Patents by Inventor Colen McAlister

Colen McAlister 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).

  • Patent number: 11975742
    Abstract: Methods of refining a planned trajectory of an autonomous vehicle are disclose. For multiple cycles as the vehicle moves along the trajectory, the vehicle will perceive nearby objects. The vehicle will use the perceived object data to calculate a set of candidate updated trajectories. The motion planning system will measure a discrepancy between each candidate updated trajectory and the current trajectory by: (i) determining waypoints along each trajectory; (ii) determining distances between at least some of the waypoints; and (iii) using the distances to measure the discrepancy between the updated trajectory and the current trajectory. The system will use the discrepancy to select, from the set of candidate updated trajectories, a final updated trajectory for the vehicle to follow.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 25, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2024
    Assignee: FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    Inventors: Scott Julian Varnhagen, Colen McAlister, Timothy Andrew Potts, Jr., David Breeden, Pragati Satpute, Alice Kassar
  • Patent number: 11679780
    Abstract: Methods, systems, and computer program products for navigating a vehicle are disclosed. The methods include extracting lane segment data associated with lane segments of a vector map that are within a region of interest, and analyzing the lane segment data and a heading of the vehicle to determine whether motion of the vehicle satisfies a condition. The condition can be associated with (i) an association between the heading of the vehicle and a direction of travel of a lane that corresponds to the current location of the vehicle and/or (ii) a minimum stopping distance to an imminent traffic control measure in the lane that corresponds to the current location of the vehicle. When the motion does not satisfy the condition, the methods include causing the vehicle to perform a motion correction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 2022
    Date of Patent: June 20, 2023
    Assignee: ARGO AI, LLC
    Inventors: Colen McAlister, David Breeden, Thomas Petroff, Christopher Cunningham, Patrick Barone, Arek Sredzki, Neal Seegmiller, Xi Cai
  • Publication number: 20230054145
    Abstract: Methods, systems, and computer program products for navigating a vehicle are disclosed. The methods include extracting lane segment data associated with lane segments of a vector map that are within a region of interest, and analyzing the lane segment data and a heading of the vehicle to determine whether motion of the vehicle satisfies a condition. The condition can be associated with (i) an association between the heading of the vehicle and a direction of travel of a lane that corresponds to the current location of the vehicle and/or (ii) a minimum stopping distance to an imminent traffic control measure in the lane that corresponds to the current location of the vehicle. When the motion does not satisfy the condition, the methods include causing the vehicle to perform a motion correction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 28, 2022
    Publication date: February 23, 2023
    Inventors: Colen McAlister, David Breeden, Thomas Petroff, Christopher Cunningham, Patrick Barone, Arek Sredzki, Neal Seegmiller, Xi Cai
  • Patent number: 11535271
    Abstract: Vehicle driver assistance and warning systems that alert a driver of a vehicle to wrong-way driving and/or imminent traffic control measures (TCMs) are disclosed. The system will identify a region of interest around the vehicle, access a vector map that includes the region of interest, and extract lane segment data associated with lane segments that are within the region of interest. The system will analyze the lane segment data and the vehicle's direction of travel to determine whether motion of the vehicle indicates that either: (a) the vehicle is traveling in a wrong-way direction for its lane; or (b) the vehicle is within a minimum stopping distance to an imminent TCM in its lane. When the system detects either condition, it will cause a driver warning system of the vehicle to output a driver alert.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 8, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2022
    Assignee: Argo AI, LLC
    Inventors: Colen McAlister, David Breeden, Thomas Petroff, Christopher Cunningham, Patrick Barone, Arek Sredzki, Neal Seegmiller, Xi Cai
  • Publication number: 20220379928
    Abstract: Methods of refining a planned trajectory of an autonomous vehicle are disclose. For multiple cycles as the vehicle moves along the trajectory, the vehicle will perceive nearby objects. The vehicle will use the perceived object data to calculate a set of candidate updated trajectories. The motion planning system will measure a discrepancy between each candidate updated trajectory and the current trajectory by: (i) determining waypoints along each trajectory; (ii) determining distances between at least some of the waypoints; and (iii) using the distances to measure the discrepancy between the updated trajectory and the current trajectory. The system will use the discrepancy to select, from the set of candidate updated trajectories, a final updated trajectory for the vehicle to follow.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 25, 2021
    Publication date: December 1, 2022
    Inventors: Scott Julian Varnhagen, Colen McAlister, Timothy Andrew Potts, JR., David Breeden, Pragati Satpute, Alice Kassar
  • Publication number: 20220219716
    Abstract: Vehicle driver assistance and warning systems that alert a driver of a vehicle to wrong-way driving and/or imminent traffic control measures (TCMs) are disclosed. The system will identify a region of interest around the vehicle, access a vector map that includes the region of interest, and extract lane segment data associated with lane segments that are within the region of interest. The system will analyze the lane segment data and the vehicle's direction of travel to determine whether motion of the vehicle indicates that either: (a) the vehicle is traveling in a wrong-way direction for its lane; or (b) the vehicle is within a minimum stopping distance to an imminent TCM in its lane. When the system detects either condition, it will cause a driver warning system of the vehicle to output a driver alert.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 8, 2021
    Publication date: July 14, 2022
    Inventors: Colen McAlister, David Breeden, Thomas Petroff, Christopher Cunningham, Patrick Barone, Arek Sredzki, Neal Seegmiller, Xi Cai