Selecting vehicle type for providing transport

• US 10,395,285 B2
• Filed: 07/11/2018
• Issued: 08/27/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 05/13/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Uber Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Uber Technologies, Inc.
• Inventors: Ross, William, Bares, John, LaRose, David, Sweeney, Matthew
• Primary Examiner(s): Ismail, Mahmoud S
• Application Number:
  US16/032,914
• Publication Number:
  US 20180322546A1
• Time in Patent Office: 412 Days
• Field of Search: 701 25, 701 23
• 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: G01C 21/3484 Personalized, e.g. from learned user behaviour or user-defined profiles
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3492 employing speed data or traffic data, e.g. real-time or historical traffic control systems for road vehicles involving transmission of navigation instructions to the vehicle G08G1/0968
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0027 involving a plurality of vehicles, e.g. fleet or convoy travelling fleet control of land vehicles from a control room G05D1/0297; traffic control systems for road vehicles G08G1/00; for marine craft G08G3/00; for aircraft G08G5/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0088 characterized by the autonomous decision making process, e.g. artificial intelligence, predefined behaviours using knowledge based models G06N5/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0217 in accordance with energy consumption, time reduction or distance reduction criteria
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0234 using optical markers or beacons optical beacons per se G01S1/70
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0283 Price estimation or determination
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/40 Business processes related to the transportation industry shipping G06Q10/083
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/20 Monitoring the location of vehicles belonging to a group, e.g. fleet of vehicles, countable or determined number of vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/202 Dispatching vehicles on the basis of a location, e.g. taxi dispatching
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 999/99 dummy group

Abstract

A transport arrangement system operates to receive a transport request from a user, and to make a selection of a vehicle type for the user based at least in part on a set of criteria associated with the transport request or user information. For example, the determination of whether an autonomous vehicle is to be provided can be based at least in part on the destination specified with the transport request.

Claims

1. A computer system for operating an autonomous vehicle, the computer system comprising:

a memory that stores a set of instructions;

one or more processors which use the set of instructions to;

make a determination as to a selection of a particular autonomous vehicle of a plurality of autonomous vehicles and human-driven vehicles to be provided for a transport request, wherein the particular autonomous vehicle is selected based at least in part on determining that a cost metric satisfies a criterion associated with the transport request, wherein the cost metric is based at least on a likelihood of a route deviation for the particular autonomous vehicle to fulfill the transport request; and

dispatch the particular autonomous vehicle to at least a first service location associated with the transport request in response to the selection.

2. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors make the determination as to the selection of the particular autonomous vehicle by determining at least one of (i) an estimated time of arrival for the particular autonomous vehicle to at least the first service location, or (ii) a trip time for the particular autonomous vehicle to fulfill the transport request.

3. The computer system of claim 2, wherein the one or more processors determine the estimated time of arrival or the trip time by determining a route for the particular autonomous vehicle to at least the first service location.

4. The computer system of claim 3, wherein the one or more processors use the set of instructions to:

obtain a preference of a user of the transport request with respect to at least one of the estimated time of arrival or the trip time; and

wherein the one or more processors make the determination as to the selection of the particular autonomous vehicle based at least in part on the preference of the user.

5. The computer system of claim 4, wherein the transport request and the preference are received from a mobile computing device associated with the user.

6. The computer system of claim 4, wherein the one or more processors determine whether one of the plurality of autonomous vehicles is to be provided for the transport request based at least in part on one or more special requests made by the user in conjunction with the transport request.

7. The computer system of claim 6, wherein the one or more processors use the set of instructions to communicate, to the user, that the transport request will be fulfilled using the particular autonomous vehicle in response to the determination that the particular autonomous vehicle is to be provided for the transport request.

8. The computer system of claim 7, further comprising providing the user an opportunity to alter or overrule an assignment of the transport request to the particular autonomous vehicle.

9. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the criterion is based at least in part on a limitation of the particular autonomous vehicle in navigating to the first service location.

10. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are located at a remote server that communicates with the particular autonomous vehicle over a network.

11. The computer system of claim 10, wherein the one or more processors navigate the particular autonomous vehicle to the first service location by transmitting, from the remote server, a set of vehicle instructions to the particular autonomous vehicle, wherein the set of vehicle instructions causes the particular autonomous vehicle to travel to the first service location.

12. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are components of the particular autonomous vehicle.

13. The computer system of claim 12, wherein the one or more processors navigate the particular autonomous vehicle to the first service location by controlling a vehicle interface system to move the particular autonomous vehicle to the first service location.

14. A method for arranging transport, the method being implemented by one or more processors and comprising:

making a determination as to a selection of a particular autonomous vehicle of a plurality of autonomous vehicles and human-driven vehicles to be provided for a transport request, wherein the particular autonomous vehicle is selected based at least in part on determining that a cost metric satisfies a criterion associated with the transport request, wherein the cost metric is based at least on a likelihood of a route deviation for the particular autonomous vehicle to fulfill the transport request; and

dispatching the particular autonomous vehicle to at least a first service location associated with the transport request in response to the selection.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein making the as to the selection of the particular autonomous vehicle includes determining at least one of (i) an estimated time of arrival for the particular autonomous vehicle to at least the first service location, or (ii) a trip time for the particular autonomous vehicle to fulfill the transport request.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the estimated time of arrival or the trip time is determined by determining a route for the particular autonomous vehicle to at least the first service location.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

obtaining a preference of a user of the transport request with respect to at least one of the estimated time of arrival or the trip time; and

wherein the one or more processors make the determination as to the selection of the particular autonomous vehicle based at least in part on the preference of the user.

18. A non-transitory computer-readable medium that stores instructions, which when executed by one or more processors of a computer system, cause the computer system to perform operations that comprise:

making a determination as to a selection of a particular autonomous vehicle of a plurality of autonomous vehicles and human-driven vehicles to be provided for a transport request, wherein the particular autonomous vehicle is selected based at least in part on determining that a cost metric satisfies a criterion associated with the transport request, wherein the cost metric is based at least on a likelihood of a route deviation for the particular autonomous vehicle to fulfill the transport request; and

dispatching the particular autonomous vehicle to at least a first service location associated with the transport request in response to the selection.