Vehicle operation using a dynamic occupancy grid

Methods for operating a vehicle in an environment include receiving light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data from a LiDAR of the vehicle. The LiDAR data represents objects located in the environment. A dynamic occupancy grid (DOG) is generated based on a semantic map. The DOG includes multiple grid cells. Each grid cell represents a portion of the environment. For each grid cell, a probability density function is generated based on the LiDAR data. The probability density function represents a probability that the portion of the environment represented by the grid cell is occupied by an object. A time-to-collision (TTC) of the vehicle and the object less than a threshold time is determined based on the probability density function. Responsive to determining that the TTC is less than the threshold time, a control circuit of the vehicle operates the vehicle to avoid a collision of the vehicle and the object.