Automated control of interactions between self-driving vehicles and pedestrians

• US 9,483,948 B1
• Filed: 08/07/2015
• Issued: 11/01/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/07/2015
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Gordon, Michael S., Kozloski, James R., Kundu, Ashish, Malkin, Peter K., Pickover, Clifford A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Wong, Yuen
• Application Number:
  US14/820,605
• Time in Patent Office: 452 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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: G01S 13/931 of land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9316 combined with communication equipment with other vehicles or with base stations
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9329 cooperating with reflectors or transponders
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0808 Diagnosing performance data testing of vehicles G01M17/00; testing of electrical installation on vehicles G01R31/005
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/166 for active traffic, e.g. moving vehicles, pedestrians, bikes

Abstract

An SDV on-board computer on an SDV receives an SDV recognition signal from a pedestrian signal transceiver worn by a pedestrian. An SDV signal transceiver on the SDV transmits a pedestrian acknowledgement message to the signal transceiver worn by the pedestrian. The SDV on-board computer receives a pedestrian movement signal from a set of pedestrian sensors that monitor movement of the pedestrian. The SDV on-board computer receives an SDV movement signal from a set of SDV sensors on the SDV that track movement of the SDV. The SDV on-board computer, based on the SDV movement signal and the pedestrian movement signal, directs an SDV control processor on the SDV to modify the movement of the SDV in order to provide the pedestrian with time and space required to avoid the pedestrian being struck by the SDV, and notifies the pedestrian that this SDV movement modification will occur.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for controlling a physical interaction between a self-driving vehicle (SDV) and a pedestrian, the computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving, by an SDV on-board computer on the SDV, an SDV recognition signal from a pedestrian signal transceiver worn by the pedestrian, wherein the SDV recognition signal indicates that the pedestrian observes a presence of the SDV moving on a roadway towards the pedestrian;

transmitting, by an SDV signal transceiver, a pedestrian acknowledgement message to the pedestrian signal transceiver worn by the pedestrian, wherein the pedestrian acknowledgement message indicates that the SDV on-board computer on the SDV has received the SDV recognition signal from the pedestrian;

receiving, by the SDV on-board computer, a pedestrian movement signal from a set of pedestrian sensors that monitor movement of the pedestrian, wherein the pedestrian movement signal describes a current speed and direction of movement of the pedestrian as the pedestrian initiates movement towards a position on the roadway that is being approached by the SDV, and wherein the pedestrian movement signal is generated in response to the pedestrian signal receiver receiving the pedestrian acknowledgement message;

receiving, by the SDV on-board computer, an SDV movement signal from a set of SDV sensors on the SDV that track movement of the SDV, wherein the SDV movement signal describes a current speed and direction of movement of the SDV;

directing, by the SDV on-board computer and based on the SDV movement signal and the pedestrian movement signal, an SDV control processor on the SDV to modify the movement of the SDV in order to provide the pedestrian with time and space required to avoid being struck by the SDV as the pedestrian enters the position on the roadway that is being approached by the SDV;

transmitting, to the pedestrian signal receiver, a directive message notifying the pedestrian that the SDV will provide the pedestrian with the time and space required to avoid being struck by the SDV as the pedestrian enters the position on the roadway that is being approached by the SDV;

adjusting, by the SDV control processor on the SDV, the current speed and direction of movement of the SDV in order to avoid striking the pedestrian at the position on the roadway that is being approached by the SDV;

retrieving, by one or more processors, pedestrian profile information about the pedestrian;

assigning, by the one or more processors, the pedestrian to a cohort of pedestrians who have occupied the position on the roadway that is being approached by the SDV, wherein the pedestrian shares more than a predetermined quantity of traits with members of the cohort of pedestrians;

retrieving, by the one or more processors, historical data describing movement by the members of the cohort of pedestrians when approaching the position on the roadway that is being approached by the SDV;

predicting, by the one or more processors, when the pedestrian will reach the position on the roadway that is being approached by the SDV based on the historical data describing the movement by the members of the cohort of pedestrians when approaching the position on the roadway that is being approached by the SDV; and

adjusting, by the SDV control processor on the SDV, the current speed and direction of movement of the SDV according to the historical data describing the movement by the members of the cohort of pedestrians when approaching the position on the roadway that is being approached by the SDV.

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

receiving, by the one or more processors, roadway sensor readings from multiple roadway sensors, wherein each of the multiple roadway sensors detects different current conditions of the roadway;

weighting, by the one or more processors, each of the roadway sensor readings for the different current conditions of the roadway;

summing, by the one or more processors, weighted roadway sensor readings for the different current conditions of the roadway;

determining, by the one or more processors, whether the summed weighted roadway sensor readings exceed a predefined level; and

in response to determining that the summed roadway weighted sensor readings exceed the predefined level, adjusting, by the SDV control processor on the SDV, the current speed and direction of movement of the SDV in order to avoid striking the pedestrian at the position on the roadway that is being approached by the SDV.

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

receiving, by the one or more processors, operational readings from one or more operational sensors on the SDV, wherein the one or more operational sensors detect a current state of equipment on the SDV;

detecting, by the one or more processors and based on the received operational readings, a fault with the equipment on the SDV; and

in response to detecting the fault with the equipment on the SDV, adjusting, by the SDV control processor on the SDV, the current speed and direction of movement of the SDV in order to avoid striking the pedestrian at the position on the roadway that is being approached by the SDV.

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

receiving, by the on-board computer on the SDV, accompaniment signals regarding the pedestrian, wherein the accompaniment signals describe a physical entity that is accompanying the pedestrian;

retrieving, by the one or more processors, the historical data that describes other pedestrians who have occupied the position in the roadway with a physical entity whose features match those of the physical entity that is accompanying the pedestrian;

generating, by the one or more processors and based on the historical data that describes other pedestrians who have occupied the position in the roadway with the physical entity, a predicted speed and direction of movement of the pedestrian toward the position on the roadway; and

adjusting, by the SDV control processor on the SDV, the current speed and direction of movement of the SDV based on the predicted speed and direction of movement of the pedestrian toward the position on the roadway, in order to avoid striking the pedestrian.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein adjusting the current speed and direction of movement of the SDV creates an adjusted speed and direction of the SDV, and wherein the processor-implemented method further comprises:

transmitting, by an adjustable light on the SDV, a visual indication of the adjusted current speed and direction of the SDV to the pedestrian.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the SDV recognition signal is an initial SDV recognition signal that is generated by a first SDV recognition sensor, and wherein the processor-implemented method further comprises:

receiving, by the SDV on-board computer on the SDV, a supportive SDV recognition signal from a second SDV recognition sensor;

comparing, by the one or more processors, the initial SDV recognition signal to the supportive SDV recognition signal; and

establishing, by the one or more processors, a confidence level of the initial SDV recognition signal based on a level of similarity between the initial SDV recognition signal and the supportive SDV recognition signal.

7. A computer program product for controlling a physical interaction between a self-driving vehicle (SDV) and a pedestrian, the computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having program code embodied therewith, the program code readable and executable by a processor to perform a method comprising:

receiving an SDV recognition signal from a pedestrian signal transceiver worn by the pedestrian, wherein the SDV recognition signal indicates that the pedestrian observes a presence of the SDV moving on a roadway towards the pedestrian;

transmitting a pedestrian acknowledgement message to the pedestrian signal transceiver worn by the pedestrian, wherein the pedestrian acknowledgement message indicates that an SDV on-board computer on the SDV has received the SDV recognition signal from the pedestrian;

receiving a pedestrian movement signal from a set of pedestrian sensors that monitor movement of the pedestrian, wherein the pedestrian movement signal describes a current speed and direction of movement of the pedestrian as the pedestrian initiates movement towards a position on the roadway that is being approached by the SDV, and wherein the pedestrian movement signal is generated in response to the pedestrian signal receiver receiving the pedestrian acknowledgement message;

receiving an SDV movement signal from a set of SDV sensors on the SDV that track movement of the SDV, wherein the SDV movement signal describes a current speed and direction of movement of the SDV;

directing, based on the SDV movement signal and the pedestrian movement signal, an SDV control processor on the SDV to modify the movement of the SDV in order to provide the pedestrian with time and space required to avoid being struck by the SDV as the pedestrian enters the position on the roadway that is being approached by the SDV;

transmitting, to the pedestrian signal receiver, a directive message notifying the pedestrian that the SDV will provide the pedestrian with the time and space required to avoid being struck by the SDV as the pedestrian enters the position on the roadway that is being approached by the SDV;

adjusting, via the SDV control processor on the SDV, the current speed and direction of movement of the SDV in order to avoid striking the pedestrian at the position on the roadway that is being approached by the SDV;

retrieving pedestrian profile information about the pedestrian;

assigning the pedestrian to a cohort of pedestrians who have occupied the position on the roadway that is being approached by the SDV, wherein the pedestrian shares more than a predetermined quantity of traits with members of the cohort of pedestrians;

retrieving historical data describing movement by the members of the cohort of pedestrians when approaching the position on the roadway that is being approached by the SDV;

predicting when the pedestrian will reach the position on the roadway that is being approached by the SDV based on the historical data describing the movement by the members of the cohort of pedestrians when approaching the position on the roadway that is being approached by the SDV; and

adjusting, via the SDV control processor on the SDV, the current speed and direction of movement of the SDV according to the historical data describing the movement by the members of the cohort of pedestrians when approaching the position on the roadway that is being approached by the SDV.

8. The computer program product of claim 7, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving roadway sensor readings from multiple roadway sensors, wherein each of the multiple roadway sensors detects different current conditions of the roadway;

weighting each of the roadway sensor readings for the different current conditions of the roadway;

summing weighted roadway sensor readings for the different current conditions of the roadway;

determining whether the summed weighted roadway sensor readings exceed a predefined level; and

in response to determining that the summed roadway weighted sensor readings exceed the predefined level, adjusting, via the SDV control processor on the SDV, the current speed and direction of movement of the SDV in order to avoid striking the pedestrian at the position on the roadway that is being approached by the SDV.

9. The computer program product of claim 7, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving operational readings from one or more operational sensors on the SDV, wherein the one or more operational sensors detect a current state of equipment on the SDV;

detecting, based on the received operational readings, a fault with the equipment on the SDV; and

in response to detecting the fault with the equipment on the SDV, adjusting, via the SDV control processor on the SDV, the current speed and direction of movement of the SDV in order to avoid striking the pedestrian at the position on the roadway that is being approached by the SDV.

10. The computer program product of claim 7, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving accompaniment signals regarding the pedestrian, wherein the accompaniment signals describe a physical entity that is accompanying the pedestrian;

retrieving historical data that describes other pedestrians who have occupied the position in the roadway with the physical entity whose features match those of the physical entity that is accompanying the pedestrian;

generating, based on the historical data that describes other pedestrians who have occupied the position in the roadway with the physical entity, a predicted speed and direction of movement of the pedestrian toward the position on the roadway; and

adjusting, via the SDV control processor on the SDV, the current speed and direction of movement of the SDV based on the predicted speed and direction of movement of the pedestrian toward the position on the roadway, in order to avoid striking the pedestrian.

11. The computer program product of claim 7, wherein adjusting the current speed and direction of movement of the SDV creates an adjusted speed and direction of the SDV, and wherein the method further comprises:

transmitting, by an adjustable light on the SDV, a visual indication of the adjusted current speed and direction of the SDV to the pedestrian.

12. The computer program product of claim 7, wherein the SDV recognition signal is an initial SDV recognition signal that is generated by a first SDV recognition sensor, and wherein the method further comprises:

receiving a supportive SDV recognition signal from a second SDV recognition sensor;

comparing the initial SDV recognition signal to the supportive SDV recognition signal; and

establishing a confidence level of the initial SDV recognition signal based on a level of similarity between the initial SDV recognition signal and the supportive SDV recognition signal.

13. A computer system for causing a self-driving vehicle (SDV) to avoid a physical encounter with a pedestrian, comprising:

one or more processors;

one or more computer readable memories, and

one or more non-transitory computer readable storage mediums, and wherein program instructions stored on at least one of the one or more non-transitory storage mediums for execution by at least one of the one or more processors via at least one of the one or more memories, to perform a method, the method comprising;

receiving an SDV recognition signal from a pedestrian signal transceiver worn by the pedestrian, wherein the SDV recognition signal indicates that the pedestrian observes a presence of the SDV moving on a roadway towards the pedestrian;

transmitting a pedestrian acknowledgement message to the pedestrian signal transceiver worn by the pedestrian, wherein the pedestrian acknowledgement message indicates that an SDV on-board computer on the SDV has received the SDV recognition signal from the pedestrian;

receiving a pedestrian movement signal from a set of pedestrian sensors that monitor movement of the pedestrian, wherein the pedestrian movement signal describes a current speed and direction of movement of the pedestrian as the pedestrian initiates movement towards a position on the roadway that is being approached by the SDV, and wherein the pedestrian movement signal is generated in response to the pedestrian signal receiver receiving the pedestrian acknowledgement message;

receiving an SDV movement signal from a set of SDV sensors on the SDV that track movement of the SDV, wherein the SDV movement signal describes a current speed and direction of movement of the SDV;

directing, based on the SDV movement signal and the pedestrian movement signal, an SDV control processor on the SDV to modify the movement of the SDV in order to provide the pedestrian with time and space required to avoid being struck by the SDV as the pedestrian enters the position on the roadway that is being approached by the SDV;

transmitting, to the pedestrian signal receiver, a directive message notifying the pedestrian that the SDV will provide the pedestrian with the time and space required to avoid being struck by the SDV as the pedestrian enters the position on the roadway that is being approached by the SDV;

adjusting, via the SDV control processor on the SDV, the current speed and direction of movement of the SDV in order to avoid striking the pedestrian at the position on the roadway that is being approached by the SDV;

retrieving pedestrian profile information about the pedestrian;

assigning the pedestrian to a cohort of pedestrians who have occupied the position on the roadway that is being approached by the SDV, wherein the pedestrian shares more than a predetermined quantity of traits with members of the cohort of pedestrians;

retrieving historical data describing movement by the members of the cohort of pedestrians when approaching the position on the roadway that is being approached by the SDV;

predicting when the pedestrian will reach the position on the roadway that is being approached by the SDV based on the historical data describing the movement by the members of the cohort of pedestrians when approaching the position on the roadway that is being approached by the SDV; and

adjusting, via the SDV control processor on the SDV, the current speed and direction of movement of the SDV according to the historical data describing the movement by the members of the cohort of pedestrians when approaching the position on the roadway that is being approached by the SDV.

14. The computer system of claim 13, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving roadway sensor readings from multiple roadway sensors, wherein each of the multiple roadway sensors detects different current conditions of the roadway;

weighting each of the roadway sensor readings for the different current conditions of the roadway;

summing weighted roadway sensor readings for the different current conditions of the roadway;

determining whether the summed weighted roadway sensor readings exceed a predefined level; and

in response to determining that the summed roadway weighted sensor readings exceed the predefined level, adjusting, via the SDV control processor on the SDV, the current speed and direction of movement of the SDV in order to avoid striking the pedestrian at the position on the roadway that is being approached by the SDV.

15. The computer system of claim 13, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving operational readings from one or more operational sensors on the SDV, wherein the one or more operational sensors detect a current state of equipment on the SDV;

detecting, based on the received operational readings, a fault with the equipment on the SDV; and

in response to detecting the fault with the equipment on the SDV, adjusting, via the SDV control processor on the SDV, the current speed and direction of movement of the SDV in order to avoid striking the pedestrian at the position on the roadway that is being approached by the SDV.

16. The computer system of claim 13, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving accompaniment signals regarding the pedestrian, wherein the accompaniment signals describe a physical entity that is accompanying the pedestrian;

retrieving the historical data that describes other pedestrians who have occupied the position in the roadway with a physical entity whose features match those of the physical entity that is accompanying the pedestrian;

generating, based on the historical data that describes other pedestrians who have occupied the position in the roadway with the physical entity, a predicted speed and direction of movement of the pedestrian toward the position on the roadway; and

adjusting, via the SDV control processor on the SDV, the current speed and direction of movement of the SDV based on the predicted speed and direction of movement of the pedestrian toward the position on the roadway, in order to avoid striking the pedestrian.

17. The computer system of claim 13, wherein adjusting the current speed and direction of movement of the SDV creates an adjusted speed and direction of the SDV, and wherein the method further comprises:

transmitting, by an adjustable light on the SDV, a visual indication of the adjusted current speed and direction of the SDV to the pedestrian.