Vehicle security system

• US 10,659,382 B2
• Filed: 03/25/2019
• Issued: 05/19/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 10/28/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Uber Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Uatc, LLC (Uber Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Wood, Matthew Shaw
• Primary Examiner(s): Ye, Zi
• Application Number:
  US16/363,366
• Publication Number:
  US 20190222530A1
• Time in Patent Office: 421 Days
• Field of Search: 709205
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/50 Queue scheduling
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/40 for vehicles, e.g. vehicle-to-pedestrians [V2P]

Abstract

Systems and methods for addressing a vehicle condition are provided. In one example embodiment, a method includes receiving data indicative of a condition associated with an autonomous vehicle. The autonomous vehicle is associated with a service provider that provides a service to a plurality of users of the service. The method includes identifying at least a subset of the plurality of users of the service based, at least in part, on a respective location associated with each user of the subset of users and a location of the vehicle. The method includes determining a selected user from the subset of users to address the condition associated with the vehicle based at least in part on one or more parameters. The method includes providing, to the selected user, a communication. The communication including a request that the selected user address the condition associated with the vehicle.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of addressing a vehicle condition, comprising:

receiving, by a computing system that comprises one or more computing devices, data indicative of a condition associated with an autonomous vehicle, wherein the autonomous vehicle is configured to provide a vehicle service through a service provider that coordinates a provision of the vehicle service to a plurality of users of the service provider;

determining, by the computing system, a user of the plurality of users to address the condition associated with the autonomous vehicle based at least in part on one or more parameters, wherein the user is outside of the autonomous vehicle and the user is associated with a user device that stores a software application that is configured to communicate with the service provider; and

providing, by the computing system to the user device associated with the user, a communication comprising a request that the user address the condition associated with the autonomous vehicle;

receiving, by the computing system, data indicative of a confirmation that the user will address the condition; and

pairing the autonomous vehicle with one or more users of the plurality of users of the service provider for a vehicle service based, at least in part, on the confirmation.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the one or more parameters comprise location data of the user device and location data of the autonomous vehicle, and wherein determining the user to address the condition associated with the autonomous vehicle comprises:

determining, by the computing system, a location of the user and a location of the autonomous vehicle based at least in part on the location data of the user device and the location data of the autonomous vehicle; and

determining, by the computing system, the user to address the condition associated with the autonomous vehicle based at least in part on the location of the user and the location of the autonomous vehicle.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by the computing system, data indicative of a denial that the user will address the condition;

determining, by the computing system, a different user to address the condition associated with the autonomous vehicle; and

providing, by the computing system, a communication to a user device associated with the different user, wherein the communication comprises a request that the different user address the condition associated with the autonomous vehicle.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the user is included among one or more users that are within a threshold distance of the autonomous vehicle.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the condition associated with the autonomous vehicle is an open door of the autonomous vehicle, and wherein the communication requests that the user close the open door of the autonomous vehicle.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the one or more parameters comprise a user rating associated with the user, wherein the user rating is indicative of a user'"'"'s behavior while using the vehicle service of the service provider.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the user is associated with a pending request for the vehicle service or has previously requested the vehicle service.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the user is a recent user of the autonomous vehicle for the vehicle service.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:

determining, by the computing system, one or more additional users to address the condition associated with the autonomous vehicle; and

providing, to each of the respective additional users, a communication indicative of a request for the respective additional user to address the condition associated with the autonomous vehicle.

10. A computing system for addressing a vehicle condition, the system comprising:

one or more processors; and

one or more memory devices, the one or more memory devices storing instructions that when executed by the one or more processors cause the one or more processors to perform operations, the operations comprising;

receiving data indicative of a condition associated with an autonomous vehicle, wherein the autonomous vehicle is configured to provide a vehicle service through a service provider that coordinates a provision of the vehicle service to a plurality of users of the vehicle service, wherein the condition at least temporarily prevents the autonomous vehicle from autonomously travelling;

determining a selected user from the plurality of users to address the condition associated with the vehicle based at least in part on one or more parameters, wherein the selected user is outside of the autonomous vehicle and is associated with a pending request for the vehicle service;

receiving data indicative of a confirmation from a user device associated with the selected user, the data indicative of the confirmation indicating that the selected user will address the condition;

pairing the autonomous vehicle with the selected user for the pending request for the vehicle service; and

providing, to the user device associated with the selected user, a communication indicating that the selected user is paired with the autonomous vehicle for the request for the vehicle service associated with the user.

11. The computing system of claim 10, wherein the operations further comprise:

confirming that the user has addressed the condition of the autonomous vehicle.

12. The computing system of claim 10, wherein the operations further comprise:

applying an incentive in response to confirming that the user has addressed the condition associated with the autonomous vehicle.

13. The computing system of claim 10, wherein the operations further comprise:

identifying a recent user of the autonomous vehicle, wherein the recent user is associated with the condition associated with the autonomous vehicle; and

applying, to the recent user, a penalty associated with the vehicle service.

14. The computing system of claim 10, wherein the operations further comprise:

providing a notification to a current user of the autonomous vehicle, the notification instructing the current user to avoid the condition associated with the autonomous vehicle.

15. One or more tangible, non-transitory computer-readable media storing computer-readable instructions that when executed by one or more processors cause the one or more processors to perform operations, the operations comprising:

receiving data indicative of a condition associated with an autonomous vehicle, wherein the autonomous vehicle is configured to provide a vehicle service through a service provider that coordinates a provision of the vehicle service to a to a plurality of users of the vehicle service, wherein the plurality of users comprise a current user of the autonomous vehicle,

wherein the condition is associated with a failure of the current user of the autonomous vehicle to exit the autonomous vehicle;

providing a communication to the current user via one or more output devices, wherein the communication indicates that the current user is to exit the autonomous vehicle;

determining a selected user of the plurality of users of the vehicle service to address the condition associated with the autonomous vehicle based at least in part on one or more parameters, wherein the selected user is outside of the autonomous vehicle;

receiving data indicative of a confirmation from a user device associated with the selected user, the data indicative of the confirmation indicating that the selected user will address the condition; and

pairing the autonomous vehicle with one or more of the plurality of users for a vehicle service based, at least in part, on the confirmation.

16. The one or more tangible, non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15, wherein the current user is asleep within the autonomous vehicle.

17. The one or more tangible, non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15, wherein the condition is identified after the autonomous vehicle transports the current user to a destination.

18. The one or more tangible, non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15, wherein the one or more output devices comprise at least one of an audio output device or a visual output device.

19. The one or more tangible, non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15, wherein the condition is detected based at least in part on a determination that a door of the autonomous vehicle has not opened.