Arranging passenger pickups for autonomous vehicles

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11853067-B2
Application number	US-202117503644-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 18, 2021
Priority date	Mar 24, 2016
Publication date	Dec 26, 2023
Grant date	Dec 26, 2023

Abstract

Aspects of the disclosure relate to arranging a pickup between a driverless vehicle and a passenger. For instance, dispatch instructions dispatching the vehicle to a predetermined pickup area in order to pick up the passenger are received by the vehicle which begins maneuvering to the predetermined pickup area. While doing so, the vehicle receives from the passenger's client computing device the device's location. An indication that the passenger is interested in a fly-by pickup is identified. The fly-by pickup allows the passenger to safely enter the vehicle at a location outside of the predetermined pickup area and prior to the one or more processors have maneuvered the vehicle to the predetermined pickup area. The vehicle determines that the fly-by pickup is appropriate based on at least the location of the client computing device and the indication, and based on the determination, maneuvers itself in order to attempt the fly-by pickup.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for arranging a pickup between a driverless vehicle and a passenger, the method comprising:
receiving, by one or more processors of a client computing device associated with the passenger, user input from the passenger identifying a pickup location to which the driverless vehicle maneuvers to pick up the passenger and at least one destination location to which the driverless vehicle maneuvers after picking up the passenger;
sending, by the one or more processors, the identified pickup location and the identified at least one destination location to one or more server computing devices;
receiving, by the one or more processors, a query whether the passenger is interested in a pickup that allows the passenger to safely enter the driverless vehicle at a new pickup location different from the identified pickup location;
displaying, by the one or more processors on a display device of the client computing device, the query and options for positively or negatively responding to the query; and
in response to the passenger selecting an option to positively respond to the query, receiving, by the one or more processors, a request for a task to be performed by at least one of the passenger or the client computing device to enable the driverless vehicle to facilitate the pickup by maneuvering to the new pickup location in response to the task being performed.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the new pickup location is a location that the driverless vehicle will reach before reaching the identified pickup location.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the task is for the passenger to use the client computing device to take a selfie, or a picture or a video of an area near the passenger.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the task is for the passenger to hold out the client computing device as it emits a visual or audible signal.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the task is for the passenger to walk to a certain location.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the task is for the client computing device to play a particular sound.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the task is for the passenger to provide verbal cues.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the task is for the passenger to provide a verbal description of the passenger.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving, by the one or more processors from the one or more server computing devices, vehicle dispatch information;
displaying, by the one or more processors on the display device, the vehicle dispatch information; and
sending, by the one or more processors, information about the passenger's location to the one or more server computing devices.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the vehicle dispatch information provides narrative updates about what the driverless vehicle is currently doing.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the narrative updates include an indication that the driverless vehicle is looking for a spot to pull over or has found the spot to pull over.

12. The method of claim 9 , wherein the vehicle dispatch information indicates a route the driverless vehicle is currently taking towards a potential pickup zone.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the request for the passenger to perform a task to facilitate the pickup is sent by one or more computing devices of the driverless vehicle.

14. A client computing device associated with a passenger for arranging a pickup between a driverless vehicle and the passenger, the client computing device comprising:
a display device; and
one or more processors coupled to the display device and configured to:
receive user input from the passenger identifying a pickup location to which the driverless vehicle maneuvers to pick up the passenger and at least one destination location to which the driverless vehicle maneuvers after picking up the passenger;
send the identified pickup location and the identified at least one destination location to one or more server computing devices;
receive a query whether the passenger is interested in a pickup that allows the passenger to safely enter the driverless vehicle at a new pickup location different from the identified pickup location;
display the query and options on the display device for positively or negatively responding to the query; and
in response to the passenger selecting an option to positively respond to the query, receive a request for the passenger to perform a task to be performed by at least one of the passenger or the client computing device to enable the driverless vehicle to facilitate the pickup by maneuvering to the new pickup location in response to the task being performed.

15. The client computing device of claim 14 , wherein the new pickup location is a location that the driverless vehicle will reach before reaching the identified pickup location.

16. The client computing device of claim 14 , wherein the task is for the passenger to take a selfie, or a picture or a video of an area near the passenger.

17. The client computing device of claim 14 , wherein the task is for the passenger to hold out the client computing device as it emits a visual or audible signal.

18. The client computing device of claim 14 , wherein the task is for the passenger to walk to a certain location.

19. The client computing device of claim 14 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to receive a request for the client computing device to play a particular sound.

20. The client computing device of claim 14 , wherein the task is for the passenger to provide verbal cues.

21. The client computing device of claim 14 , wherein the task is for the passenger to provide a verbal description of the passenger.

Assignees

• Waymo Llc

Inventors

• Fairfield Nathaniel
• Herbach Joshua Seth
• Ludwick Christopher Kennedy
• Mcnaughton Matthew Paul
• Hubert Renaud-Roland
• Arden Jennifer
• Chan Min Li

Classifications

• G06Q10/0283

  for travel seating · CPC title

• B60W60/00253

  Taxi operations · CPC title

• G05D1/0212 Primary

  with means for defining a desired trajectory (involving a plurality of land vehicles G05D1/0287) · CPC title

• G05D1/0088

  characterized by the autonomous decision making process, e.g. artificial intelligence, predefined behaviours (using knowledge based models G06N5/00) · CPC title

• G06Q10/02

  Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events · CPC title