Management of vehicle sets for assistance at event

Abstract

Management of a set of vehicles for assistance at an event. A system for managing a set of vehicles includes a controller having a processor and tangible non-transitory memory on which instructions are recorded. The set of vehicles includes a plurality of autonomous vehicles, each autonomous vehicle having a respective telematics unit adapted to communicate with a controller. The controller is adapted to receive notifications of events in real time and identify at least one center of the events. The controller is adapted to determine, in real time, respective states of the set of vehicles, including respective availability and respective proximity to the event. The controller is adapted to dispatch a selected vehicle of the set of vehicles to the event based in part on the respective state, and to assign event responsibilities to the selected vehicle of the set of vehicles. The event responsibility includes forming a boundary around the at least one center of the event by physically camping around the at least one center.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure generally relates to the management of vehicles. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to a system and method for managing a set of vehicles assisting at an event or location. Many situations or events that occur in the world require the rapid deployment of resources. These events can include fallen power lines, fallen trees, traffic problems, chemical spills and other situations. Many of these situations may require the setting of roadblocks, detours, and temporary directions to be given to vehicles and pedestrians. In some cases, the required level of resources may not be easily available, resulting in delayed responses and / or under-supported responses. Summary of the invention

[0002] A system for managing a set of vehicles is disclosed herein, the system comprising a controller having a processor and a tangible, non-transitory memory having instructions recorded thereon. The set of vehicles comprises a plurality of autonomous vehicles, each autonomous vehicle having a corresponding telematics unit adapted to communicate with the controller. The controller is adapted to receive notification of an event and identify at least one center of the event. The controller is adapted to determine in real time the respective status of the set of vehicles, including respective availability and respective proximity to the event. Further, the controller is adapted to dispatch selected vehicles in the set of vehicles to the event based in part on the respective status, and to assign event responsibilities to the selected vehicles in the set of vehicles. The event responsibilities include forming a boundary around at least one center of the event by physically stationing around the at least one center, i.e., the selected vehicles in the set of vehicles are parked around the at least one center.

[0003] Event duties may include advising surrounding entities to stay outside the boundary, the surrounding entities including vehicles and / or pedestrians. In some embodiments, event duties include monitoring the inside of the boundary and the outside of the boundary, and reporting whether the surrounding entities cross the inside of the boundary. Surrounding entities include vehicles, passers-by and / or pedestrians. Event duties may include redirecting traffic around at least one center of the event. Event duties may include providing an audible signal of a detour route around at least one center of the event.

[0004] In some embodiments, the remote advisory unit is adapted to provide notification of the event to the controller, wherein the event duties include providing a status update of the event to the remote advisory unit. In other embodiments, identification of the event is based in part on sensor data from at least one vehicle in the vehicle set. Selected vehicles in the vehicle set may be assigned to respective locations at the event based on an order of arrival, such that a selected vehicle that arrives first is placed at a respective location relatively closer to the at least one center.

[0005] In some embodiments, a portion of the set of vehicles is owned by a fleet. A portion of the set of vehicles may be owned by respective private owners. The controller may be adapted to send an alert to the respective private owners when the event is within a predefined geographic zone and transmit a request to the respective private owners to accompany the portion of the set of vehicles based in part on the respective personal skill profile.

[0006] A method for managing a vehicle set having a controller having a processor and a tangible, non-transitory memory having instructions recorded thereon is disclosed herein. The method includes incorporating a plurality of autonomous vehicles in the vehicle set, each autonomous vehicle having a corresponding telematics unit adapted to communicate with the controller. The method includes receiving notification of an event via the controller, and identifying at least one center of the event. The method includes determining, via the controller, in real time, respective states of the vehicle set, including respective availability and respective proximity to the event. The method includes dispatching, via the controller, selected vehicles in the vehicle set to the event based in part on the respective states. The method includes assigning, via the controller, event responsibilities to selected vehicles in the vehicle set. Event responsibilities include forming a boundary around the at least one center of the event by physically stationing around the at least one center.

[0007] The present invention may also include the following technical solutions:

[0008] 1. A system for managing a set of vehicles, the system comprising:

[0009] a controller having a processor and tangible, non-transitory memory having instructions recorded thereon;

[0010] wherein the set of vehicles includes a plurality of autonomous vehicles, each autonomous vehicle having a respective telematics unit adapted to communicate with the controller;

[0011] The controller is adapted to:

[0012] receiving notification of an event and identifying at least one center of the event;

[0013] determining in real time the respective status of a set of vehicles, including respective availability and respective proximity to an event;

[0014] Dispatching selected vehicles from the set of vehicles to the event based in part on the corresponding status; and

[0015] Assigning event responsibilities to selected vehicles in the set of vehicles, the event responsibilities comprising forming a boundary around the at least one center of an event by physically stationing around the at least one center.

[0016] 2. A system according to technical solution 1, wherein the event responsibility includes recommending surrounding entities to stay outside boundaries, and the surrounding entities include vehicles and / or pedestrians.

[0017] 3. According to the system of technical solution 1, the event responsibilities include:

[0018] Monitor the inside of the border and the outside of the border; and

[0019] Reports whether surrounding entities, including vehicles and / or pedestrians, have crossed the inside of the boundary.

[0020] 4. A system according to technical solution 1, wherein the event responsibilities include redirecting traffic around at least one center of the event.

[0021] 5. A system according to technical solution 1, wherein the event responsibilities include providing audible signals of a detour route around at least one center of the event.

[0022] 6. A system according to technical solution 1, wherein selected vehicles in a vehicle set are assigned to corresponding positions at an event based on an order of arrival, so that a selected vehicle that arrives first is placed at a corresponding position relatively closer to at least one center.

[0023] 7. The system according to technical solution 1 further comprises:

[0024] a remote consulting unit adapted to provide notification of the event to the controller; and

[0025] The event responsibilities include providing status updates of the event to the remote consulting unit.

[0026] 8. A system according to technical solution 1, wherein the identification of the event is based in part on sensor data from at least one vehicle in the vehicle set.

[0027] 9. A system according to technical solution 1, wherein a portion of the vehicle set is owned by a fleet.

[0028] 10. A system according to technical solution 1, wherein a portion of the vehicle set is owned by corresponding private owners.

[0029] 11. The system according to technical solution 10, wherein the controller is adapted to:

[0030] Sending alerts to the corresponding private owners when the incident is within a predefined geographic zone; and

[0031] Based in part on the respective personal skill profile, a request to accompany the portion of the set of vehicles is transmitted to the respective private owner.

[0032] 12. A method of managing a set of vehicles having a controller having a processor and a tangible, non-transitory memory having instructions recorded thereon, the method comprising:

[0033] incorporating a plurality of autonomous vehicles in a vehicle set, each autonomous vehicle having a respective telematics unit adapted to communicate with the controller;

[0034] receiving, via the controller, notification of an event and identifying at least one hub of the event;

[0035] determining, via the controller, in real time, respective states of the set of vehicles, including respective availability and respective proximity to an event;

[0036] dispatching, via the controller, selected vehicles from the set of vehicles to the event based in part on the respective states; and

[0037] Event responsibilities are assigned, via a controller, to selected vehicles in the set of vehicles, the event responsibilities comprising forming a boundary around the at least one center of an event by physically stationing around the at least one center.

[0038] 13. The method according to technical solution 12 further comprises incorporating in event responsibilities:

[0039] It is recommended that surrounding entities, including vehicles and / or passers-by, stay outside the boundary.

[0040] 14. The method according to technical solution 13 further comprises incorporating in event responsibilities:

[0041] Monitor the inside of the border and the outside of the border; and

[0042] Reports whether the surrounding entity has crossed the inside of the bounds.

[0043] 15. The method according to technical solution 12 further comprises incorporating in event responsibilities:

[0044] Traffic is redirected around the at least one center of the event.

[0045] 16. The method according to technical solution 12 further comprises incorporating in event responsibilities:

[0046] An audible signal is provided of a detour route about the at least one center of the event.

[0047] 17. The method according to technical solution 12 further comprises:

[0048] sending an alert to a corresponding private owner when the event is within a predefined geographic zone, wherein a portion of the set of vehicles is owned by the corresponding private owner; and

[0049] Based in part on the respective personal skill profile, a request to accompany the portion of the set of vehicles is transmitted to the respective private owner.

[0050] 18. The method according to technical solution 12 further comprises:

[0051] Selected vehicles in the set of vehicles are assigned to corresponding positions at the event based on an order of arrival such that a selected vehicle that arrives first is placed at a corresponding position relatively closer to the at least one center.

[0052] 19. A system for managing a set of vehicles, the system comprising:

[0053] a controller having a processor and tangible, non-transitory memory having instructions recorded thereon;

[0054] wherein the set of vehicles includes a plurality of autonomous vehicles, each autonomous vehicle having a respective telematics unit adapted to communicate with the controller;

[0055] The controller is adapted to:

[0056] receiving notification of an event and identifying at least one center of the event;

[0057] determining in real time the respective status of a set of vehicles, including respective availability and respective proximity to an event;

[0058] Dispatching selected vehicles from the set of vehicles to the event based in part on the corresponding status; and

[0059] assigning responsibility for the event to selected vehicles in the vehicle set; and

[0060] The event responsibilities include:

[0061] forming a boundary around the at least one center of the event by physically stationing around the at least one center;

[0062] Advising surrounding entities, including vehicles and / or passers-by, to stay outside the boundary; and

[0063] Traffic is redirected around the at least one center of the event.

[0064] 20. The system according to technical solution 19 further comprises:

[0065] a remote consulting unit adapted to provide notification of the event to the controller; and

[0066] The event responsibilities include providing status updates of the event to the remote consulting unit.

[0067] The above features and advantages and other features and advantages of the present disclosure are readily apparent from the following detailed description of the best modes for carrying out the disclosure when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0068] Figure 1 is a schematic fragmentary diagram of a system for managing helper vehicles at an event;

[0069] Figure 2 Is has Figure 1 Schematic fragmentary diagram of example events for a helper vehicle; and

[0070] Figure 3 It is aimed at Figure 1 A flowchart of a method that can be performed by a controller.

[0071] Representative embodiments of the present disclosure are shown in the accompanying drawings by way of non-limiting examples and are described in detail below. However, it should be understood that the novel aspects of the present disclosure are not limited to the specific forms illustrated in the drawings listed above. On the contrary, the present disclosure is intended to cover modifications, equivalents, combinations, sub-combinations, permutations, groupings, and alternatives that fall within the scope of the present disclosure as covered by, for example, the appended claims. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0072] Referring to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like components, Figure 1-2 A system 10 for managing a set of vehicles 12 is schematically illustrated. The set of vehicles 12 includes a plurality of autonomous vehicles, such as a first vehicle 14, a second vehicle 16, and a third vehicle 18. The number of vehicles in the set of vehicles 12 may vary. The set of vehicles 12 may include, but is not limited to, a passenger car, a sport utility vehicle, a light truck, a heavy vehicle, a minivan, a bus, a delivery vehicle, a bicycle, a mobile robot, an agricultural implement (e.g., a tractor), sports-related equipment (e.g., a golf cart), a boat, an airplane, a train, or another mobile platform. The set of vehicles 12 may include fully electric and partially electric vehicles. It should be understood that the set of vehicles 12 may take many different forms.

[0073] As described below, the system 10 provides a solution for dynamically and rapidly managing a set of vehicles 12 that act as helpers to assist around an event. Figure 2 Shown and described. Figure 1 The system 10 includes a controller C having at least one processor P and at least one memory M (or a non-transitory tangible computer-readable storage medium), on which the at least one memory M can record the commands for executing the management of the vehicle set 12 (in Figure 3 shown in and about Figure 3The memory M may store a controller executable instruction set, and the processor P may execute the controller executable instruction set stored in the memory M.

[0074] The system 10 (via execution of the method 200) enables selected vehicles in the vehicle set 12 to be repurposed and routed to events 100 where they are assigned various event responsibilities. The system 10 allows for dynamic and automatic repurposing of the vehicle set 12 (those available) in response to scenarios of related events that require additional resources and actions. Information regarding the availability of corresponding vehicles in the vehicle set 12 may be stored in at least one database D that is updated in real time and accessible by the controller C.

[0075] refer to Figure 1 , the vehicle set 12 includes a plurality of autonomous vehicles, each having a corresponding telematics unit 20 for establishing two-way communication with the controller C. The telematics unit 20 may collect telemetry data from the corresponding vehicle, such as location, speed, engine data, maintenance requirements, and repairs, by interfacing with various internal subsystems. The telematics unit 20 may enable vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication and / or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication. Each vehicle in the vehicle set 12 accordingly includes a vehicle controller 22. The vehicles in the vehicle set 12 may accordingly be able to access a mobile application 24, which may be embedded in a smart device (e.g., a smart phone) and inserted into or otherwise linked to the corresponding vehicle. Circuits and components of a mobile application ("app") available to those skilled in the art may be employed.

[0076] If the vehicle set 12 is part of a fleet, the controller C may be embedded in the host vehicle or the lead vehicle. In another embodiment, the controller C may be hosted by or headquartered at a remotely located cloud computing service 26. Figure 1 The cloud computing service 26 may include one or more remote servers hosted on the Internet to store, manage, and process data. The cloud computing service 26 may be managed at least in part by personnel at various locations.

[0077] The controller C is adapted to determine in real time the respective status of the set of vehicles 12, including respective availability and respective proximity to the event 100. The controller C is adapted to dispatch selected vehicles of the set of vehicles 12 to the event 100 based in part on their respective status and to assign event responsibilities to them. Figure 2, the controller C is adapted to determine at least one center 110 of the incident 100. The center 110 may be the core site of a downed power line, a fallen tree, a vehicle problem, a chemical spill, and other situations involving violations. Vehicles arriving to support the incident 100 may be prioritized and assigned a position to help control the area by starting in the immediate location of the center 110. As additional vehicles arrive, the vehicle set 12 may be reallocated to expand to a desired radius based on city blocks, entry ramps, specific road segments, etc.

[0078] Reference now Figure 3 , a flow chart of an example method 200 for operating the system 10 is shown. The method 200 need not be applied in the particular order described herein. Further, it is to be understood that some blocks may be eliminated. In some embodiments, the method 200 may be embodied as computer readable code or stored instructions and at least partially executable by the controller C. The start and end of the method 200 are indicated by the letters "S" and "E".

[0079] exist Figure 3 Beginning at block 202 of the method 200, the method 200 includes receiving input data related to the event 100. In some embodiments, the controller C is adapted to receive notification of the event 100 in real time via the remote consulting unit 30. The remote consulting unit 30 may be electronically and / or manually operated by a remote consultant 32, which has access to an electronic device 34, such as a desktop computer, laptop computer, tablet, mobile phone, or wearable device. The remote consulting unit 30 may include one or more servers, each server including a processing device and a memory device.

[0080] In some embodiments, notification of event 100 may originate from a vehicle on the vehicle set 12 that supports the need through sensor or situational awareness identification. In other words, the vehicle set 12 may be equipped with corresponding sensors, such as cameras and microphones, and report the need to the remote consulting unit 30 through V2X, short-range wireless, or notification.

[0081] The corresponding vehicles in the vehicle set 12 may be equipped with a supervisory mode 50 (executable by the vehicle controller 22) that allows them to detect new incidents and generate reports. Proceeding to box 204, the controller C is adapted to determine whether the supervisory mode 50 of at least one of the corresponding vehicles in the vehicle set 12 is enabled. If the supervisory mode 50 is not enabled (box 204 = No), the method 200 proceeds to box 206 to determine whether there is a new incident reported by the remote consulting unit 30. If not (box 206 = No), the method 200 loops back to box 202. If there is a new incident (box 206 = Yes), the method 200 proceeds to box 208, where the supervisory mode 50 is enabled and a report can be generated for the remote consulting unit 30 based on the data provided by the supervisory mode 50.

[0082] Continuing to box 210, the incident is classified by the controller C. For example, the incident may be classified as an electrical situation (e.g., a downed power line), a fallen tree, a vehicle problem, a chemical spill, and / or a situation involving a violation of a traffic rule. Proceeding from box 210 to box 212, the controller C is adapted to check the respective status of the vehicles in the vehicle set 12, including their availability, proximity to the event 100, and profile (e.g., whether they are equipped with turn signals, speakers, a trailer for towing, or other specific equipment). Reference Figure 1 , information from database D may be employed to determine the availability and proximity of the set of vehicles 12 .

[0083] From block 212, method 200 proceeds to block 214 where one or more vehicles from vehicle set 12 are assigned to event 100 based on their respective states. Also in accordance with block 212, event responsibilities are assigned, with specific roles at specific locations. Respective vehicles in vehicle set 12 are instructed to coordinate intersections to isolate city blocks, entrances / exits of highways, or specific road segments. Figure 2 In the example shown in , the center 110 of the event 100 is close to multiple streets, such as a first street 130 extending parallel to a first direction 132 and a second street 134 orthogonal to the first direction 132. The orthogonal streets form multiple city blocks around the center 110, such as blocks 112, 114, 116, 118, 120, 122, 124, and 126.

[0084] exist Figure 2In the example shown in FIG. 1 , the vehicle set 12 includes boundary vehicles B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, B6, B7, and B8 and supervisory vehicles S1, S2. Some vehicles in the vehicle set 12 may be assigned “perimeter” duties, in which they form a closed perimeter or boundary B around the center 110 of the event 100 by being physically stationed or parked around the center 110. The boundary B may be a loose boundary that blocks inbound and outbound street traffic around the center 110. Figure 2 An example boundary B formed by boundary vehicles B1 , B2 , B3 , B4 , B5 , B6 , B7 , and B8 from the vehicle set 12 is shown in FIG.

[0085] The event responsibility may include advising surrounding entities to stay outside boundary B. Surrounding entities include objects and persons near boundary B, such as Figure 2 Some vehicles in the vehicle set 12 may be assigned a "supervision" role, where selected vehicles (such as Figure 2 The supervisory vehicles S1 and S2 in the control mode 50 patrol the inner side of the boundary B and the outer side of the boundary B to monitor the situation. If surrounding entities such as the intrusion vehicle 160 and the intrusion pedestrian 162 cross the inner side of the boundary B, the supervisory vehicles S1 and S2 (through the execution of the supervisory mode 50) can generate a report.

[0086] Event duties may include redirecting traffic around the center 110 of the event 100 using instruments such as directional lights, displays, speakers, flares, etc. Event duties may include providing audible signals for detours around the event 100. For example, referring to Figure 2 , boundary vehicles B1, B2, B3 can redirect passing vehicles 142, 144 along direction 132 through the use of speakers. Boundary vehicles B5, B6, B7 can redirect passing vehicles 152, 154 along direction 150 along with pedestrians 156 through the use of turn signals and / or flares.

[0087] The vehicles selected from the set of vehicles 12 may be assigned to corresponding locations at the event 100 based on the order of arrival, such that the selected vehicles that arrive first are placed at corresponding locations relatively closer to the center 110. The controller C may be adapted to implement a module that prioritizes, assigns, and moves vehicles to optimize coverage and visibility of the situation.

[0088] from Figure 3At block 214, the method 200 loops back to block 202, as indicated by line 215. Pursuant to block 204, if the supervisory mode 50 is enabled (block 204=yes), the method 200 proceeds to block 216, where the controller C is adapted to report changes in data monitoring and receive updates regarding the event 100. Continuing to block 218, the controller C is adapted to determine whether instructions to the set of vehicles 12 need to be updated, e.g., a change in event responsibility, a change in the location of the boundary B, or activation of the supervisory mode 50 for some of the vehicles.

[0089] If an update of the instructions to the vehicle set 12 is required (block 218=yes), the method 200 proceeds to block 214. If an update is not required (block 218=no), the method 200 proceeds to block 220 where the controller C is adapted to determine whether the incident has been cleared, i.e., vehicle support is no longer required. This assessment may be made by the remote consulting unit 30 based on information provided by the relevant authorities.

[0090] If the incident has not been cleared (block 220=No), the method 200 loops back to block 202, as indicated by line 215. If the incident has been cleared (block 220=Yes) and vehicle support is no longer required, the method 200 proceeds to block 222 to release the corresponding vehicle in the vehicle set 12 from the event 100, and the method 200 ends.

[0091] In some embodiments, a portion of the vehicle set 12 is owned by a fleet. The system 10 allows fleet owners to make their vehicles available from dealer lots, autonomous ride-sharing, or manufacturing plants, which provides large-scale support and alleviates privacy concerns about personal vehicle repurposing. Fleet owners can mark vehicles for availability, check their status to focus on empty or idle units, and direct them to respond. These actions can be triggered by awareness of events 100 through remote consulting units 30 and / or through alliances with authorities.

[0092] In some embodiments, a portion of the set of vehicles is owned by respective private owners who choose to participate in providing their vehicles as helpers during the vehicle availability period. The controller C may be adapted to send an alert to the private owner 40 when the event 100 is within a predefined geographic zone.

[0093] Still further, the system 10 may allow the private owner 40 to opt in to have their vehicle escorted based on their respective personal skill profile. For example, the private owner 40 may be a health care worker, such as a doctor, nurse, or paramedic, who provides a profile including their availability and skills to the database D. When their skills, such as delivering medical care, are appropriate for the event 100, the controller C may transmit a request to the respective private owner to accompany their respective vehicle. For example, the private owner 40 may have their profile set to alert them in real time when the event 100 is within 10 miles of their location. The private owner 40 may autonomously or through a navigation app choose to have their vehicle rerouted to respond, and if the criteria are met, the vehicle may be escorted to the event 100.

[0094] refer to Figure 1 , the wireless network 42 can be adopted to facilitate communication among the various components of the system 10. The wireless network 42 can be a short-range network or a long-range network. The wireless network 42 can be a communication bus, which can be in the form of a serial controller area network (CAN bus). The wireless network 42 can be a serial communication bus in the form of a local area network. The local area network can include, but is not limited to, a controller area network (CAN), a controller area network with flexible data rate (CAN-FD), Ethernet, Bluetooth, WIFI, and other forms of data. The wireless network 42 can be a wireless local area network (LAN) that links multiple devices using a wireless distribution method, a wireless metropolitan area network (MAN) that connects several LANs, or a wireless wide area network (WAN) that covers large areas such as neighboring towns and cities. Other types of network technologies or communication protocols available to those skilled in the art can be used.

[0095] In summary, the system 10 allows for dynamic and automatic repurposing of a set of vehicles 12 in response to scenarios of related events 100 that require more resources and actions, such as to protect an area, disperse traffic flow, and provide status to other vehicles, pedestrians, and responsible entities. The system 10 (via execution of the method 200) enables selected vehicles in the set of vehicles 12 to be repurposed and routed to an event 100 where they are assigned various event responsibilities. Event responsibilities include creating a boundary B around the event 100 by physically parking around the center 110 of the event 100 (see Figure 2 ). Vehicles in the vehicle set 12 may also be tasked with detecting an initial incident, requesting assistance from others in the area, determining the type of assistance needed, and monitoring the situation to determine if it is resolved, escalated, or requires more support. Additionally, the system 10 enables the respective private owners of the vehicles to participate in providing their vehicles for support as well as their own personal skill choices.

[0096] Figure 1The controller C includes a computer-readable medium (also referred to as a processor-readable medium), including a non-temporary (e.g., tangible) medium that participates in providing data (e.g., instructions) that can be read by a computer (e.g., by a processor of a computer). Such a medium can take many forms, including but not limited to non-volatile media and volatile media. Non-volatile media can include, for example, optical or magnetic disks and other permanent memories. Volatile media can include, for example, dynamic random access memory (DRAM), which can constitute a main memory. Such instructions can be transmitted through one or more transmission media, including coaxial cables, copper wires, and optical fibers, including wires that include a system bus coupled to a computer processor. Some forms of computer-readable media include, for example, floppy disks, floppy disks, hard disks, tapes, other magnetic media, CD-ROMs, DVDs, other optical media, physical media with hole patterns, RAMs, PROMs, EPROMs, flash EEPROMs, other memory chips or cassettes, or other media that a computer can read.

[0097] The lookup tables, databases, data repositories, or other data stores described herein may include various types of mechanisms for storing, accessing, and retrieving various types of data, including hierarchical databases, groups of files in a file rechargeable energy storage system, application databases in proprietary formats, relational database energy management systems (RDBMS), and the like. Each such data store may be included in a computing device that employs a computer operating system such as one of those mentioned above, and may be accessed via a network in one or more of various ways. The file system may be accessible from the computer operating system and may include files stored in various formats. In addition to the language for creating, storing, editing, and executing stored procedures, the RDBMS may also employ a structured query language (SQL), such as the PL / SQL language mentioned above.

[0098] The flowcharts illustrate the possible implementation architecture, functionality, and operation of the systems, methods, and computer program products of various embodiments of the present disclosure. In this regard, each box in the flowchart or block diagram may represent a module, a code segment, or a code portion, which includes one or more executable instructions for implementing (one or more) specified logical functions. It will also be noted that each box in the block diagram and / or flowchart illustration and the combination of boxes in the block diagram and / or flowchart illustration can be implemented by a dedicated hardware-based storage system that performs the specified function or action or by a combination of dedicated hardware and computer instructions. These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable medium, which can instruct a controller or other programmable data processing device to operate in a specific manner so that the instructions stored in the computer-readable medium produce an article of manufacture including instructions for implementing the functions / actions specified in the flowchart and / or block diagram box.

[0099] The numerical values ​​of parameters in this specification, including the appended claims (e.g., numerical values ​​of quantities or conditions), are to be understood as being modified by the term "approximately" in each corresponding instance, whether or not "approximately" actually appears before the numerical value. "Approximately" indicates that the stated numerical value allows some slight imprecision (where the value is close to exact; approximately or reasonably close to the value; almost). If the imprecision provided by "approximately" is not otherwise understood in the art with this ordinary meaning, then "approximately" as used herein at least indicates the variation that may be caused by the ordinary methods of measuring and using such parameters. In addition, the disclosure of the range includes the disclosure of each value within the entire range and the further divided range. Each value within the range and the endpoints of the range are thereby disclosed as separate embodiments.

[0100] The detailed description and the drawings or figures are support and description of the present disclosure, but the scope of the present disclosure is limited only by the claims. Although some and other embodiments of the best mode for implementing the claimed disclosure have been described in detail, there are various alternative designs and embodiments for practicing the disclosure defined in the attached claims. Furthermore, the embodiments shown in the drawings or the features of the various embodiments mentioned in this specification are not necessarily understood as embodiments that are independent of each other. On the contrary, each of the features described in one of the examples of the embodiments can be combined with one or more other desired features from other embodiments, resulting in other embodiments not being described in words or with reference to the drawings. Therefore, such other embodiments fall within the framework of the scope of the attached claims.

Claims

1. A system for managing a set of vehicles, the system comprising: a controller having a processor and tangible, non-transitory memory having instructions recorded thereon; wherein the set of vehicles includes a plurality of autonomous vehicles, each autonomous vehicle having a respective telematics unit adapted to communicate with the controller; The controller is adapted to: receiving notification of an event and identifying at least one center of the event; determining in real time the respective status of a set of vehicles, including respective availability and respective proximity to an event; dispatching selected vehicles from the set of vehicles to the event based in part on the corresponding status; as well as Assigning event responsibilities to selected vehicles in the set of vehicles, the event responsibilities comprising forming a boundary around the at least one center of an event by physically stationing around the at least one center. 2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the event responsibility comprises advising surrounding entities to stay outside of a boundary, the surrounding entities comprising vehicles and / or pedestrians.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the event responsibilities include: Monitor the inside of the border and the outside of the border; and Reports whether surrounding entities, including vehicles and / or pedestrians, have crossed the inside of the boundary.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the event responsibilities include redirecting traffic around the at least one center of the event.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the event duties include providing an audible signal of a detour route around the at least one center of the event.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the selected vehicles in the vehicle set are assigned to corresponding positions at the event based on an order of arrival such that a selected vehicle that arrives first is placed at a corresponding position relatively closer to the at least one center.

7. The system of claim 1, further comprising: a remote consulting unit adapted to provide notification of the event to the controller; and The event responsibilities include providing status updates of the event to the remote consulting unit.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein identification of an event is based in part on sensor data from at least one vehicle in the set of vehicles.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein a portion of the set of vehicles is owned by a fleet.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein a portion of the set of vehicles is owned by respective private owners.

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