Patent Application
20210039642
The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for managing a fleet of scooters, for example electric scooters, based on one or more defined geofence areas for the scooters.
Electric scooters are often used and subsequently deposited in undesirable areas. The present disclosure seeks to prevent this from happening by altering the functionality of the scooter once the scooter exceeds a defined geofence area. In some embodiments, an augmented reality display may also be provided to visually indicate the location of the geofence area associated with the scooter.
The detailed description is set forth with reference to the accompanying drawings. The use of the same reference numerals may indicate similar or identical items. Various embodiments may utilize elements and/or components other than those illustrated in the drawings, and some elements and/or components may not be present in various embodiments. Elements and/or components in the figures are not necessarily drawn to scale. Throughout this disclosure, depending on the context, singular and plural terminology may be used interchangeably.
The disclosure is directed to, among other things, systems and methods for managing a scooter fleet based on geolocation. In certain embodiments, individual scooters of the scooter fleet may be associated with a geofence area. A geofence area may, in some instances, refer to a geographical region that has been established as desirable for a scooter to remain within. The geofence areas may be provided to prevent scooters from being used and subsequently left in an undesirable location (for example, at an airport terminal or an area where crime is common). The geofence area may also have an associated boundary line which may define the outer edges of the geofence area.
In some embodiments, a scooter may be associated with multiple geofence areas (for example, as depicted in
In some embodiments, the geofence area in which an individual scooter is allowed to operate may be displayed to a user riding the scooter through an augmented reality map (for example, as depicted in
In some embodiments, one or more actions may be triggered if the scooter exits the geofence area in which the scooter is allowed to operate. In some embodiments, the scooter may be associated with multiple geofence areas. In such embodiments, different actions may be triggered depending on the particular geofence area the scooter exits (for example, one type of action may be triggered if the scooter exits one geofence area, and another type of action may be triggered if the scooter exits another geofence area). The scooter exiting these different geofence areas may indicate that the scooter is traversing further away from a center point of a smallest geofence area. In some embodiments, a determination as to whether a scooter has exited the geofence area may be made by the scooter itself, on the cloud by a remote server, or by the user mobile device. For example, the scooter may provide Global Positioning System (GPS) updates to a cloud system, and the cloud system may then determine if the scooter is within its allowed geofence area based on the GPS updates. The cloud system may also use any number of other signal inputs, computer vision techniques, or other methods to determine whether the scooter is within its geofence. In some instances, the determination may also require the scooter to be beyond the geofence area for a threshold period of time before any subsequent action is taken. This threshold period of time may depend on a number of factors, such as the direction the scooter is traveling in.
In some embodiments, the one or more actions that are triggered when the scooter exits the geofence area may include the amount of propulsion assistance provided by the scooter being reduced. When the propulsion assistance reaches zero the user may still be able to manually push the scooter. However, the amount of resistance provided by the scooter may also be increased (for example, to make it more difficult for the user to manually push the scooter). Both the reduction in the amount of propulsion assistance and the increasing amount of resistance provided may happen gradually over time at varying rates (which may be different rates or the same rate). These rates may be dynamic and may depend on various factors, such as how far from the boundary line the scooter is and also on the direction the scooter is traveling (for example, some areas may be less desirable for a scooter to be left than others). Additionally, a notification may be provided to the user mobile device that indicates the scooter is outside the acceptable geofence area, and provides an amount of time remaining until the propulsion assistance is reduced to zero and the resistance is increased to a maximum amount.
In some embodiments, the one or more actions that are triggered when the scooter exits the geofence area may also include a physical change to a configuration of the scooter in order to make the scooter more difficult to ride. For example, a platform of the scooter on which the user may stand while riding the scooter may be tilted gradually over time. As another example, the handlebars of the scooter may tilt. As another example, the whole scooter, or individual components such as the handlebars, may vibrate. Any other physical change to a configuration of the scooter that has the impact of incentivizing the user to return to the boundary line is possible as well. The extent of the physical changes may also depend on various factors, such as how far from the boundary line the scooter is and also on the direction the scooter is traveling.
In some embodiments, the one or more actions that are triggered when the scooter exits the geofence area may also include providing an alert to the user. The alert may be in any form, for example, an audible alarm that may be heard from others in the vicinity, push notifications to the user's mobile device, a visual indication on the user's mobile device, etc. The alert may also be increased in intensity as the amount of time the scooter is outside the geofence area (or the distance the scooter is from the boundary line) increases. For example, the audible alarm may become increasingly louder.
In some embodiments, an optimal route back to the geofence area may be determined and provided to the user of the scooter. For example, the optimal route may be displayed on the user's mobile device through the augmented reality map.
In some embodiments, once the scooter is returned to the geofence area, the one or more actions that were triggered as a result of the scooter crossing the boundary line may be reversed, or otherwise ceased. For example, the alerts may cease, the physical changes to the configuration of the scooter may be reverted, and the propulsion assistance may be reintroduced.
In some embodiments where multiple geofence areas are associated with a scooter, any combination of these actions, or any other actions, may be triggered as the scooter exits successive geofence areas. For example, if the scooter exits a first smaller geofence area, the amount of propulsion assistance may be gradually reduced, and if the scooter exits a second larger geofence area (for example, a geofence area that encompasses the first geofence area), then the resistance provided by the scooter may gradually increase. Any number of other combinations of actions may be possible as well.
Turning now to the drawings,
In some embodiments, server 106 may serve as an external data source for any of the scooters in the scooter fleet network 102. For example, the server 106 may contain information about geofence areas in which any of the various scooters (e.g., 102(a), 102(b), or 102(c)) may operate. The server 106 may also contain information relevant to the scooter, such as information about which directions beyond the geofence area will trigger faster actions, the types of actions to trigger, the rates associated with particular actions (for example, the rate of resistance increase in the scooter), and/or what actions to trigger depending on which geofence area a scooter exits (for example, if the scooter is associated with multiple geofence areas). In some embodiments, the server may also provide any of the control functionality described herein. For example, the server 106 may receive GPS updates from a scooter to determine whether the scooter is within its associated geofence area. The server 106 may then, upon determining that the scooter is outside its geofence area, provide commands to the scooter to initiate a physical change in its configuration (e.g., provide a tilt in the scooter's platform), cause the scooter to provide an alert, or any other function the scooter may perform as a result of the scooter crossing the boundary line. Any of the other functionality described herein, for example with reference to a scooter, may be performed by the server 106.
In some embodiments, scooter 200 may include one or more processors 212 that may include any suitable processing unit capable of accepting digital data as input, processing the input data based on stored computer-executable instructions, and generating output data. The computer-executable instructions may be stored, for example, in data storage and may include, among other things, operating system software and application software. The computer-executable instructions may be retrieved from the data storage and loaded into the memory 214 as needed for execution. The processor 212 may be configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to cause various operations to be performed. Each processor 212 may include any type of processing unit including, but not limited to, a central processing unit, a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC) microprocessor, a Complex Instruction Set Computer (CISC) microprocessor, an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a System-on-a-Chip (SoC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), and so forth.
The memory 214 may be volatile memory (memory that is not configured to retain stored information when not supplied with power) such as random access memory (RAM) and/or non-volatile memory (memory that is configured to retain stored information even when not supplied with power) such as read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, and so forth. In various implementations, the memory 214 may include multiple different types of memory, such as various forms of static random access memory (SRAM), various forms of dynamic random access memory (DRAM), unalterable ROM, and/or writeable variants of ROM such as electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, and so forth.
The geofencing module(s) 216 may perform operations including at least determine a geofence area associated with a first scooter of the one or more scooters; generate an augmented reality map, wherein the augmented reality map includes an indication of the geofence area associated with the first scooter; determine that the first scooter has exited the geofence area; and instruct, based on the determination that the first scooter has exited the geofence area, a physical change to a configuration of the first scooter in order to make the first scooter more difficult to ride. The geofencing module 216 may also be responsible for any other functionality associated with the scooter 200, such as providing instructions to perform actions triggered based on the scooter 200 exiting the geofence area, providing GPS updated to the server 106, or any other relevant functionality.
The mobile device interface module(s) 218 may serve to facilitate communications between the controller 206 and the user mobile device 210. In some embodiments, the mobile device interface module 218 may provide an augmented reality map (for example, as shown in
In some embodiments, the method includes a step 304 of determining, by the processor, that the first scooter has exited the geofence area. For example, the boundary line may represent the outer edge of the geographical area in which the scooter is allowed to operate. The boundary line may be displayed to a user of a scooter 200 through an augmented reality user interface (for example, as depicted in
In some embodiments, the method includes a step 306 of instructing, by the processor and based on the determination that the first scooter has exited the geofence area, a physical change to a configuration of the first scooter in order to make the first scooter more difficult to ride. The physical change, for example, may involve a tilt of the platform of the scooter 200. The tilt may gradually increase over time, and the rate of tilt may depend on how far the scooter 200 is from the boundary line and/or the direction that the scooter 200 is traveling. As another example, the handlebars may tilt. As another example, the whole scooter, or individual components such as the handlebars, may vibrate. Any other physical change to a configuration of the scooter that has the impact of incentivizing the user to return to the boundary line is possible as well. In some embodiments, instructions may also be provided to perform any of the other functionalities described herein, such as causing the scooter to provide an alert, causing the scooter to adjust its amount of propulsion assistance, or causing the scooter to increase the amount of resistance provided.
In some embodiments, the method includes a step 404 of generating an augmented reality map, wherein the augmented reality map includes an indication of the geofence area associated with the first scooter.
In some embodiments, the method includes a step 504 of generate an augmented reality map, wherein the augmented reality map includes an indication of the geofence area associated with the first scooter.
In some embodiments, the method includes a step 506 of determining that the first scooter has exited the geofence area.
In some embodiments, the method includes a step 508 of instructing, based on the determination that the first scooter has exited the geofence area, a physical change to a configuration of the first scooter in order to make the first scooter more difficult to ride.
In the above disclosure, reference has been made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, which illustrate specific implementations in which the present disclosure may be practiced. It is understood that other implementations may be utilized, and structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. References in the specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “an example embodiment,” etc., indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but every embodiment may not necessarily include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, one skilled in the art will recognize such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described.
Implementations of the systems, apparatuses, devices, and methods disclosed herein may comprise or utilize a special purpose or general-purpose computer including computer hardware, such as, for example, one or more processors and system memory, as discussed herein. Implementations within the scope of the present disclosure may also include physical and other computer-readable media for carrying or storing computer-executable instructions and/or data structures. Such computer-readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer system. Computer-readable media that stores computer-executable instructions is computer storage media (devices). Computer-readable media that carries computer-executable instructions is transmission media. Thus, by way of example, and not limitation, implementations of the present disclosure can comprise at least two distinctly different kinds of computer-readable media: computer storage media (devices) and transmission media.
Computer storage media (devices) includes RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM, solid state drives (SSDs) (e.g., based on RAM), flash memory, phase-change memory (PCM), other types of memory, other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to store desired program code means in the form of computer-executable instructions or data structures and which can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer.
An implementation of the devices, systems, and methods disclosed herein may communicate over a computer network. A “network” is defined as one or more data links that enable the transport of electronic data between computer systems and/or modules and/or other electronic devices. When information is transferred or provided over a network or another communications connection (either hardwired, wireless, or any combination of hardwired or wireless) to a computer, the computer properly views the connection as a transmission medium. Transmission media can include a network and/or data links, which can be used to carry desired program code means in the form of computer-executable instructions or data structures and which can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.
Computer-executable instructions comprise, for example, instructions and data which, when executed at a processor, cause a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or special purpose processing device to perform a certain function or group of functions. The computer-executable instructions may be, for example, binaries, intermediate format instructions such as assembly language, or even source code. Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the described features or acts described above. Rather, the described features and acts are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present disclosure may be practiced in network computing environments with many types of computer system configurations, personal computers, desktop computers, laptop computers, message processors, handheld devices, multi-processor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, mobile telephones, PDAs, tablets, pagers, routers, switches, various storage devices, and the like. The disclosure may also be practiced in distributed system environments where local and remote computer systems, which are linked (either by hardwired data links, wireless data links, or by any combination of hardwired and wireless data links) through a network, both perform tasks. In a distributed system environment, program modules may be located in both the local and remote memory storage devices.
Further, where appropriate, the functions described herein can be performed in one or more of hardware, software, firmware, digital components, or analog components. For example, one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) can be programmed to carry out one or more of the systems and procedures described herein. Certain terms are used throughout the description and claims refer to particular system components. As one skilled in the art will appreciate, components may be referred to by different names. This document does not intend to distinguish between components that differ in name, but not function.
It should be noted that the sensor embodiments discussed above may comprise computer hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof to perform at least a portion of their functions. For example, a sensor may include computer code configured to be executed in one or more processors and may include hardware logic/electrical circuitry controlled by the computer code. These example devices are provided herein for purposes of illustration and are not intended to be limiting. Embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in further types of devices, as would be known to persons skilled in the relevant art(s).
At least some embodiments of the present disclosure have been directed to computer program products comprising such logic (e.g., in the form of software) stored on any computer-usable medium. Such software, when executed in one or more data processing devices, causes a device to operate as described herein.
While various embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not limitation. It will be apparent to persons skilled in the relevant art that various changes in form and detail can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present disclosure should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments but should be defined only in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents. The foregoing description has been presented for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present disclosure to the precise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. Further, it should be noted that any or all of the aforementioned alternate implementations may be used in any combination desired to form additional hybrid implementations of the present disclosure. For example, any of the functionality described with respect to a particular device or component may be performed by another device or component. Further, while specific device characteristics have been described, embodiments of the disclosure may relate to numerous other device characteristics. Further, although embodiments have been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described. Rather, the specific features and acts are disclosed as illustrative forms of implementing the embodiments. Conditional language, such as, among others, “can,” “could,” “might,” or “may,” unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understood within the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certain embodiments could include, while other embodiments may not include, certain features, elements, and/or steps. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended to imply that features, elements, and/or steps are in any way required for one or more embodiments.
