System of configuring active lighting to indicate directionality of an autonomous vehicle
First Claim
1. A method for visual indication of direction of travel of a bidirectional autonomous vehicle, comprising:
- receiving data representing a trajectory of the bidirectional autonomous vehicle in an environment;
causing the bidirectional autonomous vehicle to navigate in a first direction of travel that corresponds to the trajectory, wherein a first end of the bidirectional autonomous vehicle is facing the first direction of travel;
selecting data representing a first directional light pattern, wherein the first directional light pattern is configured to indicate the first direction of travel of the bidirectional autonomous vehicle;
selecting a light emitter of the bidirectional autonomous vehicle to emit light into the environment;
causing, using the data representing the first directional light pattern, the light emitter to emit the light to visually convey the first direction of travel of the bidirectional autonomous vehicle;
detecting that the bidirectional autonomous vehicle is switching from navigating in the first direction of travel to a second direction of travel, wherein a second end of the bidirectional autonomous vehicle is facing the second direction of travel;
selecting data representing a second directional light pattern, wherein the second directional light pattern is configured to indicate the second direction of travel of the bidirectional autonomous vehicle; and
causing, using the data representing the second directional light pattern, the light emitter to emit the light to visually convey the second direction of travel of the bidirectional autonomous vehicle,wherein the second directional light pattern and the first directional light pattern are substantially symmetric about an axis of the bidirectional autonomous vehicle.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Systems, apparatus and methods may be configured to implement actively-controlled light emission from a robotic vehicle. A light emitter(s) of the robotic vehicle may be configurable to indicate a direction of travel of the robotic vehicle and/or display information (e.g., a greeting, a notice, a message, a graphic, passenger/customer/client content, vehicle livery, customized livery) using one or more colors of emitted light (e.g., orange for a first direction and purple for a second direction), one or more sequences of emitted light (e.g., a moving image/graphic), or positions of light emitter(s) on the robotic vehicle (e.g., symmetrically positioned light emitters). The robotic vehicle may not have a front or a back (e.g., a trunk/a hood) and may be configured to travel bi-directionally, in a first direction or a second direction (e.g., opposite the first direction), with the direction of travel being indicated by one or more of the light emitters.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. A method for visual indication of direction of travel of a bidirectional autonomous vehicle, comprising:
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receiving data representing a trajectory of the bidirectional autonomous vehicle in an environment; causing the bidirectional autonomous vehicle to navigate in a first direction of travel that corresponds to the trajectory, wherein a first end of the bidirectional autonomous vehicle is facing the first direction of travel; selecting data representing a first directional light pattern, wherein the first directional light pattern is configured to indicate the first direction of travel of the bidirectional autonomous vehicle; selecting a light emitter of the bidirectional autonomous vehicle to emit light into the environment; causing, using the data representing the first directional light pattern, the light emitter to emit the light to visually convey the first direction of travel of the bidirectional autonomous vehicle; detecting that the bidirectional autonomous vehicle is switching from navigating in the first direction of travel to a second direction of travel, wherein a second end of the bidirectional autonomous vehicle is facing the second direction of travel; selecting data representing a second directional light pattern, wherein the second directional light pattern is configured to indicate the second direction of travel of the bidirectional autonomous vehicle; and causing, using the data representing the second directional light pattern, the light emitter to emit the light to visually convey the second direction of travel of the bidirectional autonomous vehicle, wherein the second directional light pattern and the first directional light pattern are substantially symmetric about an axis of the bidirectional autonomous vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A bidirectional autonomous vehicle comprising:
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one or more light emitters; one or more processors; and one or more computer-readable media storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to; receive data representing a trajectory in an environment; cause the bidirectional autonomous vehicle to navigate in a first direction of travel that corresponds to the trajectory, wherein a first end of the bidirectional autonomous vehicle is facing the first direction of travel; select a light emitter of the one or more light emitters, the light emitter being configured to emit light into the environment; cause, using data representing a first directional light pattern, the light emitter to emit the light to visually convey the first direction of travel of the bidirectional autonomous vehicle; cause the bidirectional autonomous vehicle to navigate in a second direction of travel, wherein a second end of the bidirectional autonomous vehicle is facing the second direction of travel; and cause, using data representing a second directional light pattern, the light emitter or an additional light emitter of the one or more light emitters to emit the light to visually convey the second direction of travel of the bidirectional autonomous vehicle, wherein the second directional light pattern and the first directional light pattern are substantially symmetric about an axis of the bidirectional autonomous vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method for visual indication of direction of travel of a bidirectional autonomous vehicle, comprising:
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detecting that the bidirectional autonomous vehicle is navigating in a first direction; causing one or more light emitters on the bidirectional autonomous vehicle to emit a first light pattern based at least in part on detecting that the bidirectional autonomous vehicle is navigating in the first direction; detecting that the bidirectional autonomous vehicle is navigating in a second direction, the second direction being opposite to the first direction; and causing the one or more light emitters to emit a second light pattern based at least in part on detecting that the bidirectional autonomous vehicle is navigating in the second direction, wherein the second light pattern and the first light pattern are substantially symmetric about an axis of the bidirectional autonomous vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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Specification