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Scenario based audible warnings for autonomous vehicles

  • US 9,868,391 B1
  • Filed: 02/26/2016
  • Issued: 01/16/2018
  • Est. Priority Date: 02/26/2016
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. A method of providing audible indications to objects located externally to a vehicle having an autonomous driving mode, the method comprising:

  • controlling, by one or more processors, the vehicle in the autonomous driving mode along a particular path;

    receiving, by the one or more processors, information identifying a characteristic of an object and a location of the object external to the vehicle;

    determining, by the one or more processors, that the vehicle is prevented from proceeding along the particular path because of the location of the object;

    when the vehicle is determined to be prevented from proceeding, identifying, by the one or more processors, a scenario from a set of predetermined scenarios using the characteristic, each scenario of the set of predetermined scenarios being associated with a predetermined period of time and a type of audible indication;

    waiting, by the one or more processors, the predetermined period of time associated with the identified scenario;

    after the waiting the predetermined period of time associated with the identified scenario, determining, by the one or more processors, that the object continues to prevent the vehicle from proceeding along the particular path;

    identifying, by the one or more processors, an audible indication according to the type of audible indication associated with the identified scenario; and

    when the object is determined to continue to prevent the vehicle from proceeding along the particular path, playing, by the one or more processors, the audible indication through a speaker of the vehicle to encourage the object to take an action to allow the vehicle to proceed along the particular path.

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