Search Patents
  • Drifting correction between planning stage and controlling stage of operating autonomous driving vehicles
    Patent number: 11377119
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a lateral drifting error is determined based on at least a current location of an ADV. The lateral drifting error is segmented into a first drifting error and a second drifting error using a predetermined segmentation algorithm. A planning module plans a path or trajectory for a current driving cycle (e.g., planning cycle) to drive the ADV from the current location for a predetermined period of time. The planning module performs a first drifting error correction on the trajectory by modifying at least a starting point of the trajectory based on the first drifting error to generate a modified trajectory. A control module controls the ADV to drive according to the modified trajectory, including performing a second drifting error correction based on the second drifting error.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 18, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2022
    Assignees: BAIDU USA LLC, BAIDU.COM TIMES TECHNOLOGY (BEIJING) CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Fan Zhu, Xin Xu, Qi Kong, Yuchang Pan, Feiyi Jiang, Liangliang Zhang, Jiaming Tao, Haoyang Fan, Hui Jiang
  • Spiral curve based vertical parking planner system for autonomous driving vehicles
    Patent number: 11180160
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a path for parking is planned in operating an autonomous driving vehicle (ADV). The operations comprises: determining a plurality of sample points; determining a plurality of candidate paths connecting a start point and an end point for parking, each of the candidate paths passing through one of the sample points; determining a cost associated with each of the plurality of candidate paths; determining one or more candidate paths from the plurality of candidate paths that meet a boundary check requirement; selecting as the planned path a candidate path associated with a lowest cost that meets the boundary check requirement; determining a speed profile based on the planned path and an environment of the ADV; and generating driving signals based at least in part on the speed profile to control operations of the ADV to perform parking along the planned path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 26, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 23, 2021
    Assignees: BAIDU USA LLC, BAIDU.COM TIMES TECHNOLOGY (BEIJING) CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Lin Ma, Fan Zhu, Xin Xu
  • Theft proof techniques for autonomous driving vehicles used for transporting goods
    Patent number: 11080975
    Abstract: Various techniques for theft proofing autonomous driving vehicles (ADV) for transporting goods are described. In one embodiment, sensor data of a moving object representing a person within a predetermined proximity of an ADV are captured for real-time analysis by a theft detection module, to determine a moving behavior of the moving object based on the sensor data in view of a set of known moving behaviors. The theft detection module further determines whether an intention of the person is likely to remove at least some of the goods from the ADV using a process derived from historical image set, and sends an alarm to a predetermined destination in response to determining such an intention of the person. Other sensor data, for example, real time movements and weights of the ADV, can be used in conjunction with the process derived from historical image sets to determine the intention of the person.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 3, 2021
    Assignees: BAIDU USA LLC, BAIDU.COM TIMES TECHNOLOGY (BEIJING) CO, LTD.
    Inventors: Yiqun Fu, Liangliang Zhang, Shengxiang Liu, Jiangtao Hu
  • SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DEEP LOCALIZATION AND SEGMENTATION WITH A 3D SEMANTIC MAP
    Publication number: 20200364554
    Abstract: Presented are deep learning-based systems and methods for fusing sensor data, such as camera images, motion sensors (GPS/IMU), and a 3D semantic map to achieve robustness, real-time performance, and accuracy of camera localization and scene parsing useful for applications such as robotic navigation and augment reality. In embodiments, a unified framework accomplishes this by jointly using camera poses and scene semantics in training and testing. To evaluate the presented methods and systems, embodiments use a novel dataset that is created from real scenes and comprises dense 3D semantically labeled point clouds, ground truth camera poses obtained from high-accuracy motion sensors, and pixel-level semantic labels of video camera images. As demonstrated by experimental results, the presented systems and methods are mutually beneficial for both camera poses and scene semantics.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 9, 2018
    Publication date: November 19, 2020
    Applicants: Baidu USA LLC, Baidu.com Times Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Peng WANG, Ruigang YANG, Binbin CAO, Wei XU
  • Multi-point enforced based stitch method to connect two smoothed reference lines
    Patent number: 11400955
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a method for generating a reference line for operating an autonomous driving vehicle includes determining a first ending reference point having a smallest curvature among a plurality of points within a first defined distance along a path, generating a first reference line based on a first initial reference point and the first ending reference point, determining a second ending reference point having a smallest curvature among a plurality of points within a second defined distance along the path, generating a second reference line based on the first and second ending reference points and an end section of the first reference line, connecting the first and second reference lines, and controlling the autonomous driving vehicle along the connected first reference line and the second reference line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2022
    Assignees: BAIDU USA LLC, BAIDU.COM TIMES TECHNOLOGY (BEIJING) CO. LTD.
    Inventors: Fan Zhu, Lin Ma, Xin Xu, Jingao Wang
  • Communications protocols between planning and control of autonomous driving vehicle
    Patent number: 11340613
    Abstract: Based on sensor data obtained from a variety of sensors, a driving environment surrounding an autonomous driving vehicle (ADV) is perceived, including perceiving and identifying one or more obstacles. A trajectory is planned based on the perception data according to a set of rules to drive the ADV navigating through the driving environment. Trajectory data representing the trajectory is generated, where the trajectory data includes information indicating target or expected vehicle states at different points in time along the trajectory. The trajectory data is then transmitted in a sequence or a stream of one or more controller area network (CAN) messages to an electronic control unit (ECU) of the ADV over a CAN bus. The ECU is configured to generate and issue one or more control commands (e.g., throttle, brake, steering commands) based on the trajectory data to drive the ADV according to the trajectory.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2022
    Assignees: BAIDU USA LLC, BAIDU.COM TIMES TECHNOLOGY (BEIJING) CO. LTD.
    Inventors: Fan Zhu, Lin Ma, Xin Xu, Jingao Wang
  • Map-less and camera-based lane markings sampling method for level-3 autonomous driving vehicles
    Patent number: 11267476
    Abstract: A computer-implemented method, apparatus, and system for discretizing lane markings and for generating a lane reference line is disclosed. A polynomial defined over an (x,y) coordinate system is received, the polynomial being representative of at least a portion of a lane boundary line. A length of the polynomial is determined. The polynomial is discretized, comprising determining a plurality of discretization points on the polynomial to represent the polynomial, wherein a first discretization point is a first end of the polynomial, wherein subsequent discretization points are determined successively until the polynomial is completely discretized, and wherein each discretization point other than the first discretization point is determined based at least in part on a slope of the polynomial at a previous discretization point. Thereafter, a lane reference line comprising a plurality of points is generated based on the discretized polynomial.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2022
    Assignees: BAIDU USA LLC, BAIDU.COM TIMES TECHNOLOGY (BEIJING) CO. LTD.
    Inventors: Xin Xu, Fan Zhu, Lin Ma
  • INTENT RECOGNITION OPTIMIZATION PROCESSING METHOD, APPARATUS, AND STORAGE MEDIUM
    Publication number: 20210365639
    Abstract: This application discloses an intent recognition optimization processing method, apparatus, device and storage medium, and relates to the field of internet technology. The implementation scheme of specific method includes: acquiring a first intent set and at least one original corpus; acquiring a first recognition result of each original corpus, where the first recognition result of any one of the original corpus includes a first intent corresponding to the original corpus recognized by the intent recognition model; acquiring a second recognition result of each original corpus, where the second recognition result of any one of the original corpus includes a second intent corresponding to the original corpus obtained through artificial recognition; and performing optimization processing on the first intent set to obtain a second intent set according to the first recognition result and the second recognition result of each original corpus.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 30, 2020
    Publication date: November 25, 2021
    Applicants: Beijing Baidu Netcom Science Technology Co., Ltd., BAIDU USA LLC
    Inventors: Zeyu NING, Xuchen YAO, Wenhao FANG, Bo FU, Liqin FENG, Xianmei CHU
  • QP spline path and spiral path based reference line smoothing method for autonomous driving
    Patent number: 11414096
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a method includes the operation of segmenting a raw reference line into a plurality of reference line segments, including a first reference line segment, a second reference segment, and a third reference line segment in a sequential order, in response to receiving the raw reference line representing a route from a first location to a second location associated with an autonomous driving vehicle (ADV). The method further includes the operations of smoothing the first reference line segment and the third reference line segment using a Quadratic programming (QP) spline smoother; and smoothing the second reference line segment using a spiral smoother. Smoothed reference line segments from the plurality of reference line segments are connected to generate a smoothed reference line, which is to be used as a reference line of the route to control the ADV.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2022
    Assignees: BAIDU USA LLC, BAIDU.COM TIMES TECHNOLOGY (BEIJING) CO. LTD.
    Inventors: Fan Zhu, Lin Ma, Xin Xu
  • Method and system for key distribution and exchange for data processing accelerators
    Patent number: 11374734
    Abstract: A system is disclosed that receives, at a host system from a data processing (DP) accelerator, an accelerator identifier (ID) that uniquely identifies the DP accelerator, wherein the host system is coupled to the DP accelerator over a bus. The system transmits the accelerator ID to a predetermined trusted server over a network. The system receives a certificate from the predetermined trusted server over the network, the certificate certifying the DP accelerator. The system extracts a public root key (PK_RK) from the certificate for verification, the PK_RK corresponding to a private root key (SK_RK) associated with the DP accelerator. The system establishes a secure channel with the DP accelerator using the PK_RK based on the verification to exchange data securely between the host system and the DP accelerator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 4, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2022
    Assignees: BAIDU USA LLC, BAIDU.COM TIMES TECHNOLOGY (BEIJING) CO., LTD., KUNLUNXIN TECHNOLOGY (BEIJING) COMPANY LIMITED
    Inventors: Yueqiang Cheng, Yong Liu, Tao Wei, Jian Ouyang
  • SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR GATING-ENHANCED MULTI-TASK NEURAL NETWORKS WITH FEATURE INTERACTION LEARNING
    Publication number: 20230410155
    Abstract: Deep neural network (DNN) models have been widely used for user-relevance content prediction. Presented herein is a new user-relevance framework, embodiments of which may be referred as Gating-Enhanced Multi-task Neural Networks (GemNN). In one or more, neural network-based multi-task learning model embodiments herein predict user engagement with content in a coarse-to-fine manner, which gradually reduces content candidates and allows parameter sharing from upstream tasks to downstream tasks to improve the training efficiency. Also, in one or more embodiments, a gating mechanism was introduced between embedding layers and multi-layer perceptions to learn feature interactions and control the information flow fed to MLP layers. Tested embodiments demonstrated considerable improvements over prior approaches.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 7, 2021
    Publication date: December 21, 2023
    Applicants: Baidu USA LLC, Baidu.com Times Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hongliang FEI, Jingyuan ZHANG, Xingxuan ZHOU, Junhao ZHAO, Banghu YIN, Ping LI
  • Control dominated three-point turn planning for autonomous driving vehicles
    Patent number: 11591019
    Abstract: In response to a request for a three-point turn, a forward turning path from a current location and heading direction of the ADV is generated. In generating the forward turning path, a forward curvature is determined based on the maximum forward turning angle of the ADV by applying a full steering command. The forward turning path is determined based on the forward curvature from the current location of the ADV. A forward speed profile is calculated for the forward turning path based on perception information that perceives a driving environment surrounding the vehicle at the point in time. In addition, a backward turning path is generated from an end point of the forward turning path based on a maximum backward turning angle associated with the ADV. The three-point turn path is then generated based on the forward turning path and the backward turning path to drive the vehicle to make the three-point turn.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2023
    Assignees: BAIDU USA LLC, BAIDU.COM TIMES TECHNOLOGY (BEIJING) CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Fan Zhu, Lin Ma
  • Data processing accelerator having a local time unit to generate timestamps
    Patent number: 11281251
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a DP accelerator includes one or more execution units (EUs) configured to perform data processing operations in response to an instruction received from a host system coupled over a bus. The DP accelerator includes a security unit (SU) configured to establish and maintain a secure channel with the host system to exchange commands and data associated with the data processing operations. The DP accelerator includes a time unit (TU) coupled to the security unit to provide timestamp services to the security unit, where the time unit includes a clock generator to generate clock signals locally without having to derive the clock signals from an external source. The TU includes a timestamp generator coupled to the clock generator to generate a timestamp based on the clock signals, and a power supply to provide power to the clock generator and the timestamp generator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 4, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2022
    Assignees: BAIDU USA LLC, BAIDU.COM TIMES TECHNOLOGY (BEIJING) CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Yong Liu, Yueqiang Cheng, Jian Ouyang, Tao Wei
  • Lane curb assisted off-lane checking and lane keeping system for autonomous driving vehicles
    Patent number: 10365649
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a lane departure detection system detects at a first point in time that a wheel of an ADV rolls onto a lane curb disposed on an edge of a lane in which the ADV is moving. The system detects at a second point in time that the wheel of the ADV rolls off the lane curb of the lane. The system calculates an angle between a moving direction of the ADV and a lane direction of the lane based on the time difference between the first point in time and the second point in time in view of a current speed of the ADV. The system then generates a control command based on the angle to adjust the moving direction of the ADV in order to prevent the ADV from further drifting off the lane direction of the lane.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 30, 2019
    Assignees: BAIDU USA LLC, BAIDU.COM TIMES TECHNOLOGY (BEIJING) CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Fan Zhu, Qi Kong, Qi Luo, Xiang Yu, Sen Hu, Zhenguang Zhu, Xiaoxin Fu, Jiarui He, Hongye Li, Yuchang Pan, Zhongpu Xia, Chunming Zhao, Guang Yang, Jingao Wang
  • Method for evaluating localization system of autonomous driving vehicles
    Patent number: 11036225
    Abstract: A first localization system performs a first localization using a first set of sensors to track locations of the ADV along the path from a starting point to a destination point. A first localization curve is generated as a result representing the locations of the ADV along the path tracked by the first localization system. Currently, a second localization system performs a second localization using a second set of sensors to track the locations of the ADV along the path. A second localization curve is generated as a result representing the locations of the ADV along the path tracked by the second localization system. A system delay of the second localization system is determined by comparing the second localization curve against the first localization curve as a localization reference. The system delay of the second localization system can then be utilized to compensate path planning of the ADV subsequently.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 18, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 15, 2021
    Assignees: BAIDU USA LLC, BAIDU.COM TIMES TECHNOLOGY (BEIJING) CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Fan Zhu, Xin Xu, Qi Kong, Yuchang Pan, Feiyi Jiang, Liangliang Zhang, Jiaming Tao, Haoyang Fan, Hui Jiang
  • Spiral path based three-point turn planning for autonomous driving vehicles
    Patent number: 11267471
    Abstract: In one embodiment, in response to a request to make a three-point turn for an autonomous driving vehicle (ADV), a forward turning path is generated using a first spiral function based on a maximum forward curvature change rate. A backward turning path is generated using a second spiral function based on a maximum backward curvature change rate. The forward and backward curvature change rates may be determined based on the maximum forward and backward turning angles associated with the ADV, which may be specified as a part of vehicle specification or vehicle design of the ADV. The backward turning path is initiated from an end point of the forward turning path. A three-point turn path is then generated based on the forward turning path and the backward turning path. The ADV is then driven according to the three-point turn path by issuing one or more proper control commands.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2022
    Assignees: BAIDU USA LLC, BAIDU.COM TIMES TECHNOLOGY (BEIJING) CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Fan Zhu, Lin Ma
  • Method and apparatus for calibrating a vehicle control parameter, vehicle controller and autonomous vehicle
    Patent number: 11003185
    Abstract: Embodiments of the disclosure disclose a method and an apparatus for calibrating a vehicle control parameter, an on-board controller, and an autonomous vehicle; one embodiment of the method comprises: executing a calibrating step in response to reaching a preset update condition, the calibrating step comprises: obtaining a current offset data set, wherein the current offset data in the current offset data set are determined in a period of time including a current time point; determining a current offset data reference value for characterizing a value feature of the current offset data set; and performing offset correction for the vehicle control parameter based on an offset between the current offset data reference value and a historical offset data reference value. This embodiment implements autonomous calibration of the vehicle parameter based on changes of vehicle offset, such that the vehicle may accurately follow a corresponding control indicator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 1, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 11, 2021
    Assignees: BAIDU USA LLC, BAIDU.COM TIMES TECHNOLOGY (BEIJING) CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Fan Zhu, Lin Ma, Qi Kong
  • Deep learning-based feature extraction for LiDAR localization of autonomous driving vehicles
    Patent number: 11594011
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a method for extracting point cloud features for use in localizing an autonomous driving vehicle (ADV) includes selecting a first set of keypoints from an online point cloud, the online point cloud generated by a LiDAR device on the ADV for a predicted pose of the ADV; and extracting a first set of feature descriptors from the first set of keypoints using a feature learning neural network running on the ADV, The method further includes locating a second set of keypoints on a pre-built point cloud map, each keypoint of the second set of keypoints corresponding to a keypoint of the first set of keypoint; extracting a second set of feature descriptors from the pre-built point cloud map; and estimating a position and orientation of the ADV based on the first set of feature descriptors, the second set of feature descriptors, and a predicted pose of the ADV.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2023
    Assignees: BAIDU USA LLC, BAIDU.COM TIMES TECHNOLOGY (BEIJING) CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Weixin Lu, Yao Zhou, Guowei Wan, Shenhua Hou, Shiyu Song
  • Efficient communications amongst computing nodes for operating autonomous vehicles
    Patent number: 11044318
    Abstract: A first request is received from a first processing node to produce data blocks of a first data stream representing a first communication topic. The first processing node is one of the processing nodes handling a specific function. Each of the processing nodes is executed within a specific node container having a specific operating environment. A global memory segment is allocated from a global memory to store the data blocks of the first data stream. A first local memory segment is mapped to the global memory segment. The first local memory segment is allocated from a first local memory of a first node container containing the first processing node. The first processing node directly accesses the data blocks of the first data stream stored in the global memory segment by accessing the mapped first local memory segment within the first node container.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 19, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 22, 2021
    Assignees: Baidu USA LLC, Baidu.com Times Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Quan Wang, Liming Xia, Jingchao Feng, Ning Qu, James Peng
  • Method and system to derive a session key to secure an information exchange channel between a host system and a data processing accelerator
    Patent number: 11233652
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, in response to receiving a temporary public key (PK_d) from a data processing (DP) accelerator, a system generates a first nonce (nc) at the host system, where the DP accelerator is coupled to the host system over a bus. The system transmits a request to create a session key from the host system to the DP accelerator, the request including a host public key (PK_O) and the first nonce. The system receives a second nonce (ns) from the DP accelerator, where the second nonce is encrypted using the host public key and a temporary private key (SK_d) corresponding to the temporary public key. The system generates a first session key based on the first nonce and the second nonce, which is utilized to encrypt or decrypt subsequent data exchanges between the host system and the DP accelerator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 4, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 25, 2022
    Assignees: BAIDU USA LLC, BAIDU.COM TIMES TECHNOLOGY (BEIJING) CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Yueqiang Cheng, Yong Liu, Tao Wei, Jian Ouyang
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