Interactive autonomous vehicle command controller

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2019227553-A1
Application number	US-201916372104-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Apr 1, 2019
Priority date	Nov 4, 2015
Publication date	Jul 25, 2019
Grant date	—

Abstract

Various embodiments relate generally to autonomous vehicles and associated mechanical, electrical and electronic hardware, computer software and systems, and wired and wireless network communications to provide an autonomous vehicle fleet as a service. In particular, a method may include receiving, at an autonomous vehicle system, a command to control an ambient feature associated with the autonomous vehicle system. One or more courses of action may be determined based on the command. In addition, one or more probabilistic models associated with the one or more courses of action may also be determined. Based on the one or more probabilistic models, confidence levels may also be determined to form a subset of the one or more courses of action. A course of action from the subset of the one or more courses of action may then be executed at the autonomous vehicle system responsive to the command.

First claim

1 .- 20 . (canceled)

21 . An autonomous vehicle comprising:
at least one sensor disposed on the autonomous vehicle; one or more processors; and one or more computer-readable media storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, configure the autonomous vehicle to perform acts comprising:
receiving a request to pick up a passenger at a location and deliver the passenger to a destination;
causing the autonomous vehicle to traverse to the location;
receiving, from the at least one sensor, sensor data associated with the location;
identifying, based at least in part on the sensor data, a presence of the passenger at the location;
generating, based at least in part on the identifying the presence of the passenger, an output perceptible to the passenger at the location; and
configuring one or more aspects of the autonomous vehicle for the passenger.

22 . The autonomous vehicle of claim 21 , wherein the identifying the presence of the passenger comprises:
scanning, using the at least one sensor, a display of a device associated with a passenger; and confirming, based at least in part on the scanning, that a visual identifier on the display matches a predetermined visual identification, wherein the visual identifier comprises one or more of a bar code, a quick response (QR) code, or a visual code.

23 . The autonomous vehicle of claim 21 , wherein the output perceptible to the passenger comprises a visual output determined based at least in part on an identity of the passenger and emitted in a direction of the passenger.

24 . The autonomous vehicle of claim 22 , the acts further comprising:
verifying a passenger identity, based at least in part, on input from the passenger, the input comprising at least one of a biometric input or a manual input; and based at least in part on the passenger identity, allowing ingress of the passenger.

25 . The autonomous vehicle of claim 25 , wherein the biometric data comprises one or more of facial recognition, retinal scans, fingerprints, or voice recognition.

26 . The autonomous vehicle of claim 25 , the acts further comprising based at least in part on verifying the identity of the passenger at least one of:
opening a door of the autonomous vehicle; or unlocking a door of the autonomous vehicle.

27 . The autonomous vehicle of claim 21 , the acts further comprising:
segmenting the sensor data to determine a portion of the sensor data associated with one or more people at the location, wherein the identifying the presence of the passenger comprises identifying the passenger from the portion of the sensor data.

28 . The autonomous vehicle of claim 21 , wherein the configuring the one or more aspects of the autonomous vehicle comprises retrieving a user profile associated with the passenger and configuring one or more settings of an interior of the autonomous vehicle in accordance with the one or more settings, the one or more settings comprising one or more of lighting conditions, temperature, or ambient music.

29 . A system comprising:
a vehicle; one or more sensors disposed on the vehicle; one or more processors; and one or more computer-readable media storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, configure the vehicle to perform acts comprising:
receiving a request to transfer a passenger from a location to a destination;
navigating the vehicle to the location;
receiving sensor data from the one or more sensors;
identifying, based at least in part on the sensor data, a presence of the passenger at the location;
accessing a user profile associated with the passenger; and
configuring one or more aspects of the autonomous vehicle in accordance with the user profile prior to the passenger entering the vehicle.

30 . The system of claim 29 , wherein the identifying the presence of the passenger comprises:
scanning, using the at least one sensor, a display of a device associated with a passenger; and confirming, based at least in part on the scanning, that a visual identifier on the display matches a predetermined visual identifier, wherein the configuring the one or more aspects of the autonomous vehicle is based at least in part on the confirming.

31 . The system of claim 30 , wherein the visual identifier comprises one or more of a barcode, a quick response (QR) code, or a visual code.

32 . The system of claim 29 , the acts further comprising verifying the identity of a passenger, based at least in part on:
determining, via the sensor data, an input associated with the passenger; and comparing the input to a stored input to determine a correspondence between the input and the stored input.

33 . The system of claim 32 , wherein the input is at least one of a biometric input comprising a fingerprint scan, a retinal scan, or a facial scan, or a manual input, comprising an entry of a code.

34 . The system of claim 29 , the acts further comprising:
segmenting the sensor data to determine a portion of the sensor data associated with one or more people at the location, wherein the identifying the presence of the passenger comprises identifying the passenger from the portion of the sensor data.

35 . The system of claim 29 , the acts further comprising:
wherein the acts further comprise, based at least in part on verifying the identity of the passenger, at least one of opening a door of the vehicle or unlocking a door of the vehicle.

36 . The system of claim 29 , wherein the one or more aspects of the vehicle comprise at least one of a temperature associated with an interior of the vehicle, a lighting configuration associated with the interior of the vehicle, or a road handling configuration associated with the vehicle.

37 . A method comprising:
receiving a request to transfer a passenger from a location to a destination; controlling an autonomous vehicle to traverse to the location; receiving sensor data from a sensor on the autonomous vehicle; identifying, based at least in part on the sensor data, the passenger at the location; receiving user profile information comprising one or more user preferences associated with the passenger and the autonomous vehicle; and configuring, based at least in part on the identifying the passenger and the user profile information, one or more aspects of the autonomous vehicle.

38 . The method of claim 37 , wherein the identifying the passenger comprises:
scanning, using the at least one sensor, a display of a device associated with a passenger; and confirming, based at least in part on the scanning, that a visual identifier on the display matches a predetermined visual identifier, the visual identifier comprising one or more of a barcode, a quick response code, or a visual code.

39 . The method of claim 37 , further comprising:
locking one or more doors of the autonomous vehicle; verifying the passenger based on one or more biometric inputs; and based at least in part on the verifying, unlocking the one or more doors of the autonomous vehicle.

40 . The method of claim 39 , wherein the one or more biometric inputs comprise a fingerprint scan, a retinal scan, or a facial scan, or a manual input, comprising an entry of a code.

Assignees

• Zoox Inc

Inventors

• Kentley-Klay Timothy David
• Gamara Rachad Youssef

Classifications

• B60L58/12 Primary

  responding to state of charge [SoC] · CPC title

• B60Q1/28

  for indicating front of vehicle · CPC title

• B60L2260/32

  Auto pilot mode · CPC title

• B60L15/20

  for control of the vehicle or its driving motor to achieve a desired performance, e.g. speed, torque, programmed variation of speed · CPC title

• Y02T90/16

  Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles · CPC title