DRIVING PATH DETERMINATION FOR AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES

A method of autonomous driving includes identifying, from detected information about an environment surrounding a vehicle on a roadway, a lateral surface profile of the roadway. Based on the lateral surface profile of the roadway, vertical wheel positions at identified candidate future lateral positions of the vehicle are determined. Based on the determined vertical wheel positions, as part of a driving path along the roadway, future lateral positions of the vehicle from among the identified candidates therefor are determined using an energy function that algorithmically favors low vertical wheel positions.