Patents Assigned to UATC, LLC
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Patent number: 11702067Abstract: Systems and methods for controlling an autonomous vehicle are provided. In one example embodiment, a computer-implemented method includes receiving data indicative of an operating mode of the vehicle, wherein the vehicle is configured to operate in a plurality of operating modes. The method includes determining one or more response characteristics of the vehicle based at least in part on the operating mode of the vehicle, each response characteristic indicating how the vehicle responds to a potential collision. The method includes controlling the vehicle based at least in part on the one or more response characteristics.Type: GrantFiled: September 18, 2020Date of Patent: July 18, 2023Assignee: UATC, LLCInventors: Matthew Shaw Wood, William M. Leach, Scott C. Poeppel, Nicholas G. Letwin, Noah Zych
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Patent number: 11702076Abstract: A sensor assembly can include a housing that includes a view pane and a mounting feature configured to replace a trailer light of a cargo trailer of a semi-trailer truck. The sensor assembly can also include a lighting element mounted within the housing to selectively generate light, and a sensor mounted within the housing and having a field of view through the view pane. The sensor assembly can also include a communication interface configured to transmit sensor data from the sensor to a control system of the self-driving tractor.Type: GrantFiled: July 1, 2021Date of Patent: July 18, 2023Assignee: UATC, LLCInventors: Matthew Shaw Wood, Nancy Yung-Hui Sun, Zac Vawter
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Patent number: 11697433Abstract: Systems and methods are directed to an autonomy computing system of an autonomous vehicle. The autonomy computing system can include first functional circuitry configured to generate a first output associated with a first autonomous compute function of the autonomous vehicle based on sensor data using first neural networks. The autonomy computing system can include second functional circuitry configured to generate a second output associated with the first autonomous compute function of the autonomous vehicle based on the sensor data and neural networks. The autonomy computing system can include monitoring circuitry configured to determine a difference between the first output of the first functional circuitry and the second output of the second functional circuitry. The autonomy computing system can include a vehicle control system configured to generate vehicle control signals for the autonomous vehicle based on the outputs.Type: GrantFiled: June 5, 2020Date of Patent: July 11, 2023Assignee: UATC, LLCInventors: Sean Hyde, Jose Francisco Molinari, Stephen Luke Thomas
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Patent number: 11693409Abstract: Systems and methods are directed to determining autonomous vehicle scenarios based on autonomous vehicle operation data. In one example, a computer-implemented method for determining operating scenarios for an autonomous vehicle includes obtaining, by a computing system comprising one or more computing devices, log data representing autonomous vehicle operations. The method further includes extracting, by the computing system, a plurality of attributes from the log data. The method further includes determining, by the computing system, one or more scenarios based on a combination of the attributes, wherein each scenario includes multiple scenario variations and each scenario variation comprises multiple features. The method further includes providing, by the computing system, the one or more scenarios for generating autonomous vehicle operation analytics.Type: GrantFiled: July 15, 2021Date of Patent: July 4, 2023Assignee: UATC, LLCInventors: Steffon Charles Davis, Andrew Joel Duberstein
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Patent number: 11691650Abstract: A computing system can be configured to input data that describes sensor data into an object detection model and receive, as an output of the object detection model, object detection data describing features of the plurality of the actors relative to the autonomous vehicle. The computing system can generate an input sequence that describes the object detection data. The computing system can analyze the input sequence using an interaction model to produce, as an output of the interaction model, an attention embedding with respect to the plurality of actors. The computing system can be configured to input the attention embedding into a recurrent model and determine respective trajectories for the plurality of actors based on motion forecast data received as an output of the recurrent model.Type: GrantFiled: February 26, 2020Date of Patent: July 4, 2023Assignee: UATC, LLCInventors: Lingyun Li, Bin Yang, Ming Liang, Wenyuan Zeng, Mengye Ren, Sean Segal, Raquel Urtasun
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Patent number: 11687079Abstract: The present disclosure is directed to analyzing motion plans of autonomous vehicles. In particular, the methods, devices, and systems of the present disclosure can: receive data indicating a motion plan, of an autonomous vehicle through an environment, based at least in part on multiple different constraints of the environment; and determine, for each constraint of the multiple different constraints, a measure of an influence of the constraint on the motion plan.Type: GrantFiled: March 19, 2018Date of Patent: June 27, 2023Assignee: UATC, LLCInventors: Sameer Bardapurkar, Moslem Kazemi, David McAllister Bradley
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Patent number: 11686848Abstract: Systems and methods for training object detection models using adversarial examples are provided. A method includes obtaining a training scene and identifying a target object within the training scene. The method includes obtaining an adversarial object and generating a modified training scene based on the adversarial object, the target object, and the training scene. The modified training scene includes the training scene modified to include the adversarial object placed on the target object. The modified training scene is input to a machine-learned model configured to detect the training object. A detection score is determined based on whether the training object is detected, and the machine-learned model and the parameters of the adversarial object are trained based on the detection output. The machine-learned model is trained to maximize the detection output. The parameters of the adversarial object are trained to minimize the detection output.Type: GrantFiled: August 31, 2020Date of Patent: June 27, 2023Assignee: UATC, LLCInventors: Xuanyuan Tu, Sivabalan Manivasagam, Mengye Ren, Ming Liang, Bin Yang, Raquel Urtasun
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Systems and methods for vehicle-to-vehicle communications for improved autonomous vehicle operations
Patent number: 11685403Abstract: Systems and methods for vehicle-to-vehicle communications are provided. An example computer-implemented method includes obtaining from a first autonomous vehicle, by a second autonomous vehicle, a first compressed intermediate environmental representation. The first compressed intermediate environmental representation is indicative of at least a portion of an environment of the second autonomous vehicle. The method includes generating a first decompressed intermediate environmental representation by decompressing the first compressed intermediate environmental representation. The method includes determining, using one or more machine-learned models, an updated intermediate environmental representation based at least in part on the first decompressed intermediate environmental representation and a second intermediate environmental representation generated by the second autonomous vehicle.Type: GrantFiled: October 8, 2020Date of Patent: June 27, 2023Assignee: UATC, LLCInventors: Sivabalan Manivasagam, Ming Liang, Bin Yang, Wenyuan Zeng, Raquel Urtasun, Tsun-Hsuan Wang -
Patent number: 11681048Abstract: A LIDAR unit includes a housing defining a cavity. The LIDAR unit further include a plurality of emitters disposed on a circuit board within the cavity. Each of the emitters emits a laser beam along a transmit path. The LIDAR system further includes a first telecentric lens assembly positioned within the cavity and along the transmit path such that the laser beam emitted from each of the plurality of emitters passes through the first telecentric lens assembly. The LIDAR further includes a second telecentric lens assembly positioned within the cavity and along a receive path such that a plurality of reflected laser beams entering the cavity pass through the second telecentric lens assembly. The first telecentric lens assembly and the second telecentric lens assembly each include a field flattening lens and at least one other lens.Type: GrantFiled: August 27, 2020Date of Patent: June 20, 2023Assignee: UATC, LLCInventors: James Allen Haslim, Michael Bryan Borden, Daniel Thomas Sing
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Patent number: 11682196Abstract: Systems and methods for facilitating communication with autonomous vehicles are provided. In one example embodiment, a computing system can obtain a first type of sensor data (e.g., camera image data) associated with a surrounding environment of an autonomous vehicle and/or a second type of sensor data (e.g., LIDAR data) associated with the surrounding environment of the autonomous vehicle. The computing system can generate overhead image data indicative of at least a portion of the surrounding environment of the autonomous vehicle based at least in part on the first and/or second types of sensor data. The computing system can determine one or more lane boundaries within the surrounding environment of the autonomous vehicle based at least in part on the overhead image data indicative of at least the portion of the surrounding environment of the autonomous vehicle and a machine-learned lane boundary detection model.Type: GrantFiled: June 25, 2021Date of Patent: June 20, 2023Assignee: UATC, LLCInventors: Min Bai, Gellert Sandor Mattyus, Namdar Homayounfar, Shenlong Wang, Shrindihi Kowshika Lakshmikanth, Raquel Urtasun
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Patent number: 11681746Abstract: A method includes receiving image data associated with an image of a roadway including a crosswalk, generating a plurality of different characteristics of the image based on the image data, determining a position of the crosswalk on the roadway based on the plurality of different characteristics, the position including a first boundary and a second boundary of the crosswalk in the roadway, and providing map data associated with a map of the roadway, the map data including the position of the crosswalk on the roadway in the map. The plurality of different characteristics include a classification of one or more elements of the image, a segmentation of the one or more elements of the image, and one or more angles of the one or more elements of the image with respect to a line in the roadway.Type: GrantFiled: August 5, 2021Date of Patent: June 20, 2023Assignee: UATC, LLCInventors: Justin Jin-Wei Liang, Raquel Urtasun Sotil
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Patent number: 11676310Abstract: The present disclosure is directed encoding LIDAR point cloud data. In particular, a computing system can receive point cloud data for a three-dimensional space. The computing system can generate a tree-based data structure from the point cloud data, the tree-based data structure comprising a plurality of nodes. The computing system can generate a serial representation of the tree-based data structure. The computing system can, for each respective node represented by a symbol in the serial representation: determine contextual information for the respective node, generate, using the contextual information as input to a machine-learned model, a statistical distribution associated with the respective node, and generate a compressed representation of the symbol associated with the respective node by encoding the symbol using the statistical distribution for the respective node.Type: GrantFiled: September 11, 2020Date of Patent: June 13, 2023Assignee: UATC, LLCInventors: Yushu Huang, Jerry Junkai Liu, Kelvin Ka Wing Wong, Shenlong Wang, Raquel Urtasun, Sourav Biswas
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Patent number: 11669091Abstract: A control system of a self-driving tractor can access sensor data to determine a set of trailer configuration parameters of a cargo trailer coupled to the self-driving tractor. Based on the set of trailer configuration parameters, the control system can configure a motion planning model for autonomously controlling the acceleration, braking, and steering systems of the tractor.Type: GrantFiled: June 9, 2022Date of Patent: June 6, 2023Assignee: UATC, LLCInventors: Matthew Shaw Wood, Nancy Yung-Hui Sun, Zachias Rauch Vawter
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Patent number: 11667283Abstract: Systems and methods for controlling the motion of an autonomous are provided. In one example embodiment, a computer-implemented method includes obtaining data associated with an object within a surrounding environment of an autonomous vehicle. The data associated with the object is indicative of a predicted motion trajectory of the object. The method includes determining a vehicle action sequence based at least in part on the predicted motion trajectory of the object. The vehicle action sequence is indicative of a plurality of vehicle actions for the autonomous vehicle at a plurality of respective time steps associated with the predicted motion trajectory. The method includes determining a motion plan for the autonomous vehicle based at least in part on the vehicle action sequence. The method includes causing the autonomous vehicle to initiate motion control in accordance with at least a portion of the motion plan.Type: GrantFiled: January 27, 2021Date of Patent: June 6, 2023Assignee: UATC, LLCInventors: Kalin Vasilev Gochev, Michael Lee Phillips, David McAllister Bradley, Bradley Nicholas Emi
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Patent number: 11668573Abstract: Various examples are directed to systems and methods for locating a vehicle. A pose state estimator may access a previous position for the vehicle at a first time, wherein the previous position is on a first sub-map of a plurality of sub-maps. The pose state estimator may receive from a first localizer a first position estimate for the vehicle at a second time after the first time. The first position estimate may be on a second sub-map of the plurality of sub-maps. The pose state estimator may send to a second localizer a sub-map change message indicating the second sub-map.Type: GrantFiled: July 6, 2021Date of Patent: June 6, 2023Assignee: UATC, LLCInventors: Rachel Ahn, David Prasser, Peter Hansen, Robert Zlot
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Patent number: 11660985Abstract: An autonomous can include one or more configurable passenger seats to accommodate a plurality of different seating configurations. For instance, the one or more passenger seats can include a passenger seat defining a seating orientation. The passenger seat can be configurable in a first configuration in which the seating orientation is directed towards a forward end of the autonomous vehicle and a second configuration in which the seating orientation is directed towards a rear end of the autonomous vehicle. The passenger seat can include a seatback rotatable about a pivot point on a base of the passenger seat to switch between the first configuration and the second configuration. Alternatively, or additionally, the autonomous vehicle can include a door assembly pivotably fixed to a vehicle body of the autonomous vehicle such that a swept path of the door assembly when moving between an open position and a closed position is reduced.Type: GrantFiled: July 8, 2020Date of Patent: May 30, 2023Assignee: UATC, LLCInventor: Daniel Adam Kanitz
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Patent number: 11657603Abstract: Systems and methods for performing semantic segmentation of three-dimensional data are provided. In one example embodiment, a computing system can be configured to obtain sensor data including three-dimensional data associated with an environment. The three-dimensional data can include a plurality of points and can be associated with one or more times. The computing system can be configured to determine data indicative of a two-dimensional voxel representation associated with the environment based at least in part on the three-dimensional data. The computing system can be configured to determine a classification for each point of the plurality of points within the three-dimensional data based at least in part on the two-dimensional voxel representation associated with the environment and a machine-learned semantic segmentation model. The computing system can be configured to initiate one or more actions based at least in part on the per-point classifications.Type: GrantFiled: March 22, 2021Date of Patent: May 23, 2023Assignee: UATC, LLCInventors: Chris Jia-Han Zhang, Wenjie Luo, Raquel Urtasun
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Patent number: 11648855Abstract: Systems and methods for reconfiguring seats of an autonomous vehicle is provided. The method includes obtaining service request data that includes a service selection and request characteristics. The method includes obtaining data describing an initial seat configuration for each of a plurality of seats of an autonomous vehicle assigned to the service request. The initial seat configuration can include a seat position and a seat orientation for each of the plurality of seats. The method includes generating, based on the initial cabin configuration and the service request data, seat adjustment instructions configured to adjust the initial seat configuration of at least one of the seats. The method includes providing the seat adjustment instructions to the autonomous vehicle assigned to the service request.Type: GrantFiled: July 8, 2020Date of Patent: May 16, 2023Assignee: UATC, LLCInventor: Daniel Adam Kanitz
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Patent number: 11650291Abstract: A LIDAR sensor includes a fiber laser configured to emit an electromagnetic pulse through a fiber cable, and a fiber cable splitter to split the fiber cable into a first fiber cable and a second fiber cable. The electromagnetic pulse is split into an output pulse that propagates through the first fiber cable and a calibration pulse that propagates through the second fiber cable. The LIDAR sensor includes a pulse receiving sensor configured to detect the calibration pulse and a second pulse corresponding to the output pulse being reflected by a surface external from the LiDAR sensor. A processor is included to receive information from the pulse receiving sensor indicating a position of the surface relative to the LiDAR sensor. The processor further measures an intensity of the calibration pulse and determines a reflectance of the surface based at least in part on the intensity of the calibration pulse.Type: GrantFiled: October 3, 2019Date of Patent: May 16, 2023Assignee: UATC, LLCInventors: Brent Schwarz, James A. Haslim, Nicholas M. Iturraran, Michael D. Karasoff
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Patent number: 11651240Abstract: Systems, methods, tangible non-transitory computer-readable media, and devices for associating objects are provided. For example, the disclosed technology can receive sensor data associated with the detection of objects over time. An association dataset can be generated and can include information associated with object detections of the objects at a most recent time interval and object tracks of the objects at time intervals in the past. A subset of the association dataset including the object detections that satisfy some association subset criteria can be determined. Association scores for the object detections in the subset of the association dataset can be determined. Further, the object detections can be associated with the object tracks based on the association scores for each of the object detections in the subset of the association dataset that satisfy some association criteria.Type: GrantFiled: October 5, 2021Date of Patent: May 16, 2023Assignee: UATC, LLCInventors: Carlos Vallespi-Gonzalez, Abhishek Sen, Shivam Gautam