Engaging and disengaging for autonomous driving

• US 9,075,413 B2
• Filed: 07/17/2014
• Issued: 07/07/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Cullinane, Brian, Nemec, Philip, Clement, Manuel Christian, Mariet, Robertus Christianus Elisabeth, Jonsson, Lilli Ing-Marie
• Primary Examiner(s): CAMBY, RICHARD M
• Application Number:
  US14/333,839
• Publication Number:
  US 20140330478A1
• Time in Patent Office: 355 Days
• Field of Search: 701/23, 701/27, 701/36, 701/41, 701/96, 701/117, 701/118, 701/119, 701/300, 701/301, 340900-905, 340/438, 340/425.5, 340/937
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/172 Driving mode indication
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/175 Autonomous driving
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/00 Instruments specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement of instruments in or on vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/10 Input arrangements, i.e. from user to vehicle, associated with vehicle functions or specially adapted therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/28 characterised by the type of the output information, e.g. video entertainment or vehicle dynamics information; characterised by the purpose of the output information, e.g. for attracting the attention of the driver
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 16/023 for transmission of signals between vehicle parts or subsystems
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2022/4866 Displaying or indicating arrangements thereof
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 22/48 Control systems, alarms, or interlock systems, for the correct application of the belt or harness
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/105 using multiple cameras
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/0002 Automatic control, details of type of controller or control system architecture
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/0075 Automatic parameter input, automatic initialising or calibrating means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/146 Display means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/045 Occupant permissions
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/16 Ratio selector position
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/215 Selection or confirmation of options
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/229 Attention level, e.g. attentive to driving, reading or sleeping
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2552/00 Input parameters relating to infrastructure
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2552/20 Road profile, i.e. the change in elevation or curvature of a plurality of continuous road segments
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2552/30 Road curve radius
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2552/53 Road markings, e.g. lane marker or crosswalk
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/801 : Lateral distance
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2555/20 : Ambient conditions, e.g. wind or rain
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/00 : Input parameters relating to data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/45 : External transmission of data to or from the vehicle
• 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 50/082 : Selecting or switching between different modes of propelling
• 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: G05D 1/0061 : for transition from automatic pilot to manual pilot and vice versa
• 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 1/0223 : involving speed control of the vehicle vehicle fittings for automatically controlling, i.e. preventing speed from exceeding an arbitrarily established velocity or maintaining speed at a particular velocity, as selected by the vehicle operator B60K31/00

Abstract

Aspects of the present disclosure relate switching between autonomous and manual driving modes. In order to do so, the vehicle'"'"'s computer may conduct a series of environmental, system, and driver checks to identify certain conditions. The computer may correct some of these conditions and also provide a driver with a checklist of tasks for completion. Once the tasks have been completed and the conditions are changed, the computer may allow the driver to switch from the manual to the autonomous driving mode. The computer may also make a determination, under certain conditions, that it would be detrimental to the driver'"'"'s safety or comfort to make a switch from the autonomous driving mode to the manual driving mode.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, by one or more processors, a request to switch a vehicle from a manual driving mode to an autonomous driving mode;

in response to receiving the request, determining, by the one or more processors, whether the vehicle is currently located in an area of a driving lane that has been preapproved for the autonomous driving mode;

generating, by the one or more processors, a set of tasks to be completed by a user of the vehicle, the set of tasks being generated based on the determination of whether the vehicle is currently located in an area of a driving lane that has been preapproved for the autonomous driving mode, wherein at least one task includes moving the vehicle into an area of a driving lane that has been preapproved for the autonomous driving mode;

displaying on a display device, by the one or more processors, to the user a request to complete the at least one task;

determining, by the one or more processors, when the at least one task has been completed by the user;

when the at least one task has been completed by the user, determining, by the one or more processors, whether there are additional tasks of the set of task to be completed by the user;

upon determining that there are no additional tasks of the set of tasks to be completed by the user, switching, by the one or more processors, the vehicle from the manual driving mode to the autonomous driving mode.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether the vehicle is currently located in an area of a driving lane that is preapproved for the autonomous driving mode includes:

accessing detailed map information identifying driving lanes for vehicles and information indicating which areas of the driving lanes are preapproved for the autonomous driving mode; and

determining a current location of the vehicle, wherein the current location of the vehicle and the detailed map information are used to determine whether the vehicle is currently located in an area of a driving lane that is preapproved for the autonomous driving mode.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the request includes information identifying at least one area of a lane that is preapproved for the autonomous driving mode.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying, before displaying the request, a second task of the set of tasks based on priority information associated with each task of the set of tasks;

displaying, before displaying the request, a second request to complete the second task; and

when the second task has been completed, displaying the request.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the second task includes buckling a seatbelt of the user.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising, when there are additional tasks of the set of task to be completed by the user, displaying on the display device additional requests to complete the additional tasks.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein when the at least one task has been completed by the user, removing the request from the display device.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the second task includes buckling a seatbelt of the user.

8. A system comprising one or more processors configured to:

receive a request to switch a vehicle from a manual driving mode to an autonomous driving mode;

in response to receiving the request, determine whether the vehicle is currently located in an area of a driving lane that has been preapproved for the autonomous driving mode;

generate a set of tasks to be completed by a user of the vehicle, the set of tasks being generated based on the determination of whether the vehicle is currently located in an area of a driving lane that has been preapproved for the autonomous driving mode, wherein at least one task includes moving the vehicle into an area of a driving lane that has been preapproved for the autonomous driving mode;

display on a display device to the user a request to complete the at least one task;

determine when the at least one task has been completed by the user;

when the at least one task has been completed by the user, determine whether there are additional tasks of the set of task to be completed by the user;

upon determining that there are no additional tasks of the set of tasks to be completed by the user, switch the vehicle from the manual driving mode to the autonomous driving mode.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine whether the vehicle is currently located in an area of a driving lane that is preapproved for the autonomous driving mode by:

accessing detailed map information identifying driving lanes for vehicles and information indicating which areas of the driving lanes are preapproved for the autonomous driving mode; and

determining a current location of the vehicle, wherein the current location of the vehicle and the detailed map information are used by the one or more processors to determine whether the vehicle is currently located in an area of a driving lane that is preapproved for the autonomous driving mode.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the request includes information identifying at least one area of a lane that is preapproved for the autonomous driving mode.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

identify, before displaying the request, a second task of the set of tasks based on priority information associated with each task of the set of tasks;

display, before displaying the request, a second request to complete the second task; and

when the second task has been completed, displaying the request.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to, when there are additional tasks of the set of task to be completed by the user, display on the display device additional requests to complete the additional tasks.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein when the at least one task has been completed by the user, removing the request from the display device.

15. A non-transitory, tangible computer-readable storage medium on which computer readable instructions of a program are stored, the instructions, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method, the method comprising:

receiving a request to switch a vehicle from a manual driving mode to an autonomous driving mode;

in response to receiving the request, determining whether the vehicle is currently located in an area of a driving lane that has been preapproved for the autonomous driving mode;

generating a set of tasks to be completed by a user of the vehicle, the set of tasks being generated based on the determination of whether the vehicle is currently located in an area of a driving lane that has been preapproved for the autonomous driving mode, wherein at least one task includes moving the vehicle into an area of a driving lane that has been preapproved for the autonomous driving mode;

displaying on a display device to the user a request to complete the at least one task;

determining when the at least one task has been completed by the user;

when the at least one task has been completed by the user, determining whether there are additional tasks of the set of task to be completed by the user;

upon determining that there are no additional tasks of the set of tasks to be completed by the user, switching the vehicle from the manual driving mode to the autonomous driving mode.

16. The medium of claim 15, wherein determining whether the vehicle is currently located in an area of a driving lane that is preapproved for the autonomous driving mode includes:

accessing detailed map information identifying driving lanes for vehicles and information indicating which areas of the driving lanes are preapproved for the autonomous driving mode; and

determining a current location of the vehicle, wherein the current location of the vehicle and the detailed map information are used to determine whether the vehicle is currently located in an area of a driving lane that is preapproved for the autonomous driving mode.

17. The medium of claim 15, wherein the request includes information identifying at least one area of a lane that is preapproved for the autonomous driving mode.

18. The medium of claim 15, wherein the method further comprises:

identifying, before displaying the request, a second task of the set of tasks based on priority information associated with each task of the set of tasks;

displaying, before displaying the request, a second request to complete the second task; and

when the second task has been completed, displaying the request.

19. The medium of claim 18, wherein the second task includes buckling a seatbelt of the user.

20. The medium of claim 15, wherein the method further comprises, when there are additional tasks of the set of task to be completed by the user, displaying on the display device additional requests to complete the additional tasks.