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Sensor integration for large autonomous vehicles

a technology for autonomous vehicles and sensors, applied in the direction of vehicle position/course/altitude control, using reradiation, instruments, etc., can solve the problems of large vehicle equipment costs and the placement of such sensors, and achieve the effect of improving the field of view of sensors

Inactive Publication Date: 2019-07-04
WAYMO LLC
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  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The disclosed patent is a sensor tower assembly for large vehicles such as trucks and buses. The assembly contains various types of sensors integrated into a rigid housing that is attached to the side of the vehicle. The assembly provides enhanced fields of view for the sensors and may replace a side view mirror housing. The assembly includes at least one radar and / or camera sensor, and may also include an inertial sensor for redundancy. The sensors are powered and controlled through conduits, and the resulting sensor information is sent to a control system of the vehicle for autonomous or semi-autonomous operation. The technical effect of the invention is to create a more efficient and effective sensor system for large vehicles that allows them to see and respond to their surroundings better.

Problems solved by technology

However, there may be concerns regarding the placement of such sensors and the cost of equipping large vehicles with them.

Method used

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  • Sensor integration for large autonomous vehicles
  • Sensor integration for large autonomous vehicles
  • Sensor integration for large autonomous vehicles

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example implementations

[0038]In addition to the structures and configurations described above and illustrated in the figures, various implementations will now be described.

[0039]As noted above, for large trucks, busses, construction equipment and other vehicles, it may be impractical to place sensors on the roof of the vehicle. The roof can be hard to access and has side view limitations. In addition, mounting various sensors on the roof may interfere with aerodynamic roof fairings. While different sensors could be distributed along the front, sides and rear of the vehicle, this may be costly and require running individual data, power and / or cooling lines to each individual sensor. Furthermore, such a solution could be very hard to implement with legacy vehicles, or when the cab of a truck is capable of operating in an autonomous mode but the trailer is a legacy trailer without the necessary sensors.

[0040]Thus, according to one aspect, the sensor housing is integrated into a side view mirror assembly, suc...

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Abstract

The technology relates to autonomous vehicles for transporting cargo and / or people between locations. Distributed sensor arrangements may not be suitable for vehicles such as large trucks, busses or construction vehicles. Side view mirror assemblies are provided that include a sensor suite of different types of sensors, including LIDAR, radar, cameras, etc. Each side assembly is rigidly secured to the vehicle by a mounting element. The sensors within the assembly may be aligned or arranged relative to a common axis or physical point of the housing. This enables self-referenced calibration of all sensors in the housing. Vehicle-level calibration can also be performed between the sensors on the left and right sides of the vehicle. Each side view mirror assembly may include a conduit that provides one or more of power, data and cooling to the sensors in the housing.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]The present application claims the benefit of the filing date of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 611,685 filed Dec. 29, 2017, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.BACKGROUND[0002]Autonomous vehicles, such as vehicles that do not require a human driver, can be used to aid in the transport of passengers, cargo or other items from one location to another. Such vehicles may operate in a fully autonomous mode or a partially autonomous mode where a person in the vehicle may provide some driving input. To aid driving in an autonomous mode, one or more sets of sensors are used to detect features and objects in the environment around the vehicle. The sensors may be placed at different locations about the vehicle in order to gather information about the surrounding environment. However, there may be concerns regarding the placement of such sensors and the cost of equipping large vehicles with them.BRIEF SUMM...

Claims

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Application Information

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IPC IPC(8): G05D1/02B60R1/12G01S7/481G01S17/93G01S17/02G01S13/86G01S17/86G01S17/87G01S17/931
CPCG05D1/0231B60R1/12G05D1/0257G01S7/4813G01S17/936G01S17/023G01S13/865G05D2201/0212G05D2201/0213B60R2001/1223G01S17/87G01S2013/9319G01S2013/9318G01S2013/93185G01S2013/93274G01S17/86G01S17/931G01S13/867G05D1/249G05D1/247
Inventor GROSSMAN, WILLIAMPITZER, BENJAMIN
Owner WAYMO LLC
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