DIAGNOSIS AND REPAIR FOR AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES

• US 20120083959A1
• Filed: 09/29/2011
• Published: 04/05/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/05/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Dolgov, Dmitri A., Urmson, Christopher Paul
• Granted Patent: US 8,874,305 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/23
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/23 with a predetermined field of view
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/30 characterised by the type of image processing
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 17/18 Safety devices; Monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 17/221 Procedure or apparatus for checking or keeping in a correct functioning condition of brake systems hydraulic pressure systems in general F15B19/00, F15B21/04; testing structures or apparatus G01M
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 2201/022 Collision avoidance systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 2210/32 Vehicle surroundings
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 2270/406 Test-mode; Self-diagnosis
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 7/22 initiated by contact of vehicle, e.g. bumper, with an external object, e.g. another vehicle , or by means of contactless obstacle detectors mounted on the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 8/00 Arrangements for adjusting wheel-braking force to meet varying vehicular or ground-surface conditions, e.g. limiting or varying distribution of braking force by changing number of effective brake cylinders in power brake systems B60T17/10
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 8/17 Using electrical or electronic regulation means to control braking detecting or indicating faulty operation B60T8/885
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 8/885 using electrical circuitry
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/0292 Fail-safe or redundant systems, e.g. limp-home or backup systems
• 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 2552/05 Type of road, e.g. motorways, local streets, paved or unpaved roads
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2555/60 Traffic rules, e.g. speed limits or right of way
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/10 Historical data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/50 of positioning data, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System] data
• 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 30/186 excessive wear or burn out of friction elements, e.g. clutches
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/06 : Road conditions
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/14 : Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 6/00 : Arrangements for automatically controlling steering depending on driving conditions sensed and responded to, e.g. control circuits means for initiating a change in direction B62D1/00; steering valves B62D5/06; combined with means for inclining the vehicle body or wheels on bends B62D9/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3617 : using user history, behaviour, conditions or preferences, e.g. predicted or inferred from previous use or current movement
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/865 : Combination of radar systems with lidar systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/867 : Combination of radar systems with cameras
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/86 : Combinations of lidar systems with systems other than lidar, radar or sonar, e.g. with direction finders
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/931 : of land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/2637 : Vehicle, car, auto, wheelchair
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0055 : with safety arrangements
• 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 1/021 : specially adapted to land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0212 : with means for defining a desired trajectory involving a plurality of land vehicles G05D1/0287
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0214 : in accordance with safety or protection criteria, e.g. avoiding hazardous areas monitoring the location of vehicles within a certain area, e.g. forbidden or allowed areas, in traffic control systems for road vehicles G08G1/13
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/024 : in combination with a laser lasers per se H01S
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0246 : using a video camera in combination with image processing means
• 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 1/0276 : using signals provided by a source external to the vehicle involving a plurality of vehicles G05D1/0287; automatically controlling vehicle speed responsive to externally generated signals B60K31/0058
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0278 : using satellite positioning signals, e.g. GPS
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/02 : Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 : Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0207 : Discounts or incentives, e.g. coupons or rebates
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/08 : Insurance
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10004 : Still image; Photographic image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10028 : Range image; Depth image; 3D point clouds
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30236 : Traffic on road, railway or crossing
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30252 : Vehicle exterior; Vicinity of vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30261 : Obstacle
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/20 : Analysis of motion motion estimation for coding, decoding, compressing or decompressing digital video signals H04N19/43, H04N19/51
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/223 : using block-matching
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/231 : using full search
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/521 : from laser ranging, e.g. using interferometry; from the projection of structured light
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/74 : involving reference images or patches
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/255 : Detecting or recognising potential candidate objects based on visual cues, e.g. shapes
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/56 : exterior to a vehicle by using sensors mounted on the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/58 : Recognition of moving objects or obstacles, e.g. vehicles or pedestrians; Recognition of traffic objects, e.g. traffic signs, traffic lights or roads
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/588 : Recognition of the road, e.g. of lane markings; Recognition of the vehicle driving pattern in relation to the road
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/64 : Three-dimensional objects
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00563 : using personal physical data of the operator, e.g. finger prints, retinal images, voicepatterns

Abstract

A system and method of controlling a vehicle is provided. In one aspect, the system and method determines the amount of wear on a component of the vehicle and, based on the amount of wear and information derived from the environment surrounding the vehicle (e.g., another vehicle in the path of the vehicle or a requirement to stop at a particular location), maneuvers the vehicle to mitigate further wear on the component.

Claims

1. A method of maneuvering a vehicle comprising:

detecting a characteristic of the environment surrounding the vehicle;

detecting the amount of damage to a component of the vehicle, wherein increases in damage are affected by different maneuvers; and

selecting, with a processor, between a first maneuver and a second maneuver based on the detected environment characteristic and detected damage amount; and

moving the vehicle in accordance with the selected maneuver.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the first maneuver is selected when there is no damage to the vehicle and the second maneuver occurs when damage is detected.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein detecting a characteristic of the environment comprises detecting an object external to the vehicle and maneuvering in response to the object.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the object is a stop sign.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein detecting a characteristic of the environment comprises determining a traffic requirement.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the vehicle is moved autonomously in accordance with the selected maneuver in response to instructions from a processor.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the component comprises brakes and the damage comprises brake wear.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising the vehicle moving autonomously to a repair facility after the performance of the maneuver.

9. A system comprising:

a processor;

a first sensor in communication with the processor and configured to detect the presence of physical damage to a component of a vehicle;

a second sensor in communication with the processor and configured to detect the presence of an object external the vehicle, where the object requires a change in the motion of the vehicle; and

a memory containing instructions accessible by the processor, the instructions comprising changing the motion of the vehicle relative to the external object based on output received from the first sensor and output received from the second sensor.

10. The system of claim 9 wherein the component is a brake.

11. The system of claim 9 wherein the component is a tire.

12. The system of claim 9 wherein the instructions further comprise selecting between a first and second motion depending on whether damage to the component is detected.

13. The system of claim 9 wherein a difference between the first motion and the second motion is the rate of change in speed.

14. A method of controlling a vehicle comprising:

determining the wear on a component of the vehicle;

determining the geographic position of the vehicle;

determining traffic requirements in the path of the vehicle;

selecting, with a processor, between a first and second maneuver based on the determined wear and the determined distance, wherein at least one difference between the first and second maneuver is selected from the group consisting of rate of acceleration, rate of deceleration and direction; and

moving the vehicle in accordance with the selected maneuver.

15. The method of claim 14 further comprising determining the geographic location based on traffic requirements at geographic locations and detecting the position of the vehicle.

16. The method of claim 14 wherein the wear on a component of the vehicle comprises brake wear.

17. The method of claim 14 wherein determining the wear comprises estimating the wear based on the length of time since the component was last repaired.

18. The method of claim 14 further comprising, after moving the vehicle in accordance with the selected maneuver, determining whether passengers are present in the vehicle, and moving the car to a repair facility under the control of the processor when passengers are not present in the vehicle.

19. A vehicle comprising:

control components controlling the movement of the vehicle, said components responding to commands from a passenger and a processor;

environment sensors detecting the environment external to the vehicle;

component sensors detecting the physical characteristic of components internal to the vehicle, where such physical characteristic changes based on the operation of the vehicle;

a processor in communication with the control components, environment sensors and component sensors;

instructions accessible by the processor, the instructions comprising;

receiving output from the environment sensors, receiving output from the component sensors, selecting a first command or second command to be provided to the control components based on the output from the environment sensors and component sensors, and providing the selected command to the control components.

20. A system of controlling the movement of a vehicle comprising:

a processor;

a memory accessible by the processor;

instructions contained in the memory and executable by the processor;

wherein the instructions comprise;

determining the geographic location of the vehicle relative to location-dependant vehicle movement restrictions,

determining whether a first component of the vehicle is damaged,

providing a first instruction to a second component of the vehicle to move the vehicle so as to comply with the location-dependant movement restriction when the first component is determined to be not damaged,

providing a second instruction to the second component to move the vehicle so as to comply with the location-dependant movement restriction when the first when the first component is determined to be damaged, wherein the movement instructed by the second instruction is different than the movement instructed by the first command.