Patent Application
20200311846
Some transportation services may provide transportation on demand, drawing from a transportation provider supply pool to meet the needs of those requesting transportation services as the needs arise. The transportation provider supply pool may include autonomous transportation provider vehicles. However, technology for autonomous transportation provider vehicles is rapidly evolving and fulfilling requests by arbitrarily matching available autonomous transportation provider vehicles with pending transportation requests may result in wasted transportation supply resources, an unacceptable fluctuation in the level of available autonomous transportation provider vehicles, increased transportation time, or other suboptimal results. For example, certain autonomous transportation provider vehicles may be better suited to providing certain transportation services better than other autonomous transportation provider vehicles and a transportation service may experience transportation requests for autonomous transportation provider vehicles in a geographic region that is unable to support transportation services by certain autonomous transportation provider vehicles.
The performance of an on-demand transportation service may depend on properly determining the suitability of providing transportation services using autonomous transportation provider vehicles in certain geographic zones. Accordingly, decisions about when and how to match a transportation service request with an autonomous transportation provider vehicle within a geographic zone may pose trade-offs for on-demand transportation services and consumers of on-demand transportation services.
The accompanying drawings illustrate a number of exemplary embodiments and are a part of the specification. Together with the following description, these drawings demonstrate and explain various principles of the instant disclosure.
Throughout the drawings, identical reference characters and descriptions indicate similar, but not necessarily identical, elements. While the exemplary embodiments described herein are susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail herein. However, the exemplary embodiments described herein are not intended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed. Rather, the instant disclosure covers all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the appended claims.
The present disclosure is generally directed to matching autonomous transportation provider vehicles and transportation requests in transportation management systems. Matching decisions between transportation requests and autonomous transportation provider vehicles in geographic areas may affect transportation service satisfaction levels of transportation requesters and value creation for transportation management systems. Autonomous transportation services may create high efficiency and performance in transportation management systems while conveniently providing on-demand transportation for transportation requestors.
Transportation requestors may be provided with options for transportation service including an option for autonomous transportation. However, autonomous transportation provider vehicles may be unable to provide transportation services in all geographic areas and under all conditions. Autonomous transportation provider vehicles may be able to provide services at certain times and/or in certain geographic areas (e.g., geographic zones). A transportation management system may be able to determine the conditions and geographic zones that autonomous transportation provider vehicles may be able to provide transportation services and match transportation requests based on the determined geographic zones.
As will be explained in greater detail below, matching autonomous transportation provider vehicles and transportation requests in transportation management systems may be based on, without limitation, the characteristics (e.g., capabilities) of an autonomous transportation provider vehicle, road surface characteristics of a geographic zone, characteristics of a transportation requestor, characteristics of a transportation request, or any combination thereof. Matching autonomous transportation provider vehicles and transportation requests in a transportation management system using the systems methods disclosed herein may provide benefits to the operation of the transportation management system. Accordingly, as may be appreciated, the systems and methods described herein may improve the functioning of a computer that implements transportation matching. For example, these systems and methods may improve the functioning of the computer by improving transportation matching results. Additionally or alternatively, these systems and methods may improve the functioning of the computer by reducing the computing resources consumed to identify appropriate transportation matchings (and, e.g., thereby freeing computing resources for other tasks, such as those directly and/or indirectly involved in transportation matching).
Furthermore, for the reasons mentioned above and to be discussed in greater detail below, the systems and methods described herein may provide advantages to the field of transportation management and/or the field of autonomous transportation. In addition, these systems and methods may provide advantages to autonomous vehicles that operate as a part of a transportation management system. For example, the vehicles may complete transportation tasks more quickly, more efficiently (e.g., in terms of fuel, vehicle wear, etc.), and/or more safely (e.g., by driving, on average, shorter distances to complete the same transportation objective). Further, these systems and methods may provide advantages to on-demand consumer and/or enterprise systems other than transportation management systems such as autonomous delivery services (e.g., food delivery services, package delivery services, etc.).
Geographic area 120 may have certain geographic zones that are unsuitable for autonomous transportation provider vehicles 130(1) to 130(n) to provide transportation services. Geographic area 120 may have certain other geographic zones that are suitable for autonomous transportation provider vehicles 130(1) to 130(n) to provide transportation services. Each of autonomous transportation provider vehicles 130(1) to 130(n) may have different characteristics as described in detail below. The suitability of autonomous transportation provider vehicles 130(1) to 130(n) to provide transportation services in certain geographic zones may be based on the specific characteristics of the autonomous transportation provider vehicle as they relate to the road surface characteristics of the geographic zone. Determining the suitability of autonomous transportation provider vehicles 130(1) to 130(n) to provide transportation services in certain geographic zones may be determined based on, without limitation, the characteristics (e.g., capabilities) of the vehicle, road surface characteristics of the geographic zone, characteristics of a transportation requestor, characteristics of the transportation request, or any combination thereof. Determining the suitability of autonomous transportation provider vehicles 130(1) to 130(n) to provide transportation services in certain geographic zones may be determined using any suitable method. In some examples, determining the suitability of autonomous transportation provider vehicles 130(1) to 130(n) to provide transportation services in certain geographic zones may be determined based on the methods described below in relation to
Autonomous transportation provider vehicles 130(1) to 130(n) may be of the same or different types. The different types may be based on characteristics of the vehicle. The characteristics of the vehicle may determine which geographic zones the vehicle may provide transportation services. Characteristics of transportation provider vehicles 130(1) to 130(n) may include, without limitation, a manufacturer of the vehicle, a model of the vehicle, a seating capacity of the vehicle, a transportation requestor seating capacity of the vehicle, a training level of the vehicle associated with the geographic zone, a training level of a monitoring operator associated with the vehicle, a storage space capacity of the vehicle, a capability level of the vehicle to perform driving maneuvers, a capability level of the vehicle to traverse routes within the geographic zone, an authorization level of the vehicle to traverse routes within the geographic zone, a level of access to characteristic data associated with the vehicle, or a combination thereof.
A transportation management system may use various types of transportation provider vehicles including without limitation, human operated vehicles, semi-autonomous (e.g., human assisted) vehicles, and fully autonomous vehicles. A transportation management system may use autonomous transportation provider vehicles 130(1) to 130(n) provided by different manufacturers. Each manufacturer may provide different models of autonomous transportation provider vehicles and each model may have different functional options. The suitability of autonomous transportation provider vehicles 130(1) to 130(n) to provide transportation services in certain geographic zones may be based on the manufacturer, the model, the functional options, or a combination thereof. For example, autonomous transportation provider vehicles 130(1) to 130(n) may have different passenger and/or operator (e.g., human assistant) seating capacities. Autonomous transportation provider vehicles 130(1) to 130(n) may have a total seating capacity. A seating capacity associated with a transportation request may be equal to the total seating capacity minus the operator seating capacity. In some examples, the number of operators may be, without limitation, 0 (e.g., no human assistants), 1, or 2. Matching a transportation request to autonomous transportation provider vehicles 130(1) in to 130(n) in a geographic zone may be based at least on the seating capacity of the vehicle and/or the number of seats associated with the transportation request.
In some examples, autonomous transportation provider vehicles 130(1) to 130(n) may be trained to autonomously traverse certain travel routes with geographic area 120. The travel routes that autonomous transportation provider vehicles 130(1) to 130(n) are trained to autonomously traverse may be located within one or more geographic zones that may be located within geographic area 120. Autonomous transportation provider vehicles 130(1) to 130(n) may be trained to autonomously traverse certain travel routes in order to provide transportation services along those routes within a geographic zone. Autonomous transportation provider vehicles 130(1) to 130(n) may use computing methods (e.g., artificial intelligence, machine learning, image processing, neural networks, etc.) in combination with sensor devices (e.g., image sensors, radar, infrared, ultrasonic, lidar, etc.), road mapping data, and wireless communications to learn methods of autonomous traversal of certain travel routes. Matching a transportation request to autonomous transportation provider vehicles 130(1) to 130(n) in a geographic zone may be based at least on which travel routes the vehicles have been trained to traverse. In some examples, autonomous transportation provider vehicles 130(1) to 130(n) may only be matched to transportation requests that traverse routes that the vehicles have been trained on.
Operation of an autonomous transportation provider vehicle may be controlled by a computing system (e.g., embedded computing device, electronic computing module, smartphone, etc.). In some examples, one or more human assistants may monitor and/or supervise the operation of the autonomous transportation provider vehicle controlled by the computing system. Autonomous transportation provider vehicles 130(1) to 130(n) may have an operator to monitor the operation and travel of autonomous transportation provider vehicles 130(1) to 130(n). The operator may monitor the operation of autonomous transportation provider vehicles 130(1) to 130(n) during periods of route training and/or during periods of providing transportation services. The operator may be trained to different levels of ability in monitoring the operation of the vehicles and/or trained to monitor certain types of autonomous transportation provider vehicles (e.g., certain models, manufacturers, options, etc.) and/or trained to monitor operation in certain geographic zones. Matching a transportation request to autonomous transportation provider vehicles 130(1) in to 130(n) in a geographic zone may be based at least on the training level of the operator that monitors the vehicle. In some examples, autonomous transportation provider vehicles 130(1) to 130(n) may only be matched to transportation requests that traverse routes that the operator has been trained on.
In some examples, autonomous transportation provider vehicles 130(1) to 130(n) may have a storage space capacity associated with the vehicle. The storage space capacity may be without limitation, a storage space capacity within a trunk or a storage space capacity within the interior space of the vehicle. The storage space capacity may be used for storage of luggage and/or packages of a transportation requestor. Matching a transportation request to autonomous transportation provider vehicles 130(1) in to 130(n) in a geographic zone may be based at least on the storage space capacity of the vehicle.
In some examples, autonomous transportation provider vehicles 130(1) to 130(n) may have a capability level to perform driving maneuvers. Autonomous transportation provider vehicles 130(1) to 130(n) may be able to perform different driving maneuvers based on, without limitation, characteristics of the vehicle, characteristics of traffic control devices within geographic area 120, a training level of the vehicle, a training level of an operator monitoring the vehicle, a type of terrain (e.g., road surface type, inclination, etc.) the vehicle is operating on, a weather condition within geographic area 120, a density of vehicle traffic within geographic area 120, a density of pedestrian traffic within geographic area 120, or a combination thereof. For example, autonomous transportation provider vehicles 130(1) to 130(n) may have a capability to stop at designated drop-off locations, stop at designated pick-up locations, perform U-turns, perform right turns, perform left turns, perform left turns at intersections with traffic lights, perform left turns at intersections without traffic lights, merge into lanes of traffic, depart from lanes of traffic, perform parallel parking, change lanes of travel, avoid moving objects, avoid stationary objects, or a combination thereof. Matching a transportation request to autonomous transportation provider vehicles 130(1) in to 130(n) in a geographic zone may be based at least on a capability level of the vehicle to perform driving maneuvers.
In some examples, autonomous transportation provider vehicles 130(1) to 130(n) may have authorization to traverse certain routes within certain geographic zones in geographic area 120. For example, autonomous transportation provider vehicles 130(1) to 130(n) may have authorization to traverse routes within an airport, a hotel, a toll road, a neighboring country, a government-controlled area, a military installation, etc. Authorization to traverse certain routes may be provided to autonomous transportation provider vehicles 130(1) to 130(n) based on, without limitation, regulatory restrictions, a type of vehicle, characteristics of the vehicle, a toll associated with the authorization, time of day, a day of the week, or a combination thereof. Matching a transportation request to autonomous transportation provider vehicles 130(1) to 130(n) in a geographic zone may be based at least on an authorization level of the autonomous transportation provider vehicle to traverse routes within the geographic zone.
In some examples, a transportation management system may have access to data associated with autonomous transportation provider vehicles 130(1) to 130(n). The data may represent characteristics and/or capabilities of the vehicles as described in detail above. The transportation management system may have differing levels of access to the characteristic data associated with autonomous transportation provider vehicles 130(1) to 130(n). In some examples, the level of access to characteristic data associated with autonomous transportation provider vehicles 130(1) to 130(n) may affect the geographic zones in which the vehicles may provide transportation services, the types of transportation requests the vehicle may be matched with, or a combination thereof. A transportation management system may have differing levels of access to data relating to the vehicle manufacturer, model type, seating capacity, transportation requestor seating capacity, training level within a geographic zone, training level of a monitoring operator, storage space capacity, capability level to perform driving maneuvers, or a combination thereof. The level of access to data associated with autonomous transportation provider vehicles 130(1) to 130(n) may be determined by the vehicle manufacturer. In some examples, a vehicle manufacturer may provide a transportation management system with access to certain data and may not provide access to the other certain data relating to the vehicles. Matching a transportation request to autonomous transportation provider vehicles 130(1) in to 130(n) in a geographic zone may be based at least on an access level to data associated with the autonomous transportation provider vehicle.
The designated pickup and drop-off locations may be determined based on characteristics of the autonomous transportation provider vehicles including, without limitation, physical dimensions of the vehicle, a training level of the autonomous vehicle to enter and/or exit the designated pickup and drop-off locations, or a combination thereof.
The designated pickup and drop-off locations may be determined based on road surface characteristics of the pickup and drop-off locations including, without limitation, physical dimensions of the location, obstructing objects near the location, pavement type, pavement condition, terrain, inclination, or a combination thereof. Matching a transportation request to autonomous transportation provider vehicles 130(1) in to 130(n) in a geographic zone may be based at least on comparing the one or more characteristics of the autonomous transportation provider vehicle with the characteristics of road surface of the geographic area. Comparing the one or more characteristics of the autonomous transportation provider vehicle with the characteristics of road surfaces of the geographic area may ensure that the autonomous transportation provider vehicle is capable of navigating within the geographic area, capable of navigating into and out of the pickup and drop-off locations, and capable of picking up and/or dropping off transportation requestors at the pickup and drop-off locations. The designated pickup and drop-off locations may be determined based on characteristics of the transportation requestor. For example, the designated pickup and drop-off locations may be determined based on a transportation requestor's ability (e.g., physical limitation) to enter or exit the vehicle at the pickup and/or drop-off location, a distance from the transportation requestor's location to the pickup location, a distance from the drop-off location to the transportation requestor's destination, or a combination thereof. For example, a transportation requestor's physical limitation may include restriction to a wheelchair and the pickup and drop-off locations may need to be wheelchair accessible for the transportation requestor to enter and exit the vehicle. In some examples, a pickup location may be over a threshold distance from a transportation requestor's location and/or a drop-off location may be over a threshold distance from the transportation requestor's destination. The threshold distance may be determined based on an acceptable amount of time for the transportation requestor to traverse the distance.
The designated pickup and drop-off locations may be determined based on a density of vehicle and/or pedestrian traffic in an area surrounding the pickup and/or drop-off locations. For example, the designated pickup and drop-off locations may be determined based on whether the density of vehicle traffic and/or pedestrian traffic may have a negative impact on the ability of the autonomous transportation provider vehicles to pickup and/or drop off the transportation requestor. In some examples, the density of vehicle traffic and/or pedestrian traffic in an area surrounding the pickup and/or drop-off locations may be below a threshold level that enables the autonomous transportation provider vehicles to effectively and efficiently pickup and/or drop off the transportation requestor.
The designated pickup and drop-off locations may be determined based on an ability of the autonomous transportation provider vehicle to perform driving maneuvers. For example, the autonomous transportation provider vehicle may be able to pull in to a designated pickup location, pull out of a designated pickup location, change lanes to pull in and/or pull out of a designated pickup or drop-off location, perform a parallel park maneuver, perform a perpendicular park maneuver, perform a K-turn maneuver, or a combination thereof. In some examples, the ability of the autonomous transportation provider vehicle to perform driving maneuvers in an area surrounding the pickup and/or drop-off locations may enable the autonomous transportation provider vehicles to effectively and efficiently pickup and/or drop off the transportation requestor. For example, if a pickup and drop-off location requires the autonomous transportation provider vehicle to change lanes and the autonomous transportation provider vehicle is unable to change lanes to enter the pickup and drop-off location, the pickup and drop-off location may be inaccessible to the autonomous transportation provider vehicle. As another example, if a pickup and drop-off location requires the autonomous transportation provider vehicle to perform a parallel park maneuver and the autonomous transportation provider vehicle is unable to perform a parallel park maneuver, the pickup and drop-off location may be inaccessible to the autonomous transportation provider vehicle.
The designated pickup and drop-off locations may be determined based on weather conditions surrounding the designated pickup and drop-off locations. For example, certain pickup and drop-off locations may be designated based on, without limitation, an ambient temperature, a level of rain, a wind speed/direction, an amount of snowfall, or a combination thereof. The designated pickup and drop-off locations may also be determined based on a type of shelter that protects a transportation requestor from inclement weather at the pickup and drop-off locations. For example, if a pickup and drop-off location has a level of snow over a threshold, the autonomous transportation provider vehicle may be unable to enter the pickup and drop-off location and the pickup and drop-off location may be inaccessible to the autonomous transportation provider vehicle. As another example, if a pickup and drop-off location does not include a type of shelter that protects a transportation requestor from inclement weather, the pickup and drop-off location may be inaccessible to the autonomous transportation provider vehicle during times of inclement weather due to the transportation requestor desiring protection from the inclement weather.
The designated pickup and drop-off locations may be determined based on a time of day and/or a day of the week. For example, designated pickup and drop-off locations may be based on characteristics of the autonomous transportation provider vehicles that may be based on a time of day and/or a day of the week. Certain autonomous transportation provider vehicles may be unavailable for certain pickup and drop-off locations based on, without limitation, availability of operators during a time of day and/or a day of the week, availability of the autonomous transportation provider vehicles during a time of day and/or a day of the week, maintenance schedules for the autonomous transportation provider vehicles, or a combination thereof. Further, designated pickup and drop-off locations may be determined based on a level of transportation requests within certain geographic zones based on a time of day (e.g., rush hour) and/or a day of the week (e.g., weekday, weekend). If a level of transportation requests is below a threshold level during certain times of the day or week near a designated pick and drop-off location, the pickup and drop-off location may be undesignated for transportation requests.
The designated pickup and drop-off locations may be determined based on a proximity to transportation requestors. For example, the designated pickup and drop-off locations may be located in proximity to areas having a high demand for transportation requests. The designated pickup and drop-off locations may be located in proximity to, without limitation, high pedestrian traffic areas, event venues, hotels, housing, attractions, transportation hubs (e.g., subways, trains, airports, seaports, etc.), or a combination thereof. The designated pickup and drop-off locations may be determined based on proximity to locations in which a level of transportation requests is over a threshold level.
Geographic zones 300(1) to 300(n) may be accessible to different types of autonomous transportation provider vehicles including without limitation, human operated vehicles, semi-autonomous (e.g., human assisted) vehicles, and fully autonomous vehicles. Geographic zones 300(1) to 300(n) may be used in any suitable method for filtering transportation requests and determining the types of transportation requests the autonomous vehicles may service and how the transportation requests may be serviced. A transportation management system may use autonomous transportation provider vehicles provided by different manufacturers. Each manufacturer may provide different models of autonomous transportation provider vehicles and each model may have different functional options. Different specific vehicles within a particular fleet of vehicles or within a particular manufacturer of the vehicles may be able to access different pickup and drop-off locations. Further, geographic zones 300(1) to 300(n) may be accessible to different transportation service providers.
In some examples, geographic zones 300(1) to 300(n) may be a collection of road network segments or locations that autonomous transportation provider vehicles are capable of servicing transportation requests. For example, geographic zones 300(1) to 300(n) may be a collection of roads that allow vehicles to travel in one direction only, allow certain types of turns only on a particular segment of the road, allow pickups at certain locations but not drop-offs, allow drop-offs at certain locations but not pickups, or a combination thereof.
The characteristics of the autonomous transportation provider vehicles may include those described in detail above with respect to
In some examples, ATPVC record 770 may optionally store records of the characteristics of autonomous transportation provider vehicles in different data formats and provide the records to ATPVC normalization module 720 in different data formats. ATPVC normalization module 720 may modify the data formats so that a common data format for the characteristics of autonomous transportation provider vehicles is provided to geographic zone determination module 722. ATPVC normalization module 720 may modify (e.g., normalize) the data formats using any suitable method including the methods described below with respect to
Road surface characteristic record 780 may store characteristics of road surfaces in a geographic area. Road surface characteristic record 780 may store the road surface characteristics of road segments using any suitable storage method described below. The characteristics of road surfaces may include those described in detail above with respect to
Incoming requests 740 may be received from transportation requestor devices. Data associated with the transportation requests may be extracted from incoming requests 740 and provided to transportation requestor characteristic record 750 and transportation request characteristics 760. Transportation request characteristics 760 may extract information from incoming requests 740 related to a transportation request that requires matching and may include, without limitation, information associated with the transportation request origin location, transportation request destination, transportation requestor device location, transportation requestor device identification, a time of day associated with the transportation request, a number of passengers associated with the transportation request, a type of requested transportation service, or a combination thereof. Transportation request characteristics 760 may provide the characteristics of incoming transportation requests to geographic zone determination module 722 and matching module 728.
Transportation requestor characteristic record 750 may store characteristics of transportation requestors associated with incoming requests 740. Transportation requestor characteristic record 750 may store the characteristics of transportation requestors using any suitable storage method described below. The characteristics of transportation requestors may include, without limitation, a rating score associated with a transportation requestor, an acceptance of terms of service associated with a transportation requestor and a type of service (e.g., autonomous vehicle transportation service), a historical record of transportation requests associated with the transportation service requestor, a historical record of transportation service values associated with the transportation service requestor, demographic data associated with the transportation service requestor, or a combination thereof. Transportation requestor characteristic record 750 may provide the records of the characteristics of transportation requestors to geographic zone determination module 722.
In some examples, geographic zone determination module 722 may determine geographic zones within a geographic area in which autonomous transportation provider vehicles may provide transportation services. Geographic zone determination module 722 may determine geographic zones within a geographic area for providing transportation services using autonomous transportation provider vehicles using any suitable method. Geographic zone determination module 722 may determine geographic zones that are specific to an individual autonomous transportation provider vehicle or a group of autonomous transportation provider vehicles. Geographic zone determination module 722 may determine the geographic zone using data provided from, without limitation, transportation request characteristics 760, transportation requestor characteristic record 750, ATPVC normalization module 720, ATPVC record 770, road surface characteristic record 780, ora combination thereof.
Geographic zone determination module 722 may determine a geographic zone by determining a geographic zone associated with the autonomous transportation provider vehicle within the geographic area as described above in detail with respect to
In some examples, incoming requests 740 for transportation services using an autonomous transportation provider vehicle may be provided to matching module 728 for matching the request. Incoming requests 740 may be matched using data from incoming request 740 and the determined geographic zones from geographic zone determination module 722 using any suitable method. For example, matching module 728 may match a transportation request with an autonomous transportation provider vehicle in response to the transportation request pickup location, drop off location, and travel route being within a geographic zone associated with the autonomous transportation provider vehicle. Matching module 728 may issue the matched transportation request to matches 790. Matches 790 may provide a match for transportation services to the transportation requestor device as described in detail below with respect to
Referring to
Environment 902 may include traffic control devices including, without limitation, traffic signal 926, traffic speed control 904, lane divider 924, or a combination thereof. Autonomous transportation provider vehicle 130 may be trained to detect traffic signal 926, traffic speed control 904, and/or lane divider 924, based on, without limitation, sensors (e.g., image, ultrasonic, radar, lidar, etc.), wide area wireless, vehicle to vehicle communications, Internet of things, near field communication, or a combination thereof. Autonomous transportation provider vehicle 130 may be trained to adhere to the traffic control rules designated by traffic signal 926, traffic speed control 904 (e.g., maximum speed), and/or lane divider 924. In some examples, matching a transportation service request with autonomous transportation provider vehicle 130 within a geographic zone including environment 902 may be based at least in part on route training of autonomous transportation provider vehicle 130.
In response to the transportation request, the transportation management system may provide the transportation requestor with options for providing the transportation service. For example, an option for transportation using an autonomous transportation provider vehicle may be displayed in icon 1008, an option for transportation using shared transportation (e.g., shared with other transportation requestors) may be displayed in icon 1010, and/or an option for transportation using a human operated transportation provider vehicle may be displayed in icon 1012. Display screen 1018 may also display a route on the map associated with the options. A route associated with the option for transportation using an autonomous transportation provider vehicle may be displayed on the map and include current location 601, pickup location 201(1), route to pickup location 201(1) (e.g., walking route) 1016, autonomous transportation provider vehicle travel route 620, drop-off location 201(2), and route to destination 1006. A transportation requestor may choose the option by selecting (e.g., touching) the icon associated with the chosen option. In response to the transportation requestor choosing transportation using an autonomous transportation provider vehicle, display screen 1018 may display a more detailed map (e.g., zoomed in) surrounding current location 601 and route to pickup location 201(1) 1016.
In some examples, display screen 1018 may display a terms of service for acceptance by the transportation requestor prior to providing the transportation service. Display screen 1018 may also display a dynamic (e.g. continuously updated) walking guide for the transportation requestor to follow when traveling from current location 601 to pickup location 201(1) and/or from drop-off location 201(2) to destination 1006. Display screen 1018 may also display, without limitation, an estimated time of transportation requestor arrival to pickup location 201(1), an estimated time of autonomous transportation provider vehicle arrival to pickup location 201(1), an estimated time of autonomous transportation provider vehicle arrival to drop-off location 201(2), an estimated time of transportation requestor arrival to destination 602, an identifier of the autonomous transportation provider vehicle, an identifier of an operator of the autonomous transportation provider vehicle, a value associated with the transportation service, or a combination thereof.
In some examples, the application for managing transportation services running on transportation requestor device 1002 may provide an interface for the transportation requestor to control certain functions of the autonomous transportation provider vehicle during the transportation service. In some examples, the autonomous transportation provider vehicle may have an application interface device (e.g., smart screen) within the vehicle to control certain functions. The application may require authentication of the transportation requestor before allowing access to control functions. For example, the application interface may allow the transportation requestor to control, without limitation, a lock/unlock feature of the vehicle, entertainment (e.g., music, video, etc.), cabin temperature, trunk/storage access, shared ride access, communication to an operator (in-vehicle and/or remote operator), feedback associated with the service to the transportation management system, stopping of the vehicle (e.g., aborting the service), or a combination thereof. Control of the functions of the autonomous transportation provider vehicle during the transportation service may be based on a wireless interface (e.g., Bluetooth) between the vehicle and transportation requestor device 1002. In some examples, matching a transportation service request with an autonomous transportation provider vehicle within a geographic zone may be based on a transportation requestor entering and/or receiving information associated with the transportation request on a computing device.
In one example, a computer-implemented method may include determining one or more characteristics of an autonomous vehicle. In some examples, the method may further include determining one or more characteristics of one or more road segments of a geographic area. In some examples, the method may further include determining at least one geographic zone for the autonomous vehicle within the geographic area based at least on the characteristics of the autonomous vehicle and the characteristics of the one or more road segments of the geographic area. In some examples, the method may further include matching a request with the autonomous vehicle within the at least one geographic zone based at least in part on a request location and a destination location of the request being associated with the at least one geographic zone.
In some examples, the method may further include determining characteristics of a transportation requestor. In some examples, matching the request with the autonomous vehicle within the at least one geographic zone may be based at least on the characteristics of the transportation requestor, the characteristics of the autonomous vehicle, and the characteristics of the one or more road segments of the geographic area.
In some examples, the characteristics of the transportation requestor may include at least one of an acceptance of terms of service associated with the transportation requestor, a distance of the transportation requestor to a pickup location associated with the transportation service request, and a distance of a drop-off location to a destination associated with the transportation service request. In some examples, the transportation requestor may be provided transportation services in response to the pickup location being different than a location of the transportation requestor or the drop-off location being different from a destination of the transportation requestor.
In some examples, the method may further include determining one or more characteristics of a second autonomous vehicle and determining a second geographic zone for the second autonomous vehicle within the geographic area may be based at least on the characteristics of the second autonomous vehicle and the characteristics of the one or more road segments of the geographic area.
In some examples, the one or more characteristics of the autonomous vehicle may be based at least on capabilities of the autonomous vehicle associated with providing the transportation services within the at least one geographic zone.
In some examples, the capabilities of the autonomous vehicle may include at least one of a capability of driving on road segments, a capability to pickup transportation requestors at pickup locations, a capability to drop off transportation requestors at drop-off locations, and a capability to perform certain driving maneuvers.
In some examples, the method may further include comparing the one or more characteristics of the autonomous vehicle with the characteristics of the one or more road segments of the geographic area. In some examples, determining the at least one geographic zone within the geographic area may be further based on the comparison of the one or more characteristics of the autonomous vehicle with the characteristics of the one or more road segments of the geographic area.
In some examples, determining the at least one geographic zone may be based on at least one of one or more road segments where the autonomous vehicle is trained to operate in the at least one geographic zone, identifying a pick-up location compatible with the characteristics of the autonomous vehicle, and identifying a drop-off location compatible with the characteristics of the autonomous vehicle.
In some examples, matching the request with the autonomous vehicle within the at least one geographic zone may be further based on characteristics of the request and the characteristics of the request may include at least one of a value associated with the request, a pickup location of the request, a drop-off location of the request, a number of passengers associated with the request, and a time of day associated with the request.
In some examples, the characteristics of the autonomous vehicle may include at least one of a training level of the autonomous vehicle associated with the geographic zone and a training level of a monitoring operator associated with the autonomous vehicle.
In some examples, the characteristics of the autonomous vehicle may include at least one of a capability level of the autonomous vehicle to perform driving maneuvers, a capability level of the autonomous vehicle to traverse routes within the geographic zone, an authorization level of the autonomous vehicle to traverse routes within the geographic zone, and a level of access to capability data associated with the autonomous vehicle.
In some examples, the characteristics of the one or more road segments of the geographic area may include at least one of a route of travel within the geographic area, a weather condition within the geographic area, a density of vehicle traffic within the geographic area, a density of pedestrian traffic within the geographic area, and a condition of traffic control devices within the geographic area.
In some examples, the method may further include normalizing data formats of characteristics of two or more different autonomous vehicles. In some examples, matching the transportation service request with the autonomous vehicle within the geographic zone may be based at least on the normalized data formats of the characteristics of the two or more different autonomous vehicles.
In one example, a system may include one or more physical processors and one or more memories coupled to one or more of the physical processors, the one or more memories comprising instructions operable when executed by the one or more physical processors to cause the system to perform operations including determining one or more characteristics of an autonomous vehicle, determining one or more characteristics of one or more road segments of a geographic area, determining at least one geographic zone for the autonomous vehicle within the geographic area based at least on the characteristics of the autonomous vehicle and the characteristics of the one or more road segments of the geographic area, and matching a request with the autonomous vehicle within the at least one geographic zone based at least in part on a request location and a destination location of the request being associated with the at least one geographic zone.
In some examples, the operations may further include determining characteristics of a transportation requestor. In some examples, matching the request with the autonomous vehicle within the at least one geographic zone may be based at least on the characteristics of the transportation requestor, the characteristics of the autonomous vehicle, and the characteristics of the one or more road segments of the geographic area.
In some examples, the characteristics of the transportation requestor may include at least one of an acceptance of terms of service associated with the transportation requestor, a distance of the transportation requestor to a pickup location associated with the transportation service request, and a distance of a drop-off location to a destination associated with the transportation service request. In some examples, the transportation requestor may be provided transportation services when the pickup location is different than a location of the transportation requestor or the drop-off location is different from a destination of the transportation requestor
In some examples, the one or more characteristics of the autonomous vehicle may be based at least on capabilities of the autonomous vehicle associated with providing the transportation services within the at least one geographic zone and the capabilities of the autonomous vehicle may include a capability of driving on road segments, a capability to pickup transportation requestors at pickup locations, and a capability to drop off transportation requestors at drop-off locations.
In some examples, the operations may further include comparing the one or more characteristics of the autonomous vehicle with the characteristics of the one or more road segments of the geographic area. In some examples, determining the at least one geographic zone within the geographic area is further based on the comparison of the one or more characteristics of the autonomous vehicle with the characteristics of the one or more road segments of the geographic area.
In some examples, determining the at least one geographic zone may be based on at least one of determining whether the autonomous vehicle is trained for travel in the at least one geographic zone, identifying a pick-up location compatible with the characteristics of the autonomous vehicle, and identifying a drop-off location compatible with the characteristics of the autonomous vehicle.
In one example, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may include computer-readable instructions that, when executed by at least one processor of a computing device, cause the computing device to determine one or more characteristics of an autonomous vehicle, determine one or more characteristics of one or more road segments of a geographic area, determine at least one geographic zone for the autonomous vehicle within the geographic area based at least on the characteristics of the autonomous vehicle and the characteristics of the one or more road segments of the at least one geographic area, and match a request with the autonomous vehicle within the at least one geographic zone based at least in part on a request location and a destination location of the request being associated with the at least one geographic zone.
Embodiments of the instant disclosure may include or be implemented in conjunction with a transportation management system. A transportation management system may arrange rides on an on-demand and/or ad-hoc basis by, e.g., matching one or more ride requestors with one or more ride providers. For example, a transportation management system may provide one or more transportation matching services for a ridesharing service, a ridesourcing service, a taxicab service, a car-booking service, an autonomous vehicle service, or some combination and/or derivative thereof. The transportation management system may include and/or interface with any of a variety of subsystems that may implement, support, and/or improve a transportation matching service. For example, the transportation management system may include a matching system (e.g., that matches requestors to ride opportunities and/or that arranges for requestors and/or providers to meet), a mapping system, a navigation system (e.g., to help a provider reach a requestor, to help a requestor reach a provider, and/or to help a provider reach a destination), a reputation system (e.g., to rate and/or gauge the trustworthiness of a requestor and/or a provider), a payment system, and/or an autonomous or semi-autonomous driving system. The transportation management system may be implemented on various platforms, including a requestor-owned mobile device, a computing system installed in a vehicle, a requestor-owned mobile device, a server computer system, or any other hardware platform capable of providing transportation matching services to one or more requestors and/or providers.
In some embodiments, identity management services 1204 may be configured to perform authorization services for requestors and providers and/or manage their interactions and/or data with transportation management system 1202. This may include, e.g., authenticating the identity of providers and determining that they are authorized to provide services through transportation management system 1202. Similarly, requestors' identities may be authenticated to determine whether they are authorized to receive the requested services through transportation management system 1202. Identity management services 1204 may also manage and/or control access to provider and/or requestor data maintained by transportation management system 1202, such as driving and/or ride histories, vehicle data, personal data, preferences, usage patterns as a ride provider and/or as a ride requestor, profile pictures, linked third-party accounts (e.g., credentials for music and/or entertainment services, social-networking systems, calendar systems, task-management systems, etc.) and any other associated information. Transportation management system 1202 may also manage and/or control access to provider and/or requestor data stored with and/or obtained from third-party systems. For example, a requester or provider may grant access to a third-party email, calendar, or task management system (e.g., via the user's credentials). As another example, a requestor or provider may grant, through a mobile device (e.g., 1216, 1220, 1222, or 1224), a transportation application associated with transportation management system 1202 access to data provided by other applications installed on the mobile device. In some examples, such data may be processed on the client and/or uploaded to transportation management system 1202 for processing.
In some embodiments, transportation management system 1202 may provide ride services 1208, which may include ride matching and/or management services to connect a requestor to a provider. For example, after identity management services module 1204 has authenticated the identity a ride requestor, ride services module 1208 may attempt to match the requestor with one or more ride providers. In some embodiments, ride services module 1208 may identify an appropriate provider using location data obtained from location services module 1206. Ride services module 1208 may use the location data to identify providers who are geographically close to the requestor (e.g., within a certain threshold distance or travel time) and/or who are otherwise a good match with the requestor. Ride services module 1208 may implement matching algorithms that score providers based on, e.g., preferences of providers and requestors; vehicle features, amenities, condition, and/or status; providers' preferred general travel direction and/or route, range of travel, and/or availability; requestors' origination and destination locations, time constraints, and/or vehicle feature needs; and any other pertinent information for matching requestors with providers. In some embodiments, ride services module 1208 may use rule-based algorithms and/or machine-learning models for matching requestors and providers.
Transportation management system 1202 may communicatively connect to various devices through networks 1210 and/or 1212. Networks 1210 and 1212 may include any combination of interconnected networks configured to send and/or receive data communications using various communication protocols and transmission technologies. In some embodiments, networks 1210 and/or 1212 may include local region networks (LANs), wide-region networks (WANs), and/or the Internet, and may support communication protocols such as transmission control protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP), Internet packet exchange (IPX), systems network architecture (SNA), and/or any other suitable network protocols. In some embodiments, data may be transmitted through networks 1210 and/or 1212 using a mobile network (such as a mobile telephone network, cellular network, satellite network, or other mobile network), a public switched telephone network (PSTN), wired communication protocols (e.g., Universal Serial Bus (USB), Controller Region Network (CAN)), and/or wireless communication protocols (e.g., wireless LAN (WLAN) technologies implementing the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy, Near Field Communication (NFC), Z-Wave, and ZigBee). In various embodiments, networks 1210 and/or 1212 may include any combination of networks described herein or any other type of network capable of facilitating communication across networks 1210 and/or 1212.
In some embodiments, transportation management vehicle device 1218 may include a provider communication device configured to communicate with users, such as drivers, passengers, pedestrians, and/or other users. In some embodiments, transportation management vehicle device 1218 may communicate directly with transportation management system 1202 or through another provider computing device, such as provider computing device 1216. In some embodiments, a requestor computing device (e.g., device 1224) may communicate via a connection 1226 directly with transportation management vehicle device 1218 via a communication channel and/or connection, such as a peer-to-peer connection, Bluetooth connection, NFC connection, ad hoc wireless network, and/or any other communication channel or connection. Although
In some embodiments, devices within a vehicle may be interconnected. For example, any combination of the following may be communicatively connected: vehicle 1214, provider computing device 1216, provider tablet 1220, transportation management vehicle device 1218, requestor computing device 1224, requestor tablet 1222, and any other device (e.g., smart watch, smart tags, etc.). For example, transportation management vehicle device 1218 may be communicatively connected to provider computing device 1216 and/or requestor computing device 1224. Transportation management vehicle device 1218 may establish communicative connections, such as connections 1226 and 1228, to those devices via any suitable communication technology, including, e.g., WLAN technologies implementing the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy, NFC, Z-Wave, ZigBee, and any other suitable short-range wireless communication technology.
In some embodiments, users may utilize and interface with one or more services provided by the transportation management system 1202 using applications executing on their respective computing devices (e.g., 1216, 1218, 1220, and/or a computing device integrated within vehicle 1214), which may include mobile devices (e.g., an iPhone®, an iPad®, mobile telephone, tablet computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA)), laptops, wearable devices (e.g., smart watch, smart glasses, head mounted displays, etc.), thin client devices, gaming consoles, and any other computing devices. In some embodiments, vehicle 1214 may include a vehicle-integrated computing device, such as a vehicle navigation system, or other computing device integrated with the vehicle itself, such as the management system of an autonomous vehicle. The computing device may run on any suitable operating systems, such as Android®, iOS®, macOS®, Windows®, Linux®, UNIX®, or UNIX®-based or Linux®-based operating systems, or other operating systems. The computing device may further be configured to send and receive data over the Internet, short message service (SMS), email, and various other messaging applications and/or communication protocols. In some embodiments, one or more software applications may be installed on the computing device of a provider or requestor, including an application associated with transportation management system 1202. The transportation application may, for example, be distributed by an entity associated with the transportation management system via any distribution channel, such as an online source from which applications may be downloaded. Additional third-party applications unassociated with the transportation management system may also be installed on the computing device. In some embodiments, the transportation application may communicate or share data and resources with one or more of the installed third-party applications.
As shown in
As shown in
While various embodiments of the present disclosure are described in terms of a ridesharing service in which the ride providers are human drivers operating their own vehicles, in other embodiments, the techniques described herein may also be used in environments in which ride requests are fulfilled using autonomous vehicles. For example, a transportation management system of a ridesharing service may facilitate the fulfillment of ride requests using both human drivers and autonomous vehicles.
As detailed above, the computing devices and systems described and/or illustrated herein broadly represent any type or form of computing device or system capable of executing computer-readable instructions, such as those contained within the modules described herein. In their most basic configuration, these computing device(s) may each include at least one memory device and at least one physical processor.
In some examples, the term “memory device” generally refers to any type or form of volatile or non-volatile storage device or medium capable of storing data and/or computer-readable instructions. In one example, a memory device may store, load, and/or maintain one or more of the modules described herein. Examples of memory devices include, without limitation, Random Access Memory (RAM), Read Only Memory (ROM), flash memory, Hard Disk Drives (HDDs), Solid-State Drives (SSDs), optical disk drives, caches, variations or combinations of one or more of the same, or any other suitable storage memory.
In some examples, the term “physical processor” generally refers to any type or form of hardware-implemented processing unit capable of interpreting and/or executing computer-readable instructions. In one example, a physical processor may access and/or modify one or more modules stored in the above-described memory device. Examples of physical processors include, without limitation, microprocessors, microcontrollers, Central Processing Units (CPUs), Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) that implement softcore processors, Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), portions of one or more of the same, variations or combinations of one or more of the same, or any other suitable physical processor.
Although illustrated as separate elements, the modules described and/or illustrated herein may represent portions of a single module or application. In addition, in certain embodiments one or more of these modules may represent one or more software applications or programs that, when executed by a computing device, may cause the computing device to perform one or more tasks. For example, one or more of the modules described and/or illustrated herein may represent modules stored and configured to run on one or more of the computing devices or systems described and/or illustrated herein. One or more of these modules may also represent all or portions of one or more special-purpose computers configured to perform one or more tasks.
In addition, one or more of the modules described herein may transform data, physical devices, and/or representations of physical devices from one form to another. Additionally or alternatively, one or more of the modules recited herein may transform a processor, volatile memory, non-volatile memory, and/or any other portion of a physical computing device from one form to another by executing on the computing device, storing data on the computing device, and/or otherwise interacting with the computing device.
In some embodiments, the term “computer-readable medium” generally refers to any form of device, carrier, or medium capable of storing or carrying computer-readable instructions. Examples of computer-readable media include, without limitation, transmission-type media, such as carrier waves, and non-transitory-type media, such as magnetic-storage media (e.g., hard disk drives, tape drives, and floppy disks), optical-storage media (e.g., Compact Disks (CDs), Digital Video Disks (DVDs), and BLU-RAY disks), electronic-storage media (e.g., solid-state drives and flash media), and other distribution systems.
The process parameters and sequence of the steps described and/or illustrated herein are given by way of example only and can be varied as desired. For example, while the steps illustrated and/or described herein may be shown or discussed in a particular order, these steps do not necessarily need to be performed in the order illustrated or discussed. The various exemplary methods described and/or illustrated herein may also omit one or more of the steps described or illustrated herein or include additional steps in addition to those disclosed.
The preceding description has been provided to enable others skilled in the art to best utilize various aspects of the exemplary embodiments disclosed herein. This exemplary description is not intended to be exhaustive or to be limited to any precise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the instant disclosure. The embodiments disclosed herein should be considered in all respects illustrative and not restrictive. Reference should be made to the appended claims and their equivalents in determining the scope of the instant disclosure.
Unless otherwise noted, the terms “connected to” and “coupled to” (and their derivatives), as used in the specification and claims, are to be construed as permitting both direct and indirect (i.e., via other elements or components) connection. In addition, the terms “a” or “an,” as used in the specification and claims, are to be construed as meaning “at least one of.” Finally, for ease of use, the terms “including” and “having” (and their derivatives), as used in the specification and claims, are interchangeable with and have the same meaning as the word “comprising.”
