ROBOTIC VEHICLE CONTROL

• US 20150149021A1
• Filed: 11/26/2013
• Published: 05/28/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/26/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Elwha LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Elwha LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Duncan, William D., Hyde, Roderick A.
• Granted Patent: US 9,364,178 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/23
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2560/0242 adapted to measure environmental factors, e.g. temperature, pollution
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/18 for vehicle drivers or machine operators
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6893 Cars
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 28/06 responsive to incapacity of driver
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/10 Accelerator pedal position
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/12 Brake pedal position
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/14 Clutch pedal position
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/18 Steering angle
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/21 Voice
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/221 Physiology, e.g. weight, heartbeat, health or special needs
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/229 Attention level, e.g. attentive to driving, reading or sleeping
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/24 Drug level, e.g. alcohol
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/26 Incapacity
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/30 Driving style
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2555/20 Ambient conditions, e.g. wind or rain
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/50 of positioning data, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System] data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/00 Purposes of road vehicle drive control systems not related to the control of a particular sub-unit, e.g. of systems using conjoint control of vehicle sub-units
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/12 Lane keeping
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/16 Control of distance between vehicles, e.g. keeping a distance to preceding vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/082 Selecting or switching between different modes of propelling
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/12 : Limiting control by the driver depending on vehicle state, e.g. interlocking means for the control input for preventing unsafe operation
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 60/0051 : from occupants to vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 60/0053 : from vehicle to occupant
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 60/0059 : Estimation of the risk associated with autonomous or manual driving, e.g. situation too complex, sensor failure or driver incapacity
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 60/007 : Emergency override Handing over between remote control and on-board control or handing over between remote control arrangements G05D1/227
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0061 : for transition from automatic pilot to manual pilot and vice versa

Abstract

A vehicle includes a detection system, configured to acquire data regarding operation of the vehicle, and a robotic driving device, configured to provide robotic control of the vehicle. The vehicle also includes a control system configured to determine whether the robotic driving device is activated, such that the vehicle is in robotic driving mode; receive a request by a prospective operator of the vehicle to deactivate the robotic driving device to initiate a manual driving mode; determine whether the prospective operator is impaired based on the data; and selectively grant or refuse the request based on the determination.

Claims

1. A vehicle, comprising:

a detection system configured to acquire data regarding operation of the vehicle;

a robotic driving device configured to provide robotic control of the vehicle; and

a control system configured to;

determine that the robotic driving device is activated, such that the vehicle is in a robotic driving mode;

receive a request by a prospective operator of the vehicle to deactivate the robotic driving device to initiate a manual driving mode;

determine whether the prospective operator is impaired based on the data; and

selectively deactivate the robotic driving device based on the determination.

2. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the control system is configured to deactivate the robotic driving device based on the determination that the prospective operator is impaired.

5. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the detection system is configured to acquire the data in response to reception of the request.

6. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the control system is configured to make the impairment determination in response to reception of the request.

19. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the data includes a state characteristic of the prospective operator.

20. The vehicle of claim 19, wherein the state characteristic includes an indication of at least one of a cognitive response ability, a heart rate, a tremor, a blood alcohol level, a blood flow level, a pupil dilation level, a vision acuity level, and a presence of an impairing drug.

21. The vehicle of claim 19, wherein the state characteristic includes at an indication of at least one of eyeglasses, contact lenses, a hearing aid, and a presence of an impairment antagonist drug.

22. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the data includes a driving characteristic of the prospective operator.

23. The vehicle of claim 22, wherein the driving characteristic includes an indication of at least one of a shifting tendency, a lane change tendency, a following distance average, a hand pressure on a steering wheel, a tendency of brake pedal application, a hand pressure on a shifter of the vehicle, a tendency of accelerator pedal application, a tendency of clutch pedal application, and an obedience to driving laws.

24. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the data includes surroundings data.

25. The vehicle of claim 24, wherein the surroundings data includes at least one of an indication of a temperature, a time of day, an ambient light level, a road surface condition, a precipitation level, a fog level, a radiation level, a carbon monoxide level, and a harmful toxin level.

26. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the control system is configured to store the data for a plurality of prospective operators of the vehicle.

27. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the control system is configured to determine impairment based on a preset deviation from the average data levels for each prospective operator of a plurality of prospective operators.

28. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the control system is configured to determine impairment based on a preset deviation from pre-approved data levels.

29. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the robotic driving device is configured to drive the vehicle.

30. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the robotic driving device is configured to drive the vehicle along a predetermined path.

31. The vehicle of claim 30, wherein the predetermined path is provided by the prospective operator.

32. The vehicle of claim 30, wherein the predetermined path is provided by the control system.

33. The vehicle of claim 30, wherein the predetermined path is a path provided by the prospective operator while the vehicle was in manual driving mode.

36. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the robotic driving device is configured to override operator control of the vehicle.

3-4. -4. (canceled)

7-18. -18. (canceled)

34-35. -35. (canceled)

37-38. -38. (canceled)

39. An apparatus for detecting and responding to a potential impairment of an operator of a vehicle, comprising:

a detection system configured to acquire data regarding the operator during constrained operation of the vehicle;

a robotic driving device configured to provide robotic operation of the vehicle during the operator'"'"'s constrained operation of the vehicle;

an evaluator configured to evaluate the operator during the operator'"'"'s constrained operation for an impairment based on the data; and

a control system configured to selectively deactivate the robotic driving device based on signals received from the evaluator.

40. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein the control system is configured to deactivate constrained operation of the vehicle by the operator based on signals received from the evaluator.

42. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein the review evaluation includes comparing effects of the operator commands to effects of commands received from the robotic driving device.

43. The apparatus of claim 42, wherein the control system preferentially uses commands from the robotic driving device when the difference between the effects exceeds a threshold.

44. The apparatus of claim 42, wherein the control system preferentially uses commands from the operator when the difference between the effects is less than a threshold.

45. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein the control system uses a weighted combination of commands from the operator and commands from the robotic driving device.

46. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein the evaluator is configured to evaluate the operator of the vehicle during an evaluation period to determine whether the operator is impaired.

49. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein the evaluator is configured to evaluate the operator based on a driving command received from the operator.

56. The apparatus of claim 49, wherein the evaluator is configured to analyze the driving command for operator impairment.

58. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein the evaluator is configured to override a driving command from the operator during the constrained operation period.

41. (canceled)

47-48. -48. (canceled)

50-55. -55. (canceled)

57. (canceled)

59-65. -65. (canceled)

66. An apparatus for detecting and responding to an emergency situation in a vehicle, comprising:

a detection system configured to acquire data regarding operation of a vehicle;

a robotic driving device configured to provide robotic operation of the vehicle; and

a control system configured to determine whether an emergency situation exists based on the data and based on the determination, to selectively activate the robotic driving device to direct the vehicle to an emergency response location selected based on the emergency situation.

67. The apparatus of claim 66, wherein the control system is further configured to prevent deactivation of the robotic driving device during the direction to the emergency response location.

77. The apparatus of claim 66, wherein the control system is configured to include parameters indicative of various emergency situations.

78. The apparatus of claim 66, wherein the control system is configured to initiate an emergency response protocol.

79. The apparatus of claim 78, wherein initiating the emergency response protocol includes activating the robotic drive device to override control of the vehicle by an operator.

68-76. -76. (canceled)

80-155. -155. (canceled)