TRANSITIONING BETWEEN OPERATIONAL MODES OF AN AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE

• US 20160355192A1
• Filed: 06/04/2015
• Published: 12/08/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/04/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation), Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America Incorporated (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: James, Michael R., Sakai, Katsuhiro, Kindo, Toshiki, Prokhorov, Danil V., Harada, Masahiro
• Granted Patent: US 9,884,631 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 11/04 Mounting of cameras operative during drive; Arrangement of controls thereof relative to the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2040/0818 Inactivity or incapacity of driver
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/143 Alarm means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/146 Display means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2420/403 Image sensing, e.g. optical camera
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/215 Selection or confirmation of options
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/50 of positioning data, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System] data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/08 related to drivers or passengers
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/082 Selecting or switching between different modes of propelling
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/14 Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/16 Tactile feedback to the driver, e.g. vibration or force feedback to the driver on the steering wheel or the accelerator pedal

Abstract

Arrangements relating to the transitioning of a vehicle between operational modes are described. The vehicle can transition between a first operational mode and a second operational mode. The second operational mode has a greater degree of manual involvement than the first operational mode. For instance, the first operational mode can be an unmonitored autonomous operational mode, and the second operational mode can be a monitored autonomous operational mode or a manual operational mode. It can be determined whether an operational mode transition event has occurred while the vehicle is operating in the first operational mode. In response to determining that an operational mode transition event has occurred, a time buffer for continuing in the first operational mode before switching to the second operational mode can be determined. A transition alert can be presented within the vehicle. The transition alert can represent the determined time buffer.

Claims

1. A method of transitioning a vehicle between a first operational mode and a second operational mode, the second operational mode having a greater degree of manual involvement than the first operational mode, the method comprising:

capturing, using one or more sensors located onboard the vehicle, one or more driving scenes along a travel route while the vehicle is operating in the first operational mode;

comparing, using one or more processors, the captured one or more driving scenes to a predetermined set of driving scenes;

determining, using one or more processors, whether an operational mode transition event has occurred while the vehicle is operating in the first operational mode, the operational mode transition event being determined to have occurred at least when there is a sufficient mismatch between the captured one or more driving scenes and the predetermined set of driving scenes;

responsive to determining that an operational mode transition event has occurred, determining, using one or more processors, a time buffer for continuing in the first operational mode before switching to the second operational mode; and

presenting a transition alert within the vehicle, the transition alert corresponding to the determined time buffer.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the time buffer is based at least partially on a characteristic of a current driving environment of the vehicle.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein presenting the transition alert within the vehicle includes varying an output characteristic of the transition alert responsive to changes in the determined time buffer.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the time buffer is based at least partially on the amount of mismatch between the captured one or more driving scenes and the predetermined set of driving scenes.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the predetermined set of driving scenes includes a set of scene markers.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the set of scene markers are ranked, wherein at least one of the scene markers is assigned a high priority, and wherein a sufficient mismatch occurs when a high priority scene marker is not present in the captured one or more driving scenes.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first operational mode is an unmonitored autonomous operational mode, and wherein the second operational mode is one of a monitored autonomous operational mode or a manual operational mode.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first operational mode is monitored autonomous operational mode, and wherein the second operational mode is a manual operational mode.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the transition alert is a visual transition alert.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the transition alert is an audial transition alert.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the transition alert is a haptic transition alert.

13. The method of claim 1, further including:

detecting whether a vehicle occupant has provided an indication that the vehicle occupant is ready for the second operational mode; and

responsive to detecting that a user has provided an indication that the vehicle occupant is ready for the second operational mode, causing the vehicle to switch from the first operational mode to the second operational mode.

14. The method of claim 1, further including:

detecting whether a vehicle occupant has provided an indication that the vehicle occupant is ready for the second operational mode; and

responsive to detecting that a user has not provided an indication that the vehicle occupant is ready for the second operational mode, causing the vehicle to switch from the current operational mode to a special operational mode.

4. (canceled)

15. A system for transitioning a vehicle between a first operational mode and a second operational mode, the second operational mode having a greater degree of manual involvement than the first operational mode, the system comprising:

one or more sensors located onboard the vehicle, the one or more sensors operable to sense at least a portion of an external environment of the vehicle, the one or more sensors being configured to capture one or more driving scenes along a travel route while the vehicle is operating in the first operational mode;

a user interface element located within the vehicle, the user interface element being at least one of a display, a light source, a speaker, or a haptic actuator; and

one or more processors operatively connected to the user interface element and to the one or more sensors, the one or more processors being programmed to initiate executable operations comprising;

comparing the captured one or more driving scenes to a predetermined set of driving scenes;

determining whether an operational mode transition event has occurred while the vehicle is operating in the first operational mode, the operational mode transition event being determined to have occurred at least when there is a sufficient mismatch between the captured one or more driving scenes and the predetermined set of driving scenes;

responsive to determining that an operational mode transition event has occurred, determining a time buffer for continuing in the first operational mode before switching to the second operational mode; and

presenting a transition alert within the vehicle using the user interface element, the transition alert corresponding to the determined time buffer.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the time buffer is based at least partially on a characteristic of a current driving environment of the vehicle.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein presenting the transition alert within the vehicle includes varying an output characteristic of the transition alert responsive to changes in the determined time buffer.

19. The system of claim 15, wherein the first operational mode is an unmonitored autonomous operational mode, and wherein the second operational mode is one of a monitored autonomous operational mode or a manual operational mode.

20. The system of claim 15, wherein the user interface element is a display, wherein the transition alert is a visual transition alert, and wherein the transition alert is presented on the display.

21. The system of claim 15, wherein the user interface element is a speaker, wherein the transition alert is an audial transition alert, and wherein the transition alert is presented on the speaker.

22. The system of claim 15, wherein the user interface element is a haptic actuator, wherein the transition alert is a haptic transition alert, and wherein the transition alert is presented by the haptic actuator.

18. (canceled)