Patent ID: 9561797
Date: 2017-02-07
CPC Classifications: B60W,G01S,G05D,G08G

Claim:
1. A method comprising: identifying, by at least one processor of a computing device, based on data received from at least one sensor communicatively linked to the computing device, (i) a first vehicle travelling at a speed ahead of an autonomous vehicle in a same lane as the autonomous vehicle and (ii) a second vehicle travelling ahead of the autonomous vehicle in a different lane than the autonomous vehicle; the at least one processor predicting a behavior of the first vehicle based on the speed of the first vehicle; the at least one processor determining a distance based on the predicted behavior of the first vehicle, the distance being a distance behind the first vehicle at which the autonomous vehicle should begin adjusting a speed of the autonomous vehicle; the at least one processor determining that the second vehicle is predicted to enter the same lane as the autonomous vehicle; based on the determining that the second vehicle is predicted to enter the same lane as the autonomous vehicle, the at least one processor adjusting the determined distance; and based on the adjusted distance, the at least one processor controlling the autonomous vehicle to adjust the speed of the autonomous vehicle.