Self-driving vehicle systems and methods

• US 9,646,356 B1
• Filed: 06/14/2016
• Issued: 05/09/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 04/14/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Drivent LLC
• Original Assignee: Eric John Wengreen, Wesley Edward Schwie
• Inventors: Schwie, Wesley Edward, Wengreen, Eric John
• Primary Examiner(s): Black, Thomas G
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kong, Sze-Hon
• Application Number:
  US15/181,413
• Time in Patent Office: 329 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 5/00 Arrangement or adaptation of acoustic signal devices
• 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 30/06 Automatic manoeuvring for parking
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0016 characterised by the operator's input device input arrangements for computing systems in general G06F3/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0022 characterised by the communication link data switching networks in general H04L12/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0027 involving a plurality of vehicles, e.g. fleet or convoy travelling fleet control of land vehicles from a control room G05D1/0297; traffic control systems for road vehicles G08G1/00; for marine craft G08G3/00; for aircraft G08G5/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0088 characterized by the autonomous decision making process, e.g. artificial intelligence, predefined behaviours using knowledge based models G06N5/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/12 Target-seeking control
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/12 specially adapted for electronic shopping systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/40 Business processes related to the transportation industry shipping G06Q10/083
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/202 Dispatching vehicles on the basis of a location, e.g. taxi dispatching
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/00 Speech recognition G10L17/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/1807 using prosody or stress

Abstract

Self-driving vehicles have unlimited potential to learn and predict human behavior and perform actions accordingly. Several embodiments described herein enable a self-driving vehicle to monitor human activity and predict when and where the human will be located and whether the human needs a ride from the self-driving vehicle. Self-driving vehicles will be able to perform such tasks with incredible efficacy and accuracy that will allow self-driving vehicles to proliferate at a much faster rate than would otherwise be the case.

Claims

1. A method of picking up a person with a self-driving vehicle, the method comprising:

receiving, by a vehicle management system, an external checkout notification in response to the person purchasing a tangible good at a remote location, wherein the checkout notification occurs before the self-driving vehicle picks up the person;

sending, by the vehicle management system, a first wireless communication to the self-driving vehicle in response to receiving the checkout notification; and

prompting the self-driving vehicle to move towards the person and pick up the person.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the person has a remote computing device, wherein receiving the checkout notification is in response to the person performing an electronic payment transaction for the purchase of the tangible good, the method further comprising:

searching, by the vehicle management system, for location data of the remote computing device in response to the electronic payment transaction; and

sending, by the vehicle management system, the location data of the remote computing device to the self-driving vehicle in response to the electronic payment transaction.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

searching, by the vehicle management system, for location data of the remote computing device in response to the electronic payment transaction; and

determining, by the vehicle management system, whether the remote computing device is located within a predetermined distance of the self-driving vehicle,

wherein the first wireless communication prompts the self-driving vehicle to move towards the person having the remote computing device in response to the remote computing device being located within the predetermined distance.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising sending, by the vehicle management system in response to the remote computing device not being located within the predetermined distance of the self-driving vehicle, a second wireless communication to the remote computing device, wherein the second wireless communication prompts the remote computing device to determine whether the person wants the self-driving vehicle to move towards the person.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

receiving, by the vehicle management system, a third wireless communication in response to the second wireless communication, wherein the third wireless communication comprises at least one of a first instruction to position the self-driving vehicle in a parked state and a second instruction to move the self-driving vehicle towards the person; and

sending, by the vehicle management system in response to receiving the third wireless communication, a fourth wireless communication to the remote computing device, wherein the fourth wireless communication prompts the remote computing device to determine where the person wants to meet the self-driving vehicle.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, by the vehicle management system, whether a remote computing device of the person is located within a predetermined distance of the self-driving vehicle; and

sending, by the vehicle management system, the first wireless communication to the self-driving vehicle in response to the remote computing device being located within the predetermined distance of the self-driving vehicle.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first wireless communication is configured to prompt the self-driving vehicle to move towards the person.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein receiving the checkout notification occurs in response to the person purchasing the tangible good with a credit card, the method further comprising determining, by the vehicle management system, location data of a remote computing device of the person in response to the checkout notification.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein in response to receiving the checkout notification, the method further comprises:

determining, by the vehicle management system, whether the remote computing device is not connected to a cellular network; and

positioning the self-driving vehicle in a parked state in response to determining the remote computing device is not connected to the cellular network.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

determining, by the vehicle management system, whether the remote computing device was previously not connected to the cellular network and then determining whether the remote computing device is connected to the cellular network; and

sending, by the vehicle management system, the first wireless communication to the self-driving vehicle in response to determining whether the remote computing device was previously not connected to the cellular network and then determining whether the remote computing device is connected to the cellular network.

11. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

sending, by the vehicle management system in response to receiving the checkout notification, a second wireless communication to a remote computing device of the person, wherein the second wireless communication prompts the remote computing device to determine whether the person wants the self-driving vehicle to move towards the person; and

receiving, by the vehicle management system, a third wireless communication in response to the second wireless communication, wherein the third wireless communication comprises instructions to position the self-driving vehicle in a parked state for a predetermined amount of time.

12. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

sending, by the vehicle management system in response to receiving the checkout notification, a second wireless communication to a remote computing device of the person, wherein the second wireless communication prompts the remote computing device to determine whether the person wants the self-driving vehicle to move towards the person; and

receiving, by the vehicle management system, a third wireless communication in response to the second wireless communication, wherein the third wireless communication instructs the vehicle management system to position the self-driving vehicle in a parked state.

13. The method of claim 7, further comprising receiving,

by the vehicle management system, a second checkout notification in response to the person purchasing a second tangible good at the remote location.

14. The method of claim 7, wherein receiving the checkout notification comprises:

receiving, by the vehicle management system, a pickup request for the self-driving vehicle to pick up the person; and

picking up the person with the self-driving vehicle.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

receiving, by the vehicle management system, location data of a requested location for where the self-driving vehicle should meet the person; and

arriving, by the self-driving vehicle, at the requested location of the person.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

determining, by the vehicle management system, a time of arrival of the person at the requested location; and

arriving, by the self-driving vehicle, at the requested location before the time of arrival of the person.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

determining, by the vehicle management system, a first travel time for the self-driving vehicle to arrive at the requested location;

determining, by the vehicle management system, a second travel time for the person to arrive at the requested location;

determining, by the vehicle management system, whether the second travel time is greater than the first travel time; and

delaying, by the self-driving vehicle, arriving at the requested location in response to determining the second travel time is greater than the first travel time.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein delaying arriving at the requested location comprises, delaying arriving at the requested location by an amount of time less than or equal to the difference between the second travel time and the first travel time.

19. A system for picking up a person with a self-driving vehicle, the system comprising:

a vehicle management system configured to receive checkout notifications and send wireless communications;

an external checkout notification received by the vehicle management system in response to the person purchasing a tangible good at a remote location, wherein the vehicle management system is configured to receive the checkout notification before the self-driving vehicle picks up the person; and

a first wireless communication sent by the vehicle management system to the self-driving vehicle in response to receiving the checkout notification,

wherein the first wireless communication is configured to prompt the self-driving vehicle to move towards the person and pick up the person.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the vehicle management system is located onboard the self-driving vehicle.

21. The system of claim 19, wherein the vehicle management system is remotely located with respect to the self-driving vehicle.

22. The system of claim 19, further comprising a remote computing device communicatively coupled to the vehicle management system and operated by the person.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the vehicle management system is configured to receive location data of the remote computing device.

24. The system of claim 22, further comprising a second wireless communication received by the remote computing device, wherein the second wireless communication prompts the remote computing device to determine whether the person wants the self-driving vehicle to move towards the person.

25. The system of claim 24, further comprising a third wireless communication received by the vehicle management system, wherein the third wireless communication comprises at least one of a first instruction to position the self-driving vehicle in a parked state and a second instruction to move the self-driving vehicle towards the person.