Autonomous vehicle rider drop-off to destination experience

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11216755-B2
Application number	US-201916457840-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 28, 2019
Priority date	Jun 28, 2019
Publication date	Jan 4, 2022
Grant date	Jan 4, 2022

Abstract

An example method for assisting autonomous vehicle (AV) riders reach their destination after drop-off can include receiving, by an autonomous vehicle (AV), a ride service request from a user, the ride service request specifying a pick-up location, a pick-up time, and a destination of a trip associated with the ride service request; navigating the AV to the pick-up location; providing the user a recommendation for where to sit within the AV, the recommendation being based on at least one of the destination of the trip, a drop-off location associated with the trip, environment conditions associated with the drop-off location, and an estimated egress location; receiving sensor data from one or more sensors associated with the AV; determining, based on the sensor data and the drop-off location, a pull-over location for dropping off the user; and navigating the AV to the pull-over location.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method comprising:
receiving, by a computing system on an autonomous vehicle (AV), a ride service request from a user, the ride service request specifying a pick-up location, a pick-up time, and a destination of a trip associated with the ride service request;
navigating the AV to the pick-up location to pick-up the user;
providing the user a recommendation for where to sit within the AV, the recommendation being based on at least one of the destination of the trip, a drop-off location associated with the trip, environment conditions associated with the drop-off location, and an estimated egress location;
receiving sensor data from one or more sensors associated with the AV;
determining, based on the sensor data and the drop-off location, a pull-over location for dropping off the user;
navigating the AV to the pull-over location;
receiving, by the computing system on the AV, ride service requests from a group of users, the ride service requests specifying respective pick-up locations, respective pick-up times, and respective destinations of trips associated with the ride service requests;
determining a seating arrangement in the AV for the group of users based on at least one of an order in which the group of users will be picked up by the AV, respective drop-off locations identified for the group of users, respective environment conditions associated with the respective drop-off locations, and estimated egress locations associated with the group of users;
navigating the AV to the respective pick-up locations to pick-up each user; and
when picking up each user at each respective pick-up location, providing a respective recommendation for where to sit within the AV based on the seating arrangement determined.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the respective environment conditions comprise at least one of weather conditions, traffic at the respective drop-off locations, road closures, walking routes from the respective drop-off locations to the respective destinations, access conditions associated with one or more areas along respective routes from the respective drop-off locations to the respective destinations, and current events within a proximity of the respective drop-off locations.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more sensors comprise at least one of a camera sensor, a light detection and ranging (LIDAR) sensor, a radar sensor, a seat sensor, a seat belt sensor, and a global positioning system (GPS) sensor.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
determining that the user has exited the AV; and
sending wayfinding information to a client device associated with the user, the wayfinding information comprising at least one of directions from a current location of the user to the destination of the user, a digital map comprising the directions from the current location of the user to the destination, a graphical preview of a path from the current location of the user to the destination, audio instructions for traveling from the current location of the user to the destination, and a street view of an area outside of the AV.

5. The method of claim 4 , further comprising:
tracking the user outside of the AV based on additional sensor data obtained from one or more sensors, the one or more sensors comprising at least one of a camera sensor on an exterior of the AV, a radar sensor on the exterior of the AV, a LIDAR sensor on the exterior of the AV, and a GPS sensor the client device associated with the user; and
sending a wayfinding update to the client device associated with the user, the wayfinding update being based on a tracked location of the user.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the wayfinding update comprises at least one of course correction instructions, updated navigating instructions associated with the tracked location of the user and the final destination, an alternate route to the final destination, and environment cues.

7. The method of claim 5 , wherein tracking the user outside of the AV comprises determining that the user has deviated from a path to the destination.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the environment conditions comprise at least one of weather conditions, traffic at the drop-off location, a road closure, a walking route from the drop-off location to the destination, access conditions associated with one or more areas along a route from the drop-off location to the destination, and a current event within a proximity of the drop-off location.

9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:
selecting a door in the AV for the user to exit the AV at the pull-over location based on at least one of a location of the AV relative to the destination of the user, an orientation of the user in the AV, a relative direction from the pull-over location to the destination of the user, and the environment conditions associated with the drop-off location; and
emitting a light on at least one of the door selected for the user to exit the AV and an interior region in the AV that is on a same side as the door, the light providing a visual indication of which door or side to use to exit the AV,
providing the recommendation via at least one of a display in the AV, a speaker in the AV, a light-emitting device in the AV, and a client device associated with the user, wherein the recommendation comprises at least one of a visual indication of an exit direction or an AV door to use to exit the AV, audio instructions for exiting the AV, and visual exit instructions rendered on a display.

10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising determining the orientation of the user in the AV, the orientation being determined based on a detected a seating location of the user within the AV.

11. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
generating a recommendation for how to exit the AV at the pull-over location based on a detected orientation of the user in the AV and a location of the AV relative to the destination of the user, wherein the recommendation for how to exit the AV comprises an indication of which AV door to use to exit the AV.

12. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
generating wayfinding information for the user, wherein the wayfinding information is based on at least one of the detected orientation of the user in the AV, the location of the AV relative to the destination, and a current location of the user relative to the destination; and
providing the wayfinding information via at least one of a display in the AV, a speaker in the AV, and a client device associated with the user, wherein the wayfinding information comprises at least one of an audio output comprising directions from the pull-over location to the destination, a graphical preview of a path from the pull-over location to the destination, a digital map comprising the directions from the pull-over location to the destination, and a street view of an area outside of the AV.

13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:
determining that the user has exited the AV; and
establishing a handoff of the wayfinding information between the AV and the client device associated with the user.

14. An autonomous vehicle comprising:
a mechanical system;
a motor control system in communication with the mechanical system;
one or more processing devices; and
memory comprising instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the one or more processing devices, cause the one or more processing devices to:
receive a ride service request from a user, the ride service request specifying a pick-up location, a pick-up time, and a destination of a trip associated with the ride service request;
navigate th

Assignees

• Gm Cruise Holdings Llc

Inventors

• Leary Jessica
• Foy Theresa
• Phan Soleil
• Benisty Tal
• Engle Stephanie

Classifications

• G01C21/20

  Instruments for performing navigational calculations (G01C21/24, G01C21/26 take precedence) · CPC title

• B60N2210/22

  Optical; Photoelectric; Lidar [Light Detection and Ranging] · CPC title

• B60N2210/20

  Radar · CPC title

• B60N2210/24

  Cameras · CPC title

• B60N2/0026

  for distinguishing between humans, animals or objects · CPC title