Abstract: A method and apparatus for planning vehicle trajectories or routing in which a first optimized route between a starting point and a destination is established with regard to a first, relatively coarse node grid, using known techniques. In order to further refine route selection, a second relatively finer node grid is then established within a predeterminable area or volume that is adjacent yo the first optimized route, along its length. The latter finer node grid is then used to establish a second enhanced polygonal path from among the possible polygonal paths between the starting and destination points according to the finer node grid, once again using a known optimization technique.

Abstract: A computer implementable process for determining optimized paths for a vehicle includes the following steps: (a) evaluation of all nodes or grid points of a defined search space based on costs arising at these nodes for desired paths, starting from both a first reference node and a second reference node, and determining cost-effective desired paths starting from each respective reference node; (b) formation of cost-effective desired paths extending between the first and the second reference node including at least a combination of desired-path sections which extend from the first and second reference nodes respectively, to an intersecting point of the respective cost-effective desired paths; and (c) selection of a cost-optimized desired path extending between the first and second nodes comprising the potential combinations of desired-path sections which start from the first and second reference nodes respectively, on the basis of a defined criterion.