Using autonomous vehicles in a taxi service
First Claim
1. At least one non-transitory machine readable storage medium having instructions embodied thereon for operating a fleet of autonomous vehicles, the instructions when executed perform the following:
- receiving, using one or more processors, a request for a taxi service from a mobile device, wherein the request includes a current location of the mobile device and indicates that the taxi service is to be performed at a current time;
estimating an amount of time to perform the taxi service based, in part, on the current location of the mobile device and a drop-off location indicated in the request;
selecting, using the one or more processors, an autonomous vehicle from the fleet of autonomous vehicles to perform the taxi service based in part on an availability of the autonomous vehicle and a proximity between the autonomous vehicle and the current location of the mobile device, and the autonomous vehicle is selected when the amount of time to perform the taxi service does not conflict with a previously scheduled taxi service for the autonomous vehicle; and
providing, using the one or more processors, instructions to the autonomous vehicle to perform the taxi service according to the request, wherein the instructions enable the autonomous vehicle to provide commands to drive the autonomous vehicle to the current location of the mobile device in order to perform the taxi service.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Technology is described for operating a fleet of autonomous vehicles. A request for a taxi service may be received from a mobile device. The request may include a current location of the mobile device. They request may indicate that the taxi service is to be performed at a current time. An autonomous vehicle may be selected from the fleet of autonomous vehicles to perform the taxi service based in part on an availability of the autonomous vehicle and a proximity between the autonomous vehicle and the current location of the mobile device. Instructions may be provided to the autonomous vehicle to perform the taxi service according to the request. The autonomous vehicle may be configured to provide commands to drive the autonomous vehicle to the current location of the mobile device in order to perform the taxi service.
-
Citations
18 Claims
-
1. At least one non-transitory machine readable storage medium having instructions embodied thereon for operating a fleet of autonomous vehicles, the instructions when executed perform the following:
-
receiving, using one or more processors, a request for a taxi service from a mobile device, wherein the request includes a current location of the mobile device and indicates that the taxi service is to be performed at a current time; estimating an amount of time to perform the taxi service based, in part, on the current location of the mobile device and a drop-off location indicated in the request; selecting, using the one or more processors, an autonomous vehicle from the fleet of autonomous vehicles to perform the taxi service based in part on an availability of the autonomous vehicle and a proximity between the autonomous vehicle and the current location of the mobile device, and the autonomous vehicle is selected when the amount of time to perform the taxi service does not conflict with a previously scheduled taxi service for the autonomous vehicle; and providing, using the one or more processors, instructions to the autonomous vehicle to perform the taxi service according to the request, wherein the instructions enable the autonomous vehicle to provide commands to drive the autonomous vehicle to the current location of the mobile device in order to perform the taxi service. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
-
-
11. At least one non-transitory machine readable storage medium having instructions embodied thereon for operating a fleet of autonomous vehicles, the instructions when executed perform the following:
-
receiving, using one or more processors, a request for a taxi service, the request including a pickup location and a selected time for the taxi service; estimating an amount of time to perform the taxi service at the selected time based, in part, on the pickup location and a drop-off location indicated in the request; selecting, using the one or more processors, an autonomous vehicle from a fleet of autonomous vehicles that is available to perform the taxi service at the selected time, and the autonomous vehicle is selected when the amount of time to perform the taxi service at the selected time does not conflict with a previously scheduled taxi service for the autonomous vehicle; and adding, using the one or more processors, the taxi service to a schedule associated with the autonomous vehicle, wherein the autonomous vehicle is configured to provide commands to drive the autonomous vehicle to the pickup location at the selected time in accordance with the schedule and perform the taxi service. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14)
-
-
15. An autonomous vehicle, comprising:
-
a processor; a memory device including a data store to store a plurality of data and instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to; receive instructions to perform a taxi service in accordance with a request for the taxi service, the request indicating a pickup location; add the taxi service to a schedule of taxi services to be automatically performed by the autonomous vehicle; select a route for travelling to the pickup location; provide commands to drive the autonomous vehicle to the pickup location according to the route in order to perform the taxi service; notify a taxi service system after the taxi service has been completed and the autonomous vehicle is available to perform additional taxi services, as indicated in the schedule of taxi services maintained at the autonomous vehicle; and provide commands to drive the autonomous vehicle to a default parking space after completing the taxi service and wait for instructions from the taxi service system to perform an additional taxi service. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18)
-
Specification