ENGAGING AND DISENGAGING FOR AUTONOMOUS DRIVING

• US 20140156133A1
• Filed: 03/11/2013
• Published: 06/05/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Waymo LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Cullinane, Brian, Nemec, Philip, Clement, Manuel Christian, Mariet, Robertus Christianus Elisabeth, Jonsson, Lilli Ing-Marie
• Granted Patent: US 8,825,258 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/23
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/172 Driving mode indication
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/175 Autonomous driving
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2370/172 Driving mode indication
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2370/175 Autonomous driving
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/00 Instruments specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement of instruments in or on vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/10 Input arrangements, i.e. from user to vehicle, associated with vehicle functions or specially adapted therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/28 characterised by the type of the output information, e.g. video entertainment or vehicle dynamics information; characterised by the purpose of the output information, e.g. for attracting the attention of the driver
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 37/06 of controls, e.g. controls knobs
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 16/023 for transmission of signals between vehicle parts or subsystems
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2022/4866 Displaying or indicating arrangements thereof
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 22/48 Control systems, alarms, or interlock systems, for the correct application of the belt or harness
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/105 using multiple cameras
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/0002 Automatic control, details of type of controller or control system architecture
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/0075 Automatic parameter input, automatic initialising or calibrating means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/146 Display means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/045 Occupant permissions
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/16 Ratio selector position
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/215 Selection or confirmation of options
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/229 Attention level, e.g. attentive to driving, reading or sleeping
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2552/00 Input parameters relating to infrastructure
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2552/20 : Road profile, i.e. the change in elevation or curvature of a plurality of continuous road segments
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2552/30 : Road curve radius
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2552/53 : Road markings, e.g. lane marker or crosswalk
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/801 : Lateral distance
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2555/20 : Ambient conditions, e.g. wind or rain
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/00 : Input parameters relating to data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/45 : External transmission of data to or from the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/50 : of positioning data, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System] data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/00 : Purposes of road vehicle drive control systems not related to the control of a particular sub-unit, e.g. of systems using conjoint control of vehicle sub-units
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/082 : Selecting or switching between different modes of propelling
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 60/0051 : from occupants to vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 60/0053 : from vehicle to occupant
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 60/0059 : Estimation of the risk associated with autonomous or manual driving, e.g. situation too complex, sensor failure or driver incapacity
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0061 : for transition from automatic pilot to manual pilot and vice versa
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0212 : with means for defining a desired trajectory involving a plurality of land vehicles G05D1/0287
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0223 : involving speed control of the vehicle vehicle fittings for automatically controlling, i.e. preventing speed from exceeding an arbitrarily established velocity or maintaining speed at a particular velocity, as selected by the vehicle operator B60K31/00

Abstract

Aspects of the present disclosure relate switching between autonomous and manual driving modes. In order to do so, the vehicle'"'"'s computer may conduct a series of environmental, system, and driver checks to identify certain conditions. The computer may correct some of these conditions and also provide a driver with a checklist of tasks for completion. Once the tasks have been completed and the conditions are changed, the computer may allow the driver to switch from the manual to the autonomous driving mode. The computer may also make a determination, under certain conditions, that it would be detrimental to the driver'"'"'s safety or comfort to make a switch from the autonomous driving mode to the manual driving mode.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving a request to switch a vehicle on a roadway from a manual driving mode to an autonomous driving mode;

in response to receiving the request, accessing protocol data;

using, by a processor, the protocol data to assess (i) the status of the vehicle'"'"'s environment, (ii) the vehicle, and systems of the vehicle, and (iii) a driver;

identifying a set of driving conditions from a plurality of driving conditions based on one or more of the assessments, wherein each of the plurality of driving conditions is associated with a task that may be performed by a driver to change the condition;

generating, based on the set of driving conditions, a set of tasks;

displaying to a user of the vehicle the set of tasks in an ordered sequence; and

upon determining that all of the tasks of the set of tasks are completed, switching the vehicle from a manual driving mode to an autonomous driving mode.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the assessments includes:

accessing detailed map information;

communicating with various systems of the vehicle;

and communicating with a remote computer.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the assessments includes determining whether the current or future weather would make autonomous driving unsafe

4. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the assessments includes determining whether the vehicle'"'"'s actual location agrees with the vehicle'"'"'s location relative to the detailed map information.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the assessments includes determining whether data received from the sensors of the detection system agrees with the corresponding detailed map information.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the assessments includes determining whether the vehicle is currently driving in an area pre-approved for initiating the autonomous mode.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the assessments includes determining whether the roadway is paved.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the assessments includes determining the width of the roadway.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the assessments includes determining whether the vehicle is on a curved roadway.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the assessments includes determining, whether the vehicle is sufficiently centered in a lane.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the assessments includes determining whether the vehicle is facing oncoming traffic.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the assessments includes determining whether another vehicle is pulling into the vehicle'"'"'s lane proximate to the vehicle.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the assessments includes determining whether any upcoming maneuvers would prevent a switch from manual to autonomous driving mode.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the assessments includes determining whether the vehicle can be driving in the autonomous mode for a minimum period of time before a switch to manual mode is required.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the assessments includes determining whether the vehicle has met a minimum maintenance standard.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the assessments includes determining whether the vehicle'"'"'s automatic wipers are currently on

17. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the assessments includes determining whether the driver'"'"'s seatbelt is properly buckled.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of tasks are displayed such that a first task of the set of tasks is displayed until the first task is completed, and after the first task is completed, a second task is displayed.

19. The method of claim 1, further comprising before generating the set of tasks, correcting by the processor any of the set of driving conditions pre-approved for correction by the processor.

20. A non-transitory, tangible computer-readable storage medium on which computer readable instructions of a program are stored, the instructions, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method, the method comprising:

receiving a request to switch a vehicle on a roadway from a manual driving mode to an autonomous driving mode;

in response to receiving the request, accessing protocol data;

using the protocol data to assess (i) the status of the vehicle'"'"'s environment, (ii) the vehicle, and systems of the vehicle, and (iii) a driver;

identifying a set of driving conditions from a plurality of driving conditions based on one or more of the assessments, wherein each of the plurality of driving conditions is associated with a task that may be performed by a driver to change the condition;

generating, based on the set of driving conditions, a set of tasks;

displaying to a user of the vehicle the set of tasks in an ordered sequence; and

upon determining that all of the tasks of the set of tasks are completed, switching the vehicle from a manual driving mode to an autonomous driving mode.

21. A system:

a processor configured to;

receive a request to switch a vehicle on a roadway from a manual driving mode to an autonomous driving mode;

in response to receiving the request, access protocol data;

use the protocol data to assess (i) the status of the vehicle'"'"'s environment, (ii) the vehicle, and systems of the vehicle, and (iii) a driver;

identify a set of driving conditions from a plurality of driving conditions based on one or more of the assessments, wherein each of the plurality of driving conditions is associated with a task that may be performed by a driver to change the condition;

generate, based on the set of driving conditions, a set of tasks;

display to a user of the vehicle the set of tasks in an ordered sequence; and

upon determining that all of the tasks of the set of tasks are completed, switch the vehicle from a manual driving mode to an autonomous driving mode.

22. A method comprising:

receiving a request to switch a vehicle on a roadway from a manual driving mode to an autonomous driving mode;

examining, by a processor, a first driving condition including whether the vehicle is not sufficiently centered in a driving lane;

examining a second driving condition including whether the vehicle is driving at a predetermined speed;

examining a third driving condition including whether the vehicle is within a predetermined distance from another vehicle in the roadway;

when all of the tasks of the set of tasks are completed, switching the vehicle from a manual driving mode to an autonomous driving mode.

23. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

generating, based on all of the first, second, and third examined driving conditions, a set of tasks; and

displaying to a user of the vehicle the set of tasks in an ordered sequence.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein a first task of the set of tasks includes asking the driver to center the vehicle within the driving lane, and the first task is displayed before other tasks of the set of tasks.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein a first task of the set of tasks includes requiring the driver to reduce or increase the speed of the vehicle, and the first task is displayed before other tasks of the set of tasks.

26. The method of claim 23, wherein a first task of the set of tasks includes requiring the driver to maintain a minimum distance behind the other vehicle in the roadway, and the first task is displayed before other tasks of the set of tasks.