Self-maintaining autonomous vehicle procedure

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11961337-B2
Application number	US-202117155921-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 22, 2021
Priority date	May 13, 2019
Publication date	Apr 16, 2024
Grant date	Apr 16, 2024

Abstract

Aspects of the disclosed technology encompass solutions for automatically requesting a backup vehicle for passengers of an autonomous vehicle provisioned ride-hailing service. In some aspects, a process of the disclosed technology includes steps for collecting diagnostic data relating to at least one AV operation, and analyzing the diagnostic data to determine if the AV needs maintenance. Moreover, in response to a determination that the AV needs maintenance, the process can include steps for automatically requesting a backup service for a passenger of the AV. Systems and machine-readable media are also provided.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method comprising:
collecting, via one or more sensors of an autonomous vehicle (AV), diagnostic data relating to at least one operation of the AV;
based on the diagnostic data, determining that a calibration value of at least one sensor of the AV differs from one or more predetermined calibration values associated with the at least one sensor of the AV;
based on the determining that the calibration value of at least one sensor of the AV differs from one or more predetermined calibration values associated with the at least one sensor of the AV, determining that the AV needs maintenance;
causing the AV to come to a stop based on an instruction to bring the AV to the stop that is generated in response to determining that the AV needs maintenance;
in response to determining that the AV needs maintenance, automatically requesting a backup service for a passenger of the AV; and
generating a notification indicating that the backup service has been requested for the passenger of the AV.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
in response to determining that the AV needs maintenance, determining, using a sensor of the AV, that the passenger of the AV is located within a cabin of the AV.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
classifying an operational issue with the AV based on a comparison of the diagnostic data with a threshold; and
in response to determining that the diagnostic data falls outside of a predefined range based on the threshold, determining the AV has a first criticality level and needs maintenance.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
in response to determining that the AV needs maintenance, selecting a service station from a plurality of service stations based on a type of maintenance needed by the AV, respective maintenance capabilities of the plurality of service stations, or a combination thereof; and
routing the AV to the selected service station for maintenance.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
transmitting the notification to a mobile device associated with the passenger or a user interface in a cabin of the AV.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more predetermined calibration values comprise a range of predetermined calibration values, and wherein determining that the calibration value of at least one sensor of the AV differs from the one or more predetermined calibration values comprises determining that the calibration value of at least one sensor of the AV is outside of the range of predetermined calibration values, the method further comprising:
automatically generating a work order for maintenance of the AV based on the diagnostic data.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
automatically updating a model of AV operations based on the diagnostic data.

8. A system comprising:
one or more processors; and
a computer-readable medium communicatively coupled to the one or more processors, wherein the computer-readable medium comprises instructions stored therein, which when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:
collect, via one or more sensors of an autonomous vehicle (AV), diagnostic data relating to at least one operation of the AV;
based on the diagnostic data, determine that a calibration value of at least one sensor of the AV differs from one or more predetermined calibration values associated with the at least one sensor of the AV;
based on the determining that the calibration value of at least one sensor of the AV differs from one or more predetermined calibration values associated with the at least one sensor of the AV, determine that the AV needs maintenance;
cause the AV to come to a stop based on an instruction to bring the AV to the stop that is generated in response to determining that the AV needs maintenance;
in response to determining that the AV needs maintenance, automatically request a backup service for a passenger of the AV; and
generate a notification indicating that a backup service has been requested for the passenger of the AV.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:
in response to determining that the AV needs maintenance, determine, using a sensor of the AV, that the passenger is located within a cabin of the AV.

10. The system of claim 8 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:
classify an operational issue with the AV based on a comparison of the diagnostic data with a threshold; and
in response to determining that the diagnostic data falls outside of a predefined range based on the threshold, determine that the AV has a first criticality level and needs maintenance.

11. The system of claim 8 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:
in response to determining that the AV needs maintenance, select a service station from a plurality of service stations based on a type of maintenance needed by the AV, respective maintenance capabilities of the plurality of service stations, or a combination thereof; and
route the AV to the selected service station for maintenance.

12. The system of claim 8 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:
transmit the notification to a mobile device associated with the passenger or a user interface in a cabin of the AV.

13. The system of claim 8 , wherein the one or more predetermined calibration values comprise a range of predetermined calibration values, wherein determining that the calibration value of at least one sensor of the AV differs from the one or more predetermined calibration values comprises determining that the calibration value of at least one sensor of the AV is outside of the range of predetermined calibration values, and wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:
automatically generate a work order for maintenance of the AV based on the diagnostic data.

14. The system of claim 8 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:
automatically update a model of AV operations based on the diagnostic data.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions stored therein, which when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:
collect, via one or more sensors of an autonomous vehicle (AV), diagnostic data relating to at least one operation of the AV;
based on the diagnostic data, determine that a calibration value of at least one sensor of the AV differs from one or more predetermined calibration values associated with the at least one sensor of the AV;
based on the determining that the calibration value of at least one sensor of the AV differs from one or more predetermined calibration values associated with the at least one sensor of the AV, determine that the AV needs maintenance;
cause the AV to come to a stop based on an instruction to bring the AV to the stop that is generated in response to determining that the AV needs maintenance;
in response to determining that the AV needs maintenance, automatically request a backup service for a passenger of the AV; and
generate a notification indicating that the backup service has been requested for the passenger of the AV.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the instructions, when

Assignees

• Gm Cruise Holdings Llc

Inventors

• Bachant Thomas
• Ullman Nadav
• Thibeault Joseph
• Mccloskey Jake
• Garcia Paul
• Covarrubias-Reynoso Jose Arturo
• Magnoli Michael

Classifications

• G07C5/006 Primary

  Indicating maintenance · 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

• G06F16/285

  Clustering or classification · CPC title

• G07C5/02

  Registering or indicating driving, working, idle, or waiting time only (apparatus forming part of taximeters G07B13/00) · CPC title

• G07C5/08

  Registering or indicating performance data other than driving, working, idle, or waiting time, with or without registering driving, working, idle or waiting time · CPC title