System of configuring active lighting to indicate directionality of an autonomous vehicle

• US 10,409,284 B2
• Filed: 06/05/2017
• Issued: 09/10/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 11/04/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Zoox Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Zoox Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Kentley-Klay, Timothy David, Gamara, Rachad Youssef
• Primary Examiner(s): Antonucci, Anne M
• Application Number:
  US15/613,798
• Publication Number:
  US 20180134207A1
• Time in Patent Office: 827 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2200/40 Working vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/0007 Measures or means for preventing or attenuating collisions
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/04 Cutting off the power supply under fault conditions protective devices and circuit arrangements in general H01H; H02H
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/66 Arrangements of batteries
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/002 Seats provided with an occupancy detection means mounted therein or thereon detection means responsive to presence or absence of children B60N2/266
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/003 characterised by the sensor mounting location in or on the seat
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/01566 key rotating about a vertical axis
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/42709 involving residual deformation or fracture of the structure
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/4279 electric or electronic triggering
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2210/40 Force or pressure sensors
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2230/20 Wireless data transmission
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/26 the devices being primarily intended to indicate the vehicle, or parts thereof, or to give signals, to other traffic
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/507 specific to autonomous vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/525 automatically indicating risk of collision between vehicles in traffic or with pedestrians, e.g. after risk assessment using the vehicle sensor data
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 5/006 indicating risk of collision between vehicles or with pedestrians
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/01272 Belt tensioners
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01 Electrical circuits for triggering passive safety arrangements, e.g. airbags, safety belt tighteners, in case of vehicle accidents or impending vehicle accidents electrical circuits for transmission of signals between steering wheel and the vehicle itself B60R16/027; for electrically actuating belt retractor locking means B60R22/343
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01512 Passenger detection systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01546 using belt buckle sensors
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/04 including control of propulsion units
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/18 : including control of braking systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/20 : including control of steering systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/30 : including control of auxiliary equipment, e.g. air-conditioning compressors or oil pumps
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2400/00 : Indexing codes relating to detected, measured or calculated conditions or factors
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2420/403 : Image sensing, e.g. optical camera
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2420/408 : Radar; Laser, e.g. lidar
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2420/54 : Audio sensitive means, e.g. ultrasound
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/00 : Input parameters relating to objects
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/20 : Static objects
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/4023 : large-size vehicles, e.g. trucks
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/4026 : Cycles
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/4029 : Pedestrians
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/4041 : Position
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/4044 : Direction of movement, e.g. backwards
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/80 : Spatial relation or speed relative to objects
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2710/06 : Combustion engines, Gas turbines
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2710/08 : Electric propulsion units
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2710/18 : Braking system
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2710/20 : Steering systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2710/30 : Auxiliary equipments
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/08 : Active safety systems predicting or avoiding probable or impending collision or attempting to minimise its consequences
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/09 : Taking automatic action to avoid collision, e.g. braking and steering
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/095 : Predicting travel path or likelihood of collision
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/0956 : the prediction being responsive to traffic or environmental parameters
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/18 : Propelling the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 60/0016 : of the vehicle or its occupants
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 60/0027 : using trajectory prediction for other traffic participants
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/32 : Structuring or formatting of map data
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9316 : combined with communication equipment with other vehicles or with base stations
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0018 : Transmission from mobile station to base station
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/16 : using electromagnetic waves other than radio waves
• 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 1/0055 : with safety arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0248 : in combination with a laser lasers per se H01S
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0255 : using acoustic signals, e.g. ultra-sonic singals sonar systems designed for anti-collision purposes G01S15/93
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0257 : using a radar radar systems designed for anti-collision purposes between land vehicles or between land vehicle and fixed obstacles G01S13/931
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0274 : using mapping information stored in a memory device navigation using map-matching G01C21/30
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0297 : by controlling means in a control room
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/56 : exterior to a vehicle by using sensors mounted on the vehicle
• 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 1/205 : Indicating the location of the monitored vehicles as destination, e.g. accidents, stolen, rental
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 9/04 : for teaching control of land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/60 : Electric or hybrid propulsion means for production processes
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 : Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/16 : Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles

Abstract

Systems, apparatus and methods may be configured to implement actively-controlled light emission from a robotic vehicle. A light emitter(s) of the robotic vehicle may be configurable to indicate a direction of travel of the robotic vehicle and/or display information (e.g., a greeting, a notice, a message, a graphic, passenger/customer/client content, vehicle livery, customized livery) using one or more colors of emitted light (e.g., orange for a first direction and purple for a second direction), one or more sequences of emitted light (e.g., a moving image/graphic), or positions of light emitter(s) on the robotic vehicle (e.g., symmetrically positioned light emitters). The robotic vehicle may not have a front or a back (e.g., a trunk/a hood) and may be configured to travel bi-directionally, in a first direction or a second direction (e.g., opposite the first direction), with the direction of travel being indicated by one or more of the light emitters.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

causing an autonomous vehicle to navigate in a first direction of travel within an environment, the autonomous vehicle configured to navigate in the first direction of travel in which a first end of the autonomous vehicle is leading and a second end of the autonomous vehicle is trailing and a second direction of travel in which the second end is leading and the first end is trailing;

identifying a location of an object within the environment;

determining an orientation of the autonomous vehicle relative to the location of the object;

selecting, based at least in part on the orientation of the autonomous vehicle, a light emitter of the autonomous vehicle to emit a light pattern to visually convey the first direction of travel; and

causing the light emitter to emit the light pattern to visually convey the first direction of travel.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

determining a trajectory of the autonomous vehicle within the environment,

wherein determining the orientation of the autonomous vehicle relative to the location of the object is based at least in part on the location of the object and the trajectory of the autonomous vehicle.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the location comprises a first location and the orientation comprises a first orientation, and wherein the method further comprises:

receiving sensor data indicating a second location of the autonomous vehicle within the environment;

determining a second orientation of the autonomous vehicle relative to the first location of the object when the autonomous vehicle is in the second location;

selecting, based at least in part on the second orientation of the autonomous vehicle, the light emitter of the autonomous vehicle to emit a second light pattern, the second light pattern different than the first light pattern; and

causing the light emitter to emit the second light pattern to visually convey the second direction of travel.

4. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

determining, based at least in part on the orientation of the autonomous vehicle relative to the location of the object, that a portion of the autonomous vehicle is within view of the object,

wherein selecting the light emitter of the autonomous vehicle is based at least in part on the light emitter being disposed on the portion of the autonomous vehicle.

5. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the location comprises a first location and the trajectory of the autonomous vehicle comprises a first trajectory of the autonomous vehicle, and wherein the method further comprises:

determining an initial location of the object within the environment;

determining a second trajectory of the object within the environment;

determining a predicted location for the object based at least in part on the initial location and the second trajectory;

determining a threshold distance based at least in part on the predicted location and a third trajectory of the autonomous vehicle; and

determining that the object is located within the threshold distance,

where causing the light emitter to emit the light pattern is based at least in part on determining that the object is located within the threshold distance.

6. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the object comprises a first object, the location comprises a first location, the light emitter comprises a first light emitter, and the light pattern comprises a first light pattern, and wherein the method further comprises:

identifying a second location of a second object within the environment;

selecting, based at least in part on the orientation and the second location of the second object, a second light emitter of the autonomous vehicle to emit a second light pattern to visually convey the first direction of travel; and

causing the second light emitter to emit the second light pattern to visually convey the first direction of travel.

7. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising;

determining a classification associated with the object; and

selecting the light pattern based at least in part on the classification.

8. The method as recited in claim 7, wherein the classification is one of pedestrian or bicyclist.

9. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the location is a first location, the object is a first object, the orientation is a first orientation, and the light pattern is a first light pattern, and wherein the method further comprises:

causing the autonomous vehicle to navigate in the second direction of travel;

identifying a second location of a second object;

determining a second orientation of the autonomous vehicle relative to the second location of the second object;

selecting, based at least in part on the second orientation of the autonomous vehicle, the light emitter of the autonomous vehicle to emit a second light pattern to visually convey the second direction of travel; and

causing the light emitter to emit the second light pattern to visually convey the second direction of travel.

10. A system comprising:

one or more light emitters;

one or more processors; and

one or more computer-readable media storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to perform operations comprising;

causing an autonomous vehicle to navigate in a first direction of travel within an environment, the autonomous vehicle configured to navigate in the first direction of travel in which a first end of the autonomous vehicle is leading and a second end of the autonomous vehicle is trailing and a second direction of travel in which the second end is leading and the first end is trailing;

determining a trajectory of the autonomous vehicle;

identifying an object within the environment;

determining a location of the object within the environment;

selecting a light emitter of the one or more light emitters to emit a light pattern to visually convey the first direction of travel; and

causing the light emitter to emit the light pattern to visually convey the first direction of travel.

11. The system as recited in claim 10, wherein the location is a first location, and wherein the system further comprises:

one or more sensors,

wherein the operations further comprise receiving, from the one or more sensors, data representing a second location of the autonomous vehicle within the environment,

wherein determining the trajectory is based at least in part on the data representing the second location.

12. The system as recited in claim 10, wherein the location comprises a first location, and wherein the operations further comprise:

determining a second location of the autonomous vehicle within the environment; and

determining an event based at least in part on the first location and the second location,

wherein causing the light emitter to emit the light pattern to visually convey the first direction of travel is based at least in part on determining the event.

13. The system as recited in claim 10, wherein the trajectory comprises a first trajectory, the location comprises a first location, the light emitter comprises a first light emitter, and the light pattern comprises first light pattern, and wherein the operations further comprise:

determining a second trajectory of the autonomous vehicle;

determining a second location of the object within the environment;

selecting, based at least in part on the second trajectory and the second location, a second light emitter of the one or more light emitters to emit a second light pattern to visually convey the first direction of travel; and

causing the second light emitter to emit the second light pattern to visually convey the first direction of travel.

14. The system as recited in claim 10, wherein the object comprises a first object, the location comprises a first location, the light emitter comprises a first light emitter, and the light pattern comprises first light pattern, and wherein the operations further comprise:

identifying a second object within the environment;

determining a second location of the second object within the environment;

selecting, based at least in part on the trajectory and the second location, a second light emitter of the one or more light emitters to emit a second light pattern to visually convey the first direction of travel; and

causing the second light emitter to emit the second light pattern to visually convey the first direction of travel.

15. The system as recited in claim 10, the operation further comprising:

determining, based at least in part on the trajectory of the autonomous vehicle and the location of the object, that a portion of the autonomous vehicle is within view of the object,

wherein selecting the light emitter of the autonomous vehicle to emit the light pattern is based at least in part on the light emitter being disposed on the portion of the autonomous vehicle.

16. The system as recited in claim 10, the operations further comprising;

determining a classification associated with the object; and

selecting the light pattern based at least in part on the classification.

17. The system as recited in claim 10, further comprising:

determining that the location of the object is within a threshold distance to the autonomous vehicle,

wherein causing the light emitter to emit the light pattern is based at least in part on determining that the location of the object is within the threshold distance.

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

causing an autonomous vehicle to navigate in a first direction of travel within an environment, the autonomous vehicle configured to navigate in the first direction of travel in which a first end of the autonomous vehicle is leading and a second end of the autonomous vehicle is trailing and a second direction of travel in which the second end is leading and the first end is trailing;

determining a first location of the autonomous vehicle within the environment;

determining a second location of an object within the environment;

selecting light emitter on the autonomous vehicle based at least in part on the first location and the second location;

selecting data representing a light pattern that indicates the first direction of travel of the autonomous vehicle; and

causing, using the data, the light emitter to emit light to visually convey the first direction of travel.

19. The one or more computer-readable media as recited in claim 18, wherein the object comprises a first object, the light emitter comprises a first light emitter, the data comprises first data, the light pattern comprises a first light pattern, and the light comprises first light, and wherein the operations further comprises:

determining a third location of a second object within the environment;

selecting, based at least in part on the first location of the autonomous vehicle and the third location of the second object, a second light emitter on the autonomous vehicle;

selecting second data representing a second light pattern that indicates the first direction of travel of the autonomous vehicle; and

causing, using the second data, the second light emitter to emit second light to visually convey the first direction of travel.

20. The one or more computer-readable media as recited in claim 19, the operations further comprising:

determining a first classification associated with the first object; and

determining a second classification associated with the second object,

wherein selecting the first data representing the first light pattern is based at least in part on the first classification, and wherein selecting the second data representing the second light pattern is based at least in part on the second classification.