Method and apparatus for requesting a transportation vehicle from a mobile device

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to methods and apparatus for requesting a transportation vehicle from a mobile device. Techniques are provided that can be implemented in a mobile device to request a transportation vehicle using various methods and / or apparatus. Techniques are provided that can be implemented in a transportation vehicle to respond to requests from a mobile device using various methods and / or apparatus. Various embodiments include customer and transportation authentication and security techniques. Various embodiments include location update techniques to enable a transportation vehicle to navigate to a mobile device even in areas where location accuracy is low for traditional GNSS and ground-based transceiver-based systems.

Description

[0001] This application is a continuation of Patent Application No. 15 / 825,420 entitled "METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR REQUESTING A TRANSPORT VEHICLE FROM A MOBILE DEVICE" filed November 29, 2017, which is assigned to the assignee hereof and hereby expressly incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

[0002] This Patent Application claims the benefit of and priority to Application No. 15 / 825,420 entitled "METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR REQUESTING A TRANSPORT VEHICLE FROM A MOBILE DEVICE" filed November 29, 2017, which is assigned to the assignee hereof and hereby expressly incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. BACKGROUND

[0003] Field

[0004] The subject matter disclosed herein relates to electronic devices, and more particularly, to methods and apparatus for use in or with a mobile device to facilitate a request for a transport vehicle and secure entry into a transport vehicle using a mobile phone.

[0005] Information

[0006] Autonomous vehicles enable automation of the transportation industry. However, car navigation has traditionally provided street level lane level accuracy. There is a need to address the problem of navigating a transport vehicle to a potential passenger, detecting the correct potential passenger in a crowd, and securely enabling the potential passenger to enter the transport vehicle to enable a driverless transport vehicle and improve safety and convenience of a transport vehicle with a driver.

[0007] SUMMARY

[0008] Some example techniques are presented herein that can be implemented in various methods and apparatus in a mobile device to request and securely enter a transport vehicle. In various embodiments, a mobile device can be used to request a transport vehicle. In various embodiments, the transport vehicle can be driverless. In various embodiments, control, navigation, positioning, and secure entry of a potential passenger into the transport vehicle can be automated.

[0009] According to an example implementation, a method can be provided that includes determining, by a mobile device, a location of the mobile device; sending, to a dispatch server, the location of the mobile device and a pickup request; receiving, from the dispatch server, a first transit identifier and a response code; receiving, from a transit vehicle, a second transit identifier; determining that the first transit identifier and the second transit identifier correspond; and sending, to the transit vehicle, the response code in response to determining that the first transit identifier and the second transit identifier correspond. It can be appreciated that corresponding can include a match between the first transit identifier and the second transit identifier, or some relationship contained between the first transit identifier and the second transit identifier, such as the second transit identifier being a derivative of the first transit identifier, or the second transit identifier being an encoded form of the first transit identifier, or the second transit identifier being based on the first transit identifier, or vice versa.

[0010] According to another example implementation, equipment for a mobile device can be provided that includes means for determining, by the mobile device, a location of the mobile device; means for sending, to a dispatch server, the location of the mobile device and a pickup request; means for receiving, from the dispatch server, a first transit identifier and a response code; means for receiving, from a transit vehicle, a second transit identifier; means for determining that the first transit identifier and the second transit identifier correspond; and means for sending, to the transit vehicle, the response code.

[0011] According to yet another example implementation, a mobile device can be provided that includes one or more processing units; a first wireless transceiver coupled to the one or more processing units; and a second wireless transceiver coupled to the one or more processing units; wherein the one or more processing units are configured to: determine a location of the mobile device; send, using the first wireless transceiver, the location of the mobile device and a pickup request to a dispatch server; receive, using the first wireless transceiver, a first transit identifier and a response code from the dispatch server; receive, using the second wireless transceiver, a second transit identifier from a transit vehicle; determine that the transit identifier from the dispatch server and the transit identifier from the transit vehicle correspond; and send, using the second wireless transceiver, the response code to the transit vehicle.

[0012] According to an example implementation, a method can be provided that includes receiving, from a dispatch server, a pickup request, a location of a mobile device, and a response code; navigating to the location of the mobile device or to a proximate location thereof; sending, to the mobile device, a transit identifier code; receiving, from the mobile device, the response code; and opening an access to a transit vehicle.

[0013] According to another example implementation, an apparatus for use in a mobile device can be provided. The apparatus can include means for receiving a pickup request, a location of the mobile device, and a response code from a dispatch server; means for navigating to the location of the mobile device or to a proximate location thereof; means for sending a transport identifier code to the mobile device; means for receiving the response code from the mobile device; and means for opening an access to a door of a transport vehicle.

[0014] According to yet another example implementation, a mobile device can be provided that includes one or more processing units; a first wireless transceiver coupled to the one or more processing units; and a second wireless transceiver coupled to the one or more processing units; wherein the one or more processing units are configured to receive a pickup request, a location of the mobile device, and a response code from a dispatch server using the first wireless transceiver; navigate to the location of the mobile device or to a proximate location thereof using a navigation system; send a transport identifier code to the mobile device using the second wireless transceiver; receive the response code from the mobile device using the second wireless transceiver; and open an access to a door of a transport vehicle using a security system on the transport vehicle. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0015] Non-limiting and non-exhaustive aspects are described with reference to the following figures, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout the figures.

[0016] Figure 1 is a system diagram including a mobile device with wireless capability, a transport vehicle with wireless capability, and a network-based server.

[0017] Figure 2 is an example mobile device capable of sending and receiving wireless signals and determining a location of the mobile device.

[0018] Figure 3 is an example network-based server, such as can be used for a dispatch server, a location server, a routing and / or navigation server, or other network-based server.

[0019] Figure 4 is an example transport vehicle capable of sending and receiving wireless signals, navigating to a mobile device, and providing controlled access.

[0020] Figure 5 A photo of a passenger or potential passenger on a transport vehicle is illustrated.

[0021] Figure 6 An embodiment for requesting a transport vehicle on a mobile device is illustrated.

[0022] Figure 7Embodiments for responding to mobile device pick-up requests on a transportation vehicle are illustrated. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] Some example techniques are presented herein that can be implemented in various methods, apparatuses, and equipment in mobile devices and crowdsourcing and information delivery systems. The example techniques presented herein relate to various methods and apparatuses in mobile devices to provide or otherwise support requests for transportation vehicles from mobile devices prior to entering a transportation vehicle and mobile device and / or customer authentication. The example techniques described herein can generally apply to requests for and utilization of autonomous vehicles from mobile devices. Example techniques and embodiments are provided for requesting transportation vehicles and for locating, identifying, and / or authenticating potential passengers.

[0024] In the case of autonomous transportation vehicles or computer-aided but human-driven transportation vehicles, navigation, radio, and camera and / or vision capabilities can be used to enhance the ability to navigate the remaining distance between an address or latitude and longitude based location and the actual location of a potential passenger. For example, an address can include a large area such as a city block, a street intersection, or multiple buildings. Moreover, in dense urban settings or in areas with signal obstructions such as skyscrapers or obstacle-like terrain (tunnels, canyons, hills, etc.), GNSS positioning accuracy can be significantly degraded. Thus, in these scenarios, the location provided by an application on a mobile phone using GNSS-based positioning can contain significant errors due to signal blockage by skyscrapers and high-rise buildings and signal multipath. Ground-based positioning using signals from WAN, WLAN, and PAN transceivers such as WAN-based positioning and Wi-Fi-based positioning can also contain significant errors such as those caused by inaccurate transceiver positioning or by multipath (which affects timing and delay-based ranging techniques) and building penetration loss (which affects signal strength-based ranging techniques).

[0025] If there is only one potential passenger, especially if the positioning error is relatively small, the matching between the transportation vehicle and the potential passenger is a simple match. However, if there are multiple potential passengers or if the error is large, it can be difficult to determine which potential passenger requested the transportation. Moreover, it is difficult to prevent other potential customers from riding in a taxi requested by another party. Likewise, it is a challenge to determine whether a customer is trustworthy and poses no harm to other passengers or drivers. These problems become more severe as autonomous cars develop because there can be no human involved in the communication with and locating of the requesting potential passenger.

[0026] Figure 1Systems and devices for implementing the various methods and techniques described in this document are explained. As Figure 2 As shown, in one embodiment, a mobile device 100 (which can also be referred to as a UE (or User Equipment)) can transmit radio signals to and receive radio signals from a wireless communication network. In one example, the mobile device 100 can communicate with a cellular communication network via a wide area network (WAN) wireless transceiver 120 and wireless antenna 232 by transmitting wireless signals to or receiving wireless signals from the WAN wireless transceiver 120 over a wireless communication link 122, which can include a wireless base transceiver subsystem (BTS), a Node B, or an evolved Node B (eNodeB) or a next generation Node B (gNodeB). Similarly, the mobile device 100 can transmit wireless signals to or receive wireless signals from a local transceiver 130 over a wireless communication link 132, for example, by using a wireless local area network (WLAN) and / or personal area network (PAN) wireless transceiver 240 and antenna 245. In one embodiment, the local transceiver 130 can be a WLAN access point, a Bluetooth transceiver, a ZigBee transceiver, or other WLAN or PAN transceiver. In one embodiment, the mobile device 100 can transmit wireless signals to or receive wireless signals from a wireless transceiver 183 on a transportation vehicle 180 over a wireless communication link 185. In one embodiment, the communication link 185 can be a WAN, WLAN, or PAN communication link, for example, utilizing the WLAN and / or PAN wireless transceiver 240 or WAN wireless transceiver 230 in the mobile device 100 and similarly utilizing the WLAN and / or PAN wireless transceiver 440 or WAN wireless transceiver 430 in the transportation vehicle 400, as illustrated by the wireless transceiver 183 in Figure 1 The local transceiver 130, WAN wireless transceiver 120, and / or mobile wireless transceiver 183 can include an access point (AP), femtocell, home base station, small cell base station, home Node B (HNB), home eNodeB (HeNB), or next generation Node B (gNodeB), and can provide access to a wireless local area network (WLAN, e.g., an IEEE 802.11 network), a wireless personal area network (PAN, e.g., a Bluetooth network), a wide area network (WAN), or a cellular network, as illustrated in access to a cellular network (e.g., an LTE network or other wireless wide area network such as those discussed in the next paragraph). Of course, it should be understood that these are merely examples of networks that can communicate with a mobile device over a wireless link, and claimed subject matter is not limited in this respect. It should also be understood that the wireless transceiver 183 can be located on a variety of transportation vehicles 180, ships, ferries, cars, buses, drones, and various transportation vehicles. In an embodiment, the transportation vehicle 180 can be used for passenger transportation; in another embodiment, the transportation vehicle 180 can be used for package transportation (e.g., via car or via drone). In an embodiment, GNSS signals 112 from GNSS satellites 110 are used for position determination by the mobile device 100 and / or by the transportation vehicle 180. In an embodiment, signals 122 from WAN transceivers 120 and signals 132 from WLAN and / or PAN local transceivers 130 are used for position determination, either individually or in combination with GNSS signals 112. In an embodiment, a potential passenger 190 has a mobile device 100' (an embodiment of the mobile device 100) that can be used to request the transportation vehicle 180. In an embodiment, the transportation vehicle 180 can have external camera(s) 181 that can be used for navigation and / or for identifying the potential passenger 190. In an embodiment, the external camera 181 can be used with a navigation system 450 on the transportation vehicle 180 (see Figure 4 ). In an embodiment, internal camera(s) 182 can be used to authenticate or otherwise identify the potential passenger 190, e.g., for participating in access control 184 (e.g., by using a security system 420) to allow entry into the transportation vehicle 180. In an embodiment, the wireless transceiver 183 can be multiple transceivers; for example, including a WAN transceiver and / or a WLAN transceiver for communicating with the location server 160, the route and / or navigation server 150, and / or the dispatch server 140 via the network 170.

[0027] Examples of network technologies that can support wireless transceiver 230 and WAN wireless transceiver 120 are Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Fifth Generation Wireless (5G) or New Radio Access Technology (NR), High Rate Packet Data (HRPD). GSM, WCDMA, and LTE are technologies defined by 3GPP. CDMA and HRPD are technologies defined by Third Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2). WCDMA is also part of Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS) and can be supported by HNBs. WAN wireless transceiver 120 can include a deployment of equipment that provides subscribers with access to a wireless telecommunications network for services (e.g., according to a service contract). Here, WAN wireless transceiver 120 can perform the functions of a Wide Area Network (WAN) or cell site base station when providing service to subscriber devices within a cell determined based at least in part on a range over which WAN wireless transceiver 120 is capable of providing access service. Examples of WAN base stations include GSM TM , WCDMA TM , LTE TM , CDMA M , HRPD TM , WiFi TM , BT, WiMax TM , and / or Fifth Generation (5G) base stations. In an embodiment, further wireless transceiver 230 can include a Wireless LAN (WLAN) and / or PAN transceiver. In an embodiment, mobile device 100 can include multiple wireless transceivers, including WAN, WLAN, and / or PAN transceivers. In an embodiment, the radio technologies that can support one or more wireless communication links (wireless transceiver 240) further include Wireless Local Area Networks (e.g., WLAN, e.g., IEEE 802.11), Bluetooth TM (BT), and / or ZigBee™.

[0028] In an embodiment, the mobile device 100, using the wireless transceiver 230, can communicate with the servers 140, 150, and / or 160 over the network 170 through the communication interface 308. Here, the network 170 can include any combination of wired or wireless connections and can include the WAN wireless transceiver 120 and / or the local transceiver 130 and / or the servers 140, 150, and / or 160. In an embodiment, the network 170 can include an Internet Protocol (IP) or other infrastructure capable of facilitating communication between the mobile device 100 and the servers 140, 150, and / or 160 through the local transceiver 130 or the WAN wireless transceiver 120. In an embodiment, the network 170 can include cellular communication network infrastructure, such as, for example, a base station controller or a packet-based or circuit-based switching center (not shown) to facilitate mobile cellular communication with the mobile device 100. In an embodiment, the network 170 can include local area network (LAN) elements, such as Wi-Fi APs, routers, and bridges, and in this case can include or have a link to a gateway element that provides access to a wide area network, such as the Internet. In other implementations, the network 170 can include a LAN and can or can not have access to a wide area network, but can not provide any such access to the mobile device 100, if supported. In some implementations, the network 170 can include multiple networks (e.g., one or more wireless networks and / or the Internet). In one implementation, the network 170 can include one or more serving gateways or packet data network gateways. Additionally, one or more of the servers 140, 150, and / or 160 can be a routing and / or navigation server, a crowd-sourcing server, and / or a location server.

[0029] In an embodiment, the location server 160 can provide assistance data to the mobile device 100 and / or the transport vehicle 180 to enable or enhance the ability of the mobile device 100 and / or the transport vehicle 180 to determine its location. In an embodiment, the location server 160 can determine the location of the mobile device 100 and / or the transport vehicle 180 based on signals, photos, sensor inputs, or other data obtained at the mobile device 100 or at the transport vehicle 180.

[0030] In an embodiment, the route and / or navigation server 150 can determine route information and provide the route information to the mobile device 100 and / or the transport vehicle 180. In an embodiment, the route and / or navigation server 150 can provide route instructions to the transport vehicle 180 from its current location to the location of the mobile device 100 or other requested location. In an embodiment, the route and / or navigation server 150 can provide route instructions to the mobile device 100 from its current location to the requested location. In an embodiment, route and / or navigation calculations can be determined directly on the transport vehicle 180 or on the mobile device 100.

[0031] In an embodiment, the location of the mobile device 100 can be provided from the mobile device 100 to the dispatch server 140. In an embodiment, the dispatch server 140 can provide the location of the mobile device 100 to the route and / or navigation server 150 or can provide the location of the mobile device 100 directly to the transport vehicle 180, which can then request a route between the current location of the transport vehicle 180 and the location of the mobile device 100. In an embodiment, the dispatch server 140 can send or receive from the mobile device 100 and / or send or receive from the transport vehicle 180 the following: the location of the mobile device 100, one or more photos of one or more potential passengers 190 requesting a lift, one or more photos of the environment surrounding the potential passenger requesting a lift, potential passenger identification information, potential passenger financial transaction information such as credit card or fare amount, distance traveled, and / or time elapsed, authentication information, one or more photos of the transport vehicle 180, photo(s) of the environment surrounding the transport vehicle 180, updated location of the mobile device 100, and / or various responses thereto.

[0032] In various embodiments, and as discussed below, the mobile device 100 can have circuitry and processing resources capable of obtaining location-related measurements (e.g., with respect to signals received from GPS, GNSS, or other satellite positioning system (SPS) satellites 110, WAN wireless transceivers 120, or WLAN or PAN local transceivers 130) and possibly computing a position fix or estimated position of the mobile device 100 based on these location-related measurements. In some implementations, location-related measurements obtained by the mobile device 100 can be passed to a location server (such as an enhanced serving mobile location center (E-SMLC) or SUPL location platform (SLP)) (e.g., location server 160), which can then estimate or determine a position of the mobile device 100 based on the measurements. In the example of the current illustration, location-related measurements obtained by the mobile device 100 can include measurements of signals (112) received from satellites belonging to a SPS or global navigation satellite system (GNSS) (110), such as GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, or Beidou, and / or can include measurements of signals (such as 122 and / or 132) received from fixed ground transmitters (e.g., such as WAN wireless transceivers 120) at known locations. The mobile device 100 or the location server 160 can then obtain a position estimate for the mobile device 100 based on these location-related measurements using any of a number of positioning methods, such as, for example, GNSS, assisted GNSS (A-GNSS), advanced forward link trilateration (AFLT), observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) or enhanced cell ID (E-CID), network triangulation, received signal strength indication (RSSI), or combinations thereof. In some of these techniques (e.g., A-GNSS, AFLT, and OTDOA, RSSI), pseudoranges, ranges, or timing differences can be measured at the mobile device 100 with respect to three or more ground transmitters at known locations or with respect to four or more satellites with accurate known orbital data, or a combination thereof, based at least in part on pilots, positioning reference signals (PRS), or other positioning-related signals transmitted by these transmitters or satellites and received at the mobile device 100. Here, the server 140, 150, or 160 can be capable of providing positioning assistance data (including, for example, information about signals to be measured (e.g., signal timing and / or signal strength), locations and identities of ground transmitters, and / or signal, timing, and orbital information about GNSS satellites) to the mobile device 100 to facilitate positioning techniques such as A-GNSS, AFLT, OTDOA, and E-CID.For example, the servers 140, 150, or 160 can include an almanac that indicates the locations and identities of wireless transceivers and / or local transceivers in one or more particular areas, such as a particular venue, and can provide information describing signals transmitted by cellular base stations or APs or mobile terrestrial transceivers, such as transmit power and signal timing. In the case of E-CID, the mobile device 100 can obtain measurements of signal strength for signals received from WAN wireless transceivers 120 and / or wireless local area network (WLAN) or PAN local transceivers 130 and / or can obtain a round-trip signal propagation time (RTT) between the mobile device 100 and a WAN wireless transceiver 120 or a wireless local transceiver 130. The mobile device 100 can use these measurements together with assistance data received from the location server 160 (e.g., terrestrial almanac data or GNSS satellite data such as GNSS almanac and / or GNSS ephemeris information) to determine a location of the mobile device 100 or can communicate the measurements to the location server 160 to perform the same determination.

[0033] In various embodiments, as described above, a location can be determined by various means. For example, in an embodiment, the mobile device 100 can determine its location using GNSS satellite signal measurements, using terrestrial transmitter signal measurements, or some combination thereof. In an embodiment, the mobile device 100 can use an accelerometer and / or a gyroscope to determine its location in order to determine a distance and direction traveled from a last known location via dead reckoning. In an embodiment, the mobile device 100 can use a combination of signals and sensors to determine its location; for example, various signal measurements from GNSS and terrestrial transmitters can be used to determine a location and then dead reckoning can be used to update the location. From the determined location, various signal measurements can be made from each visible transmitter to obtain an indication of the distance of the transmitter from the determined location. The indication of distance can include a signal strength or a round-trip time or a time of arrival or other distance estimation method. New signal measurements can be made at a new determined location. By combining the indications of distance to any given transmitter obtained from multiple locations by one or more devices, a location of the transmitter, such as a WAN wireless transceiver 120 or a WLAN or PAN local transceiver 130, can be determined. The location of the transmitter can be determined on the mobile device 100 or on a crowd-sourcing server or on the location server 160 or other network-based server.

[0034] A mobile device (e.g., Figure 2A mobile device (e.g., mobile device 100) can be referred to as a device, wireless device, mobile terminal, terminal, mobile station (MS), user equipment (UE), SUPL-enabled terminal (SET), or some other name, and can correspond to a cellular phone, smartphone, laptop, tablet, PDA, tracking device, or some other portable or moveable device. Typically, although not necessarily, a mobile device can support wireless communication such as using GSM, WCDMA, LTE, CDMA, HRPD, Wi-Fi, BT, WiMAX, Long Term Evolution (LTE), Fifth Generation Wireless (5G), or New Radio Access Technology (NR). A mobile device can also support wireless communication using wireless LAN (WLAN), personal area network (PAN) such as Bluetooth TM or ZigBee, DSL, or packet cable, for example. A mobile device can include a single entity such as in a personal area network or can include multiple entities, where a user can employ audio, video and / or data I / O devices and / or body sensors along with a separate wireline or wireless modem. An estimate of the location of a mobile device (e.g., mobile device 100) can be referred to as a location, location estimate, position, position fix, fix, position estimate, or position fix, and can be geographic, thus providing location coordinates (e.g., latitude and longitude) for the mobile device, which can or can not include an altitude component (e.g., height above sea level, height above ground level, depth below ground level, floor level, or basement level). Alternatively, a location for a mobile device can be expressed as a civic location (e.g., as a postal address or the designation of some point or area in a building such as a specific room or floor). A location for a mobile device can also be expressed as a region or volume (defined in geographic or civic form) within which the mobile device is expected to be located with some probability or confidence level (e.g., 67% or 95%). A location for a mobile device can further be a relative location, including a distance and direction from some origin defined in relation to a known location or relative X, Y (and Z) coordinates, which can be defined geographically or in civic terms or with reference to a point, area, or volume indicated on a map, floor plan, or architectural plan. In the description contained herein, the use of the term 'location' can include any of these variants, unless otherwise indicated.

[0035] Figure 2 Embodiments of mobile devices are illustrated that facilitate the various methods and techniques illustrated in the drawings and text herein. As Figure 2As shown, in an embodiment, the mobile device 100 (which can also be referred to as a UE (or user equipment)) can include a general-purpose processor 210. The general-purpose processor 210 can sometimes be referred to by those skilled in the art with other names such as an application processor, general processor, main processor, or processor. Various functionality can run on the general-purpose processor 210, such as applications, operating system functionality, and general mobile device functionality. The general-purpose processor 210 can also include processors including additional processors (such as wireless baseband processors) that perform more specialized functionality or portions thereof (such as camera sensor related processing, video, audio, and wireless signal processing). In an embodiment, the mobile device 100 can also include a DSP 220, which can be used for various computational processing tasks such as video and graphics processing, image processing, facial recognition, feature matching, scene matching, display management, GNSS signal processing, WAN signal processing, Wi-Fi signal processing, and PAN signal processing. In some embodiments, some tasks can be split between the general-purpose processor and one or more DSPs, such as position determination, where signal searching, processing, and correlation can occur at the DSP level, while position determination can be computed at the general-purpose processor 210.

[0036] In the mobile device 100, a wireless transceiver such as a WAN wireless transceiver 230 and a WAN antenna 232 can support various wide area network (WAN) connections (e.g., Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Fifth Generation Wireless (5G) or New Radio Access Technology (NR), High Rate Packet Data (HRPD)) or combinations thereof. The wireless transceiver 230 can be implemented by a multi-mode transceiver, separate transceivers, separate or shared antennas (232), or various combinations thereof. In the mobile device 100, a wireless transceiver such as a WLAN and / or PAN wireless transceiver 240 and a WLAN and / or PAN antenna 245 can support various wireless local area network (WLAN) and personal area network (PAN) connections (e.g., wireless LAN connections (e.g., Wi-Fi / 802.11) and personal area network (PAN) connections (e.g., Bluetooth and ZigBee), near field communication (NFC), sometimes referred to as contactless (CTLS) or CTLS NFC, or combinations thereof. The wireless transceiver 240 can be implemented by a multi-mode transceiver, separate transceivers, separate or shared antennas (245), or various combinations thereof.

[0037] The mobile device 100 may include a GNSS receiver (270) and a GNSS antenna 272. The GNSS receiver 270 may measure various signals 274 received from satellites belonging to an SPS or Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), such as GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, and / or BeiDou. These signal measurements may be used alone or in combination with terrestrial signals, such as WAN, WLAN, and PAN signals, to determine location.

[0038] The mobile device 100 may include various sensors, and in some embodiments may be discrete, or in some embodiments may be integrated into a sensor subsystem. In various embodiments, the sensors may include accelerometers (such as 3D accelerometers), gyroscopes (such as 3D gyroscopes), and magnetometers, which are often used alone or in combination to determine dead reckoning outputs (such as heading, distance, and orientation). In one embodiment, the sensors may be used to determine velocity and acceleration and / or to determine step count and gait. In one embodiment, other sensors may include camera sensors, light sensors, and pressure sensors or other altimeters or other sensor types such as medical and chemical sensors.

[0039] Mobile device 100 may include a display. In some embodiments, the display may be a touchscreen for both visual output and touch-driven input. The display may be associated with a virtual keyboard on the display, sometimes as needed, or character input may be performed via an actual keyboard. Mobile device 100 may include a camera 280. In various embodiments, camera 280 may be used to capture photos of the user of mobile device 100 and, in some embodiments, to capture the environment surrounding mobile device 100 and the transportation vehicle. In one embodiment, the photos may be used for image matching, facial recognition / matching, environmental or landmark recognition and / or matching, and feature recognition / matching implemented on mobile device 100, on transportation vehicle 180, or on dispatch server 140. Mobile device 100 may also include memory 260, which may include flash memory, RAM, ROM, a disk drive, a flash memory card, or other memory device, or various combinations thereof. In one embodiment, memory 260 may contain instructions for implementing the various methods described throughout this specification. In one embodiment, the memory may contain instructions for requesting a transportation vehicle 180 and for identifying mobile device 100 and / or mobile device user to transportation vehicle 180.

[0040] Figure 3 A server is illustrated as a non-limiting example of a device for implementing the methods and techniques described herein. Figure 3 In one embodiment, servers 140, 150, and 160 and other network-based servers may use Figure 3The computing platform 301 embodiment. The computing platform can include one or more processors, here a processing unit (302) including one or more general-purpose processors, special-purpose processors such as graphics processors and / or communication processors or baseband processors. The computing platform 301 will include at least one communication interface 308 to send communications on the network 170. The communication interface 308 can include one or more network interface cards or other interfaces to interface to an intranet and / or the Internet. In some embodiments, the communication interface 308 can also include one or more wireless interfaces such as WAN, WLAN, and Bluetooth wireless interfaces. The computing platform can also include various memory (304) such as cache, RAM, ROM, disk, and flash memory. In an embodiment, the computing platform 301 can also access computer-readable media 320 such as hard drives, tape drives, flash drives, and other memory devices.

[0041] Figure 4 Embodiments of the transportation vehicle 180 or portions thereof are illustrated that are used to implement the various methods and techniques illustrated in the figures and text herein. In an embodiment, Figure 4 The devices of FIG. 1 can be separate from the transportation vehicle but communicatively coupled to the transportation vehicle and located on the transportation vehicle such as a dashboard device, an attachable device, or a mobile device placed within the transportation vehicle. In an embodiment, communicatively coupled can include a wire, cable, or wireless connection or combination thereof or other means for performing a communication technique such as light or sound based communication techniques. As Figure 4 As shown, in an embodiment, the transportation vehicle 180 can include a general purpose processor 410. The general purpose processor 410 can sometimes be referred to by other names such as an application processor, general processor, main processor, or processor. Various functionality can run on the general purpose processor 410 such as applications, operating system functionality, and general mobile device functionality. The general purpose processor 410 can also include processors including additional processors such as wireless baseband processors that perform more specialized functionality or portions thereof such as camera sensor related processing, video, audio, and wireless signal processing. In an embodiment, the transportation vehicle 180 can also include a DSP 415 that can be used for various computational processing tasks such as video and graphics processing, image processing, facial identification, feature matching, scene matching, display management, GNSS signal processing, WAN signal processing, Wi-Fi signal processing, and PAN signal processing. In some embodiments, some tasks can be split between the general purpose processor and one or more DSPs such as location determination where signal searching, processing, and correlation can occur at the DSP level while location determination can be computed at the general purpose processor 210.

[0042] In the transportation vehicle 180, a wireless transceiver such as the WAN wireless transceiver 430 and the WAN antenna 432 can support various wide area network (WAN) connections (e.g., Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Fifth Generation Wireless (5G) or New Radio Access Technology (NR), High Rate Packet Data (HRPD)) or combinations thereof. The wireless transceiver 430 can be implemented by a multi-mode transceiver, separate transceivers, separate or shared antennas (432) or various combinations thereof. In the transportation vehicle 180, a wireless transceiver such as the WLAN and / or PAN wireless transceiver 440 and the WLAN and / or PAN antenna 445 can support various wireless local area network (WLAN) and personal area network (PAN) connections (e.g., wireless LAN connections (e.g., Wi-Fi / 802.11) and personal area networks (PAN) connections (e.g., Bluetooth and ZigBee), Near Field Communication (NFC, sometimes referred to as Contactless (CTLS) or CTLS NFC) or combinations thereof. The wireless transceiver 440 can be implemented by a multi-mode transceiver, separate transceivers, separate or shared antennas (445) or various combinations thereof.

[0043] The transportation vehicle 180 can include a GNSS receiver (470) and GNSS antenna 472. The GNSS receiver 470 can measure various signals 474 received from satellites belonging to a SPS or Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) such as GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and / or Beidou. These signal measurements can be used, alone or in combination with terrestrial signals such as WAN, WLAN and PAN signals, to determine a position.

[0044] The transportation vehicle 180 can include various sensors, and in some embodiments can be discrete, or in some embodiments can be integrated into a sensor subsystem. In various embodiments, the sensors can include accelerometers (such as 3D accelerometers), gyroscopes (such as 3D gyroscopes) and magnetometers, often used individually or in combination to determine dead reckoning outputs such as heading, distance and orientation. In an embodiment, the sensors can be used to determine velocity and acceleration and / or to determine steps and gait. In an embodiment, other sensors can include camera sensors, light sensors and pressure sensors or other altimeters or other sensor types such as medical and chemical sensors.

[0045] Transportation vehicle 180 can include one or more interior cameras 182 and one or more exterior cameras 181, which can be used, in various embodiments, to capture a photo of a passenger or potential passenger 190 of transportation vehicle 180 (e.g., using interior camera 182) as the potential passenger 190 approaches a window or enters a door of transportation vehicle 180, and to capture a photo of the environment surrounding transportation vehicle 180 (e.g., using exterior camera 181), as can be compared to a photo of the environment surrounding mobile device 100 for matching. In an embodiment, the photos can be used for image matching, facial identification / matching, environment or landmark recognition and / or matching, and feature identification / matching implemented on mobile device 100, on transportation vehicle 180, or on dispatch server 140. Transportation vehicle 180 can also include memory 460, which can include flash memory, RAM, ROM, disk drives, or flash cards, or other memory devices or various combinations thereof. In an embodiment, memory 460 can contain instructions for implementing various methods described throughout this specification. In an embodiment, the memory can contain instructions for responding to requests for transportation vehicle 180 and for identifying passengers or potential passengers 190 and / or mobile device users to transportation vehicle 180.

[0046] In an embodiment, transportation vehicle 180 can contain a security system 420 that controls audio alerts and warnings, locking systems for doors, passenger ingress and egress, and / or police notifications. Security system 420 can be used in conjunction with interior camera 182 and / or exterior camera 181, as well as with general purpose processor 410 and / or DSP 415, to determine whether a photo of a potential passenger relayed from dispatch server 140 matches a photo of potential passenger 190 captured by exterior camera 181 and / or interior camera 182. In an embodiment, a match between a photo of potential passenger 190 relayed from dispatch server 140 and a photo of potential passenger 190 captured by exterior camera 181 and / or interior camera 182 can be used to trigger navigation of transportation vehicle 180 to a location proximate to potential passenger 190 for passenger pickup.

[0047] In an embodiment, the navigation system 450 can direct the transport vehicle 180 from its current location to the location of the potential passenger 190 received from the dispatch server 140 or to a proximate location from which a beacon from the mobile device 100 can be detected via the WLAN and / or PAN wireless transceiver 440 or via the WAN wireless transceiver 430 or from which a photo of the potential passenger 190 can be taken by the exterior camera 181 that can match a photo of the potential passenger 190 received from the dispatch server 140. In an embodiment, the navigation system 450 can direct the transport vehicle 180 from the location of the potential passenger 190 received from the dispatch server 140 to the potential passenger 190 as detected by the exterior camera 181.

[0048] Figure 5Embodiments of photos of potential riders 190 are illustrated. In an embodiment, a match between a photo of a potential rider 190 received from dispatch server 140 and a photo of the potential rider 190 as captured by external camera 181 or internal camera 182, coarse features such as color of shirt, pants, coat, and hat, height, relative height, hair color, face shape, or other features of the potential rider 190 can be used for initial identification. In an embodiment, fine features such as points on the face, infrared facial contours, facial identification markers, and / or other facial features can be used for higher reliability identification. The photo of the potential rider 190 is captured at mobile device 100 when the transportation vehicle 180 is requested, or in the case of a dispatched pickup, at the time of or shortly before the pickup, or in any case recent enough that the potential rider 190 is consistent with the photo of the potential rider in most details. In particular when the potential rider is identified from a distance (e.g., using external camera 181, e.g., to determine which potential rider to navigate to), coarse features such as skin color 505, hair color 510, clothing color (550, 560, 570, 590) can be used to identify the potential rider 190. In the case of close matches, mobile device 100 (e.g., phone, watch, etc.) can emit a wireless or light beacon to identify the potential rider 190 from visually similar targets. In an embodiment, transportation vehicle 180 can request the potential rider 190 to walk up to the car or make a specific gesture (such as waving a hand) via mobile device 100, to enable the car to identify the correct potential rider 190 and walk up to the correct potential rider 190. When the potential rider is identified from short distances for access control purposes, such as using internal camera 182 (e.g., to perform security access authorization and transportation vehicle 180 door unlocking), finer features such as distances between features and points on the face (e.g., ears 530, nose 520, points on the mouth 580, etc.) can be used or full facial recognition can be performed, possibly even with alternative lighting (such as infrared lighting) to enhance features and liveliness detection. In the latter case, image information provided by mobile device 100 can include additional facial recognition information, such as infrared image information.

[0049] Figure 6Methods and techniques 600 for requesting a transportation vehicle on a mobile device are illustrated. In an embodiment, in step 610, the mobile device 100 determines a location of the mobile device 100. In various embodiments, the location of the mobile device can be determined through mobile-based techniques, such as GNSS, or through the use of terrestrial transceivers, through server-based techniques where the mobile device measures ranging information from various transceivers and sends the ranging information from the various transceivers to a server that computes the location (e.g., location server 160 or dispatch server 140 or a combination thereof), or through input from an input device, such as touch screen display 250, keyboard, voice recognition, or other input means. In an embodiment, the mobile device 100 can receive GNSS signals 274 received at antenna 272 and GNSS receiver 270 and use DSP 220 and / or general purpose processor 210 to compute a location. In an embodiment, the mobile device 100 can receive WAN signals 234 received using antenna 232 and WAN wireless transceiver 230 and / or WLAN and / or PAN wireless signals 247 received using antenna 245 and WLAN and / or PAN wireless transceiver 240 and use DSP 220 and / or general purpose processor 210 to compute a location. In an embodiment, the mobile device 100 can combine ranging from GNSS, WAN, WLAN, or PAN, or various combinations thereof. In an embodiment, assistance data, such as base station almanac, can be received from a server, such as location server 160 or a crowd-sourcing server. In an embodiment, GNSS assistance, such as long-term ephemeris, ephemeric, or satellite almanac data, can be received from location server 160. In an embodiment, the base station almanac can provide the location and identifiers of terrestrial transceivers used to determine ranging in conjunction with signals received from terrestrial transceivers, such as wide area network (WAN) wireless transceiver 120, WLAN and / or PAN wireless local transceiver 130, which can be used with signal measurements from WAN, WLAN, and PAN transceivers to determine ranging to the mobile device 100 and the location of the mobile device 100. Similarly, GNSS assistance can be used with GNSS signal measurements to determine the location of the mobile device.

[0050] In an embodiment, in step 620, the mobile device 100 sends a location of the mobile device 100 and a pickup request to the dispatch server 140. In an embodiment, the location of the mobile device 100 includes a latitude, a longitude. In an embodiment, the location of the mobile device 100 includes an error estimate. In an embodiment, the location of the mobile device 100 includes a street address. In an embodiment, the pickup request can be sent by various means, such as by the WAN wireless transceiver 230 or by the WLAN and / or PAN wireless transceiver 240. The dispatch server 140 receives pickup requests from various mobile devices 100 and assigns a transportation vehicle 180 to a pickup request from a mobile device 100 based on proximity to the mobile device 100, availability to provide a ride service to potential passengers 190, ability to meet additional requirements such as additional passengers and / or baggage, requested destination, distance between the requested destination and a home station of the transportation vehicle, or estimated time of arrival to the mobile device 100, or various combinations thereof. In an embodiment, the pickup request includes a requested destination. In an embodiment, the pickup request includes a total number of passengers. In an embodiment, the pickup request includes a number of bags.

[0051] In an embodiment, in step 630, the mobile device 100 receives from the dispatch server 140 a first transportation identifier for the transportation vehicle 180 and a response code for identifying and / or authenticating a potential passenger 190 to the transportation vehicle 180;

[0052] In an embodiment, in optional step 640, mobile device 100 sends at least one photograph to dispatch server 140 or transportation vehicle 180. In an embodiment, the at least one photograph can be a photograph of potential passenger 190 or the environment around potential passenger 190 or both. In an embodiment, the at least one photograph can include a photograph update of the location of mobile device 100 and / or potential passenger 190. In an embodiment, the at least one photograph can be used to control entry into transportation vehicle 180 based on a comparison between the photograph of potential passenger 190 sent by mobile device 100 and a photograph of potential passenger 190 taken by external camera 181 or internal camera 181. In an embodiment, if the photograph of potential passenger 190 sent by mobile device 100 matches the photograph of potential passenger 190 taken by external camera 181 or internal camera 181, or the features of the photographs, such as facial and / or clothing features, match, then security system 420 on transportation vehicle 180 unlocks the door or otherwise provides potential passenger 190 with access to transportation vehicle 180. In an embodiment, the at least one photograph can be used to determine the location of potential passenger 190 by matching the surrounding environment in the photograph sent by mobile device 100 directly to transportation vehicle 180, or via dispatch server 140 to transportation vehicle 180, with the environment near the location sent by mobile device 100 to the dispatch server.

[0053] In an embodiment, matching the environment and / or background in the photo sent by the mobile device 100 can be used, for example, by the transportation vehicle or a device communicatively coupled to the transportation vehicle, to determine a more accurate location of the mobile device 100 and the potential passenger 190. In an embodiment, matching the environment and / or background in the photo sent by the mobile device 100 can be used to select between multiple potential passengers 190, either directly or via the dispatch server 140, to select the potential passenger that best matches the background and / or environment in the photo sent by the mobile device to the transportation vehicle 180. In an embodiment, the at least one photo can be used to determine a match or potential match between the photo of the potential passenger 190 sent by the mobile device or features thereof, such as its clothing, belongings, or facial and body features, and the potential passenger in the photo captured by the camera on the transportation vehicle 180, which can then be used to navigate the transportation vehicle 180 to the potential passenger 190. These methods and similar methods can be used to navigate the transportation vehicle 180 to the potential passenger 190 in the event that the location sent from the mobile device 100 is inaccurate or in the event that the potential passenger 190 has moved to a new location or is otherwise not located at the location sent from the mobile device 100 to the dispatch server 140. In an embodiment, the mobile device 100 can send one or more location updates directly to the transportation vehicle 180 or to the transportation vehicle via the dispatch server to the transportation vehicle 180 to guide the transportation vehicle to the current location of the potential passenger 190.

[0054] In an embodiment, in optional step 650, mobile device 100 sends a beacon signal to transport vehicle 180 to guide the transport vehicle to the current location of potential passenger 190. In an embodiment, the beacon signal can be triggered by receiving a message that the transport vehicle is approaching the location of the mobile device received from dispatch server 140. In an embodiment, the beacon signal can be triggered by receiving a second transport identifier from the transport vehicle; i.e., the illustrated optional step 650 would occur after and in response to step 660, as opposed to before step 660. In an embodiment, step 650 can occur at other points in method 600 and / or be triggered by alternative triggers such as step 670. In an embodiment, step 680 of sending a response code to the transport vehicle can be implemented as a beacon containing the response code, thereby eliminating the need for step 650. In an embodiment, particularly in cases where the location sent by mobile device 100 to dispatch server 140 is inaccurate or in cases where potential passenger 190 has moved, transport vehicle 180 uses the beacon signal to navigate to be closer to potential passenger 190. In an embodiment, the beacon signal can have an identifier to identify mobile device 100 and potential passenger 190 and / or to distinguish mobile device 100 and potential passenger 190 from other mobile devices 100 and potential passengers 190. In an embodiment, the beacon identifier can be provided to mobile device 100 and / or transport vehicle 180 by dispatch server 140. In an embodiment, the beacon can be based on an identifier for mobile device 100 or based on an identifier for transport vehicle 180; for example, mobile device can transmit the beacon based on the transport vehicle's ID provided to the mobile device by the dispatch server in an acknowledgment of the request, and transport vehicle 180 can track the beacon based on the transport vehicle ID. In an embodiment, mobile device can transmit the beacon based on a mobile device identifier such as an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI); transport vehicle 180 would be provided the mobile device identifier such as the IMSI or a derivative thereof, so that transport vehicle 180 can track beacons containing the mobile device identifier or a derivative thereof. In an embodiment, if multiple potential passengers 190 each having a mobile device 100 transmit beacons proximate to each other, the transport vehicle 180 assigned to a particular potential passenger can track to the correct potential passenger 190 based on a code or identifier contained in the beacon.

[0055] In an embodiment, in step 660, the mobile device 100 receives a second transport identifier from the transport vehicle. In an embodiment, the transport identifier can be received using the WLAN and / or PAN wireless transceiver 240 and antenna 245 once the transport vehicle 180 is proximate to the mobile device 100. In an embodiment, the transport identifier can be received using a peer-to-peer wireless transceiver implemented using the WAN wireless transceiver 230 and antenna 232 or other means (e.g., using a 5G WAN and a transceiver with peer-to-peer capabilities), in which case the WAN wireless transceiver 230 can be used as both a WAN and a peer-to-peer wireless transceiver. The transport identifier is used by the mobile device to verify that the transport is indeed the transport assigned by the dispatch server 140 to the mobile device 100 and potential passenger 190. For example, if a new transport is assigned to the mobile device 100 due to an emergency situation such as a transport malfunction or accident, a message with the identity of the new transport vehicle 180 and a vehicle change notification will be sent from the dispatch server 140 to the mobile device 100.

[0056] In an embodiment, in step 670, the mobile device 100 determines that the first transport identifier as received from the dispatch server and the second transport identifier as received from the transport vehicle correspond. It will be understood that corresponding can include a match between the first transport identifier and the second transport identifier, or that there is some relationship between the first transport identifier and the second transport identifier, such as that the second transport identifier is a derivative of the first transport identifier, or that the second transport identifier is an encoded form of the first transport identifier, or that the second transport identifier is based on the first transport identifier, or vice versa. This step provides security to the mobile device 100 against being fraudulently picked up by a transport vehicle for the purposes of kidnapping, theft, or other nefarious purposes.

[0057] In an embodiment, in step 680, the mobile device 100 sends a response code to the transportation vehicle 180, thereby verifying that the mobile device 100 is assigned to the transportation vehicle 180, preventing a trespasser from commandeering the transportation vehicle, and preventing an unidentified vandal from entering the transportation vehicle 180. In an embodiment, in step 680, the response code is sent in response to determining that the first transportation identifier and the second transportation identifier correspond. In an embodiment, receiving the response code by the WLAN and / or PAN wireless transceiver 440 at least partially causes the security system 420 to unlock a door for the potential passenger 190 carrying the mobile device 100. In an embodiment, receiving a signal containing the response code and exceeding a threshold signal strength by the WLAN and / or PAN wireless transceiver 440 at least partially causes the security system 420 to unlock a door for the potential passenger 190 carrying the mobile device 100. In an embodiment, sending the response code can be implemented as a beacon, thereby enabling the transportation vehicle 180 to navigate to the location of the potential passenger 190. In an embodiment, the transportation vehicle 180 can use the signal strength of the signal containing the response code (where the signal can be a beacon or intermittent) exceeding a threshold signal strength to determine that a door of the transportation vehicle 180 should be unlocked, and can use the general purpose processor 210 to do so using the security system 420 or other means or code.

[0058] Figure 7 A method and techniques 700 for responding to a pick-up request from a mobile device 100 on a transportation vehicle 180 are illustrated. In an embodiment, the transportation vehicle 180 can be unmanned. In an embodiment, the transportation vehicle 180 is capable of identifying and / or navigating to a potential passenger 190 even if the initial location received from the mobile device 100 is inaccurate. In an embodiment, the transportation vehicle performs the steps of the method 700. In an embodiment, a mobile device or an installable device within the transportation vehicle can perform some or all of the elements of the method 700.

[0059] In an embodiment, in step 710, the transportation vehicle 180 receives the pickup request, the location of the mobile device 100, and the response code from the dispatch server 140. In an embodiment, the transportation vehicle 180 also receives the requested destination. In an embodiment, the response code is used to verify that the mobile device sending the response code should be granted access to the transportation vehicle 180, for example, to unlock a door or otherwise grant access to the transportation vehicle 180 using the security system 420. In an embodiment, the pickup request includes one or more photos of the potential passenger 190 and / or the environment surrounding the mobile device 100. In an embodiment, the pickup request includes beacon identification information. In an embodiment, the beacon identification information can include mobile device identification information, beacon code information, or other beacon identification information. In an embodiment, the location includes latitude and longitude information. In an embodiment, the location includes location error information. In an embodiment, the location includes a street address.

[0060] In an embodiment, in step 720, the transportation vehicle 180 navigates to the location of the mobile device 100 or navigates to a proximate location thereof. In an embodiment, the transportation vehicle 180 calculates a route from the location from which it received the pickup request to the location of the mobile device 100 provided by the dispatch server 140. In an embodiment, the transportation vehicle 180 is an autonomous vehicle. In an embodiment, the transportation vehicle 180 is driven by a person, but the navigation destination and / or instructions are determined by the dispatch server 140. In an embodiment, a route from the location from which the transportation vehicle 180 received the pickup request to the location of the mobile device 100 is provided by the dispatch server 140.

[0061] In an embodiment, in optional step 730, the transportation vehicle 180 identifies a photo match. In an embodiment, the photo match is a match between a photo of the potential passenger 190 provided by the mobile device 100 via the dispatch server 140 or directly and a photo of the potential passenger 190 taken by the external camera 181 or the internal camera 182 or both. In an embodiment, the photo match is a match between a photo of the environment adjacent to the potential passenger 190 provided by the mobile device 100 via the dispatch server 140 or directly and a photo of the environment near the location provided for the mobile device 100 by the dispatch server taken by the external camera 181 or the internal camera 182 or both. In an embodiment, the photo match is used to determine an updated location of the mobile device 100 and the potential passenger 190. In an embodiment, the transportation vehicle 180 uses the updated location of the mobile device 100 to determine a route to the potential passenger 190 to be picked up.

[0062] In an embodiment, in optional step 740, the transportation vehicle 180 receives the beacon signal from the mobile device 100. In an embodiment, the transportation vehicle 180 uses a directional antenna to determine a navigation direction to reach the potential passenger 190. In an embodiment, the transportation vehicle 180 uses a signal strength or time delay of the beacon signal to determine a proximity between the transportation vehicle 180 and the mobile device 100. In an embodiment, the transportation vehicle 180 uses the beacon signal including an identifier or other code transmitted from the mobile device 100 to determine the potential passenger to pick up.

[0063] In an embodiment, in optional step 750, the transportation vehicle 180 navigates to the updated location of the mobile device. In an embodiment, the transportation vehicle 180 uses the photo of the potential passenger 190 and the external camera 181 to navigate to the user. In an embodiment, the transportation vehicle 180 uses the photo of the environment near the potential passenger 190 and the external camera 181 to navigate to the user. In an embodiment, the transportation vehicle 180 uses the photo of the environment near the potential passenger 190 to determine the updated location of the potential passenger 190.

[0064] In an embodiment, in step 760, the transportation vehicle 180 sends a transportation identifier code to the mobile device. In an embodiment, the mobile device uses the transportation identifier code to verify that the transportation vehicle 180 is the vehicle dispatched by the dispatch server 140. In an embodiment, the transportation identifier code is sent directly to the mobile device 100 using the WLAN and / or PAN wireless transceiver 240 and antenna 245.

[0065] In an embodiment, in step 770, the transportation vehicle 180 receives a response code from the mobile device. In an embodiment, the transportation vehicle 180 uses the response code to verify that the mobile device 100 is the same mobile device 100 that requested the transportation vehicle 180. This can be used to prevent a trespasser from taking the transportation without requesting it, and can prevent a disrupter or thief that is not authenticated or vetted by the dispatch server 140 from gaining access to the transportation vehicle 180.

[0066] In an embodiment, in step 780, the transportation vehicle 180 opens the access. In an embodiment, the security system 420 opens the access to allow the potential passenger 190 to gain access to the transportation vehicle 180. In an embodiment, the security system 420 verifies that the photo of the potential passenger 190 taken by the internal camera 182 and / or the external camera 181 matches the photo of the potential passenger 190 sent by the mobile device 100.

[0067] "one or more embodiments," or "exemplary implementation" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the feature and / or embodiment can be included in at least one feature and / or embodiment of the claimed subject matter. Thus, the appearances of the phrase "in one or more embodiments," "an embodiment," "in certain embodiments," "in certain implementations," or "in one embodiment" or other similar phrases in various places throughout the specification are not necessarily referring to one and the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics can be combined in one or more embodiments and / or in the claims in combination with other features, structures or characteristics not expressly mentioned herein. The embodiments are not intended to be limited with respect to the particular implementations described, as other implementations can be utilized and other changes can be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure.

[0068] Some portions of the detailed description included herein are presented in terms of algorithms or symbolic representations of operations on binary digital signals stored as electronic signals within a memory of a specific apparatus or special purpose computing device or platform. In the context of this particular specification, the term specific apparatus or the like includes a general purpose computer once it is programmed to perform particular operations pursuant to instructions from program software. Algorithmic descriptions or symbolic representations are examples of techniques used by those of ordinary skill in the signal processing or related arts to convey the substance of their work to others. An algorithm is here, and generally, is considered to be a self-consistent sequence of operations or similar signal processing leading to a desired result. In this context, operations or processing involves physical manipulation of physical quantities. Typically, but not necessarily, such quantities can take the form of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared or otherwise manipulated. It has proven convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, to refer to such signals as bits, data, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, numerals, or the like. It should be understood, however, that all of these and similar terms are to be associated with appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels. Unless specifically stated otherwise, as apparent from the following discussion, it is appreciated that throughout this specification discussions utilizing terms such as "processing," "computing," "calculating," "determining" or the like refer to the action or processes of a specific apparatus, such as a special purpose computer, special purpose computing apparatus or a similar special purpose electronic computing device. In the context of this specification, therefore, a special purpose computer or a similar special purpose electronic computing device is capable of manipulating or transforming signals, typically, but not necessarily, electronic signals, represented as physical electronic or magnetic quantities within its

[0069] The wireless communication techniques described herein can be used in various wireless communication networks such as a wireless wide area network ("WAN"), a wireless local area network ("WLAN"), a wireless personal area network (PAN), and so on. The term "network" and "system" can be used interchangeably herein. A WAN can be a Code Division Multiple Access ("CDMA") network, a Time Division Multiple Access ("TDMA") network, a Frequency Division Multiple Access ("FDMA") network, an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access ("OFDMA") network, a Single-Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access ("SC-FDMA") network, a Long Term Evolution ("LTE"), a Fifth Generation ("5G"), or any combination of the above networks, and so on. A CDMA network can implement one or more radio access technologies ("RATs") such as cdma2000, Wideband-CDMA ("W-CDMA"), to name a few radio technologies. Here, cdma2000 can include technologies implemented according to IS-95, IS-2000, and IS-856 standards. A TDMA network can implement Global System for Mobile Communications ("GSM"), Digital Advanced Mobile Phone System ("D-AMPS"), or some other RAT. GSM and W-CDMA are described in documents from a consortium named "3rd Generation Partnership Project" ("3GPP"). CDMA2000 is described in documents from a consortium named "3rd Generation Partnership Project 2" ("3GPP2"). 3GPP and 3GPP2 documents are publicly available. In an aspect, a 4G Long Term Evolution ("LTE") communication network can also be implemented according to the claimed subject matter. A WLAN can include an IEEE 802.1 lx network, while a PAN can include a Bluetooth network, an IEEE 802.15x, for example including a Zigbee network. The wireless communication implementations described herein can also be used with any combination of WAN, WLAN, or PAN.

[0070] In another aspect, as previously mentioned, a wireless transmitter or access point can include a wireless transceiver device for extending cellular telephone service into a business or home. In such implementations, for example, one or more mobile devices can communicate with the wireless transceiver device via a Code Division Multiple Access ("CDMA") cellular communication protocol.

[0071] The techniques described herein can be used with a satellite positioning system ("SPS"), which includes any of a number of global navigation satellite systems ("GNSS", such as the Global Positioning System "GPS", the Russian GLONASS system, and the European Union's Gallileo system, as well as China's BeiDou and BeiDou-2 systems), and / or a combination of GNSSs. Moreover, such techniques can be used with positioning systems that utilize terrestrial transmitters acting as "pseudolites", or a combination of SVs and such terrestrial transmitters. For example, terrestrial transmitters can include ground-based transmitters that broadcast PN codes or other ranging codes (e.g., similar to GPS or CDMA cellular signals). Such transmitters can be assigned unique PN codes in order to permit identification by remote receivers. For example, terrestrial transmitters can be useful in scenarios where SPS signals from orbiting SVs can not be available, such as in tunnels, mines, buildings, urban canyons, or other enclosed areas. Another implementation of pseudolites is known as "radio-beacons". As used herein, the term "SV" is intended to include terrestrial transmitters acting as pseudolites, equivalents of pseudolites, and possibly others. As used herein, the terms "SPS signals" and / or "SV signals" are intended to include SPS-like signals from terrestrial transmitters, including terrestrial transmitters acting as pseudolites or equivalents of pseudolites.

[0072] In the above detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the claimed subject matter. However, those skilled in the art having the benefit of this disclosure will appreciate that the claimed subject matter can be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods and apparatuses are not described in detail in order to avoid obscuring the claimed subject matter.

[0073] The terms "and", "or" and "and / or" as used herein can include a variety of meanings that also are expected to depend at least in part upon the context in which such terms are used. Typically, "or" if used to associate a list, such as A, B, or C, is intended to mean A, B, and C, here used in the inclusive sense, as well as A, B or C, here used in the exclusive sense. In addition, the term "one or more" as used herein can be used to describe any feature, structure, or characteristic in the singular or can be used to describe a plurality or some other combination of features, structures or characteristics. However, it should be noted that this is merely an illustrative example and claimed subject matter is not limited to this example.

[0074] While there have been shown and described and pointed out fundamental novel features as applied to example embodiments, it will be understood that various other modifications can be made of the above described embodiments, and their equivalents, without departing from the spirit and scope of the claimed subject matter. Additionally, many modifications can be made to adapt a particular situation to the teachings of the claimed subject matter without departing from the central concept described herein.

[0075] Accordingly, the claimed subject matter is not to be limited to the specific examples disclosed, but rather the claimed subject matter includes all aspects as broadly described.

[0076] For implementations involving firmware and / or software, these methodologies can be implemented with modules (e.g., routines, functions, etc.) that execute on various system components (e.g., the processor unit). Any machine readable medium tangibly embodying instructions can be used in implementing the methodologies described herein. For example, software codes can be stored in memory and executed by the processor unit. Memory can be implemented within the processor unit or external to the processor unit. As used herein the term "memory" refers to any type of long term, short term, volatile, nonvolatile, or other memory and is not to be limited to any particular type of memory or number of memories, or type of media upon which memory is stored.

[0077] If implemented in firmware and / or software, the functions can be stored as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable storage medium. Examples include computer-readable media encoded with a data structure and computer-readable media encoded with a computer program. Computer-readable media includes physical computer storage media. A storage medium can be any available medium or media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, FLASH, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage, semiconductor storage, or other storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer; disk typically magnetically, while discs use lasers for optical access. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0078] In addition to storage on computer readable storage mediums, instructions and / or data can be provided as signals on transmission media included in a communication apparatus. For example, a communication apparatus can include a transceiver having signals indicative of instructions and data. These instructions and data are configured to cause one or more processors to implement the functions outlined in the claims. In other words, the communication apparatus includes transmission media with signals that specify or carry the instructions and data of the disclosed functions. In such embodiments, the transmission media is included in a communication apparatus, other than a computer readable storage medium, as the instructions and / or data carry representations of the functions. The transmission media can include a wired (including optical fiber) or wireless transmission medium such as those that carry signals such as digitized information. The communications apparatus can further include a user interface device that enables portable device to interact with a user. For example, the user interface can include a keyboard and / or touchscreen for interacting with a user.

Claims

1. A method for responding to a request to mount a mobile device in a transportation vehicle, comprising: receiving, at the transportation vehicle, a pickup request from a dispatch server, the pickup request including a location of a mobile device; Navigating to the location of the mobile device or to a location nearby; After navigating to the location of the mobile device or to a location proximate thereto, identifying a photo match between a photo provided by the mobile device and a photo taken by the transportation vehicle to determine an updated location of the mobile device; receiving a beacon signal using a directional antenna on the transportation vehicle; using the directional antenna to determine the direction of navigation; determining a proximity between the transportation vehicle and the mobile device; as well as Navigate to the updated location of the mobile device.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the proximity between the transportation vehicle and the mobile device comprises: A time-based measurement, or a signal strength measurement, or a combination thereof, of the beacon signal is measured.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving an identifier or other code transmitted from the mobile device via the beacon signal.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting a transport identifier code to the mobile device.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising receiving a mobile response code; and providing access to said transportation vehicle.

6. A transportation vehicle that responds to a request to carry a mobile device, comprising: one or more directional antennas; one or more communication transceivers coupled to the one or more directional antennas; as well as one or more processing units communicatively coupled to the one or more directional antennas and the one or more communication transceivers, wherein: The one or more communication transceivers are configured to receive a pickup request from a dispatch server at the transportation vehicle, the pickup request including a location of a mobile device; The transport vehicle is configured to Navigate to the location of the mobile device or to a location nearby, and After navigating to the location of the mobile device or to a location proximate thereto, identifying a photo match between a photo provided by the mobile device and a photo taken by the transportation vehicle to determine an updated location of the mobile device; The one or more communication transceivers are further configured to receive beacon signals using the one or more directional antennas on the transportation vehicle; The processor is configured to determine a direction of navigation using the one or more directional antennas; The processor is further configured to determine a proximity between the transportation vehicle and the mobile device; and The transportation vehicle is further configured to navigate to the updated location of the mobile device.

7. The transportation vehicle of claim 6, wherein the one or more processing units configured to determine proximity between the transportation vehicles use time-based measurements, or signal strength measurements, or a combination thereof, of the beacon signals.

8. The transportation vehicle of claim 6, wherein the one or more communication transceivers are configured to receive an identifier or other code transmitted from the mobile device via the beacon signal.

9. The transportation vehicle of claim 6, wherein the one or more communication transceivers are further configured to transmit a transportation identifier code to the mobile device.

10. The transportation vehicle of claim 6, wherein the one or more communication transceivers are further configured to receive a mobile response code; and the transportation vehicle is further configured to provide access to the transportation vehicle.

11. A transportation vehicle comprising: means for receiving a pickup request from a dispatch server at the transportation vehicle, the pickup request including a location of the mobile device; means for navigating to the location of the mobile device or to a location proximate thereto; means for identifying a photo match between a photo provided by the mobile device and a photo taken by the transportation vehicle to determine an updated location of the mobile device after navigating to the location of the mobile device or to a location proximate thereto; means for receiving a beacon signal using a directional antenna on said transportation vehicle; means for determining a direction for navigation using said directional antenna; means for determining a proximity between the transportation vehicle and the mobile device; as well as Means for navigating to the updated location of the mobile device.

12. The transportation vehicle of claim 11, wherein the means for determining the proximity between the transportation vehicle and the mobile device comprises: Means for measuring a time-based measurement, or a signal strength measurement, or a combination thereof, of said beacon signal.

13. The transportation vehicle of claim 11, further comprising means for transmitting a transportation identifier code to the mobile device.

14. The transportation vehicle of claim 11, further comprising means for receiving a mobile response code; and providing access to the transportation vehicle.

15. The transportation vehicle of claim 11, further comprising means for receiving an identifier or other code transmitted from the mobile device via the beacon signal.

16. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer-readable instructions, the computer-readable instructions causing a transportation vehicle to: receiving, at the transportation vehicle, a pickup request from a dispatch server, the pickup request including a location of a mobile device; Navigating to the location of the mobile device or to a location nearby; After navigating to the location of the mobile device or to a location proximate thereto, identifying a photo match between a photo provided by the mobile device and a photo taken by the transportation vehicle to determine an updated location of the mobile device; receiving a beacon signal using one or more directional antennas on the transportation vehicle; using the one or more directional antennas to determine a direction for navigation; determining a proximity between the transportation vehicle and the mobile device; as well as Navigate to the updated location of the mobile device.

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