ADAPTIVE RESPONSE FOR SHUNTING ERROR MODES

Abstract

A method for broadcasting a signal to maneuver a plurality of autonomously operated vehicles includes broadcasting the signal to the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles, establishing a secure data connection with each of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles based on the signal, determining a disruption of the secure data connection with one or more vehicles of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles, and causing the one or more vehicles of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles to initiate an action based on the disruption of the secure data connection.

Description

FIELD OF TECHNOLOGYThe present disclosure relates to managing a wireless connection between one or more vehicles and one or more infrastructures. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to one or more adaptive responses that may initiate the one or more vehicles based on one or more failure modes associated with the wireless connection between the one or more vehicles and the one or more infrastructures.GENERAL STATE OF THE ARTThe statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute the prior art.In a vehicle placement environment, automated plant or depot placement technology allows vehicles arriving at a manufacturing plant or parking facility at the end of the manufacturing line to be wirelessly controlled and guided to a parking facility by a sensing infrastructure controller that constantly monitors and detects vehicles. The loss of wireless communication or reliable wireless communication could potentially result in a loss of transmission of communication data packets between the vehicle and the sensing infrastructure controller. The present disclosure addresses these and other problems related to maneuvering vehicles.SUMMARYThis section provides a general summary of the disclosure and is not a comprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of its features.The present disclosure provides a method of broadcasting a signal to maneuver a plurality of autonomously operated vehicles, the method comprising: broadcasting the signal to the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles, the signal associated with one or more commands that lead the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles to a waypoint; establishing a secure data connection with each of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles based on the signal; determining an interruption of the secure data connection with one or more vehicles of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles; and causing the one or more vehicles of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles to initiate an action based on the interruption of the secure data connection; wherein at least one of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles is a host vehicle, the host vehicle implementing a collision avoidance algorithm configured to: estimate at least a position and orientation of each of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles based on one or more vehicle sensors associated with the host vehicle; and determine that the broadcast signal matches received information by the host vehicle associated with guiding the autonomously operated vehicle to the path point; wherein the host vehicle communicates a possible collision to each of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles based on sensor data from the one or more vehicle sensors and further based on the received information not matching the broadcast signal; wherein the break in the secure data connection is determined based on one or more of: a loss of one or more data packets between the one or more vehicles and a server; a server detection error; a human takeover of the one or more vehicles and an unscheduled deviation from a scheduled route based on a minimum displacement that is exceeded for a predetermined interval; malicious control of software associated with the one or more vehicles; or pedestrians or another vehicle within a vicinity of a path zone of the one or more vehicles at an unscheduled time; wherein causing the one or more vehicles of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles to initiate the action further comprises: causing, based on the one or more commands and the break of the secure data connection, one or more vehicles of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles that maintain the secure data connection to decelerate, thereby causing the one or more vehicles that maintain the secure data connection to increase a safety distance between each of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles, wherein the one or more vehicles that maintain the secure data connection are behind the one or more vehicles that maintain the break of the secure data connection; Further comprising: causing, based on the one or more broadcast commands and a secure data connection restore, one or more vehicles maintaining the secure data connection to accelerate, thereby causing the one or more vehicles maintaining the secure data connection to decrease a safety distance between each of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles, wherein the one or more vehicles maintaining the secure data connection are behind the one or more vehicles having the break of the secure data connection; wherein determining the break of the secure data connection further comprises: determining that the break of the secure data connection exceeds a time threshold or a threshold amount of lost data packets that have been lost; wherein causing the one or more vehicles of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles to initiate an action further comprises: causing, based on the disruption of the secure data connection exceeding the time threshold or the threshold amount of lost data packets, the one or more vehicles to maneuver away from the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles; or causing, based on one or more instructions and based on the disruption of the secure data connection exceeding the time threshold or the threshold amount of lost data packets, the one or more vehicles to issue an exterior alert, wherein the exterior alert is an emitted sound, a pattern of flashing lights, or a combination thereof.The present disclosure provides a method for individually transmitting a signal for maneuvering each vehicle of a plurality of autonomously operated vehicles, the method comprising: transmitting the signal to each of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles, the signal associated with respective vehicles of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles and one or more commands that lead each of the autonomously operated vehicles to a waypoint; establishing a secure data connection with each of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles based on the signal; determining an interruption of the secure data connection with one or more vehicles of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles; transmitting, based on the interruption of the secure data connection, one or more instructions to the one or more vehicles of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles, the one or more instructions causing the one or more vehicles to initiate an action; wherein the interruption of the secure data connection is determined based on one or more of: a loss of one or more data packets between the one or more vehicles and a server; a server detection error; a takeover of the one or more vehicles by a human and an unscheduled deviation from a scheduled route based on a minimum displacement exceeded for a predetermined interval; malicious control of software associated with the one or more vehicles; or a pedestrian or other vehicle within a vicinity of a travel zone of the one or more vehicles at an unscheduled time; further comprising: causing, based on the one or more transmitted instructions and the break of the secure data connection, one or more vehicles maintaining the secure data connection and behind the one or more vehicles having the break of the secure data connection to decelerate, thereby causing the one or more vehicles having the maintained secure data connection to increase a safety distance between each of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles; further comprising: causing, based on the one or more transmitted instructions and a secure data connection restore, one or more vehicles that maintain the secure data connection and that are behind the one or more vehicles that have the secure data connection break to accelerate, thereby causing the one or more vehicles that have maintained the secure data connection to decrease a safety margin between each of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles; wherein determining the secure data connection break further comprises: determining that the secure data connection break exceeds a time threshold or a threshold amount of lost data packets that have been lost; Further comprising: causing, based on the one or more instructions and based on the break in the secure data connection exceeding the time threshold or the threshold amount of lost data packets, the one or more vehicles to maneuver away from the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles; or causing, based on the one or more instructions and based on the break in the secure data connection exceeding the time threshold or the threshold amount of lost data packets, the one or more vehicles to issue an exterior alert, wherein the exterior alert is an emitted sound, a pattern of flashing lights, or a combination thereof.The present disclosure provides a system for maneuvering a plurality of autonomously operated vehicles, the system comprising: a server configured to: transmit, to the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles, a broadcast signal associated with one or more commands, the one or more commands guiding the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles to a path point, establish a secure data connection with each of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles based on the signal, determine an interrupt of the secure data connection, and cause, based on the interrupt of the secure data connection, the one or more vehicles of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles to initiate an action; and a plurality of autonomously operated vehicles configured to: receive the one or more commands and initiate an action; wherein the break in the secure data connection is determined based on one or more of: a loss of one or more data packets between the one or more vehicles and a server; a server detection error; a human takeover of the one or more vehicles and an unscheduled deviation from a scheduled route based on a minimum displacement that is exceeded for a predetermined interval; malicious control of software associated with the one or more vehicles; or pedestrians or another vehicle within a vicinity of a path zone of the one or more vehicles at an unscheduled time; wherein the server configured to cause the one or more vehicles of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles to initiate an action is further configured to: cause, based on the one or more commands and the break of the secure data connection, one or more vehicles of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles that maintain the secure data connection and are behind the one or more vehicles that have the break of the secure data connection to decelerate, thereby causing the one or more vehicles that have the maintained secure data connection to increase a safety distance between each of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles; wherein the server configured to cause the one or more vehicles of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles to initiate an action is further configured to: cause, based on the one or more broadcast commands and a secure data connection restore, one or more vehicles that maintain the secure data connection and that are behind the one or more vehicles that have the break of the secure data connection to accelerate, thereby causing the one or more vehicles that have maintained the secure data connection to decrease a security distance between each of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles; wherein the server configured to determine the break of the secure data connection is further configured to: determine that the break of the secure data connection exceeds a time threshold or a threshold amount of lost data packets that have been lost; wherein the server configured to cause the one or more vehicles of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles to initiate an action is further configured to: cause the one or more vehicles to maneuver away from the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles based on the break of the secure data connection exceeding the time threshold or the threshold amount of lost data packets; or based on one or more instructions and based on the break in the secure data connection exceeding the time threshold or the threshold amount of lost data packets, causing the one or more vehicles to issue an exterior alert, wherein the exterior alert is an emitted sound, a pattern of flashing lights, or a combination thereof.Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. It is to be understood that the description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.DRAWINGSFor a thorough understanding of the disclosure, various forms thereof will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG. 1 illustrates a system for distributing a fleet of vehicles according to various implementations; FIG. 2 illustrates an example vehicle distributed by the system shown in FIG. 1, according to various implementations; FIG. 3 illustrates an example system for maneuvering one or more vehicles according to various implementations; FIG. 4 illustrates an existing fault within an example system for maneuvering one or more vehicles, according to various implementations; FIG. 5 illustrates a solution of the present fault of FIG. 4 ; FIG. 6 illustrates another fault present within an example system for maneuvering one or more vehicles according to various implementations; FIG. 7 illustrates a solution of the present fault of FIG. 6 ; FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating an example method for adaptively responding to one or more marshalling failure modes, according to various implementations; and FIG. 9 is a flow diagram illustrating another example method for adaptively responding to one or more marshalling failure modes, according to various implementations.The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way.DETAILED DESCRIPTIONThe following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses. It should be understood that throughout the drawings, corresponding reference numerals indicate like or corresponding parts and features.The present disclosure provides a means for an infrastructure to adapt to correctly route the remaining connected ranked vehicles to a waypoints in response to a loss of communication with one or more ranked vehicles. The present disclosure additionally provides a means for the one or more ranked vehicles to provide one or more alerts, such as external audible alerts, to inform nearby pedestrians of loss of connectivity as well as any deviation from a guided route to the original waypoint.Referring now to FIG. 1, a system 100 for distributing autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicles 102 (e.g., one or more vehicles 102 a- 102 e) located in, for example, a parking lot and / or a factory hall is shown. The system 100 includes an infrastructure server 104. The infrastructure server 104 further includes a sensor component 106 that communicates with a set of infrastructure sensors 108, such as one or more cameras, lidar, radar, and / or ultrasound devices. The sensors 108 monitor the movement of the vehicles 102 as the vehicles 102 move through, for example, a factory hall and / or across a parking lot. The infrastructure server 104 also includes a wireless communication component 110 that provides communication between the infrastructure server 104 and the vehicles 102, as described in more detail herein.Referring to FIG. 2, the vehicles 102 may be propelled in various ways, for example, with an electric motor and / or an internal combustion engine. The vehicles 102 may be any type of electrically powered vehicle, such as a car, truck, robot, plane, and / or boat. The vehicles 102 include a controller 200, one or more actuators 202, a plurality of on-board sensors 204, and a human-machine interface (MMS) 206. The vehicles 102 have a reference point 208, that is to say a predefined point within the space defined by a vehicle body, for example a geometric center point at which respective central axes in the longitudinal direction and lateral direction of the vehicle 102 intersect. The reference point 208 identifies the location of the vehicles 102, for example, a point at which the vehicles 102 are located as the vehicles 102 navigate toward a viewpoint.The controller 200 operates the vehicles 102 in an autonomous or a semi-autonomous mode. The autonomous mode is one in which each of propulsion, braking, and steering of the vehicles 102 is controlled by the controller 200; in a semi-autonomous mode, the controller 200 controls propulsion, braking, and / or steering of one or two vehicles 102. However, it should be appreciated that the controller 200 may control the propulsion, braking, and / or steering of any number of vehicles 102.The controller 200 is configured or programmed, in some examples, to operate the operation of one or more of brakes, propulsion (e.g., control of acceleration of the vehicle by controlling one or more of an internal combustion engine, an electric motor, a hybrid motor, etc.), steering, control of the air conditioning system, interior and / or exterior lighting, etc., of a vehicle, as well as to determine whether and when the controller 200 is to control such operations instead of a human operator. Additionally, the controller 200 is programmed to determine whether and when a human operator is to control such operations.The controller 200 includes or may be communicatively coupled to one or more processors, for example controllers or the like, included in the vehicles 102 for monitoring and / or controlling various vehicle controllers, such as a powertrain controller, a brake controller, a steering controller, etc. (for example, via a vehicle communication bus). The controller 200 is generally arranged for communication in a vehicle communication network, which may include a bus in the vehicle 102, such as a controller area network (CAN) or the like, and / or other wired and / or wireless mechanisms.The controller 200 transmits messages to various devices in the vehicles 102 via a vehicle network and / or receives messages from the various devices, for example the one or more actuators 202, the MMS 206, etc. Alternatively or additionally, in cases where the controller 200 includes multiple devices, the vehicle communication network may be utilized for communications between devices represented as the controller 200 in this disclosure. Further, as discussed below, various other controllers and / or sensors provide data to controller 200 via the vehicle communication network.Additionally, the controller 200 is configured to communicate with other traffic objects (e.g., vehicles, infrastructures, pedestrians, etc.) via a vehicle-to-vehicle wireless communication interface, such as via a vehicle-to-vehicle communication network. The controller 200 is also configured to communicate over a vehicle-to-infrastructure communication network, such as to communicate with the wireless communication component 110 of the infrastructure server 104. The vehicle communication network represents one or more mechanisms by which the controller 200 of the vehicles 102 communicates with other traffic objects, and may be one or more wireless communication mechanisms, including any desired combination of wireless (e.g., cellular, wireless, satellite, microwave, and radio frequency) communication mechanisms and any desired network topology (or topologies when multiple communication mechanisms are utilized). Examples of vehicle communication networks include, but are not limited to, cellular, Bluetooth® IEEE 802.11, dedicated short range communications (DSRC), and / or wide area networks (WAN), including the Internet, providing data communication services.The vehicle actuators 202 are implemented via circuits, chips, or other electronic and / or mechanical components that can actuate various vehicle subsystems in accordance with suitable control signals. The actuators 202 may be used to control braking, acceleration, and steering of the vehicles 102. The controller 200 may be programmed to actuate the vehicle actuators 202 including propulsion, steering, and / or braking based on the scheduled acceleration or deceleration of the vehicles 102.The sensors 204 include a variety of devices to provide data to the controller 200. For example, the sensors 204 may include object detection sensors, such as lidar sensors disposed on or within the vehicles 102 that provide relative locations, sizes, and shapes of one or more targets surrounding the vehicles 102, for example, additional vehicles, bicycles, pedestrians, robots, drones, etc., that travel beside, in front of, and / or behind the vehicle 102. As another example, one or more sensors may be radar sensors attached to one or more vehicle bumpers of the vehicles 102 that may provide locations of the target / targets relative to the location of each of the vehicles 102.The object detection sensors may include a camera sensor, for example to provide a front view, side view, rear view, etc., that provide images of an area surrounding the vehicles 102. For example, the controller 200 may be programmed to receive image data from a camera sensor / sensors and implement image processing techniques to detect a road, infrastructure elements, etc. The controller 200 may be further programmed to determine a current vehicle location based on location coordinates, for example, GPS coordinates received from the vehicles 102 and indicative of a location of the vehicles 102 from a GPS sensor.The MMS 212 is configured to receive information from a user, such as a human operator, during operation of the vehicles 102. Moreover, the MMS 212 is configured to present information to the user, such as an occupant of one or more of the vehicles 102. In some variations, the controller 200 is programmed to receive target data, for example location coordinates, from the MMS 212.Accordingly, the vehicles 102 may be autonomously guided to a path point using a combination of the infrastructure sensors 108 and the vehicle sensors (e.g., the on-board sensors 204). Route guidance may be performed using the vehicle position, the distance to travel, the queue for vehicle ranking, etc. Vehicles 102 requiring additional charge / fuel may be prepared prior to queuing. Other vehicles 102 intended for a particular path point operate in the same manner so that movement of an entire fleet can be coordinated. The movements of the entire fleet are coordinated by a central fleet management system which routes all traffic and logistics from an assembly facility to the path point. For example, the entire fleet may be organized in a presorted order.The centralized fleet management application, in various examples, has full knowledge of the vehicles 102 under their control (e.g., current location, destination, special alerts, etc.), which increases computational involvement and traceability to the distribution process. Fleet management is coordinated both within and across locations to optimize delivery time of each vehicle 102 to the waypoint. A number of logistics applications may be used, which may include a combination of an infrastructure detection system incorporated into a traffic management algorithm to queue vehicles in real-time and resolve conflicts. Accordingly, the fleet management application queues vehicles 102 based on unique characteristics (e.g., how far the vehicle 102 needs to drive, what traffic is along the route, when the vehicle 102 needs to get there to be in the proper order, etc.).In one embodiment, the vehicle 102 cmay be a host vehicle, while each of the remaining vehicles of the one or more vehicles 102 a, 102 b, and 102 dmay be remote vehicles. It should be appreciated that there may be any number of remote vehicles. An infrastructure node (not shown) may utilize the infrastructure sensors 108 to acquire and / or provide Cartesian viewpoint position information for maneuvering for each of the vehicles 102, including the host vehicle 102 cand each of the remaining vehicles of the one or more vehicles 102 a, 102 band 102 d. For example, the host vehicle 102 cceeds location information associated with the waypoints. The host vehicle 102 calso monitors the location information of each of the remaining vehicles of the one or more vehicles 102 a, 102 b, and 102 d. As another example, the host vehicle 102 cincludes a collision avoidance algorithm that uses the sensors of the vehicle 102 c(e.g., the object detection sensors) to estimate relative positions of the remaining vehicles 102 a, 102 b, and 102 d.The relative positions of the remaining vehicles 102 a, 102 b, and 102 dallow the collision avoidance algorithm to determine the positions of the remaining vehicles 102 a, 102 b, and 102 drelative to the original viewpoint and any supported waypoints received from the infrastructure server 104. For example, the host vehicle 102 cmay verify that the waypoints information received for the surrounding vehicles (e.g., vehicles 102 a, 102 b, and 102 d) matches the waypoints information sent by the infrastructure server 104. As another example, the host vehicle 102 cmay verify that the waypoints information received for the surrounding vehicles (e.g., vehicles 102 a, 102 b, and 102 d) matches any estimates and / or calculations made by the host vehicle 102 cassociated with the waypoints.Additionally, the host vehicle 102 cmay dynamically estimate any risk of a collision based on the information received from one or more sensors of the host vehicle 102 c. For example, the host vehicle 102 cmay dynamically estimate any risk of collision based on whether the waypoints information received for the surrounding vehicles (e.g., vehicles 102 a, 102 b, and 102 d) match any estimates and / or calculations made by the host vehicle 102 cassociated with the waypoints and / or whether the waypoints information received for the surrounding vehicles (e.g., vehicles 102 a, 102 b, and 102 d) match the waypoints information sent from the infrastructure server 104. As another example, the host vehicle 102 cmay warn any human operators (e.g., the human operators 302) and / or the surrounding vehicles (e.g., the vehicles 102 a, 102 b, and 102 d) of a possible collision. For example, the alert may be provided via a variety of means, such as, but not limited to, an audible horn or other audible notification or visible notification such as flashing any exterior lights of the vehicles 102. As another example, the possible collision may be indicated by a non-match of the waypoints information received for the surrounding vehicles (e.g., vehicles 102 a, 102 b, and 102 d) or the waypoints information sent by infrastructure server 104. As an additional example, the collision avoidance algorithm is programmed to track braking events of each of the surrounding vehicles (e.g., vehicles 102 a, 102 b, and 102 d) associated with the host vehicle 102 cto securely maneuver the vehicles 102.FIG. 3 illustrates the maneuvering of the vehicles 102 when the vehicles 102 are wirelessly connected to the infrastructure server 104 on a guided route 300. The sensor component 106 of the infrastructure server 104 detects and / or tracks each of the vehicles 102. The sensor component 106 of the infrastructure server 104 also detects and / or tracks any pedestrians adjacent to any of the vehicles 102. For example, the sensor component 106 of the infrastructure server 104 detects and / or tracks each of the vehicles 102 and / or any pedestrians (e.g., the human operators 302) adjacent to any of the vehicles 102. Because each of the vehicles 102 is wirelessly connected to the infrastructure server 104, the infrastructure server 104 guides each of the vehicles 102 to the path point. For example, the infrastructure server 104 continues to guide each of the vehicles 102 towards the point of travel as long as the vehicles 102 remain connected to the infrastructure server 104. As another example, the infrastructure server 104 guides each of the vehicles 102 to the path point at a target speed. It should be understood that the target speed may be any speed. In the case that the vehicles 102 are fully autonomous, the vehicles 102 may follow any commands received from the infrastructure server 104 and travel along the path assigned to the vehicles 102 at a constant speed and distance gap as the vehicles 102 are guided towards the viewpoint.FIG. 4 illustrates the maneuvering of the vehicles 102 in a case where at least one of the vehicles 102 presents a response associated with the wireless connection between the vehicles 102 and the infrastructure server 104 when the vehicles 102 follow a guided route 400. For example, packets are sent from the infrastructure server 104 to the vehicles 102 via plant control infrastructure messages (PCIMs). In the event that packets sent to the vehicle 102 bare lost multiple times in succession such that the PCIMs exceed a threshold, the vehicle 102 bbegin to slow relative to the constant speed at which the vehicle 102 bhas traveled. For example, any of the vehicles (e.g., 102 a, 102 c, and / or 102 d) may lose packets several times in succession such that the PCIMs exceed a threshold, in which case the subject vehicle begins to decelerate relative to the constant speed at which the surrounding vehicles have traveled.As another example, in the event packets sent to the vehicle 102 bare lost multiple times in succession such that the PCIMs exceed a threshold, the vehicle 102 b(i.e., or any other affected vehicles) may slow to standstill. When one or more signals received by the vehicles 102 from the infrastructure server are broadcast (e.g., C-V2X-PC5 broadcast), the vehicles 102 cand 102 dmay simultaneously detect the case that loss of PCIMs exceeds the threshold and begin to slow. For example, vehicles 102 cand 102 dare decelerating and traveling at the reduced speed until vehicle 102 bis reconnected to infrastructure server 104. When one or more signals received by the vehicles 102 from the infrastructure server 104 are sent to each of the vehicles in cellular fashion, for example as unicast, the infrastructure server 104 may detect the event that the loss of PCIMs sent to the vehicle 102 bexceeds the threshold via the infrastructure sensors 108. For example, in the event that the infrastructure server 104 wirelessly transmits the one or more signals to the vehicles 102, the infrastructure server 104 may adjust corresponding commands (e.g., the one or more signals) transmitted to the vehicles 102 cand 102 dsuch that the vehicles 102 cand 102 dare caused to adjust or adjust one or more maneuvers to slow down. For example, vehicles 102 cand 102 dare decelerating and traveling at the reduced speed until vehicle 102 bis reconnected to infrastructure server 104. It should be appreciated that the vehicles (e.g., vehicle 102 a) located upstream of the affected vehicles (e.g., vehicle 102 b) continue to move toward the viewpoint.FIG. 5 illustrates a case that a time in which the vehicle 102 bremain separated from the infrastructure server 104 exceeds a guided route threshold 500. For example, in the event that the time that the vehicle 102 bremain separated from the infrastructure server 104 exceeds the threshold, the vehicle 102 bmay maneuver away from the fleet of ranked vehicles 102. As another example, the vehicle 102 bmay maneuver away from the fleet of ranked vehicles 102 to avoid obstructing the flow of ranked traffic of the vehicles 102. For example, one or more panel exciters associated with the vehicle 102 boutput an audible warning indicative of a separation between the vehicle 102 band the infrastructure server 104. It should be appreciated that each of the vehicles 102 a, 102 c, and 102 dalso includes one or more plate exciters. The one or more panel exciters associated with the vehicle 102 balso issue an audible alert indicating a reconnection between the vehicle 102 band the infrastructure server 104, in some examples. It should be appreciated that the one or more panel exciters associated with the vehicle 102 bmay also issue an audible warning regarding any indication of the connectivity status of the vehicle 102 bat any time.In one embodiment, the human operator may take over control of any of the autonomous vehicles 102. For example, regardless of the connectivity status of the vehicles 102 and the infrastructure server 104, the human operator may take over control of any of the autonomous vehicles 102. As another example, the human operator may take over control of any of the autonomous vehicles 102 regardless of whether the vehicle 102 is separate from the infrastructure server 104 or connected to the infrastructure server 104. The case that the human operator accepts any of the autonomous vehicles 102 is detected by one or more of a CAN signal associated with opening or closing a door of the vehicle 102, or a deviation from a location and / or speed associated with the vehicle 102 by the infrastructure server 104 over a minimum interval (e.g., greater than 3 m offset for at least 5 seconds). However, it should be appreciated that the case that the human operator takes over any of the autonomous vehicles 102 may be detected in any manner.For example, the vehicle (e.g., vehicle 102 b) that has deviated from an assigned path for a time that exceeds a threshold may be removed from the ranked fleet of vehicles 102. As another example, the vehicle (e.g., vehicle 102 b) that has deviated from an assigned path for a time that exceeds a threshold may be removed from the ranked fleet of vehicles 102 and PCIMs are set for the remaining ranked vehicles (e.g., vehicles 102 a, 102 c, and 102 d).As an additional example, the ranked vehicle (e.g., vehicle 102 b) that was taken over by the human operator may begin to stop its plant control vehicle messages (PCVMs). The PCVMs that were stopped may be resumed when, for example, the human operator leaves the vehicle 102 b. As another example, in the event that the human takeover of control of the ranked vehicle (e.g., vehicle 102 b) is detected, infrastructure server 104 may begin to adjust the topology of the ranked vehicle 102 and re-adjust the path and / or speeds of the ranked vehicles 102. For example, in the event that the human takeover of control of the ranked vehicle (e.g., vehicle 102 b) is detected, infrastructure server 104 may begin to adjust the topology of the ranked vehicle 102 and re-adjust the path and / or speeds of the ranked vehicles 102 by adjusting PCIMs.As another example, in the event the human operator leaves the vehicle 102 b, the infrastructure server 104 may re-associate the vehicle 102 binto the marshalling topology. In one embodiment, if one of the ranked vehicles 102 includes any type of sensor, the ranked vehicles 102 may detect an obstruction that may occur along the path assigned to the vehicles 102 by the infrastructure server 104. For example, the sensor may utilize technology such as, but not limited to, ultrasonic and / or electromagneticism. As another example, if one of the ranked vehicles 102 detects an obstruction that may occur along the path assigned to the vehicles 102 by the infrastructure server 104, the vehicle 102 may come to a standstill, end PCVM transmission, and / or issue audible alerts associated with the obstruction. As an additional example, any of the ranked vehicles 102 may detect an obstruction that may occur based on an unexpected location determination error along the path assigned to the vehicles 102 by the infrastructure server 104.FIG. 6 illustrates a case where the vehicle 102 bis connected to the infrastructure 104 again on a guided route 600. For example, in the event that the vehicle 102 bis reconnected to the infrastructure 104, the vehicle 102 bmay be guided by the infrastructure server 104 to travel at an increased speed relative to the constant speed. As an example, in the event that the vehicle 102 bis reconnected to the infrastructure 104, the vehicle 102 bmay be guided by the infrastructure server 104 to travel at an increased speed relative to the constant speed, such that lost time may be recovered in the event that the vehicle 102 bmay slow to a standstill or may have deviated from the scheduled route. As an additional example, in the case that the one or more signals are broadcast (e.g., C-V2X-PC5 signals), the vehicles 102 cand 102 dmay simultaneously begin moving in the case that the vehicles 102 cand 102 dhave stopped. For example, in the case that the one or more signals are sent to each of the vehicles in a cellular manner, for example, by unicast, the vehicles 102 cand 102 dmay be individually guided by the infrastructure server 104 to begin moving in the case that the vehicles 102 cand the vehicles 102 dhave stopped. As another example, the vehicle 102 bmay be guided by the infrastructure server 104 to travel at an increased speed relative to the constant speed to achieve the travel speed of the vehicle 102 a. It should be appreciated that the vehicles 102 cand 102 dalso increase their speed relative to the constant speed to achieve the travel speed of the vehicles 102 aand 102 b.FIG. 7 illustrates a present fault associated with a lead vehicle 102 aof the fleet of ranked vehicles 102 on a lead route 700. For example, in the event that lead vehicle 102 alosss connection to infrastructure server 104, one or more panel exciters associated with vehicle 102 aoutput an audible alert that indicates a disconnection between vehicle 102 aand infrastructure server 104. The one or more panel exciters associated with the vehicle 102 aalso issue an audible warning indicating a reconnection between the vehicle 102 aand the infrastructure server 104. It should be appreciated that the one or more panel exciters associated with the vehicle 102 amay also issue an audible warning regarding any indication of the connectivity status of the vehicle 102 at any given time. For example, in response to lead vehicle 102 abbearing connection to infrastructure server 104, the following vehicles (e.g., vehicles 102 b- 102 d) are commanded to slow to increase a distance gap between lead vehicle 102 aand the next vehicle 102 b. As another example, in response to the lead vehicle 102 arecovering the connection with the infrastructure server 104, the following vehicles (e.g., the vehicles 102 b- 102 d) are commanded to accelerate to decrease a distance gap between the lead vehicle 102 aand the next vehicle 102 b.FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating another example method 800 of broadcasting a signal to marshalling a plurality of autonomously-operated vehicles (e.g., vehicles 102). At step 802, a signal is broadcast. It should be appreciated that the signal may be one or more instructions or any other data-related transmission. For example, the signal is broadcast to the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles. In another example, the signal is broadcast from an infrastructure server (e.g., infrastructure server 104). As an additional example, the signal is associated with one or more commands that guide the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles to a waypoints. For example, at least one of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles is a host vehicle. As another example, the host vehicle implements a collision avoidance algorithm configured to estimate at least one position and orientation of each of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles. For example, the host vehicle implements a collision avoidance algorithm further configured to determine whether the broadcast signal matches received information associated with guiding the autonomously operated vehicles to the path point. As another example, the determination of whether the broadcast signal matches the received information is made by the host vehicle. The determination of whether the broadcast signal matches the received information may be performed using any comparison process, such as to determine whether the information in the broadcast signal is the same as the information associated with the guidance of the autonomously operated vehicle. Note that any information may be used to determine the agreement (and perform the comparison), such as any information regarding the guiding operations or the progress of the autonomously operated vehicles.As an additional example, the host vehicle implements a collision avoidance algorithm that estimates at least a position and orientation of each of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles based on one or more vehicle sensors associated with the host vehicle. For example, the host vehicle communicates a possible collision to each of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles. As another example, the host vehicle communicates a potential collision to each of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles based on sensor data from the one or more vehicle sensors. As an additional example, the host vehicle communicates a possible collision to each of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles further based on the received information not matching the broadcast signal. That is, in some examples, the possible collision is based at least in part on the comparison or match performed as described herein.At step 804, a secure data connection is established. The secure data connection is established with each of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles, for example. As another example, the secure data connection is established with each of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles based on the signal. As another example, the secure data connection is established in response to the broadcast signal.At step 806, a break in the secure data connection to one or more vehicles of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles is determined (e.g., identified or detected). For example, the break in the secure data connection is determined based on one or more of: a loss of one or more data packets between the one or more vehicles and a server; a server detection error; a takeover of control of the one or more vehicles by a human and an unscheduled deviation from a scheduled route based on a minimum displacement that is exceeded for a predetermined interval; malicious control of software associated with the one or more vehicles; or pedestrians or another vehicle within a vicinity of a path zone of the one or more vehicles at an unscheduled time. As another example, it is determined whether the break in the secure data connection exceeds a time threshold or a threshold amount of lost data packets that have been lost.At step 808, the one or more vehicles of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles are caused to initiate an action. For example, the one or more vehicles of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles are caused to initiate an action based on the break in the secure data connection. As another example, the one or more vehicles of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles are caused to maintain the secure data connection to decelerate. For example, the one or more vehicles are caused to maintain the secure data connection to decelerate, thereby causing the one or more vehicles that have maintained the secure data connection to increase a safety distance between each of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles. As another example, the one or more vehicles that have maintained the secure data connection are behind the one or more vehicles that have the break in the secure data connection. For example, the one or more vehicles are caused to maneuver away from the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles. As another example, the one or more vehicles are caused to maneuver away from the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles based on the break in the secure data connection exceeding the time threshold or the threshold amount of lost data packets. As another example, the one or more vehicles are caused to issue an exterior alert. For example, based on one or more instructions and based on the break in the secure data connection exceeding the time threshold or the threshold amount of lost data packets, the one or more vehicles are caused to issue the exterior alert. As another example, the exterior alert is an emitted sound, a pattern of flashing lights, or a combination thereof.In one embodiment, one or more vehicles that maintain the secure data connection are caused to accelerate. The one or more vehicles that maintain the secure data connection are caused to accelerate based on the one or more broadcast commands and / or a restoration of the secure data connection, for example. As another example, the one or more vehicles that maintain the secure data connection are caused to accelerate, thereby causing the one or more vehicles that have maintained the secure data connection to decrease a safety distance between each of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles. As an additional example, the one or more vehicles that have maintained the secure data connection are behind the one or more vehicles that have the break in the secure data connection.FIG. 9 is a flow diagram illustrating another example method 900 for individually transmitting a signal to maneuver each vehicle of a plurality of autonomously operated vehicles (e.g., vehicles 102). At step 902, a signal is transmitted. It should be appreciated that the signal may be one or more instructions or any other data-related transmission. For example, the signal is transmitted to each of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles. As another example, the signal is associated with respective vehicles of the plurality of autonomously-operated vehicles and / or one or more commands that each of the autonomously-operated vehicles lead to a waypoints.At step 904, a secure data connection is established. For example, the secure data connection is established with each of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles based on the signal. As another example, the secure data connection is established in response to the transmitted signal.At step 906, a break in the secure data connection with one or more vehicles of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles is determined. For example, the break in the secure data connection is determined based on one or more of: a loss of one or more data packets between the one or more vehicles and a server; a server detection error; a human takeover of the one or more vehicles and an unscheduled deviation from a scheduled route based on a minimum displacement that is exceeded for a predetermined interval; malicious control of software associated with the one or more vehicles; or pedestrians or another vehicle within a vicinity of a travel zone of the one or more vehicles at an unscheduled time. As another example, it is determined whether the break in the secure data connection exceeds a time threshold or a threshold amount of lost data packets that have been lost.At step 908, one or more instructions are transmitted. For example, the one or more instructions are transmitted to the one or more vehicles of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles based on the break in the secure data connection. As another example, the one or more instructions cause the one or more vehicles to initiate an action.In one embodiment, the one or more vehicles that maintain the secure data connection and are behind the one or more vehicles that have the break in the secure data connection are caused to decelerate. For example, the one or more vehicles that maintain the secure data connection and are behind the one or more vehicles that have the secure data connection interrupted are caused to decelerate based on the one or more instructions and / or the secure data connection interruption. As another example, the one or more vehicles that maintain the secure data connection and are behind the one or more vehicles that have the break in the secure data connection are caused to decelerate, thereby causing the one or more vehicles that have maintained the secure data connection to increase a safety distance between each of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles.In another embodiment, the one or more vehicles that maintain the secure data connection and are behind the one or more vehicles that have the break in the secure data connection are caused to accelerate. For example, the one or more vehicles that maintain the secure data connection and are behind the one or more vehicles that have interrupted the secure data connection are caused to accelerate based on the one or more transmitted instructions and a restoration of the secure data connection. As another example, the one or more vehicles that maintain the secure data connection and are behind the one or more vehicles that have the break in the secure data connection are caused to accelerate, thereby causing the one or more vehicles that have maintained the secure data connection to decrease a safety distance between each of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles.In yet another embodiment, the one or more vehicles are caused to maneuver away from the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles. For example, based on the one or more instructions and / or based on the break in the secure data connection exceeding the time threshold or the threshold amount of lost data packets, the one or more vehicles are caused to maneuver away from the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles. As another example, the one or more vehicles are caused to issue an exterior alert. For example, the one or more vehicles are caused to issue an exterior alert based on the one or more instructions and / or based on the break in the secure data connection exceeding the time threshold or the threshold amount of lost data packets. As an additional example, the exterior alert is an emitted sound, a pattern of flashing lights, or a combination thereof.Unless expressly stated otherwise herein, all numerical values indicating mechanical / thermal properties, percentages of compositions, dimensions and / or tolerances, or other characteristics are to be understood as modified by the word "about" or "about" when describing the scope of the present disclosure. This modification is desirable for various reasons including industrial practice, material, manufacture and assembly tolerances, and testability.As used herein, the phrase at least one of A, B, and C should be construed to mean a logical (A OR B OR C), using a non-exclusive logical OR, and should not be construed to mean "at least one of A, at least one of B, and at least one of C.".In this application, the term "controller" and / or "module" may refer to, be part of, or include: an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC); a digital, analog, or mixed analog / digital discrete circuit; a digital, analog, or mixed analog / digital integrated circuit; a combinational logic circuit; a field programmable gate array (FPGA); a processor circuit (shared, dedicated, or group) that executes code; a memory circuit (shared, dedicated, or group) that stores code executed by the processor circuit; other suitable hardware components (e.g., integrating circuit of an operational amplifier circuit as part of the thermal flow data module) that provide the described functionality; or a combination of some or all of the foregoing, such as in a system on chip.The term memory is a subset of the term computer readable medium. The term computer-readable medium, as used herein, does not include transitory electrical or electromagnetic signals propagating through a medium (such as via a carrier wave); the term computer-readable medium may therefore be considered tangible and non-transitory. Non-limiting examples of a non-transitory, tangible computer readable medium include nonvolatile memory circuits (such as a flash memory circuit, an erasable programmable read only memory circuit, or a mask read only memory circuit), volatile memory circuits (such as a static random access memory circuit or a dynamic random access memory circuit), magnetic storage media (such as an analog or digital magnetic tape or a hard disk drive), and optical storage media (such as a CD, a DVD, or a Blu-ray Disc).The apparatuses and methods described in this application may be partially or fully implemented by a special purpose computer created by configuring a general purpose computer to perform one or more specific functions embodied in computer programs. The above-described function blocks, flowchart components, and other elements serve as software specifications that can be translated into the computer programs by the routine work of an skilled technician or programmer.The description of the disclosure is merely exemplary in nature and thus examples that do not depart from the substance of the disclosure are intended to be within the scope of the disclosure. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.According to the present invention, a method for individually transmitting a signal to maneuver each vehicle of a plurality of autonomously operated vehicles includes: transmitting the signal to each of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles, the signal associated with respective vehicles of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles and one or more commands that each of the autonomously operated vehicles result in a path point; establishing a secure data connection with each of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles based on the signal; determining an interruption of the secure data connection with one or more vehicles of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles; and transmitting, based on the interruption of the secure data connection with the one or more vehicles of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles, one or more instructions, the one or more instructions causing the one or more vehicles to initiate an action.According to one embodiment, the break in the secure data connection is determined based on one or more of: a loss of one or more data packets between the one or more vehicles and a server; a server detection error; a human takeover of the one or more vehicles and an unscheduled deviation from a scheduled route based on a minimum displacement that is exceeded for a predetermined interval; malicious control of software associated with the one or more vehicles; or pedestrians or another vehicle within a vicinity of a travel zone of the one or more vehicles at an unscheduled time.According to an embodiment, the above invention is further characterized by: causing, based on the one or more instructions and the secure data connection interruption, one or more vehicles that maintain the secure data connection and are behind the one or more vehicles that have the secure data connection interruption to decelerate, thereby causing the one or more vehicles that have maintained the secure data connection to increase a safety distance between each of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles.According to an embodiment, the above invention is further characterized by: causing, based on the one or more transmitted instructions and a secure data connection restore, the one or more vehicles maintaining the secure data connection and being behind the one or more vehicles having the secure data connection break to accelerate, thereby causing the one or more vehicles maintaining the secure data connection to decrease a safety distance between each of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles.According to an embodiment, determining the break of the secure data connection further comprises: determining that the break of the secure data connection exceeds a time threshold or a threshold amount of lost data packets that have been lost.According to an embodiment, the above invention is further characterized by: causing, based on the one or more instructions and based on the disruption of the secure data connection exceeding the time threshold or the threshold amount of lost data packets, the one or more vehicles to maneuver away from the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles; or causing, based on the one or more instructions and based on the disruption of the secure data connection exceeding the time threshold or the threshold amount of lost data packets, the one or more vehicles to issue an exterior alert, wherein the exterior alert is an emitted sound, a pattern of flashing lights, or a combination thereof.

Claims

A method of broadcasting a signal to maneuver a plurality of autonomously operated vehicles, the method comprising: broadcasting the signal to the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles, the signal associated with one or more commands that lead the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles to a waypoint; establishing a secure data connection with each of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles based on the signal; determining an interruption of the secure data connection with one or more vehicles of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles; and causing, based on the interruption of the secure data connection, the one or more vehicles of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles to initiate an action.The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles is a host vehicle.The method of claim 2, wherein the host vehicle implements a collision avoidance algorithm configured to: estimate at least one position and orientation of each of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles based on one or more vehicle sensors associated with the host vehicle; and determine that the broadcast signal matches information received from the host vehicle associated with the guidance of the autonomously operated vehicles to the waypoint.The method of claim 2, wherein the host vehicle communicates a possible collision to each of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles based on sensor data from the one or more vehicle sensors and further based on the received information not matching the broadcast signal.The method of claim 1, wherein the break in the secure data connection is determined based on one or more of: a loss of one or more data packets between the one or more vehicles and a server; a server detection error; a human takeover of the one or more vehicles and an unscheduled deviation from a scheduled route based on a minimum displacement that is exceeded for a predetermined interval; malicious control of software associated with the one or more vehicles; or pedestrians or another vehicle within a vicinity of a path zone of the one or more vehicles at an unscheduled time.The method of claim 1, wherein causing the one or more vehicles of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles to initiate the action further comprises: causing, based on the one or more commands and the break of the secure data connection, one or more vehicles of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles that maintain the secure data connection to decelerate, thereby causing the one or more vehicles that maintain the secure data connection to increase a safety distance between each of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles, wherein the one or more vehicles that maintain the secure data connection are behind the one or more vehicles that have the break of the secure data connection.The method of claim 1, further comprising: causing, based on the one or more broadcast commands and a secure data connection restore, one or more vehicles that maintain the secure data connection to accelerate, thereby causing the one or more vehicles that maintain the secure data connection to decrease a security distance between each of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles, wherein the one or more vehicles that maintain the secure data connection are behind the one or more vehicles that have the break of the secure data connection.The method of claim 1, wherein determining the break of the secure data connection further comprises: determining that the break of the secure data connection exceeds a time threshold or a threshold amount of lost data packets that have been lost.The method of claim 8, wherein causing the one or more vehicles of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles to initiate an action further comprises: causing, based on the disruption of the secure data connection exceeding the time threshold or the threshold amount of lost data packets, the one or more vehicles to maneuver away from the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles; or causing, based on one or more instructions and based on the disruption of the secure data connection exceeding the time threshold or the threshold amount of lost data packets, the one or more vehicles to issue an external alert, wherein the external alert is an emitted sound, a pattern of flashing lights, or a combination thereof.A system for maneuvering a plurality of autonomously operated vehicles, the system comprising: a server configured to: broadcast a signal associated with one or more commands to the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles, the one or more commands routing the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles to a waypoint, establish a secure data connection with each of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles based on the signal, determine an interrupt of the secure data connection, and cause, based on the interrupt of the secure data connection, the one or more vehicles of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles to initiate an action; and a plurality of autonomously operated vehicles configured to: receive the one or more commands and initiate an action.The system of claim 10, wherein the break in the secure data connection is determined based on one or more of: a loss of one or more data packets between the one or more vehicles and a server; a server detection error; a human takeover of the one or more vehicles and an unscheduled deviation from a scheduled route based on a minimum displacement that is exceeded for a predetermined interval; malicious control of software associated with the one or more vehicles; or pedestrians or another vehicle within a vicinity of a path zone of the one or more vehicles at an unscheduled time.The system of claim 10, wherein the server configured to cause the one or more vehicles of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles to initiate an action is further configured to: cause, based on the one or more commands and the disruption of the secure data connection, one or more vehicles of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles that maintain the secure data connection and are behind the one or more vehicles that have the disruption of the secure data connection to decelerate, thereby causing the one or more vehicles that have maintained the secure data connection to increase a safety distance between each of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles.The system of claim 10, wherein the server configured to cause the one or more vehicles of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles to initiate an action is further configured to: cause, based on the one or more broadcast commands and a secure data connection restore, one or more vehicles of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles that maintain the secure data connection and are behind the one or more vehicles that have maintained the break of the secure data connection to accelerate, thereby causing the one or more vehicles that have maintained the secure data connection to decrease a security distance between each of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles.The system of claim 10, wherein the server configured to determine the break of the secure data connection is further configured to: determine that the break of the secure data connection exceeds a time threshold or a threshold amount of lost data packets that have been lost.The system of claim 14, wherein the server configured to cause the one or more vehicles of the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles to initiate an action is further configured to: cause, based on the interruption of the secure data connection exceeding the time threshold or the threshold amount of lost data packets, the one or more vehicles to maneuver away from the plurality of autonomously operated vehicles; or cause, based on one or more instructions and based on the interruption of the secure data connection exceeding the time threshold or the threshold amount of lost data packets, the one or more vehicles to issue an external alert, wherein the external alert is an emitted sound, a pattern of flashing lights, or a combination thereof.

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