US Patent 11415997 Autonomous driving simulations based on virtual simulation log data

A driving simulation system may perform simulations using one or more of a virtual driving simulator or a log-based driving simulator. A log-based simulator may replay data from logs to test whether a control algorithm is successfully capable of navigating a scenario. However, when such log-based simulations are invalid (e.g., based on the results of the simulations or evaluations of conditions of the simulation), a virtual simulation may be generated for the vehicle control system during which new log data may be captured. Such a virtual simulation may comprise sensor simulations and more sophisticated object control for ensuring convergence to a scenario to be tested. The new log data may be used for additional log-based simulations, thereby improving the durability and flexibility for testing and/or validation, while reducing the computational overhead of driving simulation scenarios.