Road Partition Indexing for Precise HD Map Queries
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing technologies face challenges in efficiently querying high-definition (HD) maps for autonomous vehicles, which require precise geometric information to a centimeter level, particularly in online and offline contexts for real-time planning and simulation-based testing.
Innovation Solution
A scenario query engine with road partitioning and indexing is employed to facilitate fast, structured queries on static road layouts, using a computer system that partitions roads into segments and generates an index for efficient querying and spatial queries, allowing efficient geometric and topological querying of static road layouts, formulated in OpenDRIVE or similar schema.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If HD maps with precise geometric information are used for autonomous vehicle querying, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the continuous road geometry into discrete road parts with fixed describing functions. Each road part represents a segment where the describing function form remains constant, allowing precise geometric representation through piecewise functions. This segmentation enables efficient querying by limiting the search space to relevant road parts while maintaining centimeter-level precision through carefully chosen segment boundaries.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter representation by using longitudinal coordinate intervals as the key parameter for road parts. Instead of storing complete describing functions for entire roads, the system stores intervals where each describing function is valid, transforming the complexity from function storage to interval management. This parameter transformation simplifies the querying process while preserving geometric precision.
2Measurement precision
If complete road layout data is stored for accurate querying, then measurement precision is improved, but loss of time increases due to larger data processing requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the road layout into segmented road parts, each associated with specific longitudinal coordinate intervals. When a query is received, the system only processes the relevant road parts that contain the query point, rather than evaluating all road data. This segmentation dramatically reduces processing time while maintaining query accuracy by ensuring that all necessary road segments are included in the search.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts and stores only the essential elements needed for querying: longitudinal coordinate intervals and describing function forms. By extracting this minimal necessary information and storing it in an optimized index structure, the system enables rapid query processing without loading or processing complete road layout data, thus reducing query processing time while preserving measurement precision.
3Measurement precision
If road attributes are described with multiple change points for precision, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases due to more describing functions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments road attributes at their change points, creating road parts where each describing function has a fixed form. By strategically placing segment boundaries at change points, the system captures all attribute variations while ensuring that within each segment, the describing function remains constant. This approach maintains precision by accounting for all changes while simplifying management by eliminating the need to handle multiple function forms simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary processing to identify all change points and pre-segment the road layout into parts with fixed describing functions. This preliminary action organizes the data structure before queries are executed, so that during actual querying, the system only needs to evaluate fixed functions within predetermined intervals rather than managing dynamic function changes, thus reducing operational complexity while preserving precision.
Data Source
AI summary
A computer system configured to run queries on a static road layout, the computer system comprising: computer storage configured to store the static road layout, the static road layout comprising a section of road having a set of multiple road attributes, each road attribute described throughout the section of road by a describing function that exhibits a change in form at one or more change points along the section of road, the change points of a first of the road attributes exhibiting longitudinal misalignment with respect to the change points of a second of the road attributes; a road partitioning component configured to process the static road layout, and thereby partition the section of road into a sequence of road parts, each road part defined by a longitudinal coordinate interval, in which the describing function of every one of the road attributes has a form that is fixed throughout; a road indexing component configured to generate a road partition index having an entry for each road part, the entry indicating the form of the describing function of each road attribute as fixed throughout the longitudinal coordinate interval of that road part; and a scenario query engine configured to receive a part query, locate the entry in the road partition index for one of the road parts based on the part query, evaluate the describing function of at least one of the road attributes within the road part, and generate a part query response based on the evaluation of the describing function.