Autonomous vehicle routing and navigation using passenger docking locations

• US 9,448,559 B2
• Filed: 01/15/2015
• Issued: 09/20/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/15/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Nissan North America Incorporated (Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Kojo, Naoki, Thakur, Siddharth Kumar, Meuleau, Nicolas, Saito, Daisuke, Lele, Nikhil
• Primary Examiner(s): Black, Thomas G
• Assistant Examiner(s): HUYNH, LUAT T
• Application Number:
  US14/597,496
• Publication Number:
  US 20160209845A1
• Time in Patent Office: 614 Days
• Field of Search: 701/25, 701/23, 701/410, 455/456.1
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/002 Seats provided with an occupancy detection means mounted therein or thereon detection means responsive to presence or absence of children B60N2/266
• 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 21/3685 the POI's being parking facilities
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0088 characterized by the autonomous decision making process, e.g. artificial intelligence, predefined behaviours using knowledge based models G06N5/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0217 in accordance with energy consumption, time reduction or distance reduction criteria
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0225 involving docking at a fixed facility, e.g. base station or loading bay parking aids B62D15/027
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/047 Optimisation of routes or paths, e.g. travelling salesman problem
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/40 Business processes related to the transportation industry shipping G06Q10/083
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/14 indicating individual free spaces in parking areas
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/146 where the parking area is a limited parking space, e.g. parking garage, restricted space
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/20 Monitoring the location of vehicles belonging to a group, e.g. fleet of vehicles, countable or determined number of vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/202 Dispatching vehicles on the basis of a location, e.g. taxi dispatching

Abstract

A method and apparatus for autonomous vehicle routing and navigation using passenger docking locations are disclosed. Autonomous vehicle routing and navigation using passenger docking locations may include an autonomous vehicle identifying vehicle transportation network information representing a vehicle transportation network, the vehicle transportation network including a primary destination, wherein identifying the vehicle transportation network information includes identifying the vehicle transportation network information such that it includes docking location information representing a plurality of docking locations, wherein each docking location corresponds with a respective location in the vehicle transportation network. The autonomous vehicle may determine a target docking location for the primary destination based on the vehicle transportation network information, identify a route from an origin to the target docking location in the vehicle transportation network using the vehicle transportation network information, and travel from the origin to the target docking location using the route.

Claims

1. An autonomous vehicle comprising:

a processor configured to execute instructions stored on a non-transitory computer readable medium to;

identify vehicle transportation network information representing a vehicle transportation network, the vehicle transportation network including a primary destination, wherein identifying the vehicle transportation network information includes identifying the vehicle transportation network information such that the vehicle transportation network information includes docking location information representing a plurality of docking locations, wherein each docking location from the plurality of docking locations corresponds with a respective location in the vehicle transportation network,

determine a target docking location, from the plurality of docking locations, for the primary destination based on the vehicle transportation network information, and

identify a route from an origin to the target docking location in the vehicle transportation network using the vehicle transportation network information; and

a trajectory controller configured to operate the autonomous vehicle to travel from the origin to the target docking location using the route.

2. The autonomous vehicle of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to execute instructions stored on the non-transitory computer readable medium to:

in response to performing a docking operation at the target docking location, identify a secondary destination in the vehicle transportation network, wherein the secondary destination is a parking area associated with the primary destination, and wherein the trajectory controller is configured to operate the autonomous vehicle to park at the secondary destination;

identify a subsequent route from the target docking location to the secondary destination in the vehicle transportation network using the vehicle transportation network information, and wherein the trajectory controller is configured to operate the autonomous vehicle to travel from the target docking location to the secondary destination using the route.

3. The autonomous vehicle of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to execute instructions stored on the non-transitory computer readable medium to identify the vehicle transportation network information such that the docking location information is based on operating information for a plurality of vehicles, wherein the operating information includes a plurality of operations, wherein each operation from the plurality of operations is associated with a respective vehicle from the plurality of vehicles.

4. The autonomous vehicle of claim 3, wherein the docking location information is determined based on the operating information by filtering the operating information.

5. The autonomous vehicle of claim 3, wherein filtering the operating information includes identifying an operation from the plurality of operations as a candidate docking operation on a condition that a stationary period associated with the operation exceeds a minimum docking duration.

6. The autonomous vehicle of claim 3, wherein filtering the operating information includes identifying an operation from the plurality of operations as a candidate docking operation on a condition that a maximum docking duration exceeds a stationary period associated with the operation.

7. The autonomous vehicle of claim 3, wherein the operating information associated with a respective vehicle from the plurality of vehicles includes a plurality of event indicators representing a sequence of events for the vehicle, wherein an operation from the plurality of operations includes a plurality of events from the sequence of events, wherein the plurality of events includes a stop event and a subsequent start event, and wherein a stationary period associated with the operation indicates a temporal difference between the start event and the stop event.

8. The autonomous vehicle of claim 3, wherein filtering the operating information includes identifying an operation from the plurality of operations as a candidate docking operation on a condition that the operating information includes a vehicle type indicator for the vehicle associated with the operation, wherein the vehicle type indicator indicates that the vehicle is a fleet vehicle.

9. The autonomous vehicle of claim 3, wherein filtering the operating information includes identifying an operation from the plurality of operations as a candidate docking operation on a condition that the operating information includes a vehicle operating type indicator for the vehicle associated with the operation, wherein the vehicle operating type indicator indicates that the vehicle is operating as a low occupancy carrier vehicle.

10. The autonomous vehicle of claim 3, wherein filtering the operating information includes identifying an operation from the plurality of operations as a candidate docking operation on a condition that the operating information for the vehicle associated with the operation indicates a change in occupancy of the vehicle during a stationary period associated with the operation.

11. The autonomous vehicle of claim 10, wherein the change in occupancy is detected based on a signal from a seat occupant sensor of the vehicle.

12. The autonomous vehicle of claim 3, wherein filtering the operating information includes identifying an operation from the plurality of operations as a candidate docking operation on a condition that the operating information for the vehicle associated with the operation indicates a passenger door open event during a stationary period associated with the operation.

13. The autonomous vehicle of claim 3, wherein filtering the operating information includes:

identifying an operation from the plurality of operations;

identifying a location associated with the operation;

identifying vehicle transportation network information corresponding to the location;

determining whether the location is docking eligible based on the vehicle transportation network information; and

identifying the operation as a candidate docking operation on a condition that the location is docking eligible.

14. The autonomous vehicle of claim 13, wherein determining whether the location is docking eligible includes:

determining that the location is docking eligible on a condition that the vehicle transportation network information indicates that the location is immediately adjacent to a pedestrian walkway;

determining that the location is docking ineligible on a condition that the vehicle transportation network information indicates that stopping or loading are prohibited for the location; and

determining that the location is docking eligible on a condition that the vehicle transportation network information indicates that a spatial difference between the location and an intersection exceeds an intersection docking buffer distance.

15. An autonomous vehicle comprising:

a processor configured to execute instructions stored on a non-transitory computer readable medium to;

identify vehicle transportation network information representing a vehicle transportation network, the vehicle transportation network including a primary destination, wherein identifying the vehicle transportation network information includes identifying the vehicle transportation network information such that the vehicle transportation network information includes docking location information representing a plurality of docking locations, wherein each docking location from the plurality of docking locations corresponds with a respective location in the vehicle transportation network, and wherein the docking location information is based on operating information for a plurality of vehicles, wherein the operating information includes a plurality of operations, wherein each operation from the plurality of operations is associated with a respective vehicle from the plurality of vehicles, wherein the docking location information is determined based on the operating information by filtering the operating information, wherein filtering the operating information includes identifying an operation from the plurality of operations as a candidate docking operation on a condition that a stationary period associated with the operation exceeds a minimum docking duration and a maximum docking duration exceeds the stationary period,

determine a target docking location from the plurality of docking locations for the primary destination based on the vehicle transportation network information, and

identify a route from an origin to the target docking location in the vehicle transportation network using the vehicle transportation network information; and

a trajectory controller configured to operate the autonomous vehicle to travel from the origin to the target docking location using the route.

16. The autonomous vehicle of claim 15, wherein the processor is configured to execute instructions stored on the non-transitory computer readable medium to:

in response to performing a docking operation at the target docking location, identify a secondary destination in the vehicle transportation network, wherein the secondary destination is a parking area associated with the primary destination, and wherein the trajectory controller is configured to operate the autonomous vehicle to park at the secondary destination;

identify a subsequent route from the target docking location to the secondary destination in the vehicle transportation network using the vehicle transportation network information, and wherein the trajectory controller is configured to operate the autonomous vehicle to travel from the target docking location to the secondary destination using the route.

17. The autonomous vehicle of claim 15, wherein the operating information associated with a respective vehicle from the plurality of vehicles includes a plurality of event indicators representing a sequence of events for the vehicle, and wherein an operation from the plurality of operations includes a plurality of events from the sequence of events, wherein the plurality of events includes a stop event and a subsequent start event, and wherein the stationary period associated with the operation indicates a temporal difference between the start event and the stop event.

18. The autonomous vehicle of claim 15, wherein filtering the operating information includes identifying an operation from the plurality of operations as a candidate docking operation on a condition that the operating information includes a vehicle type indicator for the vehicle associated with the operation, wherein the vehicle type indicator indicates that the vehicle is a fleet vehicle.

19. The autonomous vehicle of claim 15, wherein filtering the operating information includes identifying an operation from the plurality of operations as a candidate docking operation on a condition that the operating information includes a vehicle operating type indicator for the vehicle associated with the operation, wherein the vehicle operating type indicator indicates that the vehicle is operating as a low occupancy carrier vehicle.

20. The autonomous vehicle of claim 15, wherein filtering the operating information includes identifying an operation from the plurality of operations as a candidate docking operation on a condition that the operating information for the vehicle associated with the operation indicates a change in occupancy of the vehicle during the stationary period associated with the operation, wherein the change in occupancy is detected based on a signal from a seat occupant sensor of the vehicle.

21. The autonomous vehicle of claim 15, wherein filtering the operating information includes identifying an operation from the plurality of operations as a candidate docking operation on a condition that the operating information for the vehicle associated with the operation indicates a passenger door open event during the stationary period associated with the operation.

22. The autonomous vehicle of claim 15, wherein filtering the operating information includes:

identifying an operation from the plurality of operations;

identifying a location associated with the operation;

identifying vehicle transportation network information corresponding to the location;

determining whether the location is docking eligible based on the vehicle transportation network information; and

identifying the operation as a candidate docking operation on a condition that the location is docking eligible.

23. The autonomous vehicle of claim 22, wherein determining whether the location is docking eligible includes:

determining that the location is docking eligible on a condition that the vehicle transportation network information indicates that the location is immediately adjacent to a pedestrian walkway;

determining that the location is docking ineligible on a condition that the vehicle transportation network information indicates that stopping or loading are prohibited for the location;

determining that the location is docking eligible on a condition that the vehicle transportation network information indicates that a spatial difference between the location and an intersection exceeds an intersection docking buffer distance.

24. An autonomous vehicle comprising:

a processor configured to execute instructions stored on a non-transitory computer readable medium to;

identify vehicle transportation network information representing a vehicle transportation network, the vehicle transportation network including a primary destination, wherein identifying the vehicle transportation network information includes identifying the vehicle transportation network information such that the vehicle transportation network information includes docking location information representing a plurality of docking locations, wherein each docking location from the plurality of docking locations corresponds with a respective location in the vehicle transportation network, and wherein the docking location information is based on operating information for a plurality of vehicles, wherein the operating information includes a plurality of operations, wherein each operation from the plurality of operations is associated with a respective vehicle from the plurality of vehicles, wherein the operating information associated with a respective vehicle from the plurality of vehicles includes a plurality of event indicators representing a sequence of events for the vehicle, and wherein an operation from the plurality of operations includes a plurality of events from the sequence of events, wherein the plurality of events includes a stop event and a subsequent start event, and wherein a stationary period associated with the operation indicates a temporal difference between the start event and the stop event, and wherein the docking location information is determined based on the operating information by filtering the operating information, wherein filtering the operating information includes;

identifying an operation from the plurality of operations;

identifying a location associated with the operation;

identifying vehicle transportation network information corresponding to the location;

determining whether the location is docking eligible based on the vehicle transportation network information, wherein determining whether the location is docking eligible includes;

determining that the location is docking eligible on a condition that the vehicle transportation network information indicates that the location is immediately adjacent to a pedestrian walkway,

determining that the location is docking ineligible on a condition that the vehicle transportation network information indicates that stopping or loading are prohibited for the location, and

determining that the location is docking eligible on a condition that the vehicle transportation network information indicates that a spatial difference between the location and an intersection exceeds an intersection docking buffer distance; and

identifying the operation as a candidate docking operation on a condition that the location is docking eligible, the stationary period exceeds a minimum docking duration, and a maximum docking duration exceeds the stationary period, determine a target docking location from the plurality of docking locations for the destination based on the vehicle transportation network information, and

identify a route from an origin to the target docking location in the vehicle transportation network using the vehicle transportation network information; and

a trajectory controller configured to operate the autonomous vehicle to travel from the origin to the target docking location using the route.

25. The autonomous vehicle of claim 24, wherein the processor is configured to execute instructions stored on the non-transitory computer readable medium to:

in response to performing a docking operation at the target docking location, identify a secondary destination in the vehicle transportation network, wherein the secondary destination is a parking area associated with the primary destination, and wherein the trajectory controller is configured to operate the autonomous vehicle to park at the secondary destination;

identify a subsequent route from the target docking location to the secondary destination in the vehicle transportation network using the vehicle transportation network information, and wherein the trajectory controller is configured to operate the autonomous vehicle to travel from the target docking location to the secondary destination using the route.

26. The autonomous vehicle of claim 24, wherein filtering the operating information includes:

identifying an operation from the plurality of operations as a candidate docking operation on a condition that the operating information includes a vehicle type indicator for the vehicle associated with the operation, wherein the vehicle type indicator indicates that the vehicle is a fleet vehicle;

identifying an operation from the plurality of operations as a candidate docking operation on a condition that the operating information includes a vehicle operating type indicator for the vehicle associated with the operation, wherein the vehicle operating type indicator indicates that the vehicle is operating as a low occupancy carrier vehicle;

identifying an operation from the plurality of operations as a candidate docking operation on a condition that the operating information for the vehicle associated with the operation indicates a change in occupancy of the vehicle during the stationary period associated with the operation, wherein the change in occupancy is detected based on a signal from a seat occupant sensor of the vehicle; and

identifying an operation from the plurality of operations as a candidate docking operation on a condition that the operating information for the vehicle associated with the operation indicates a passenger door open event during the stationary period associated with the operation.