Patent ID: 8874267
Filing Date: 2014-10-28
Classification: B60W,G01C,G05D,G08G

Abstract:
1. A method comprising: detecting, by the one or more processors, objects in a roadway based on the sensor data collected along the roadway by sensors of a vehicle driving in an autonomous driving mode; identifying, by the one or more processors, from the detected objects, a particular object of the objects in the roadway that are located in a lane adjacent to a lane of the vehicle for blind spot detection; determining, by the one or more processors, a blind spot area that defines a space in the lane of the vehicle that is adjacent to the particular object; predicting, by the one or more processors, future locations of the particular object; determining, by the one or more processors, whether the predicted future locations indicate that the vehicle will drive into the determined blind spot area; when the predicted future locations indicate that the vehicle will drive into the determined blind spot area, determining, by one or more processors, a controlling factor for the blind spot area including a restriction on an amount of time spent by the vehicle in the determined blind spot area when the vehicle is in the determined blind spot area; and maneuvering, by the one or more processors, the vehicle based on the controlling factor.