AR Wayfinding for Accurate Autonomous Vehicle Pickup
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Autonomous vehicle riders face confusion and inefficiency during pick-up and drop-off due to unclear location information and navigation challenges, as current systems lack accurate location data and effective wayfinding assistance.
Innovation Solution
Implementing an augmented reality (AR) wayfinding system that utilizes sensors on both the autonomous vehicle and user devices to provide precise location information, visual and audio cues, and directional guidance, enabling users to accurately locate the vehicle and navigate to their destination.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If autonomous vehicles use standard location tracking systems, then the system complexity is low, but the location accuracy and wayfinding precision are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple sensor systems (vehicle-mounted sensors including cameras and LIDAR, mobile device sensors including GPS and accelerometers) into an integrated wayfinding system. This merging of sensor data sources enables precise location tracking and augmented reality wayfinding by fusing data from both vehicle and user device sensors, resolving the contradiction between measurement precision and system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary processing system that receives sensor data from both the autonomous vehicle and the user's mobile device, processes this data through multiple filters, and generates augmented reality wayfinding instructions. This intermediary layer enables precise location tracking while managing system complexity through structured data processing pipelines.
2Ease of operation
If the autonomous vehicle pulls over at the exact pick-up location, then the user experience is improved, but traffic and environmental conditions may prevent this
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary wayfinding assistance that is provided to the user before the vehicle arrives and continues after the user exits. The system pre-calculates optimal pull-over locations considering traffic and environmental conditions, and provides augmented reality instructions to guide the user to the vehicle even when the exact pick-up location cannot be reached, thereby maintaining ease of operation while adapting to conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors traffic and environmental conditions through sensor data and adjusts the wayfinding instructions in real-time. This feedback mechanism allows the vehicle to adapt its pull-over location based on current conditions while still providing clear guidance to the user, balancing ease of operation with adaptability.
3Loss of information
If the system provides detailed wayfinding instructions, then the user can easily locate the vehicle, but the information processing time and computational resources increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments wayfinding information into multiple hierarchical levels: coarse navigation directions to the general area, intermediate directions to the specific location, and fine-grained augmented reality overlay instructions for final vehicle identification. This segmentation allows the system to provide complete information while processing and delivering it in efficient stages, reducing overall processing time.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements multi-filter processing that applies different levels of detail based on the user's current position and needs. Not all information is processed and displayed simultaneously - instead, the system provides partial information initially and adds more detail as needed, reducing processing time while maintaining information completeness.
Data Source
AI summary
Technologies for providing augmented reality wayfinding experiences in ridesharing applications are provided. In some examples, a method for providing augmented reality wayfinding experiences can include determining a first location of an autonomous vehicle (AV) relative to a second location of a client device associated with a user that requested a ride from the AV; based on the first location of the AV relative to the second location of the client device, determining a direction from the second location of the client device to the first location of the AV; presenting, at the client device, a feed from a camera sensor associated with the client device, the feed including a local scene captured by the camera sensor; and presenting a virtual content overlay on the feed, the virtual content overlay including an indication of the direction from the second location of the client device to the first location of the AV.