Interoperable HD Map Translation for Autonomous Vehicle Coverage

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Solution Overview

Problem

Autonomous vehicles face challenges in utilizing high definition (HD) maps due to proprietary formats, leading to interoperability issues and limited coverage, as well as difficulties in crowdsourcing and quality-of-service requirements across different HD map providers.

Innovation Solution

An interoperable HD map server system that translates universal HD map tiles into proprietary formats, allowing autonomous vehicles to share and update HD map data across different providers, while managing quality-of-service requirements and subscriptions.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If proprietary HD map formats are used by different HD map providers, then each provider can maintain its own quality standards and service requirements, but interoperability between different HD map solutions is lost and coverage is limited

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvequality-of-service requirementsVSAvoidinteroperability
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements a translation layer that acts as an intermediary between proprietary HD map formats and a universal format. This translation layer enables autonomous vehicles to access HD map data from multiple providers without losing the quality standards of individual providers, while simultaneously achieving interoperability across different HD map solutions.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent creates a universal HD map format that can represent data from multiple proprietary formats. This universal format serves as a common interface that maintains the quality characteristics of source formats while enabling cross-provider interoperability, allowing a single HD map system to work with multiple data sources.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

2Reliability

If autonomous vehicles rely on a single subscribed HD map provider, then quality-of-service requirements are met, but HD map coverage is limited to areas covered by that provider

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvequality-of-serviceVSAvoidHD map coverage area
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSArea of stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges HD map data from multiple proprietary providers into a unified universal format. This combining approach allows autonomous vehicles to access coverage areas from multiple providers while maintaining the quality standards of each source, effectively expanding the total coverage area without sacrificing service quality.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

3Reliability

If proprietary HD map protocols are used, then data security and service control are maintained, but crowdsourcing capabilities are reduced due to unknown communication protocols

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedata securityVSAvoidcrowdsourcing capability
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The translation layer serves as a secure intermediary that receives crowdsourced data in universal format and converts it to the appropriate proprietary format for each provider. This maintains data security and service control for each provider while enabling easy crowdsourcing participation from autonomous vehicles using the universal format.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentUS12014627B2Technologies for managing interoperable high definition maps for autonomous vehicles
Publication Date: 2024.06.18 INTEL CORP
  • US12014627B2 patent drawing
  • US12014627B2 patent drawing
  • US12014627B2 patent drawing

AI summary

Technologies for managing interoperable high definition (HD) maps for autonomous vehicles includes a HD map server to distribute interoperable HD map tiles to various autonomous vehicles, each of which may be configured to utilize proprietary HD map tiles of different propriety formats. As such, each of the autonomous vehicles is configured to translate the interoperable HD map tile to the proprietary format used by that particular vehicle. Additionally, each autonomous vehicle may submit crowd-sourced sensor data to the interoperable HD map server using a universal data set by converting the sensor data to a universal data structure.