Autonomous vehicle paletization system

• US 10,095,239 B1
• Filed: 03/31/2017
• Issued: 10/09/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Uatc, LLC (Uber Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Uber Technologies, Inc.
• Inventors: Wood, Matthew Shaw, VandenBerg, III, Dirk John
• Primary Examiner(s): El Chanti, Hussein A
• Application Number:
  US15/475,755
• Publication Number:
  US 20180284807A1
• Time in Patent Office: 557 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/80 Exchanging energy storage elements, e.g. removable batteries
• CPC Class Codes: B60S 5/00 Servicing, maintaining, repairing, or refitting of vehicles vehicles adapted to carry a workshop for servicing or maintenance B60P3/14; servicing rail locomotives B61K
• CPC Class Codes: B60S 5/02 Supplying fuel to vehicles; General disposition of plant in filling stations apparatus for transferring measured quantities of petrol, oil, or the like from storage space to vehicles B67D
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/362 received from an external device or application, e.g. PDA, mobile phone or calendar application
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/047 Optimisation of routes or paths, e.g. travelling salesman problem
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/20 Administration of product repair or maintenance
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/40 Business processes related to the transportation industry shipping G06Q10/083
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/006 Indicating maintenance
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/7072 Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors

Abstract

Systems and methods for automatically servicing autonomous vehicles are provided. In one example embodiment, a computer implemented method includes obtaining data associated with one or more reference mechanisms located on an autonomous vehicle. The method includes identifying information associated with the autonomous vehicle based at least in part on the data associated with the one or more reference mechanisms located on the autonomous vehicle. The information associated with the autonomous vehicle includes an orientation of the autonomous vehicle. The method includes determining a vehicle maintenance plan for the autonomous vehicle based at least in part on the information associated with the autonomous vehicle. The method includes providing one or more control signals to implement the vehicle maintenance plan for the autonomous vehicle based at least in part on the orientation of the autonomous vehicle.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of automatically servicing autonomous vehicles, comprising:

obtaining, by a computing system comprising one or more computing devices, data associated with one or more reference mechanisms located on an autonomous vehicle, wherein the data associated with the one or more reference mechanisms located on the autonomous vehicle is indicative of a position of each of the one or more reference mechanisms relative to the autonomous vehicle;

identifying, by the computing system, information associated with the autonomous vehicle based at least in part on the data associated with the one or more reference mechanisms located on the autonomous vehicle, wherein the information associated with the autonomous vehicle comprises an orientation of the autonomous vehicle;

determining, by the the computing system, a vehicle maintenance plan for the autonomous vehicle based at least in part on the information associated with the autonomous vehicle; and

providing, by the the computing system, one or more control signals to implement the vehicle maintenance plan for the autonomous vehicle based at least in part on the orientation of the autonomous vehicle.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the orientation of the autonomous vehicle is based at least in part on the position of each of the one or more reference mechanisms relative to the autonomous vehicle.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein providing, by the the computing system, one or more control signals to implement the vehicle maintenance plan for the autonomous vehicle comprises:

providing, by the the computing system, the one or more control signals to adjust servicing equipment associated with a vehicle servicing system to correspond to the orientation of the autonomous vehicle.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein the servicing equipment is to perform maintenance on the autonomous vehicle in accordance with at least a portion of the vehicle maintenance plan.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the data associated with the one or more reference mechanisms located on the autonomous vehicle comprises an identifier associated with the autonomous vehicle.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the information associated with the autonomous vehicle comprises at least one of a make, a model, or a trim of the autonomous vehicle.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, wherein determining, by the the computing system, the vehicle maintenance plan for the autonomous vehicle based at least in part on the information associated with the autonomous vehicle comprises:

determining, by the one or more computing devices system, the vehicle maintenance plan for the autonomous vehicle based at least in part on at least one of the make, the model, or the trim of the autonomous vehicle.

8. A computing system for automated servicing of autonomous vehicles, comprising:

one or more sensors configured to scan one or more reference mechanisms located on an autonomous vehicle;

one or more processors; and

one or more tangible, non-transitory, computer readable media that collectively store instructions that when executed by the one or more processors cause the computing system to perform operations, the operations comprising;

identifying information associated with the autonomous vehicle based at least in part on data associated with the one or more reference mechanisms located on the autonomous vehicle, wherein the information comprises an orientation of the autonomous vehicle, and

wherein the data associated with the one or more reference mechanisms located on the autonomous vehicle is indicative of a position of each of the one or more reference mechanisms relative to the autonomous vehicle;

determining a vehicle maintenance plan for the autonomous vehicle based at least in part on the information associated with the autonomous vehicle; and

providing one or more control signals to implement the vehicle maintenance plan for the autonomous vehicle based at least in part on the orientation of the autonomous vehicle.

9. The computing system of claim 8, wherein the one or more reference mechanisms comprise at least one of ultraviolet coatings or infrared coatings.

10. The computing system of claim 8, wherein providing the one or more control signals to implement the vehicle maintenance plan for the autonomous vehicle comprises:

providing at least one first control signal to cause equipment associated with a first maintenance station to correspond to the orientation of the autonomous vehicle, wherein the orientation is determined based at least in part on the data associated with the one or more reference mechanisms, and wherein the equipment associated with the first maintenance station is to perform maintenance on the autonomous vehicle in accordance with at least a first portion of the vehicle maintenance plan.

11. The computing system of claim 10, wherein providing one or more control signals to implement the vehicle maintenance plan for the autonomous vehicle comprises:

providing at least one second control signal to cause equipment associated with a second maintenance station to correspond to the orientation of the autonomous vehicle, and wherein the equipment associated with the second maintenance station is to perform maintenance on the autonomous vehicle in accordance with at least a second portion of the vehicle maintenance plan.

12. The computing system of claim 11, wherein providing the one or more control signals to implement the vehicle maintenance plan for the autonomous vehicle comprises:

providing another control signal to the autonomous vehicle to cause the autonomous vehicle to navigate to at least one of the first maintenance station or the second maintenance station to receive maintenance in accordance with at least one of the first portion of the vehicle maintenance plan or the second portion of the vehicle maintenance plan.

13. The computing system of claim 8, wherein the one or more reference mechanisms are associated with a battery of the autonomous vehicle, and wherein the information associated with the autonomous vehicle is indicative of an orientation of the battery, and wherein the vehicle maintenance plan comprises re-placing the battery of the autonomous vehicle.

14. The computing system of claim 13, wherein the vehicle maintenance plan comprises at least one of re-fueling the vehicle or filling cleaning fluid of the vehicle.

15. The computing system of claim 8, wherein the one or more sensors are located at a maintenance location and wherein the autonomous vehicle travels to the maintenance location in an autonomous navigation mode.

16. One or more tangible, non-transitory computer-readable media storing computer-readable instructions that when executed by one or more processors cause the one or more processors to perform operations, the operations comprising:

obtaining data associated with one or more reference mechanisms located on an autonomous vehicle, wherein the data associated with the one or more reference mechanisms located on the autonomous vehicle is indicative of a position of each of the reference mechanisms relative to the vehicle;

determining an orientation of the autonomous vehicle based at least in part on the data associated with the one or more reference mechanisms;

determining one or more placement locations for servicing equipment associated with a vehicle servicing system based at least in part on the orientation of the autonomous vehicle; and

providing one or more control signals to cause the servicing equipment associated with a vehicle servicing system to operate in accordance with the orientation of the autonomous vehicle.

17. The one or more tangible, non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 16, wherein providing the one or more control signals to cause the servicing equipment associated with the vehicle servicing system to operate in accordance with the orientation of the autonomous vehicle comprises:

providing the one or more control signals to cause the servicing equipment to adjust to correspond to the orientation of the autonomous vehicle.

18. The one or more tangible, non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 16, wherein obtaining the data associated with the one or more reference mechanisms located on the autonomous vehicle comprises:

obtaining the data associated with the one or more reference mechanisms located on the autonomous vehicle via one or more sensors configured to scan the one or more reference mechanisms.

19. The one or more tangible, non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 18, wherein the one or more sensors are located on the autonomous vehicle.