Patent ID: 11958503
Assignee: MOTIONAL AD LLC
Field: Measurement (Instruments)
Classification: CPC B  G | IPC B  G

Claim 0:
1. A system, comprising:
one or more computer processors; and
one or more non-transitory storage media storing instructions which, when executed by the one or more computer processors, cause performance of operations comprising:
while a vehicle is operating in an autonomous mode:
obtaining a path, a set of lateral constraints, and a set of speed constraints, wherein the set of lateral constraints define a first distance between a first side of the vehicle and a first obstacle and a second distance between a second side of the vehicle and a second obstacle, and wherein the set of speed constraints define a maximum or minimum speed of the vehicle;
selecting a first trajectory segment or a second trajectory segment of a trajectory for navigating the vehicle according to the path that satisfies the set of lateral constraints and the set of speed constraints, wherein the selecting includes:
determining that both of the first trajectory segment and the second trajectory segment of the trajectory meet one or more objective safety criteria comprising the set of lateral constraints and the set of speed constraints, wherein the first trajectory segment and the second trajectory segment have different perceived risks with respect to the first and second sides of the vehicle, and wherein the perceived risks are those predicted by the system to be perceived as risks by a human within the vehicle, and
in response to both of the first trajectory segment and the second trajectory segment of the trajectory meeting the one or more objective safety criteria, selecting one of the first trajectory segment or the second trajectory segment of the trajectory that minimizes an overall cost including a first cost component representing a first perceived risk to the first side of the vehicle and a second cost component representing a second perceived risk to the second side of the vehicle, wherein the minimized overall cost has a lower perceived risk with respect to the first and second sides of the vehicle and satisfies the one or more objective safety criteria; and
controlling the vehicle to move according to the selected one of the first trajectory segment or the second trajectory segment of the trajectory,

wherein the set of lateral constraints define a first minimum distance between the first side of the vehicle and the first obstacle, and a second minimum distance between the second side of the vehicle and the second obstacle, wherein, in both of the first trajectory segment and the second trajectory segment of the trajectory, the vehicle is configured to maintain a lateral distance exceeding the first minimum distance from the first side of the vehicle and maintain a lateral distance exceeding the second minimum distance from the second side of the vehicle, wherein the lateral distances to be maintained by the vehicle and the first and second minimum distances are different in the first trajectory segment and the second trajectory segment, and wherein the selected one of the first trajectory segment or the second trajectory segment has a lateral distance greater than that of the other of the first trajectory segment or the second trajectory segment.