Patents by Inventor BLAKE WARREN WULFE

BLAKE WARREN WULFE has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20240025449
    Abstract: Systems and methods of model or prediction algorithm selection are provided. An autonomous control system may include a perception component that, based on environmental inputs regarding an object(s), a vehicle's operating characteristics, etc., outputs a current state of the vehicle's surrounding environment. This in turn, is used as input to a prediction component comprising a plurality of prediction algorithms. The prediction component outputs a set of predictions regarding the trajectory of the object(s). Accordingly, for each object, a set of trajectories at specific timesteps may be generated by the different prediction algorithms which are input to a planner component. These trajectories may then be analyzed, compared, or otherwise processed to determine which trajectory regarding the object is most accurate. The prediction algorithm or model that produced the most accurate predicted trajectory may then be used for subsequent predictions/timesteps.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 3, 2023
    Publication date: January 25, 2024
    Inventors: BLAKE WARREN WULFE, Guy Rosman, Noah J. Epstein, Luke D. Fletcher
  • Patent number: 11807272
    Abstract: Systems and methods of model or prediction algorithm selection are provided. An autonomous control system may include a perception component that, based on environmental inputs regarding an object(s), a vehicle's operating characteristics, etc., outputs a current state of the vehicle's surrounding environment. This in turn, is used as input to a prediction component comprising a plurality of prediction algorithms. The prediction component outputs a set of predictions regarding the trajectory of the object(s). Accordingly, for each object, a set of trajectories at specific timesteps may be generated by the different prediction algorithms which are input to a planner component. These trajectories may then be analyzed, compared, or otherwise processed to determine which trajectory regarding the object is most accurate. The prediction algorithm or model that produced the most accurate predicted trajectory may then be used for subsequent predictions/timesteps.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2023
    Assignee: TOYOTA RESEARCH INSTITUTE, INC.
    Inventors: Blake Warren Wulfe, Guy Rosman, Noah J. Epstein, Luke D. Fletcher
  • Patent number: 11783178
    Abstract: A method includes generating a training data set comprising a plurality of training examples, wherein each training example is generated by receiving map data associated with a road portion, receiving sensor data associated with a road agent located on the road portion, defining one or more corridors associated with the road portion based on the map data and the sensor data, extracting a plurality of agent features associated with the road agent based on the sensor data, extracting a plurality of corridor features associated with each of the one or more corridors based on the sensor data, and for each corridor, labeling the training example based on the position of the road agent with respect to the corridor, and training a neural network using the training data set.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 30, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2023
    Assignee: TOYOTA RESEARCH INSTITUTE, INC.
    Inventors: Blake Warren Wulfe, Wolfram Burgard
  • Publication number: 20230104027
    Abstract: Systems and methods described herein relate to dynamics-aware comparison of reward functions. One embodiment generates a reference reward function; computes a dynamics-aware transformation of the reference reward function based on a transition model of an environment of a robot; computes a dynamics-aware transformation of a first candidate reward function based on the transition model; computes a dynamics-aware transformation of a second candidate reward function based on the transition model; selects, as a final reward function, the first or second candidate reward function based on which is closer to the reference reward function as measured by pseudometrics computed between their respective dynamics-aware transformations and the dynamics-aware transformation of the reference reward function; and optimizes the final reward function to control, at least in part, operation of the robot.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 7, 2022
    Publication date: April 6, 2023
    Inventors: Blake Warren Wulfe, Rowan McAllister, Adrien David Gaidon
  • Patent number: 11577759
    Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for implementing hybrid prediction. Hybrid prediction integrates two deep learning based trajectory prediction approaches: grid-based approaches and graph-based approaches. Hybrid prediction techniques can achieve enhanced performance by combining the grid and graph approaches in a manner that incorporates appropriate inductive biases for different elements of a high-dimensional space. A hybrid prediction framework processor can generate trajectory predictions relating to movement of agents in a surrounding environment based on a prediction model generating using hybrid prediction. Trajectory predictions output from the hybrid prediction framework processor can be used to control an autonomous vehicle. For example, the autonomous vehicle can perform safety-aware and autonomous operations to avoid oncoming objects, based on the trajectory predictions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2023
    Assignee: TOYOTA RESEARCH INSTITUTE, INC.
    Inventors: Blake Warren Wulfe, Jin Ge, Jiachen Li
  • Publication number: 20230001953
    Abstract: A method of generating an output trajectory of an ego vehicle includes recording trajectory data of the ego vehicle and pedestrian agents from a scene of a training environment of the ego vehicle. The method includes identifying at least one pedestrian agent from the pedestrian agents within the scene of the training environment of the ego vehicle causing a prediction-discrepancy by the ego vehicle greater than the pedestrian agents within the scene. The method includes updating parameters of a motion prediction model of the ego vehicle based on a magnitude of the prediction-discrepancy caused by the at least one pedestrian agent on the ego vehicle to form a trained, control-aware prediction objective model. The method includes selecting a vehicle control action of the ego vehicle in response to a predicted motion from the trained, control-aware prediction objective model regarding detected pedestrian agents within a traffic environment of the ego vehicle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 6, 2022
    Publication date: January 5, 2023
    Applicants: TOYOTA RESEARCH INSTITUTE, INC., THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
    Inventors: Rowan Thomas MCALLISTER, Blake Warren WULFE, Jean MERCAT, Logan Michael ELLIS, Sergey LEVINE, Adrien David GAIDON
  • Publication number: 20220032957
    Abstract: Systems and methods of model or prediction algorithm selection are provided. An autonomous control system may include a perception component that, based on environmental inputs regarding an object(s), a vehicle's operating characteristics, etc., outputs a current state of the vehicle's surrounding environment. This in turn, is used as input to a prediction component comprising a plurality of prediction algorithms. The prediction component outputs a set of predictions regarding the trajectory of the object(s). Accordingly, for each object, a set of trajectories at specific timesteps may be generated by the different prediction algorithms which are input to a planner component. These trajectories may then be analyzed, compared, or otherwise processed to determine which trajectory regarding the object is most accurate. The prediction algorithm or model that produced the most accurate predicted trajectory may then be used for subsequent predictions/timesteps.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 28, 2020
    Publication date: February 3, 2022
    Inventors: Blake Warren Wulfe, Guy Rosman, Noah J. Epstein, Luke D. Fletcher
  • Publication number: 20220036173
    Abstract: A method includes generating a training data set comprising a plurality of training examples, wherein each training example is generated by receiving map data associated with a road portion, receiving sensor data associated with a road agent located on the road portion, defining one or more corridors associated with the road portion based on the map data and the sensor data, extracting a plurality of agent features associated with the road agent based on the sensor data, extracting a plurality of corridor features associated with each of the one or more corridors based on the sensor data, and for each corridor, labeling the training example based on the position of the road agent with respect to the corridor, and training a neural network using the training data set.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 30, 2020
    Publication date: February 3, 2022
    Applicant: TOYOTA RESEARCH INSTITUTE, INC.
    Inventors: Blake Warren Wulfe, Wolfram Burgard
  • Publication number: 20210370990
    Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for implementing hybrid prediction. Hybrid prediction integrates two deep learning based trajectory prediction approaches: grid-based approaches and graph-based approaches. Hybrid prediction techniques can achieve enhanced performance by combining the grid and graph approaches in a manner that incorporates appropriate inductive biases for different elements of a high-dimensional space. A hybrid prediction framework processor can generate trajectory predictions relating to movement of agents in a surrounding environment based on a prediction model generating using hybrid prediction. Trajectory predictions output from the hybrid prediction framework processor can be used to control an autonomous vehicle. For example, the autonomous vehicle can perform safety-aware and autonomous operations to avoid oncoming objects, based on the trajectory predictions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 26, 2020
    Publication date: December 2, 2021
    Inventors: BLAKE WARREN WULFE, JIN GE, JIACHEN LI