Intelligent deployment of safety mechanisms for autonomous vehicles
First Claim
1. A method of deploying safety mechanisms in a vehicle, the method comprising:
- receiving, from one or more first computing devices having one or more processors by one or more second computing devices having one or more processors, situational information, the situational information identifying a potential impact target corresponding to an object with which the vehicle is predicted to have a collision within a predetermined period of time, and an estimated time when the second computing device will receive an update for the potential impact target from the first computing device;
using, by the one or more second computing devices, the estimated time to determine when to deploy one or more active safety mechanisms, wherein each of the one or more safety mechanisms is configured to reduce a likelihood of damage to an object external to the vehicle caused by a collision;
sending, by the one or more second computing devices, a triggering signal to activate the one or more active safety mechanisms prior to an impact with the object corresponding to the identified potential impact target,wherein the situational information includes information identifying an impact point where the vehicle and the object are predicted to have the collision,mapping the impact point to a point on an exterior of the vehicle;
selecting the one or more active safety mechanisms further based on the point on the exterior of the vehicle;
repositioning the selected one or more active safety mechanisms from a first location to a location closest to the impact point without the selected one or more active safety mechanisms being deployed; and
deploying, by one or more actuators, the one or more active safety mechanisms when the impact is imminent,wherein the selected one or more active safety mechanisms is configured to be deployable at the first location as well as at the location closest to the impact point.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Aspects of the disclosure relate to deploying safety mechanisms in an autonomous vehicle. As an example, the situational information identifying a potential impact target corresponding to an object with which the autonomous vehicle is predicted to have a collision within a predetermined period of time may be received. This situational information may also include an estimated time when the second computing device will receive an update for the potential impact target from the first computing device. The estimated time may be used to determine when to deploy a set of active safety mechanisms for the potential impact target. Each active safety mechanism may be configured to reduce a likelihood of damage to an object external to the autonomous vehicle caused by a collision. A signal is then sent to activate the set of active safety mechanisms prior to an impact with the object corresponding to the identified potential impact target.
-
Citations
20 Claims
-
1. A method of deploying safety mechanisms in a vehicle, the method comprising:
-
receiving, from one or more first computing devices having one or more processors by one or more second computing devices having one or more processors, situational information, the situational information identifying a potential impact target corresponding to an object with which the vehicle is predicted to have a collision within a predetermined period of time, and an estimated time when the second computing device will receive an update for the potential impact target from the first computing device; using, by the one or more second computing devices, the estimated time to determine when to deploy one or more active safety mechanisms, wherein each of the one or more safety mechanisms is configured to reduce a likelihood of damage to an object external to the vehicle caused by a collision; sending, by the one or more second computing devices, a triggering signal to activate the one or more active safety mechanisms prior to an impact with the object corresponding to the identified potential impact target, wherein the situational information includes information identifying an impact point where the vehicle and the object are predicted to have the collision, mapping the impact point to a point on an exterior of the vehicle; selecting the one or more active safety mechanisms further based on the point on the exterior of the vehicle; repositioning the selected one or more active safety mechanisms from a first location to a location closest to the impact point without the selected one or more active safety mechanisms being deployed; and deploying, by one or more actuators, the one or more active safety mechanisms when the impact is imminent, wherein the selected one or more active safety mechanisms is configured to be deployable at the first location as well as at the location closest to the impact point. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 19)
-
-
11. A system comprising:
-
one or more active safety mechanism configured to reduce a likelihood of damage to an object external to a vehicle caused by a collision between the object and the vehicle; one or more first computing devices having one or more first processors configured to; receive, from one or more second computing devices having one or more second processors, situational information, the situational information identifying a potential impact target corresponding to an object with which the vehicle is predicted to have a collision within a predetermined period of time, and an estimated time when the second computing device will receive an update for the potential impact target from the first computing device; use the estimated time to determine when to deploy the one or more active safety mechanisms; send a triggering signal to activate the one or more active safety mechanisms prior to an impact with the object corresponding to the identified potential impact target; wherein the situational information includes information identifying an impact point where the vehicle and the object are predicted to have the collision, map the impact point to a point on an exterior of the vehicle; select the one or more active safety mechanisms further based on the point on the exterior of the vehicle; reposition the selected one or more active safety mechanisms from a first location to a location closest to the impact point without the selected one or more active safety mechanisms being deployed; and deploy, by one or more actuators, the one or more active safety mechanisms when the impact is imminent, wherein the selected one or more active safety mechanisms is configured to be deployable at the first location as well as at the location closest to the impact point. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20)
-
Specification