Claims:WE CLAIM:
1. A method of navigating an autonomous vehicle, the method comprising:
determining, by a navigating device, a relative velocity between the autonomous vehicle and each of at least one surrounding vehicle;
comparing, by a navigating device, the relative velocity associated with each of the at least one surrounding vehicle with a predefined relative speed threshold to identify a plurality of vehicles-of-interest from the at least one surrounding vehicle;
determining, by a navigating device, an area bounded by the plurality of vehicles-of-interest as a current navigable space for the autonomous vehicle;
predicting, by a navigating device, a future navigable space for the autonomous vehicle based on a predicted velocity of the plurality of vehicles-of-interest and a predicted distance between the autonomous vehicle and each of the plurality of vehicles-of-interest; and
navigating, by a navigating device, the autonomous vehicle based on the current navigable space and the future navigable space.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one surrounding vehicle is within a threshold distance from the autonomous vehicle.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the current navigable space is based on a distance between the autonomous vehicle and the plurality of vehicles-of-interest.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein navigating the autonomous vehicle comprises changing a lane.
5. The method of claim 4, further comprising determining an overtake velocity to change the lane based on a relative velocity between the autonomous vehicle and each of the plurality of vehicles-of-interest.
6. The method of claim 5, further comprising controlling at least one of brake, steering, a turn signal or a throttle based on the determined overtake velocity.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the future navigable space comprises navigable space of the autonomous vehicle after a predefined time period from a time of determining the current navigable space.
8. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining an intermediate goal point for the autonomous vehicle based on the future navigable space.
9. A navigating device for navigating an autonomous vehicle, the navigating device comprising,
a processor;
a memory communicatively coupled to the processor, wherein the memory stores the processor-executable instructions, which, on execution, causes the processor to:
determine a relative velocity between the autonomous vehicle and each of at least one surrounding vehicle;
compare the relative velocity associated with each of the at least one surrounding vehicle with a predefined relative speed threshold to identify a plurality of vehicles-of-interest from the at least one surrounding vehicle;
determine an area bounded by the plurality of vehicles-of-interest as a current navigable space for the autonomous vehicle;
predict a future navigable space for the autonomous vehicle based on a predicted velocity of the plurality of vehicles-of-interest and a predicted distance between the autonomous vehicle and each of the plurality of vehicles-of-interest; and
navigate the autonomous vehicle based on the current navigable space and the future navigable space.
10. The navigating device of claim 9, wherein the at least one surrounding vehicle is within a predefined distance from the autonomous vehicle.
11. The navigating device of claim 9, wherein the current navigable space is based on a distance between the autonomous vehicle and the plurality of vehicles-of-interest.
12. The navigating device of claim 9, wherein navigating the autonomous vehicle comprises changing a lane.
13. The navigating device of claim 12, wherein the memory further comprises instructions to determine an overtake velocity to change the lane based on a relative velocity between the autonomous vehicle and each of the plurality of vehicles-of-interest.
14. The navigating device of claim 13, wherein the memory further comprises instructions to control at least one of a brake, steering, a turn signal or a throttle based on the determined overtake velocity.
15. The navigating device of claim 9, wherein the future navigable space comprises navigable space of the autonomous vehicle after a predefined time period from a time of determining the current navigable space.
16. The navigating device of claim 9, wherein the memory further comprises instructions to determine an intermediate goal point for the autonomous vehicle based on the future navigable space.
17. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing a program that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform a method of navigating an autonomous vehicle, the method comprising:
determining a relative velocity between the autonomous vehicle and each of at least one surrounding vehicle;
comparing the relative velocity associated with each of the at least one surrounding vehicle with a predefined relative speed threshold to identify a plurality of vehicles-of-interest from the at least one surrounding vehicle;
determining an area bounded by the plurality of vehicles-of-interest as a current navigable space for the autonomous vehicle;
predicting a future navigable space for the autonomous vehicle based on a predicted velocity of the plurality of vehicles-of-interest and a predicted distance between the autonomous vehicle and each of the plurality of vehicles-of-interest; and
navigating the autonomous vehicle based on the current navigable space and the future navigable space.

Dated this 29th day of October, 2017

R Ramya Rao
IN/PA-1607
Of K&S Partners
Agent for the Applicant
, Description:TECHNICAL FIELD
This disclosure relates generally to intelligent vehicle technology and more particularly to a system and method for navigating an autonomous vehicle or a semi-autonomous vehicle.