Selecting a route to a destination based on zones

• US 10,281,290 B2
• Filed: 08/30/2017
• Issued: 05/07/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 02/08/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Uber Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Uber Technologies, Inc.
• Inventors: O'Mahony, Eoin, Nickels, John Mark, Goldman, Brent, Holden, Jeff
• Primary Examiner(s): Kan, Yuri
• Application Number:
  US15/691,600
• Publication Number:
  US 20170363435A1
• Time in Patent Office: 615 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3438 Rendez-vous, i.e. searching a destination where several users can meet, and the routes to this destination for these users; Ride sharing, i.e. searching a route such that at least two users can share a vehicle for at least part of the route
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/047 Optimisation of routes or paths, e.g. travelling salesman problem
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/40 Business processes related to the transportation industry shipping G06Q10/083
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096811 where the route is computed offboard
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096816 where the complete route is transmitted to the vehicle at once
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/09685 where the complete route is computed only once and not updated
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/202 Dispatching vehicles on the basis of a location, e.g. taxi dispatching

Abstract

A travel coordination system provides suggestions to providers for where they should go to reduce the wait time between trips. A geographic region is broken down into zones and a score is generated for each zone. A zone score can be generated by determining the estimated wait time for the zone and generating a model for the wait time. A zone score can also be generated using a model for the wait time using factors that likely contribute to the wait time. The zone score for each zone is displayed to the provider on a road map of the geographic region along with the boundaries of each of the zones and the provider'"'"'s position within the region. The travel coordination system also suggests driving routes. The travel coordination system selects a target zone and generates candidate routes to the zone. A route is selected based on route scores.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, at a travel coordination system from a provider device, a current location of a provider, the current location being within a geographic region;

generating, for each zone in a set of zones within the geographic region, a zone score, the zone score representing an estimated amount of time the provider is expected to wait in the zone before receiving an invitation to provide a service for a rider;

selecting a zone of the set of zones based on the zone scores;

identifying a destination for the provider within the selected zone;

generating a set of candidate routes from the current location of the provider to the identified destination;

generating, for each candidate route in the set of candidate routes, a route score based on the zone scores;

selecting a route from the set of candidate routes based on the route scores; and

transmitting the selected route to the provider device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the destination is a center of the selected zone.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the destination is a border of the selected zone.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the destination is selected based on an arrival time of the provider at the destination.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the zone is selected based on the arrival time of the provider at the destination.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the destination is selected based on a provider supply model and a provider demand model.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the route is selected based on a provider supply model and a provider demand model.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the destination is selected based on preferences of the provider.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the route is selected based on amounts of time the provider would spend in zones through which the provider passes by traveling along a candidate route of the set of candidate routes.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the route is selected based on an integral of the zone scores of the zones through which the provider passes on the candidate route.

11. A non-transitory, computer-readable medium comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to:

receive, at a travel coordination system from a provider device, a current location of a provider, the current location being within a geographic region;

generate, for each zone in a set of zones within the geographic region, a zone score, the zone score representing an estimated amount of time the provider is expected to wait in the zone before receiving an invitation to provide a service for a rider;

select a zone of the set of zones based on the zone scores;

identify a destination for the provider within the selected zone;

generate a set of candidate routes from the current location of the provider to the identified destination;

generate, for each candidate route in the set of candidate routes, a route score based on the zone scores;

select a route from the set of candidate routes based on the route scores; and

transmit the selected route to the provider device.

12. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the destination is a center of the selected zone.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the destination is a border of the selected zone.

14. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the destination is selected based on an arrival time of the provider at the destination.

15. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the zone is selected based on the arrival time of the provider at the destination.

16. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the destination is selected based on a provider supply model and a provider demand model.

17. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the route is selected based on a provider supply model and a provider demand model.

18. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the destination is selected based on preferences of the provider.

19. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the route is selected based on amounts of time the provider would spend in zones through which the provider passes by traveling along a candidate route of the set of candidate routes.

20. A system comprising:

a processor; and

a non-transitory, computer-readable medium comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to;

receive, at a travel coordination system from a provider device, a current location of a provider, the current location being within a geographic region;

generate, for each zone in a set of zones within the geographic region, a zone score, the zone score representing an estimated amount of time the provider is expected to wait in the zone before receiving an invitation to provide a service for a rider;

select a zone of the set of zones based on the zone scores;

identify a destination for the provider within the selected zone;

generate a set of candidate routes from the current location of the provider to the identified destination;

generate, for each candidate route in the set of candidate routes, a route score based on the zone scores;

select a route from the set of candidate routes based on the route scores; and

transmit the selected route to the provider device.