous vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein the second control input includes a brake control, and wherein the processor is further configured to dynamically adjust the brake control to compensate for the grade of the roadway and the trailer load to provide a longitudinal control robustness for the brake control. 
     
     
         10 . The autonomous vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein the second control input includes a steering control, and wherein the processor is further configured to dynamically adjust the steering control to compensate for side-wind effects and a super elevation rate due to the trailer load to a provide longitudinal control robustness for the steering control. 
     
     
         11 . The autonomous vehicle of  claim 5 , wherein the processor is further configured to limit a lateral acceleration to a predetermined acceleration and a predetermined jerk value to maintain a stability of the autonomous vehicle when turning or driving on curved roads taking into account a super elevation rate, and wherein the processor is further configured to limit lateral dynamics for lateral maneuvers of the autonomous vehicle depending on trailer inertia and stability criteria. 
     
     
         12 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:
 estimate a grade of a roadway based on perception data indicative of one or more parameters of the roadway received from one or more perception sensors of an autonomous vehicle;   provide a first control input to the autonomous vehicle based on the grade of the roadway;   determine a response of the autonomous vehicle to the first control input based on perception data indicative of a movement of the autonomous vehicle received from the one or more perception sensors;   estimate a trailer load of the trailer based on the response of the autonomous vehicle to the first control input; and   provide a second control input to the autonomous vehicle based on the grade of the roadway and the trailer load.   
     
     
         13 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 12 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to reduce a speed of the autonomous vehicle to maintain a lateral acceleration of the autonomous vehicle, and wherein the instructions further cause the processor to limit a steering wheel angle velocity to limit a lateral jerk of the autonomous vehicle. 
     
     
         14 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 12 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to:
 determine a type of the trailer load based on the response of the autonomous vehicle to the first control input; and   cause the autonomous vehicle to accelerate up to a maximum acceleration that is based on the trailer load and a maximum jerk that is based on the type of the trailer load.   
     
     
         15 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 12 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to ensure that outermost points of the autonomous vehicle remain within inside edges of lane boundaries, unless the autonomous vehicle is changing lanes, doing a critical safety bias, evading, turning at an intersection, and/or the autonomous vehicle is unable to remain within the lane boundaries due to a combination of a width of the lane and a road curvature. 
     
     
         16 . A method comprising:
 estimating a grade of a roadway based on perception data indicative of one or more parameters of the roadway received from one or more perception sensors of an autonomous vehicle;   providing a first control input to the autonomous vehicle based on the grade of the roadway;   determining a response of the autonomous vehicle to the first control input based on perception data indicative of a movement of the autonomous vehicle received from the one or more perception sensors;   estimating a trailer load of the trailer based on the response of the autonomous vehicle to the first control input; and   providing a second control input to the autonomous vehicle based on the grade of the roadway and the trailer load.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising:
 targeting a lateral position in a lane of the autonomous vehicle such that widest points of the autonomous vehicle are substantially equidistant from lane boundaries when driving straight, turning, or changing lanes, unless for an evasive maneuver, bias, or to minimize off-tracking.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising:
 monitoring any deviations from a targeted lateral position; and   in response to determining that the autonomous vehicle has deviated from the targeted lateral position by more than a predetermined deviation distance, returning to the targeted lateral position within a predetermined deviation time.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising:
 detecting a school bus based on the perception data;   detecting an extended stop sign arm of the school bus; and   in response to detecting the extended stop sign arm, causing the autonomous vehicle to stop a predetermined distance away from the school bus.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising:
 detecting an animal on the roadway based on the perception data;   determining that the animal is larger than a predetermined size;   in response to determining that the animal is larger than a predetermined size, causing the autonomous vehicle to maintain a predetermined distance from the animal as the autonomous vehicle passes the animal.