US Patent 10394237 Perceiving roadway conditions from fused sensor data

The present invention extends to methods, systems, and computer program products for perceiving roadway conditions from fused sensor data. Aspects of the invention use a combination of different types of cameras mounted to a vehicle to achieve visual perception for autonomous driving of the vehicle. Each camera in the combination of cameras generates sensor data by sensing at least part of the environment around the vehicle. The sensor data form each camera is fused together into a view of the environment around the vehicle. Sensor data from each camera (and, when appropriate, each other type of sensor) is fed into a central sensor perception chip. The central sensor perception chip uses a sensor fusion algorithm to fuse the sensor data into a view of the environment around the vehicle.