Method and system to construct surrounding environment for autonomous vehicles to make driving decisions

Abstract

In response to sensor data received from sensors mounted on an autonomous vehicle, a surrounding environment is perceived based on the sensor data. The surrounding environment includes multiple sub-environments. For each of the sub-environments, one of a plurality of driving scenario handlers associated with the sub-environment is identified, each driving scenario handler corresponding to one of a plurality of driving scenarios. The identified driving scenario handler is invoked to determine an individual driving condition within the corresponding sub-environment. An overall driving condition for the surrounding environment is determined based on the individual driving conditions provided by the identified driving scenario handlers. A route segment is planned based on the overall driving condition of the surrounding environment, the route segment being one of a plurality of route segments associated with a route. The autonomous vehicle is controlled and driven based on the planned route segment.