Method for providing transportation service using autonomous vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11332159-B2
Application number	US-201916490501-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 21, 2019
Priority date	Mar 21, 2019
Publication date	May 17, 2022
Grant date	May 17, 2022

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a method for providing pickup and drop-off services to a user at designated locations using an autonomous vehicle. The method for providing transportation services using an autonomous vehicle according to an embodiment includes receiving driving information from a user terminal and identifying a destination on the basis of the received driving information, generating a driving path to the destination and transmitting the generated driving path to the autonomous vehicle, identifying a stopping area corresponding to the destination when the autonomous vehicle is within a preset distance from the destination and determining whether stopping is allowed in the identified stopping area, and generating a driving path to the stopping area on the basis of results of the determination, and transmitting the generated driving path to the autonomous vehicle, or setting a waiting area on the driving path to the destination, generating a driving path to the set waiting area, and transmitting the generated driving path to the autonomous vehicle.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for providing transportation services using an autonomous vehicle, comprising:
receiving driving information from a user terminal, and identifying a destination based on the received driving information;
generating a driving path to the destination and transmitting the generated driving path to the autonomous vehicle;
identifying a stopping area corresponding to the destination when the autonomous vehicle is within a preset distance from the destination, and determining whether stopping is allowed in the identified stopping area; and
generating a driving path to the stopping area based on results of the determination and transmitting the generated driving path to the autonomous vehicle, or setting a waiting area on the driving path to the destination, generating a driving path to the set waiting area, and transmitting the generated driving path to the autonomous vehicle,
wherein the waiting area includes a plurality of waiting points that are consecutively arranged along the driving path to the destination, and
wherein generating the driving path to the stopping area and transmitting the generated driving path to the autonomous vehicle comprise transmitting the driving path to the stopping area to an autonomous vehicle occupying a waiting point closest to the destination among a plurality of autonomous vehicles respectively occupying the plurality of waiting points.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving the driving information from the user terminal and identifying the destination based on the received driving information comprise identifying at least one of a pickup location or a drop-off location included in the driving information as the destination.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises identifying a location of the autonomous vehicle by receiving location information from a GPS (global positioning system) module in the autonomous vehicle and determining whether the autonomous vehicle is within a preset distance from the destination by comparing the identified location and a location of the destination.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining whether stopping is allowed in the identified stopping area comprises determining whether stopping is allowed in the stopping area based on a degree of traffic congestion in the stopping area.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein determining whether stopping is allowed in the stopping area based on the degree of traffic congestion in the stopping area comprises determining that the stopping area is in a non-stopping state when the degree of traffic congestion is greater than or equal to a reference value, and determining that the stopping area is in a stopping state when the degree of traffic congestion is less than the reference value.

6. The method of claim 4 , wherein the method further comprises identifying the degree of traffic congestion in the stopping area by performing data communication with a traffic information server.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining whether stopping is allowed in the identified stopping area comprises receiving external image information from a camera module in the autonomous vehicle and determining whether stopping is allowed in the stopping area based on the received external image information.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein setting the waiting area on the driving path to the destination comprises setting an area with a degree of traffic congestion less than a reference value on the driving path to the destination as the waiting area.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises continuously determining whether stopping is allowed in the stopping area based on a preset cycle when a location of the autonomous vehicle is in the waiting area.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the method further comprises transmitting the driving path to the stopping area to an autonomous vehicle that enters the waiting area at an earliest point in time among the plurality of autonomous vehicles located in the waiting area when the stopping area is in a stopping state.

11. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
when a period during which a location of the autonomous vehicle is the waiting area is greater than or equal to a preset period, changing the stopping area into an adjacent stopping area; and
generating a driving path to the adjacent stopping area and transmitting the generated driving path to the autonomous vehicle.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises changing the stopping area into an adjacent stopping area when non-stopping signals are received from the autonomous vehicle.

13. The method of claim 11 , wherein the method further comprises transmitting information on the changed adjacent stopping area to the user terminal.

14. The method of claim 1 ,
wherein setting the waiting area on the driving path to the destination, generating the driving path to the set waiting area, and transmitting the generated driving path to the autonomous vehicle comprise identifying non-occupied waiting points that are not occupied among the plurality of waiting points (wp), generating a driving path to any one non-occupied waiting point closest to the destination among the identified non-occupied waiting points, and transmitting the generated driving path to the autonomous vehicle.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the autonomous vehicle, which is moving autonomously along the driving path to the stopping area or the waiting area, transmits an occupancy prediction signal for the stopping area or the waiting area to an adjacent vehicle through vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication.

16. The method of claim 12 , wherein the method further comprises transmitting information on the changed adjacent stopping area to the user terminal.

Assignees

• Lg Electronics Inc

Inventors

• Kim Joong Hang
• Choi Sung Hwan

Classifications

• B60W30/181

  Preparing for stopping · CPC title

• G01S19/42

  Determining position · CPC title

• B60W2556/65

  Data transmitted between vehicles · CPC title

• G08G1/0968

  Systems involving transmission of navigation instructions to the vehicle · CPC title

• B60W2520/04

  Vehicle stop · CPC title