Patent ID: 9254846
Filing Date: 2016-02-09
CPC Classification: B60W,G01S,G05D,G08G

Claim Text:
1. A method comprising: identifying a first vehicle travelling ahead of an autonomous vehicle; identifying a second vehicle ahead of the first vehicle, the first and second vehicles travelling in substantially a same lane as the autonomous vehicle; determining a first buffer distance, the first buffer distance being a minimal distance behind the first vehicle at which the autonomous vehicle is predicted to substantially reach a speed of the first vehicle; determining a second buffer distance, the second buffer distance being a minimal distance behind the second vehicle at which the first vehicle is predicted to substantially reach a speed of the second vehicle; determining a distance at which to adjust a speed of the autonomous vehicle based on the first and second buffer distances and the speed of the autonomous vehicle; and providing instructions by a computing device to adjust the speed of the autonomous vehicle based on the distance.