Providing autonomous vehicle maintenance

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2019197795-A1
Application number	US-201715851325-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Dec 21, 2017
Priority date	Dec 21, 2017
Publication date	Jun 27, 2019
Grant date	—

Abstract

Systems and methods for providing autonomous vehicle assistance are disclosed. In one embodiment, a method is disclosed comprising detecting a service condition in response to a fault occurring at an autonomous vehicle at a first location; coordinating service with a nearby service provider, the service provider providing a time window and a second location; predicting that the autonomous vehicle will be free to fulfill the service; driving the autonomous vehicle to the second location of the service provider during the time window; and returning the autonomous vehicle to the first location after the service is completed

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A method comprising:
detecting a service condition in response to a fault occurring at an autonomous vehicle at a first location; coordinating service with a nearby service provider, the service provider providing a time window and a second location; predicting that the autonomous vehicle will be free to fulfill the service; driving the autonomous vehicle to the second location of the service provider during the time window; and returning the autonomous vehicle to the first location after the service is completed.

2 . The method of claim 1 , the detecting a service condition comprising:
setting a timer for a part of an autonomous vehicle, the timer comprising one of a mileage timer or a duration timer; determining that the timer has expired; and triggering the fault after the timer has expired.

3 . The method of claim 1 , the detecting a service condition comprising:
monitoring the status of a part of the autonomous vehicle; determining that the status of the part indicates a fault; and triggering the fault after determining that a fault is likely.

4 . The method of claim 1 , the detecting a service condition comprising:
receiving an interrupt from a sensor of the autonomous vehicle; determining if the interrupt represents a critical event; and triggering the fault after determining if the interrupt represents a critical event.

5 . The method of claim 1 , the detecting a service condition comprising:
generating a predictive model of at least one part of the autonomous vehicle; inputting status information of the at least one part into the predictive model; and triggering the fault after determining if the output of the predictive model exceeds a predefined threshold.

6 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising building a predictive model of autonomous vehicle availability using a time series of availability measurements.

7 . The method of claim 6 , the predicting that the autonomous vehicle further comprising:
generating a candidate time series of availability measurements; inputting the time series to the predictive model; determining if a predicted availability measurement met exceeds a predefined confidence level; and scheduling a pickup time based on the predicted availability.

8 . The method of claim 1 , the service comprising one or more of part replacement, refueling, or manual assistance.

9 . The method of claim 1 , the coordinating service with a nearby service provider further comprising:
generating a freshness indicator, the freshness indicator used to prevent a replay attack; generating a session key; generating a payload, the payload including the freshness indicator; generating a signature by executing a message authentication code (MAC) algorithm using the session key and the payload generating a packet comprising the payload and the signature, the signature generated; and transmitting the packet to the service provider.

10 . A method comprising:
generating a freshness indicator, the freshness indicator comprising an incrementing message counter; generating a session key based on a vehicle-specific key and the freshness indicator; generating a payload, the payload including the freshness indicator; generating a signature by executing a message authentication code (MAC) algorithm using the session key and the payload generating a packet comprising the payload and the signature, the signature generated; and transmitting the packet to the service provider.

11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the session key is re-calculated prior to at least one subsequent transmission of a packet.

12 . A system comprising:
a processor; and a storage medium for tangibly storing thereon program logic for execution by the processor, the stored program logic comprising
logic, executed by the processor, for detecting a service condition in response to a fault occurring at an autonomous vehicle at a first location;
logic, executed by the processor, for coordinating service with a nearby service provider, the service provider providing a time window and a second location;
logic, executed by the processor, for predicting that the autonomous vehicle will be free to fulfill the service;
logic, executed by the processor, for driving the autonomous vehicle to the second location of the service provider during the time window; and
logic, executed by the processor, for returning the autonomous vehicle to the first location after the service is completed.

13 . The system of claim 12 , the logic for detecting a service condition comprising:
logic, executed by the processor, for setting a timer for a part of an autonomous vehicle, the timer comprising one of a mileage timer or a duration timer; logic, executed by the processor, for determining that the timer has expired; and logic, executed by the processor, for triggering the fault after the timer has expired.

14 . The system of claim 12 , the logic for detecting a service condition comprising:
logic, executed by the processor, for monitoring the status of a part of the autonomous vehicle; logic, executed by the processor, for determining that the status of the part indicates a fault; and logic, executed by the processor, for triggering the fault after determining that a fault is likely.

15 . The system of claim 12 , the logic for detecting a service condition comprising:
logic, executed by the processor, for receiving an interrupt from a sensor of the autonomous vehicle; logic, executed by the processor, for determining if the interrupt represents a critical event; and logic, executed by the processor, for triggering the fault after determining if the interrupt represents a critical event.

16 . The system of claim 12 , the logic for detecting a service condition comprising:
logic, executed by the processor, for generating a predictive model of at least one part of the autonomous vehicle; logic, executed by the processor, for inputting status information of the at least one part into the predictive model; and logic, executed by the processor, for triggering the fault after determining if the output of the predictive model exceeds a predefined threshold.

17 . The system of claim 12 , further comprising logic, executed by the processor, for building a predictive model of autonomous vehicle availability using a time series of availability measurements.

18 . The system of claim 17 , the logic for predicting that the autonomous vehicle further comprising:
logic, executed by the processor, for generating a candidate time series of availability measurements; logic, executed by the processor, for inputting the time series to the predictive model; logic, executed by the processor, for determining if a predicted availability measurement met exceeds a predefined confidence level; and logic, executed by the processor, for scheduling a pickup time based on the predicted availability.

19 . The system of claim 12 , the service comprising one or more of part replacement, refueling, or manual assistance.

20 . The system of claim 12 , the logic for coordinating service with a nearby service provider further comprising:
logic, executed by the processor, for generating a freshness indicator; logic, executed by the processor, for generating a session key; logic, executed by the processor, for generating a payload, the payload including the freshness indicator; logic, executed by the processor, for generating a signature by executing a m

Assignees

• Micron Technology Inc

Inventors

• Mondello Antonino
• Troia Alberto

Classifications

• G06Q10/20 Primary

  Administration of product repair or maintenance · CPC title

• G07C5/008

  communicating information to a remotely located station (transmission systems for measured values G08C) · CPC title

• G01C21/34

  Route searching; Route guidance · CPC title

• G07C5/006 Primary

  Indicating maintenance · CPC title

• G07C5/0808

  Diagnosing performance data (testing of vehicles G01M17/00; testing of electrical installation on vehicles G01R31/005) · CPC title