Collision avoidance system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12530970-B2
Application number	US-201816232863-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 26, 2018
Priority date	Dec 26, 2018
Publication date	Jan 20, 2026
Grant date	Jan 20, 2026

Abstract

A vehicle may include a primary system for generating data to control the vehicle and a secondary system that validates the data and/or other data to avoid collisions. For example, the primary system may localize the vehicle, detect an object around the vehicle, predict an object trajectory, and generate a trajectory for the vehicle. The secondary system may localize the vehicle, detect an object around the vehicle, predict an object trajectory, and evaluate a trajectory generated by the primary system. The secondary system may also monitor components of the vehicle to detect an error. If the secondary system detects an error with a trajectory generated by the primary system and/or an error with a component of the vehicle, the secondary system may cause the vehicle to perform a maneuver, such as decelerating, changing lanes, swerving, etc.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A vehicle system of a vehicle comprising:
a first system in the vehicle configured to receive a first portion of sensor data and determine, based on the first portion of sensor data, a trajectory for controlling the vehicle; a second system communicatively coupled to the first system and in the vehicle, the second system comprising one or more processors and memory, the second system comprising: a perception component configured to:
receive a second portion of sensor data;
determine, based at least in part on the second portion of the sensor data, at least one of an object in an environment, a track for the object, or an object trajectory for the object;
output object data indicating at least one of a characteristic of the object, the track for the object, or the object trajectory; and
a trajectory manager communicatively coupled to the perception component, the trajectory manager configured to:
receive the trajectory for the vehicle from the first system;
receive the object data from the perception component;
perform, based at least in part on the object data, one or more first validation operations for collision detection to determine an occurrence of an intersection event between the object and the vehicle following the trajectory, the occurrence of the intersection event indicating an error associated with the first system causing the trajectory to be unsafe for controlling the vehicle;
determine, based at least in part on the occurrence of the intersection event between the object and the vehicle following the trajectory, an output trajectory for controlling the vehicle that is different than the trajectory; and
control the vehicle based at least in part on the output trajectory, wherein the second system is configured to send a message to the first system, the message including an indication of the error associated with the first system based on the occurrence of the intersection event caused by the trajectory.

2 . The vehicle system of claim 1 ,
wherein the first portion of the sensor data comprises first data and the second system further comprises: a localizer communicatively coupled to the perception component and the trajectory manager, the localizer configured to: receive the second portion of sensor data; determine, based at least in part on the second portion of the sensor data, a pose of the vehicle; and output, to at least one of the perception component or the trajectory manager, second data indicating the pose of the vehicle; wherein the trajectory manager is configured to:
receive the second data from the localizer; and
perform the collision detection based at least in part on the second data.

3 . The vehicle system of claim 1 , wherein the second system further comprises:
a monitor communicatively coupled to at least one of the first system or a component of the vehicle, the monitor configured to: monitor at least one of the first system or the component of the vehicle; determine, based at least in part on monitoring the at least one of the first system or the component of the vehicle, that the error has occurred; and output a signal indicating that the error has occurred, wherein the trajectory manager is configured to:
receive the signal from the monitor; and
determine the output trajectory based at least in part on the signal from the monitor.

4 . The vehicle system of claim 1 , wherein the second system further comprises:
a monitor communicatively coupled to at least one of the first system or a component of the vehicle, the monitor configured to:
monitor at least one of the first system or the component of the vehicle;
determine, based at least in part on monitoring the at least one of the first system or the component of the vehicle, that the error has occurred; and
output a signal indicating that the error has occurred; and
a drive manager communicatively coupled to the trajectory manager, the drive manager configured to:
receive the signal from the monitor; and
control the vehicle based at least in part on a maximum deceleration trajectory.

5 . The vehicle system of claim 1 , wherein:
the trajectory comprises a first trajectory; the one or more first validation operations indicate that the first trajectory is associated with a collision; and the output trajectory comprises at least one of a modification of the first trajectory or a second trajectory that is associated with a maximum deceleration rate of the vehicle from among deceleration rates available to the vehicle.

6 . A vehicle system comprising:
a first system in a vehicle configured to determine a first trajectory for controlling the vehicle and a second trajectory for controlling the vehicle; a second system communicatively coupled to the first system and in the vehicle, the second system comprising one or more processors and memory, the second system comprising: a first subsystem configured to:
receive at least a portion of sensor data; and
output object data indicating at least one of a characteristic of an object, a track for the object, or an object trajectory for the object; and
a second subsystem configured to:
receive the first trajectory for the vehicle and the second trajectory for the vehicle from the first system;
receive the object data from the first subsystem;
perform one or more first validation operations with the first trajectory to determine an occurrence of an intersection event between the object and the vehicle following the first trajectory, the occurrence of the intersection event indicating an error associated with the first system causing the first trajectory to be unsafe for controlling the vehicle;
perform one or more second validation operations with the second trajectory; and
output, based at least in part on the occurrence of the intersection event between the object and the vehicle following the first trajectory, an output trajectory for controlling the vehicle, the output trajectory comprising at least one of the second trajectory or a third trajectory generated by the second subsystem that is different than the first trajectory,
wherein the second system is configured to send a message to the first system, the message including an indication of the error associated with the first system based on the occurrence of the intersection event caused by the first trajectory.

7 . The vehicle system of claim 6 , further comprising:
the first system comprising one or more additional processors and additional memory comprising instructions that, when executed by the one or more additional processors, cause the first system to: receive the sensor data from a sensor; perform, based at least in part on the sensor data, at least one of object detection, object segmentation, object classification, or object tracking for the object; and generate, based at least in part on the sensor data, the first trajectory and the second trajectory.

8 . The vehicle system of claim 6 , wherein the one or more second validation operations comprises at least one of:
determining whether the first trajectory was generated less than a threshold amount of time from a current time; determining whether the first trajectory is consistent with a current or previous pose of the vehicle; determining whether the first trajectory is compatible with a capability of the vehicle; or determining whether the vehicle moving along the first trajectory is associated with a collision.

9 . The vehicle system of claim 6 , wherein the second system further comprises a third subsystem to maintain control of the vehicle based at least in part on the output trajectory.

10 . The vehicle system of claim 9 , wherein the se

Assignees

• Zoox Inc

Inventors

• King Andrew Lewis
• Smeds Kristofer Sven
• Somers Robert Edward
• Packer Jefferson Bradfield
• Wimmershoff Marc

Classifications

• G05D1/0289

  with means for avoiding collisions between vehicles (vehicle fittings for automatically controlling speed including means for detecting potential obstacles B60K31/0008; avoiding obstacles by action on the steering system B62D; radar, sonar, lidar systems designed for anti-collision purposes G01S13/93, G01S15/93, G01S17/93) · CPC title

• G05D1/0077

  using redundant signals or controls · CPC title

• B60W60/0015

  specially adapted for safety · CPC title

• B60W50/023

  Avoiding failures by using redundant parts · CPC title

• B60W30/0956

  the prediction being responsive to traffic or environmental parameters · CPC title