A system includes at least partially autonomous vehicles, at least partially separated interconnected roadways, and a management system. Each of the vehicles is configured to cooperate with another vehicle or an area controller. The management system is configured to receive requests to transport, which may have respective start points and respective destinations. Additionally, the management system is configured, responsive to receiving the request, to assign a vehicle to fulfill the request. The assigned vehicle is configured to transport a person from the respective start point, at least in part via the interconnected roadways, to the respective destination.

Disclosed are methods, systems, and non-transitory computer readable media that control an autonomous vehicle via at least two sensors. One aspect includes capturing an image of a scene ahead of the vehicle with a first sensor, identifying an object in the scene at a confidence level based on the image, determining the confidence level of the identifying is below a threshold, in response to the confidence level being below the threshold, directing a second sensor having a field of view smaller than the first sensor to generate a second image including a location of the identified object, further identifying the object in the scene based on the second image, controlling the vehicle based on the further identification of the object.

A behavior control device and a behavior control method for an autonomous vehicle are provided. The behavior control device includes a learning device configured to perform deep learning of a behavior pattern of a vehicle according to a driving environment and a controller configured to control a behavior of the autonomous vehicle based on a result of the learning of the learning device.

An autonomous vehicle (AV) includes a vehicle computing system configured to receive map data of a geographic location, obtain position estimate data of the autonomous vehicle and determine a route of the autonomous vehicle including a plurality of roadways in the plurality of submaps. The autonomous vehicle determines a route including a plurality of roadways, determines a first roadway in the plurality of roadways closest to the position estimate and a second roadway outside the plurality of roadways closest to the position estimate of the autonomous vehicle, and determines a pose relative to the first roadway or the second roadway based on a distance between the position estimate of the autonomous vehicle and a roadway associated with a prior pose of the autonomous vehicle to control travel of the autonomous vehicle based on the vehicle pose.

Methods and systems for maintaining a distributed ledger and/or blockchain of transactions and/or events pertaining to autonomous vehicles and/or smart contracts are provided. One or more processors may monitor one or more sensors associated with an autonomous vehicle. Based upon the outputs of the sensors, a change in condition of the autonomous vehicle may be detected. The condition may relate to operation, or an operational state of the vehicle and/or a condition associated with a smart contract. The processors may generate a transaction describing the detected change in the condition of the vehicle. The transaction may be transmitted to an enforcement server. As a result, an up-to-date ledger of autonomous vehicle and/or smart contract transactions and/or events may be maintained.

A vehicle control device includes a first inputter, a second inputter, a mode controller configured to, when the first inputter is operated by a user, determine a driving mode of a vehicle as a first mode, and when the second inputter is operated by the user in the first mode, switch the driving mode from the first mode to a second mode, and a driving controller configured to control at least one of a steering and speed of the vehicle, and the driving controller is configured to control a steering and speed of the vehicle and prohibit change of a path of the vehicle when the driving mode is the first mode, and control a steering and speed of the vehicle and change of the path of the vehicle is allowed when the driving mode is the second mode.

In one embodiment, method performed by an autonomous driving vehicle (ADV) that determines, within a driving space, a plurality of routes from a current location of the ADV to a desired location. The method determines, for each route of the plurality of routes, an objective function to control the ADV autonomously along the route and, for each of the objective functions, performs Differential Dynamic Programming (DDP) optimization in view of a set of constraints to produce a path trajectory. The method determines whether at least one of the path trajectories satisfies each constraint and, in response to a path trajectory satisfying each of the constraints, selects the path trajectory for navigating the ADV from the current location to the desired location.

A stopping position control device according to an embodiment includes a sitting position specifying unit configured to specify a sitting position of a user who gets off a vehicle next, the vehicle being subjected to automatic driving control, and a stopping position determination unit configured to determine a stopping position of the vehicle, at which the user gets off the vehicle, corresponding to the sitting position of the user.

A vehicle control device is configured to include a steering control unit. The steering control unit is configured to perform a steering control such that a vehicle passes between a first obstacle of which a position in a lateral direction is closest to the vehicle, among one or multiple obstacles existing ahead of the vehicle on a left side of the traveling direction and a second obstacle of which a position in the lateral direction is closest to the vehicle, among one or multiple obstacles existing ahead of the vehicle on a right side of the traveling direction, and if there exists a third obstacle closer to the vehicle than the first obstacle and the second obstacle, inhibit the steering control to one side where the third obstacle exists either on the left side of the traveling direction or the right side of the traveling direction.

Methods and systems for autonomous vehicle recharging or refueling are disclosed. Autonomous vehicles may be automatically refueled by routing the vehicles to available fueling stations when not in operation, according to methods described herein. A fuel level within a tank of an autonomous vehicle may be monitored until it reaches a refueling threshold, at which point an on-board computer may generate a predicted use profile for the vehicle. Based upon the predicted use profile, a time and location for the vehicle to refuel the vehicle may be determined. In some embodiments, the vehicle may be controlled to automatically travel to a fueling station, refill a fuel tank, and return to its starting location in order to refuel when not in use.