Surfel Road Graph Updates for 3D Autonomous Navigation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing two-dimensional and 2.5-dimensional maps are inadequate for accurately representing three-dimensional features of environments, such as overpasses and trees, leading to inaccuracies in autonomous vehicle navigation.
Innovation Solution
A system that updates surfel maps and road graphs using new sensor measurements, allowing for adjustments to surfel positions and orientations, which are then applied to corresponding road graph segments to maintain accurate and efficient navigation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If two-dimensional or 2.5-dimensional maps are used to represent environment characteristics, then map simplicity and ease of processing are improved, but accuracy in representing three-dimensional features such as overpasses, tunnels, trees, and lampposts deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from two-dimensional and 2.5-dimensional map representations to a three-dimensional surfel-based representation. Each surfel is a small surface element with position (x, y, z) and orientation (normal vector) in 3D space, allowing accurate representation of complex 3D structures like overpasses, tunnels, trees, and lampposts while maintaining computational efficiency through the modular surfel structure.
2Measurement precision
If the entire road graph is rebuilt from scratch to maintain accuracy, then navigation accuracy is improved, but computational efficiency and update speed deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The road graph is divided into discrete segments that can be independently updated. When environmental changes are detected through surfel updates, only the affected road graph segments are rebuilt using the updated surfel data, while the rest of the road graph remains unchanged. This segmentation approach maintains navigation accuracy in changed areas while preserving computational efficiency by avoiding full graph reconstruction.
Solution Approach 2:
The system pre-computes and stores surfel data representing the environment, which serves as a foundation for rapid road graph updates. When changes occur, the pre-existing surfel data allows for quick recalculation of affected road segments without requiring complete reprocessing of the entire environment model, thus maintaining both accuracy and update speed.
3Reliability
If frequent full updates of the road graph are performed, then data freshness and accuracy are improved, but computational resource consumption and processing time deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of continuous full updates, the system performs periodic incremental updates based on detected environmental changes. The surfel map is continuously monitored for changes, and road graph updates are triggered only when necessary, creating a periodic update cycle that maintains data freshness while minimizing processing time and resource consumption during intervals between updates.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for updating data of a map. One of the methods includes storing a map of an environment, the map comprising surfels and a road graph; receiving new surfel data for the surfels; adjusting the surfels based on the new surfel data; determining a vector field difference between the surfels of the stored map and the adjusted surfels; adjusting a portion of the road graph based on the vector field difference; generating an updated map comprising the adjusted surfels and the adjusted portion of the road graph; and storing the updated map.