System and method for operational zones for an autonomous vehicle

Abstract

Systems and methods for an autonomous vehicle are provided. In one aspect, an autonomous vehicle includes a perception sensor and a processor configured to: receive detected roadway conditions data including roadway grade data from the perception sensor, retrieve mapped data having grade data, and determine that the roadway has a grade based on the detected roadway grade data and the retrieved roadway grade data. The processor can be further configured to, in response to determining that the roadway has a grade, determine that the grade of the roadway is greater than or equal to a predetermined high grade value and less than a predetermined grade limit, and in response to determining that the grade of the roadway is greater than or equal to the predetermined high grade value and less than the predetermined grade limit, operate the autonomous vehicle to change lane to a right-most lane.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An autonomous vehicle configured to drive on a roadway, comprising:
 at least one perception sensor configured to detect roadway conditions data including roadway grade data;   a processor; and   a non-transitory computer readable medium configured to store mapped data, the mapped data having roadway grade data, and to store instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:
 receive the detected roadway conditions data including roadway grade data from the at least one perception sensor, 
 retrieve the mapped data having roadway grade data from the non-transitory computer readable medium, 
 determine that the roadway has a grade based on the detected roadway grade data and the retrieved roadway grade data, 
 in response to determining that the roadway has a grade, determine that the grade of the roadway is greater than or equal to a predetermined high grade value and less than a predetermined grade limit; and 
 in response to determining that the grade of the roadway is greater than or equal to the predetermined high grade value and less than the predetermined grade limit, operate the autonomous vehicle to change its lane to a right-most lane. 
   
     
     
         2 . The autonomous vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein the predetermined grade limit is 7%. 
     
     
         3 . The autonomous vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein the predetermined grade limit is 9%. 
     
     
         4 . The autonomous vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein the predetermined high grade value is 5%. 
     
     
         5 . The autonomous vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein the predetermined high grade value is 7%. 
     
     
         6 . The autonomous vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein in response to determining that the grade of the roadway is greater than or equal to the predetermined grade limit, the processor is further configured to take a minimal risk condition (MRC) maneuver to stop the autonomous vehicle. 
     
     
         7 . The autonomous vehicle of  claim 8 , wherein the processor is further configured to stop the autonomous vehicle at a shoulder. 
     
     
         8 . The autonomous vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein in response to determining that the grade of the roadway is less than the predetermined high grade value, the processor is further configured to follow a speed limit indicated by a road grade traffic sign detected by the at least one perception sensor or retrieved from the mapped data. 
     
     
         9 . A method comprising:
 receiving detected roadway conditions data including roadway grade data from at least one perception sensor of an autonomous vehicle;   retrieving mapped data having roadway grade data from a non-transitory computer readable medium of the autonomous vehicle;   determining that the roadway has a grade based on the detected roadway grade data and the retrieved roadway grade data;   in response to determining that the roadway has a grade, determining that the grade of the roadway is greater than or equal to a predetermined high grade value and less than a predetermined grade limit; and   in response to determining that the grade of the roadway is greater than or equal to the predetermined high grade value and less than the predetermined grade limit, operating the autonomous vehicle to change its lane to a right-most lane.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 determining there is a discrepancy between the detected roadway grade data and the retrieved roadway grade data; and   in response to determining there is a discrepancy between the detected roadway grade data and the retrieved roadway grade data, taking the detected roadway grade data as higher priority over the retrieved roadway grade data.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the autonomous vehicle is an autonomous truck. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the detected roadway grade data includes a grade value, a grade sign including a positive sign or a negative sign, and a grade length. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein when the grade sign is determined to be negative, further comprising operating the autonomous vehicle to check brake. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein when the grade sign is determined to be negative, further comprising operating the autonomous vehicle to slow it down to a predetermined speed limit. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein when the grade sign is determined to be negative, further comprising operating the autonomous vehicle to change to a lower gear to slow down. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein when the grade sign is determined to be negative, further comprising operating the autonomous vehicle to change to its lowest gear to slow down. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein when the grade sign is determined to be negative, further comprising:
 determining that the roadway has an obstacle based on the roadway conditions data from the at least one perception sensor of the autonomous vehicle; and   in response to determining that the roadway has an obstacle, operating the autonomous vehicle to engage a foundation brake and change to a lower gear to stop the autonomous vehicle.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein when the grade sign is determined to be negative, further comprising:
 determining that the roadway has a truck turnout based on the roadway conditions data from the at least one perception sensor of the autonomous vehicle and the retrieved mapped data; and   in response to determining that the roadway has a truck turnout, operating the autonomous vehicle to change lane and move into the truck turnout.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein when the grade sign is determined to be positive, further comprising increasing a throttle of the autonomous vehicle. 
     
     
         20 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon mapped data including roadway grade data and instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:
 receive detected roadway conditions data including roadway grade data from at least one perception sensor of an autonomous vehicle;   retrieve the mapped data having roadway grade data from the non-transitory computer-readable medium;   determine that the roadway has a grade based on the detected roadway grade data and the retrieved roadway grade data;   in response to determining that the roadway has a grade, determine that the grade of the roadway is greater than or equal to a predetermined high grade value and less than a predetermined grade limit; and   in response to determining that the grade of the roadway is greater than or equal to the predetermined high grade value and less than the predetermined grade limit, operate the autonomous vehicle to change its lane to a right-most lane.