Patent ID: 9558411
Date: 2017-01-31
CPC Classifications: G05D,G06K

Claim:
1. A computer-implemented method comprising: detecting, by one or more computing devices, a first object from an image of a vehicle's environment, the first object being associated with a location; receiving, by the one or more computing devices, data corresponding to surfaces of objects including the first object detected in the vehicle's environment; identifying, by the one or more computing devices, data within a region corresponding to a volume of space of a pre-determined shape around the location of the first object based on the received data; processing, by the one or more computing devices, the identified data to detect a planar surface of a second object; determining, by the one or more computing devices, a relative orientation between the planar surface of the second object and a planar surface of the first object; and based on (1) the determination of the relative orientation and (2) whether the planar surface of the second object extends away from an edge of the planar surface of the first object for at least a threshold distance, classifying, by the one or more computing devices, a status of the object as at least one of an active object or an inactive object.