Self-driving vehicle actions in response to a low battery

• US 10,299,216 B1
• Filed: 09/11/2018
• Issued: 05/21/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 01/06/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Drivent LLC
• Original Assignee: Drivent LLC
• Inventors: Wengreen, Eric John, Schwie, Wesley Edward
• Primary Examiner(s): Goldman, Richard A
• Application Number:
  US16/128,334
• Time in Patent Office: 252 Days
• Field of Search: 701 2, 701 26
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2250/14 by input of vehicle departure time
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2250/20 by driver identification
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/12 responding to state of charge [SoC]
• 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 1/0212 with means for defining a desired trajectory involving a plurality of land vehicles G05D1/0287
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/123 indicating the position of vehicles, e.g. scheduled vehicles; Managing passenger vehicles circulating according to a fixed timetable, e.g. buses, trains, tramstransmission of navigation instructions to vehicles G08G1/0968
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/202 Dispatching vehicles on the basis of a location, e.g. taxi dispatching
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/205 Indicating the location of the monitored vehicles as destination, e.g. accidents, stolen, rental
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0277 according to available power supply, e.g. switching off when a low battery condition is detected
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/16 Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles

Abstract

Vehicle management systems can be configured to help govern self-driving vehicles. A vehicle management system can communicatively couple a self-driving vehicle to a remote computing device of a user of the vehicle. Detecting a battery charge indication below a threshold can trigger several responses configured to minimize the risk of the self-driving vehicle failing to pick up the user due to the remote computing device having a low or dead battery.

Claims

1. A method of using a vehicle management system to operate a self-driving vehicle, wherein the vehicle management system is configured to be communicatively coupled with a remote computing device configured to enable a user to control behaviors of the self-driving vehicle, and wherein the remote computing device comprises a battery, the method comprising:

detecting, by the remote computing device, a first battery charge indication of the battery;

determining, by the remote computing device, that the first battery charge indication is below a first predetermined threshold;

prompting, by the remote computing device, the user to select a first pick-up time, wherein the prompting is in response to determining that the first battery charge indication is below the first predetermined threshold; and

instructing, by at least one of the vehicle management system and the remote computing device, the self-driving vehicle to pick up the user at the first pick-up time selected in response to the prompting.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising prompting, by the remote computing device, the user to select a pick-up location in response to the determining.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising sending, by the remote computing device, the pick-up location selected by the user to the vehicle management system.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining, by the remote computing device, that a second battery charge indication is below a second predetermined threshold, wherein the second predetermined threshold is less than the first predetermined threshold;

and

reminding the user regarding the first pick-up time, by the remote computing device, in response to determining that the second battery charge indication is below the second predetermined threshold.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising estimating, by at least one of the remote computing device and the vehicle management system, that a power supply of the battery will be depleted before the first pick-up time;

and then in response to the estimating and prior to a depletion of the power supply, reminding, by the remote computing device, the user regarding the first pick-up time.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising estimating, by at least one of the remote computing device and the vehicle management system, that a power supply of the battery will be depleted before the first pick-up time;

and then in response to the estimating, prompting, by the remote computing device, the user to select a second pick-up time configured to supersede the first pick-up time.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising sending, by the remote computing device, the second pick-up time to the vehicle management system.

8. The method of claim 6, further comprising sending, by the remote computing device, the second pick-up time to the vehicle management system such that the second pick-up time supersedes the first pick-up time.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising estimating, by the remote computing device, that a a power supply of the battery will be depleted before the first pick-up time;

and then in response to the estimating, prompting, by the remote computing device, the user to select a back-up pick-up location.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising, sending, by the remote computing device, the back-up pick-up location to the vehicle management system such that the vehicle management system is configured to send the self-driving vehicle to the back-up pick-up location in response to the vehicle management system being unable to communicate with the remote computing device.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising prompting, in response to the determining, the user to select a back-up contact.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising sending, by the remote computing device, contact information of the back-up contact selected by the user to the vehicle management system.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising sending, by the vehicle management system, a wireless communication to the back-up contact in response to determining, by the vehicle management system, that the vehicle management system is no longer able to communicate with the remote computing device.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the wireless communication comprises information regarding a last known location of the user.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising enabling, by at least one of the remote computing device and the vehicle management system, the back-up contact to select a pick-up location for the self-driving vehicle to pick up the user.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising enabling the back-up contact to select the first pick-up time.

17. The method of claim 11, further comprising enabling the back-up contact to select a pick-up location for the self-driving vehicle to pick up the user in response to determining, by the vehicle management system, that the vehicle management system is no longer able to communicate with the remote computing device.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining, by the remote computing device, that a back-up contact is located within 50 yards of the user;

and prompting, in response to determining that the first battery charge indication is below the first predetermined threshold, the user to select the back-up contact to at least one of receive a notification regarding the self-driving vehicle and control at least one movement of the self-driving vehicle.

19. A method of using a vehicle management system to operate a self-driving vehicle, wherein the vehicle management system is configured to be communicatively coupled with a remote computing device configured to enable a user to control behaviors of the self-driving vehicle, and wherein the remote computing device comprises a battery, the method comprising:

detecting, by the remote computing device, a first battery charge indication of the battery;

determining, by the remote computing device, that the first battery charge indication is below a first predetermined threshold;

prompting, by the remote computing device, the user to select a pick-up location, wherein the prompting is in response to determining that the first battery charge indication is below the first predetermined threshold; and

instructing, by at least one of the vehicle management system and the remote computing device, the self-driving vehicle to pick up the user at the pick-up location selected in response to the prompting.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising sending the pick-up location selected by the user to the vehicle management system.

21. The method of claim 19, further comprising prompting, in response to the determining, the user to select a back-up contact.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising sending contact information of the back-up contact to the vehicle management system.

23. The method of claim 21, further comprising using the contact information to send a wireless communication to the back-up contact in response to determining that the vehicle management system is no longer able to communicate with the remote computing device.