Remote assistance for an autonomous vehicle in low confidence situations
First Claim
1. A computer-implemented method comprising:
- operating an autonomous vehicle in a first autonomous mode;
identifying, by a control system of the autonomous vehicle, a situation where a level of confidence of an autonomous operation in the first autonomous mode is below a threshold level;
sending, by the control system of the autonomous vehicle, a request for assistance to a remote assistor, the request comprising sensor data representative of a portion of an environment of the autonomous vehicle, the request further comprising a plurality of proposed autonomous modes of operation for the autonomous vehicle to proceed in the identified situation;
receiving, by the control system of the autonomous vehicle, a response from the remote assistor, the response indicating a second autonomous mode of operation, wherein the second autonomous mode of operation is selected from the plurality of proposed autonomous modes of operation for the autonomous vehicle to proceed in the identified situation; and
causing the autonomous vehicle to operate in the second autonomous mode of operation in accordance with the response from the remote assistor.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Example systems and methods enable an autonomous vehicle to request assistance from a remote operator when the vehicle'"'"'s confidence in operation is low. One example method includes operating an autonomous vehicle in a first autonomous mode. The method may also include identifying a situation where a level of confidence of an autonomous operation in the first autonomous mode is below a threshold level. The method may further include sending a request for assistance to a remote assistor, the request including sensor data representative of a portion of an environment of the autonomous vehicle. The method may additionally include receiving a response from the remote assistor, the response indicating a second autonomous mode of operation. The method may also include causing the autonomous vehicle to operate in the second autonomous mode of operation in accordance with the response from the remote assistor.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A computer-implemented method comprising:
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operating an autonomous vehicle in a first autonomous mode; identifying, by a control system of the autonomous vehicle, a situation where a level of confidence of an autonomous operation in the first autonomous mode is below a threshold level; sending, by the control system of the autonomous vehicle, a request for assistance to a remote assistor, the request comprising sensor data representative of a portion of an environment of the autonomous vehicle, the request further comprising a plurality of proposed autonomous modes of operation for the autonomous vehicle to proceed in the identified situation; receiving, by the control system of the autonomous vehicle, a response from the remote assistor, the response indicating a second autonomous mode of operation, wherein the second autonomous mode of operation is selected from the plurality of proposed autonomous modes of operation for the autonomous vehicle to proceed in the identified situation; and causing the autonomous vehicle to operate in the second autonomous mode of operation in accordance with the response from the remote assistor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A computer-implemented method comprising:
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receiving a request for assistance from an autonomous vehicle, the request comprising; a sensor data representation of an environment of the autonomous vehicle, the sensor data representation comprising a representation based on sensor data collected by the vehicle; a live video stream of a portion of the environment from one or more cameras on the autonomous vehicle; and a plurality of proposed autonomous modes of operation for the autonomous vehicle; providing for display of a graphical interface, wherein the graphical interface comprises; a first sub-window showing the sensor data representation of the environment; a second sub-window showing the live video stream of the portion of the environment; and a list of the plurality of proposed autonomous modes of operation; receiving a selected proposed mode of autonomous operation for the autonomous vehicle from the list via the graphical interface; and sending a response to the autonomous vehicle indicating to switch to the selected proposed mode of autonomous operation. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. An autonomous vehicle, comprising:
a control system configured to; operate the autonomous vehicle in a first autonomous mode; identify a situation where a level of confidence of an autonomous operation in the first autonomous mode is below a threshold level; send a request for assistance to a remote assistor, the request comprising sensor data representative of a portion of an environment of the autonomous vehicle, the request further comprising a plurality of proposed autonomous modes of operation for the autonomous vehicle to proceed in the identified situation; receive a response from the remote assistor, the response indicating a second autonomous mode of operation, wherein the second autonomous mode of operation is selected from the plurality of proposed autonomous modes of operation for the autonomous vehicle to proceed in the identified situation; and cause the autonomous vehicle to operate in the second autonomous mode of operation in accordance with the response from the remote assistor. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19)
Specification