Overcoming the Fear of the Dark: Occlusion-Aware Model-Predictive Planning for Automated Vehicles Using Risk Fields

As vehicle automation advances, motion planning algorithms face escalating challenges in achieving safe and efficient navigation. Existing Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) primarily focus on basic tasks, leaving unexpected scenarios for human intervention, which can be error-prone. Motion planning approaches for higher levels of automation in the state-of-the-art are primarily oriented toward the use of risk- or anti-collision constraints, using over-approximates of the shapes and sizes of other road users to prevent collisions. These methods however suffer from conservative behavior and the risk of infeasibility in high-risk initial conditions. In contrast, our work introduces a novel multi-objective trajectory generation approach. We propose an innovative method for constructing risk fields that accommodates diverse entity shapes and sizes, which allows us to also account for the presence of potentially occluded objects. This methodology is integrated into an occlusion-aware trajectory generator, enabling dynamic and safe maneuvering through intricate environments while anticipating (potentially hidden) road users and traveling along the infrastructure toward a specific goal. Through theoretical underpinnings and simulations, we validate the effectiveness of our approach. This paper bridges crucial gaps in motion planning for automated vehicles, offering a pathway toward safer and more adaptable autonomous navigation in complex urban contexts.