Controlling a vehicle based on detected movement of an object

Abstract

AH25(27899532_1):MSD 1 / 6 to 20 21 21 21 20 0 6 A ug 2 02 12021212120 06 Aug 2021 100 VEHICLE 102 CONTROLLER 112 PROCESSOR CIRCUIT OPTICAL SENSOR 114 104 SENSOR DATA 126 PROCESSOR 118 124 BRAKE SENSOR 106 128 108 MEMORY 121 116 122 LIGHTING INSTRUCTION SET ELEMENT TRANSCEIVER 134 130 110 120 DATA PROCESSING MODULE AILERON 136 138 132

Description

based on the movement of the object, identifying a pattern; and based on the pattern, determining a vehicle command to be performed by the vehicle.

[0068] Clause 18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of clause 17, wherein the movement of the object comprises a gesture by a human, wherein determining the movement of the object further comprises identifying the gesture, and wherein the operations further comprise determining whether the human is authorized to provide the vehicle command.

[0069] Clause 19. A system for enhancing operational efficiency of a vehicle comprising: a processor circuit; and a memory comprising machine-readable instructions that, when executed by the processor circuit, cause the processor circuit to perform operations comprising: identifying, by the processor circuit, at least one gesture performed by a human based on an arm movement of the human; determining, by the processor circuit, a vehicle command to be performed by the vehicle based on the at least one gesture; determining, by the processor circuit, whether the human is authorized to provide the vehicle command; and in response to determining that the human is authorized, executing the vehicle command.

[0070] Clause 20. The system of clause 19, further comprising: a vehicle comprising the processor circuit and the memory, the vehicle further comprising: a forward-facing optical sensor configured to detect the arm movement of the human in a field of view of the optical sensor, wherein the human is external to the vehicle. 2021212120 06 Aug 2021

[0071] As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the subject disclosure can be illustrated and described herein in any of a number of patentable classes or context including any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof. Accordingly, aspects of the subject disclosure can may be implemented entirely hardware, entirely software (including firmware, resident software, microcode, etc.) or combining software and hardware implementation that can all generally be referred to herein as a "circuit," "module," "component," or "system." Furthermore, aspects of the subject disclosure can take the form of a computer program product embodied in one or more computer readable media having computer readable program code embodied thereon.

[0072] Any combination of one or more computer readable media may be utilized. The computer readable media can be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readable storage medium can be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readable storage medium would include the following: a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (e.g., erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM) or Flash memory), an appropriate optical fiber with a repeater, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. In the context of this document, a computer readable storage medium can be any tangible medium that can contain or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

[0073] A computer readable signal medium can include a propagated data signal with computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, in baseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal can take any of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to, electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. A computer readable signal medium can be any computer readable medium that is not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate, propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. Program code embodied on a computer readable signal medium can be transmitted using any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless, wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination of the foregoing. 2021212120 06 Aug 2021

[0074] Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of the subject disclosure can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented programming language such as Java, Scala, Smalltalk, Eiffel, JADE, Emerald, C++, C#, VB.NET, Python or the like, conventional procedural programming languages, such as the "C" programming language, Visual Basic, Fortran 2003, Perl, COBOL 2002, PHP Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP), Advanced Business Application Programming (ABAP), dynamic programming languages such as Python, Ruby and Groovy, or other programming languages. The program code can execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer can be connected to the user's computer through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider) or in a cloud computing environment or offered as a service such as a Software as a Service (SaaS).

[0075] Aspects of the subject disclosure are described herein with reference to flowchart illustrations or block diagrams of methods, apparatuses (systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of the disclosure. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations or block diagrams, can be implemented by machine-readable instructions, e.g., computer program instructions. These machine-readable instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable instruction execution apparatus, create a mechanism for implementing the functions or acts specified in the flowchart or block diagram block or blocks.

[0076] These machine-readable instructions can also be stored in a transitory or non-transitory computer readable medium that when executed can direct a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions when stored in the computer readable medium produce an article of manufacture including instructions which when executed, cause a computer to implement the function or act specified in the flowchart or block diagram block or blocks. The machine-readable instructions can also be loaded onto a computer, other programmable instruction execution apparatus, or 2021212120 06 Aug 2021 other devices to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, other programmable apparatuses or other devices to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide processes for implementing the functions or acts specified in the flowchart or block diagram block or blocks. The flowchart and block diagrams in the figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods, and computer program products according to various aspects of the subject disclosure. In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams can represent a module, segment, or portion of code, which includes one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be noted that, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession can, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks can sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.

[0077] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular aspects only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms "includes," "including," "contains," "containing," "comprises" and "comprising," and the like, when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, steps, operations, elements, or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations, elements, components, or groups thereof. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items and can be designated as Like reference numbers signify like elements throughout the description of the figures.

[0078] Many different embodiments have been disclosed herein, in connection with the above description and the drawings. It will be understood that it would be unduly repetitious and obfuscating to literally describe and illustrate every combination and subcombination of these embodiments. Accordingly, all embodiments can be combined in any way or combination, and the present specification, including the drawings, shall be construed to constitute a complete 2021212120 06 Aug 2021 written description of all combinations and subcombinations of the embodiments described herein, and of the manner and process of making and using them, and shall support claims to any such combination or subcombination.

Claims

1. A method of enhancing operational efficiency of a vehicle, the method comprising: detecting, by an optical sensor, a movement of at least one object in a field of view of the optical sensor;identifying, by a processor circuit of the vehicle, a pattern based on the movement of the at least one object;determining, by the processor circuit based on the pattern, a vehicle command to be performed by the vehicle;receiving, by a receiver or transceiver, a signal from a transmitter associated with the at least one object, wherein the signal is indicative of the previously determined vehicle command and is received from a baton used to perform the movement; andverifying, by the processor circuit, the vehicle command at least partially based on the signal.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the optical sensor comprises a forward-facing optical sensor, andwherein the field of view is directed towards a direction of the vehicle’s motion.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the movement of the at least one object comprises a gesture performed by a body part of a human.

4. The method of any one of claims 1-3, wherein the vehicle comprises an aircraft, and wherein the vehicle command comprises a taxiing command that causes the aircraft to perform a taxiing operation.

5. The method of any one of claims 1-4, wherein the at least one object comprises an equipment being held by a human.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the equipment comprises an illuminated lighting element being held by the human.

7. The method of any one of claims 1-6, wherein determining the vehicle command further comprises correlating the pattern with a relevant command of a stored command inventory.2021212120   29 Sep 20268. The method of any one of claims 1-7, further comprising determining, by the processor circuit, whether the movement of the at least one object is associated with an authorization to provide the vehicle command.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the determining whether the movement of the at least one object is associated with the authorization further comprises determining whether a human associated with the movement of the at least one object is authorized to provide the vehicle command.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the determining whether the movement of the at least one object is associated with the authorization further comprises identifying, by the processor circuit, a uniform element being worn by the human that is indicative of the authorization to provide the vehicle command, wherein determining whether the human is authorized is at least partially based on the uniform element.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the determining whether the movement of the at least one object is associated with the authorization further comprises identifying, by the processor circuit, a fiducial being held by the human that is indicative of the authorization to provide the vehicle command, wherein determining whether the human is authorized is at least partially based on the fiducial.

12. The method of any one of claims 8-11, further comprising receiving, by a receiver, a signal from a transmitter associated with the at least one object,wherein determining whether the movement of the at least one object is associated with the authorization is at least partially based on the signal.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the baton is held by a human.

14. The method of any one of claims 1-13, further comprising causing, by the processor circuit, a component of the vehicle to execute the vehicle command.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising selectively illuminating a lighting element of the vehicle to provide a visual indication of at least one of a detection of the object, a detection of the movement, a determination of the vehicle command, or an execution of the vehicle command.

16. The method of claim 14 or 15, further comprising selectively moving a movable element of the vehicle to provide a visual indication of at least one of a detection of the object, a detection2021212120   29 Sep 2026of the movement, a determination of the vehicle command, or the execution of the vehicle command.

17. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium for enhancing operational efficiency of a vehicle comprising executable instructions that, in response to execution, cause a system of a vehicle that comprises a processor circuit to perform operations comprising:receiving sensor data from at least one optical sensor of a vehicle;based on an analysis of the sensor data, determining a movement of an object in a field of view of the at least one optical sensor;based on the movement of the object, identifying a pattern;based on the pattern, determining a vehicle command to be performed by the vehicle; receiving, by a receiver or transceiver, a signal from a transmitter associated with the object, wherein the signal is indicative of the previously determined vehicle command and is received from a baton used to perform the movement; andverifying, by the processor circuit of the vehicle, the vehicle command at least partially based on the signal.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the movement of the object comprises a gesture by a human,wherein determining the movement of the object further comprises identifying the gesture, andwherein the operations further comprise determining whether the human is authorized to provide the vehicle command.

19. A system for enhancing operational efficiency of a vehicle comprising:a processor circuit; anda memory comprising machine-readable instructions that, when executed by the processor circuit, cause the processor circuit to perform operations comprising:identifying, by the processor circuit of a vehicle, at least one pattern based on a movement of at least one object;determining, by the processor circuit, a vehicle command to be performed by the vehicle based on the at least one pattern;receiving, by a receiver or transceiver, a signal from a transmitter associated with the at least one object, wherein the signal is indicative of the previously determinedvehicle command and is received from a baton used to perform the movement; and2021212120   29 Sep 2026verifying, by the processor circuit, the vehicle command at least partially based on the signal.

20. The system of claim 19, further comprising:a vehicle comprising the processor circuit and the memory, the vehicle further comprising:a forward-facing optical sensor configured to detect the movement of the baton in a field of view of the forward-facing optical sensor, wherein the baton is external to the vehicle.Aurora Flight Sciences CorporationPatent Attorneys for the Applicant / Nominated PersonSPRUSON & FERGUSON

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