Method for determining fleet control policies to satisfy a sequence of coverage requirements
First Claim
1. A method comprising:
- receiving a sequence of individual coverage requirements for a region and an associated period of time, wherein the region is divided into a plurality of cells, and wherein each individual coverage requirement of the sequence of individual coverage requirements indicates a desired distribution of vehicles of a fleet of vehicles among the plurality of cells at a given phase within the period of time;
receiving an initial location of one or more vehicles of the fleet of vehicles;
determining, by a processor, a control policy for each of the one or more vehicles for the period of time, wherein the control policy comprises, for each of multiple respective cells of the plurality of cells, information indicative of a corresponding direction for the vehicle to travel while the vehicle is located in the cell;
based on the control policies and the initial locations of the one or more vehicles, determining, by the processor, one or more estimated distributions of vehicles in the fleet of vehicles at respective phases within the period of time;
determining, by the processor, a score associated with the determined control policies based on a comparison between the one or more estimated distributions and corresponding desired distributions of the sequence of individual coverage requirements, wherein the score quantifies a difference between the one or more estimated distributions and the corresponding desired distributions of the sequence of individual coverage requirements;
revising, by the processor, at least one of the determined control policies to obtain a revised set of control policies that reduces the score; and
instructing the one or more vehicles of the fleet of vehicles to execute the revised set of control policies.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and systems for determining control policies for a fleet of vehicles are provided. In one example, a method is provided that comprises receiving a sequence of coverage requirements for a region and an associated period of time, and receiving an initial location of one or more vehicles of a fleet of vehicles. The method may further include determining a control policy for each of the one or more vehicles. Additionally, based on the determined control policies and the initial locations, one or more estimated distributions of the fleet of vehicles at respective phases within the period of time may be determined. According to the method, a score associated with the control policies may be determined based on a comparison between the estimated distributions and corresponding desired distributions of the sequence of coverage requirements. In some examples, the control policies may also be revised using an optimization technique.
35 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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receiving a sequence of individual coverage requirements for a region and an associated period of time, wherein the region is divided into a plurality of cells, and wherein each individual coverage requirement of the sequence of individual coverage requirements indicates a desired distribution of vehicles of a fleet of vehicles among the plurality of cells at a given phase within the period of time; receiving an initial location of one or more vehicles of the fleet of vehicles; determining, by a processor, a control policy for each of the one or more vehicles for the period of time, wherein the control policy comprises, for each of multiple respective cells of the plurality of cells, information indicative of a corresponding direction for the vehicle to travel while the vehicle is located in the cell; based on the control policies and the initial locations of the one or more vehicles, determining, by the processor, one or more estimated distributions of vehicles in the fleet of vehicles at respective phases within the period of time; determining, by the processor, a score associated with the determined control policies based on a comparison between the one or more estimated distributions and corresponding desired distributions of the sequence of individual coverage requirements, wherein the score quantifies a difference between the one or more estimated distributions and the corresponding desired distributions of the sequence of individual coverage requirements; revising, by the processor, at least one of the determined control policies to obtain a revised set of control policies that reduces the score; and instructing the one or more vehicles of the fleet of vehicles to execute the revised set of control policies. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein instructions, that when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform functions comprising:
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receiving a sequence of individual coverage requirements for a region and an associated period of time, wherein the region is divided into a plurality of cells, and wherein each individual coverage requirement of the sequence of coverage requirements indicates a desired distribution of vehicles of a fleet of vehicles among the plurality of cells at a given phase within the period of time; receiving an initial location of one or more vehicles of the fleet of vehicles; determining a control policy for each of the one or more vehicles for the period of time, wherein the control policy comprises, for each of multiple respective cells of the plurality of cells, information indicative of a direction for the vehicle to travel while the vehicle is located in the cell; based on the control policies and the initial locations of the one or more vehicles, determining one or more estimated distributions of vehicles in the fleet of vehicles at respective phases within the period of time; determining a score associated with the determined control policies based on a comparison between the one or more estimated distributions and corresponding desired distributions of the sequence of individual coverage requirements, wherein the score quantifies a difference between the one or more estimated distributions and the corresponding desired distributions of the sequence of individual coverage requirements; revising at least one of the determined control policies to obtain a revised set of control policies that reduces the score; and instructing the one or more vehicles of the fleet of vehicles to execute the revised set of control policies. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16)
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17. A system, comprising:
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at least one processor; and data storage comprising program instructions executable by the at least one process to cause the system to perform functions comprising; receiving a sequence of individual coverage requirements for a region and an associated period of time, wherein the region is divided into a plurality of cells, and wherein each individual coverage requirement indicates a desired distribution of vehicles of a fleet of vehicles among the plurality of cells at a given phase within the period of time; receiving an initial location of one or more vehicles of the fleet of vehicles; determining a control policy for each of the one or more vehicles for the period of time, wherein the control policy comprises, for each of multiple respective cells of the plurality of cells, information indicative of a direction for the vehicle to travel while the vehicle is located in the cell; based on the control policies and the initial locations of the one or more vehicles, determining one or more estimated distributions of vehicles in the fleet of vehicles at respective phases within the period of time; determining a score associated with the determined control policies based on a comparison between the one or more estimated distributions and corresponding desired distributions of the sequence of individual coverage requirements, wherein the score quantifies a difference between the one or more estimated distributions and the corresponding desired distributions of the sequence of individual coverage requirements; revising at least one of the determined control policies to obtain a revised set of control policies that reduces the score; and instructing the one or more vehicles of the fleet of vehicles to execute the revised set of control policies. - View Dependent Claims (18)
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Specification