Distinguishing Lane Markings for a Vehicle to Follow

• Main Authors: Reiff Brielle, Kadetotad Sneha, Jain Jinesh J
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 18.05.2017
• Subjects: CALCULATING; COMPUTING; CONJOINT CONTROL OF VEHICLE SUB-UNITS OF DIFFERENT TYPE ORDIFFERENT FUNCTION; CONTROL SYSTEMS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR HYBRID VEHICLES; CONTROLLING; COUNTING; HANDLING RECORD CARRIERS; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; PHYSICS; PRESENTATION OF DATA; RECOGNITION OF DATA; RECORD CARRIERS; REGULATING; ROAD VEHICLE DRIVE CONTROL SYSTEMS FOR PURPOSES NOT RELATED TOTHE CONTROL OF A PARTICULAR SUB-UNIT; SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES; TRANSPORTING; VEHICLES IN GENERAL

The present invention extends to methods, systems, and computer program products for distinguishing lane markings for a vehicle to follow. Automated driving or driving assist vehicles utilize sensors to help the vehicle navigate on roadways or in parking areas. The sensors can utilize, for example, the painted surface markings to help guide the vehicle on its path. Aspects of the invention use a first type of sensor and at least a second different type of sensor to identify road surface markings. When ambiguity is detected between road surface markings, decision making algorithms identify the correct set of markings for a vehicle to abide by. The sensors also identify the location and trajectory of neighboring vehicles to increase confidence with respect to the identified road-surface markings.