Suggesting a route based on desired amount of driver interaction

• US 9,188,985 B1
• Filed: 09/28/2012
• Issued: 11/17/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Waymo LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Hobbs, Nicholas Kenneth, Cullinane, Brian, Burns, Lawrence
• Primary Examiner(s): To, Tuan C.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Patel, Shardul
• Application Number:
  US13/629,799
• Time in Patent Office: 1,145 Days
• Field of Search: 701/2, 701 23- 25, 701/36, 701/400, 342/455
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 60/001 Planning or execution of driving tasks
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/34 Route searching; Route guidance
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3407 specially adapted for specific applications
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3453 Special cost functions, i.e. other than distance or default speed limit of road segments
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3614 through interaction with a road map, e.g. selecting a POI icon on a road map
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3626 Details of the output of route guidance instructions traffic control systems for road vehicles involving transmission of navigation instructions to the vehicle G08G1/0968
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/367 Details, e.g. road map scale, orientation, zooming, illumination, level of detail, scrolling of road map or positioning of current position marker
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3673 Labelling using text of road map data items, e.g. road names, POI names
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3676 Overview of the route on the road map
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3682 output of POI information on a road map G01C21/3614, G01C21/3685 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3697 Output of additional, non-guidance related information, e.g. low fuel level G01C21/3679 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0061 for transition from automatic pilot to manual pilot and vice versa
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0255 using acoustic signals, e.g. ultra-sonic singals sonar systems designed for anti-collision purposes G01S15/93
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0272 comprising means for registering the travel distance, e.g. revolutions of wheels measuring distance traversed on the ground by vehicles, e.g. using odometers G01C22/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0274 using mapping information stored in a memory device navigation using map-matching G01C21/30
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks

Abstract

Aspects of the disclosure relate generally to generating and providing route options for an autonomous vehicle. For example, a user may identify a destination, and in response the vehicle'"'"'s computer may provide routing options to the user. The routing options may be based on typical navigating considerations such as the total travel time, travel distance, fuel economy, etc. Each routing option may include not only an estimated total time, but also information regarding whether and which portions of the route may be maneuvered under the control of the vehicle alone (fully autonomous), a combination of the vehicle and the driver (semiautonomous), or the driver alone. The time of the longest stretch of driving associated with the autonomous mode as well as map information indicating portions of the routes associated with the type of maneuvering control may also be provided.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, by one or more processors, input including a destination;

generating, by the one or more processors, a set of proposed routes between a current location of a vehicle and a destination based on detailed map information, the set of proposed routes including a first route and a second route different from the first route;

for each particular route of the set of proposed routes, generating by the one or more processors, corresponding control information for controlling the vehicle along the particular route in a manual driving mode where a driver controls one or more of the steering, acceleration, and braking and in an autonomous mode where the processor controls the steering, braking, and acceleration, wherein the corresponding control information for the first route defines a first portion of the first route that will be maneuvered in the manual driving mode and a second portion of the first route that will be maneuvered in the autonomous mode, and the corresponding control information for the second route defines a first portion of the second route that will be maneuvered in the manual driving mode and a second portion of the second route that will be maneuvered in the autonomous mode, the first portion of the second route being different from the first portion of the first route;

providing for display, by the one or more processors, a set of routing options wherein the set of at least two routing options includes the first route, the second route, the corresponding control information for the first route, and the corresponding control information for the second route;

receiving, by the one or more processors, input indicating one of the routing options of the set of routing options that includes one of the first and second routes; and

after receiving the input, maneuvering, by the one or more processors, the vehicle according to the corresponding control information for the indicated one of the routing options.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the corresponding control information for each route of the set of proposed routes includes:

inputting control factors into a probabilistic estimation of failure for a plurality of different types of failures along the given route to generate a set of probabilistic estimations, wherein the different types of failures indicate whether the vehicle can be driven by the processor in the autonomous mode;

combining the set of probabilistic estimations into an overall probability of failure along the given proposed route; and

determining the corresponding control information for the given proposed route based on the overall probability of failure.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein determining the corresponding control information for each route of the set of proposed routes based on the overall probability of failure includes:

comparing the overall probability of failure to a threshold value;

associating portions of that route where the overall probability of failure is above the threshold value with the autonomous mode; and

associating portions of that route where the overall probability of failure is above the threshold value with the manual mode.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

for each route of the set of proposed routes, determining a corresponding activity suggestion based on the corresponding control information for that route, and

wherein each provided routing option of the set of routing options further includes the corresponding activity suggestion for the proposed route of the given provided routing option.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

for each route of the set of proposed routes, determining a corresponding longest portion of autonomous mode based on the corresponding control information for the given proposed route, and

wherein each provided routing option further includes the corresponding longest portion of autonomous mode.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

for a particular route of the set of proposed routes, determining a corresponding activity which will be unavailable during the particular proposed route, and

providing a notification with the set of routing options, indicating the corresponding activity which will be unavailable during the particular proposed route.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying a map indicating the second portions of the first and second routes that will be driven in the manual mode and the seconds portions of the first and second routes that will be driven in the autonomous mode.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first route is longer in time than the second route, and the first portion of the first route is longer in time than the first portion of the second route.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first route is longer in time than the second route, and the first portion of the second route is longer in time than the first portion of the first route.

10. A system comprising:

memory storing detailed map information;

a processor configured to;

receive input including a destination;

generate a set of proposed routes between a current location of a vehicle and the destination based on the detailed map information, the set of proposed routes including a first route and a second route different from the first route;

for each route of the set of proposed routes, generate corresponding control information for controlling the vehicle along the particular route in a manual driving mode where a driver controls one or more of the steering, acceleration, and braking and in an autonomous mode where the processor controls the steering, braking, and acceleration, wherein the corresponding control information for the first route defines a first portion of the first route that will be driven in the manual driving mode and a second portion of the first route that will be driven in the autonomous mode, and the corresponding control information for the second route defines a first portion of the second route that will be driven in the manual driving mode and a second portion of the second route that will be driven in the autonomous mode, the first portion of the second route being different from the first portion of the first route;

provide for display a set of routing options wherein the set of at least two routing options includes the first route, the second route, the corresponding control information for the first route, and the corresponding control information for the second route;

receive input indicating one of the routing options of the set of routing options that includes one of the first and second routes; and

after receiving the input, maneuver the vehicle according to the corresponding control information for the indicated one of the routing options.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the processor is configured to generate the corresponding control information for each route of the set of proposed routes by:

inputting control factors into a probabilistic estimation of failure for a plurality of different types of failures along the given route to generate a set of probabilistic estimations, wherein the different types of failures indicate whether the vehicle can be driven by the processor in the autonomous mode;

combining the set of probabilistic estimations into an overall probability of failure along the given proposed route; and

determining the corresponding control information for the given proposed route based on the overall probability of failure.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the processor is configured to determine the corresponding control information for each route of the set of proposed routes based on the overall probability of failure by:

comparing the overall probability of failure to a threshold value;

associating portions of that route where the overall probability of failure is above the threshold value with the autonomous mode; and

associating portions of that route where the overall probability of failure is above the threshold value with the manual mode.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the processor is further configured to:

for each route of the set of proposed routes, determine a corresponding activity suggestion based on the corresponding control information for that route, and

wherein each provided routing option of the set of routing options further includes the corresponding activity suggestion for the proposed route of the given provided routing option.

14. The system of claim 10, wherein the processor is further configured to:

for each route of the set of proposed routes, determine a corresponding longest portion of autonomous mode based on the corresponding control information for the given proposed route, and

wherein each provided routing option further includes the corresponding longest portion of autonomous mode.

15. The system of claim 10, wherein the processor is further configured to:

for a particular route of the set of proposed routes, determine a corresponding activity which will be unavailable during the particular proposed route, and

provide a notification with the set of routing options, indicating the corresponding activity which will be unavailable during the particular proposed route.

16. The system of claim 10, wherein the processor is further configured to display a map including each proposed route of the set of routing options, and where each proposed route of the map includes information indicating which portions of the route are associated with the manual mode and each proposed route of the map includes information indicating which portions of the route are associated with the autonomous mode.

17. 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 input including a destination;

generating a set of proposed routes between a current location of a vehicle and the destination based on detailed map information, the set of proposed routes including a first route and a second route different from the first route;

for each route of the set of proposed routes, generating corresponding control information for controlling the vehicle along the particular route in a manual driving mode where a driver controls one or more of the steering, acceleration, and braking and in an autonomous mode where the processor controls the steering, braking, and acceleration, corresponding control information for the first route defines a first portion of the first route that will be driven in the manual driving mode and a second portion of the first route that will be driven in the autonomous mode, and the corresponding control information for the second route defines a first portion of the second route that will be driven in the manual driving mode and a second portion of the second route that will be driven in the autonomous mode, the first portion of the second route being different from the first portion of the first route;

providing for display a set of routing options, wherein the set of routing options wherein the set of at least two routing options includes the first route, the second route, the corresponding control information for the first route, and the corresponding control information for the second route;

receiving input indicating one of the routing options of the set of routing options that includes one of the first and second routes; and

after receiving the input, maneuvering the vehicle according to the corresponding control information for the indicated one of the routing options.

18. The medium of claim 17, wherein generating the corresponding control information for each route of the set of proposed routes includes:

inputting control factors into a probabilistic estimation of failure for a plurality of different types of failures along the given route to generate a set of probabilistic estimations, wherein the different types of failures indicate whether the vehicle can be driven by the processor in the autonomous mode;

combining the set of probabilistic estimations into an overall probability of failure along the given proposed route; and

determining the corresponding control information for the given proposed route based on the overall probability of failure.

19. The medium of claim 18, wherein determining the corresponding control information for each route of the set of proposed routes based on the overall probability of failure includes:

comparing the overall probability of failure to a threshold value;

associating portions of that route where the overall probability of failure is above the threshold value with the autonomous mode; and

associating portions of that route where the overall probability of failure is above the threshold value with the manual mode.

20. The medium of claim 17, wherein the method further comprises:

for each route of the set of proposed routes, determining a corresponding longest portion of autonomous mode based on the corresponding control information for the given proposed route, and

wherein each provided routing option further includes the corresponding longest portion of autonomous mode.

21. The medium of claim 17, wherein the method further comprises displaying a map indicating the second portions of the first and second routes that will be maneuvered in the manual mode and the seconds portions of the first and second routes that will be driven in the autonomous mode.

22. A method comprising:

identifying, by one or more processors, a first route between two locations and a second route between the two locations;

for first and second portions of each of the first route and the second route determining, by the one or more processors, whether that portion can be driven in an autonomous mode where a computer controls the steering, braking, and acceleration for a vehicle based on a combination of;

pre-stored information for that portion, and

real-time data for that portion;

generating a first routing option based on the first route where the first portion of the first route can be driven in the autonomous mode and the second portion of the second route cannot be driven in the autonomous mode;

generating a second routing option based on the second route where the first portion of the second route can be driven in the autonomous mode and the second portion cannot be driven in the autonomous mode;

providing for display the first routing option and the second routing options, including the first and second portions of the first and second routes, for display to a user;

in response to the providing, receiving user input identifying the second routing option; and

maneuvering the vehicle based on the second routing option.

23. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

determining for the first routing option a first period of time for autonomous driving based on the first portion of the first route;

determining for the second routing option a second period of time for autonomous driving for the first portion of the second route, wherein the second period is greater than the first period;

before receiving the user input displaying, on a display, the first period of time and the second period of time.

24. The method of claim 23, further comprising:

determining for the first routing option a third period of time for manual driving based on the first portion of the first route;

determining for the second routing option a fourth period of time for manual driving for the first portion of the second route;

before receiving the user input displaying, on a display, the second period of time and the fourth period of time.

25. The method of claim 22, further comprising accessing the pre-stored information for the first portion of the first route from memory and wherein the pre-stored information includes prior traffic data for the first portion of the first route.

26. The method of claim 22, further comprising accessing the pre-stored information for the first portion of the first route from memory and wherein the pre-stored information includes prior weather data for the first portion of the first route.

27. The method of claim 22, further comprising accessing the pre-stored information for the first portion of the first route from memory and wherein the pre-stored information includes prior accident data for the first portion of the first route.

28. The method of claim 22, further comprising receiving the real-time data for the first portion of the first route from a second vehicle.

29. The method of claim 22, further comprising receiving the real-time data for the first portion of the first route from a remote computer via a network and the real-time data includes weather information.

30. The method of claim 22, further comprising receiving the real-time data for the first portion of the first route from a remote computer via a network and the real-time data includes traffic congestion information.

31. The method of claim 22, further comprising displaying a map indicating the second portions of the first and second routes as being driven in the manual mode and the second portions of the first and second routes as being driven in the autonomous mode.