Methods and systems for determining when to launch vehicles into a fleet of autonomous vehicles
First Claim
1. A method comprising:
- receiving information indicative of a sequence of coverage requirements for a region over a period of time, wherein the region is characterized by a plurality of landmarks and the period of time is divided into a plurality of time intervals, and wherein an individual coverage requirement identifies a desired number of vehicles of a plurality of operating vehicles for given landmarks at a given time interval, wherein vehicles of the plurality of vehicles include a balloon within a data network that is operable to provide data communication via optical or radio-frequency (RF) links;
defining one or more landmarks as a launch site representative of a landmark at which a given vehicle can be added to the plurality of operating vehicles;
determining, by a processor, for at least one respective landmark of the plurality of landmarks, estimated landmarks of the plurality of landmarks that can be reached by one or more vehicles starting from the respective landmark by an end of a respective time interval;
based on the sequence of coverage requirements and the estimated landmarks that can be reached by the one or more vehicles, determining, by the processor, a given launch site and corresponding time interval at which to add the given vehicle to the plurality of operating vehicles to provide data communication according to the sequence of coverage requirements; and
determining a fleet plan for the plurality of time intervals, the fleet plan indicating landmarks of the plurality of landmarks for vehicles of the plurality of operating vehicles to travel to during each of the time intervals.
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Abstract
Example methods and systems for determining when to launch vehicles into a fleet of autonomous vehicles are described. A method comprises receiving a sequence of coverage requirements for a region over a period of time. The region may be characterized by landmarks and the period of time can be divided into time intervals. The method also includes defining a landmark as a launch site representative of a landmark at which a given vehicle can be added to a plurality of operating vehicles, and determining for a respective landmark, estimated landmarks that can be reached by a vehicle starting from the respective landmark by an end of a time interval. The method also includes based on the sequence of coverage requirements and the estimated landmarks, determining a given launch site and corresponding time interval at which to add the given vehicle to the plurality of operating vehicles.
82 Citations
17 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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receiving information indicative of a sequence of coverage requirements for a region over a period of time, wherein the region is characterized by a plurality of landmarks and the period of time is divided into a plurality of time intervals, and wherein an individual coverage requirement identifies a desired number of vehicles of a plurality of operating vehicles for given landmarks at a given time interval, wherein vehicles of the plurality of vehicles include a balloon within a data network that is operable to provide data communication via optical or radio-frequency (RF) links; defining one or more landmarks as a launch site representative of a landmark at which a given vehicle can be added to the plurality of operating vehicles; determining, by a processor, for at least one respective landmark of the plurality of landmarks, estimated landmarks of the plurality of landmarks that can be reached by one or more vehicles starting from the respective landmark by an end of a respective time interval; based on the sequence of coverage requirements and the estimated landmarks that can be reached by the one or more vehicles, determining, by the processor, a given launch site and corresponding time interval at which to add the given vehicle to the plurality of operating vehicles to provide data communication according to the sequence of coverage requirements; and determining a fleet plan for the plurality of time intervals, the fleet plan indicating landmarks of the plurality of landmarks for vehicles of the plurality of operating vehicles to travel to during each of the time intervals. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored therein instructions, that when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform functions comprising:
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receiving information indicative of a sequence of coverage requirements for a region over a period of time, wherein the region is characterized by a plurality of landmarks and the period of time is divided into a plurality of time intervals, and wherein an individual coverage requirement identifies a desired number of vehicles of a plurality of operating vehicles for given landmarks at a given time interval, wherein vehicles of the plurality of vehicles include a balloon within a data network that is operable to provide data communication via optical or radio-frequency (RF) links; defining one or more landmarks as a launch site representative of a landmark at which a given vehicle can be added to the plurality of operating vehicles; determining for at least one respective landmark of the plurality of landmarks, estimated landmarks of the plurality of landmarks that can be reached by one or more vehicles starting from the respective landmark by an end of a respective time interval; and based on the sequence of coverage requirements and the estimated landmarks that can be reached by the one or more vehicles, determining, by the processor, a given launch site and corresponding time interval at which to add the given vehicle to the plurality of operating vehicles to provide data communication according to the sequence of coverage requirements; and determining a fleet plan for the plurality of time intervals, the fleet plan indicating landmarks of the plurality of landmarks for vehicles of the plurality of operating vehicles to travel to during each of the time intervals. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11)
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12. A method comprising:
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receiving information indicative of a sequence of coverage requirements for a region over a period of time, wherein the region is characterized by a plurality of landmarks and the period of time is divided into a plurality of time intervals, and wherein an individual coverage requirement identifies a desired number of vehicles of a plurality of operating vehicles for given landmarks at a given time interval; defining one or more landmarks as a launch site representative of a landmark at which a given vehicle can be added to the plurality of operating vehicles; determining, by a processor, for at least one respective landmark of the plurality of landmarks, estimated landmarks of the plurality of landmarks that can be reached by one or more vehicles starting from the respective landmark by an end of a respective time interval; determining a wind condition at the one or more landmarks defined as the launch site; based on the sequence of coverage requirements and the estimated landmarks that can be reached by the one or more vehicles as well as the wind condition at the one or more landmarks defined as the launch site, determining, by the processor, a given launch site and corresponding time interval at which to add the given vehicle to the plurality of operating vehicles; and determining a fleet plan for the plurality of time intervals the fleet plan indicating landmarks of the plurality of landmarks for the given vehicle to travel to during each of the time intervals. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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Specification