Autonomous Vehicle Dismissal Prevention via Sensor Verification
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Solution Overview
Problem
Autonomous vehicles in on-demand transportation applications face issues with premature dismissal due to accidental or malicious inputs, leading to undesired vehicle behavior, which can compromise passenger safety and comfort.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that utilize sensors and human-machine interfaces to identify conditions requiring the vehicle to remain stationary, such as passengers or luggage remaining inside, and prevent dismissal until these conditions are resolved, using alerts and authenticated user inputs to ensure safe exit and loading processes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the autonomous vehicle allows easy dismissal to improve operational efficiency, then productivity increases, but reliability deteriorates due to premature or malicious dismissal
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary checks before allowing dismissal by monitoring sensor data to detect conditions such as passengers or luggage remaining in the vehicle. The countdown timer is initiated in advance to provide a warning period before dismissal occurs, ensuring all conditions are verified beforehand to prevent premature departure
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors vehicle conditions through sensors and provides feedback via alerts and notifications to the user. The countdown timer provides time-based feedback, and the system receives feedback from authenticated user inputs to confirm intentional dismissal, creating a closed-loop control system that prevents unauthorized dismissal while maintaining operational efficiency
2Reliability
If the system implements multiple verification steps to prevent malicious dismissal, then reliability improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The controller performs multiple functions using a single integrated system: it monitors sensor data for vehicle conditions, manages the countdown timer, sends alerts through multiple channels, and processes authenticated user inputs. This multi-functional approach prevents malicious dismissal without requiring separate dedicated systems for each function, thereby limiting the increase in device complexity
3Reliability
If the vehicle provides countdown warning and authentication requirements, then reliability improves, but loss of time increases due to extended dismissal process
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses a periodic countdown timer that provides regular time-based warnings before dismissal occurs. This periodic action gives users sufficient notice to prepare for dismissal while maintaining a predictable and time-limited process, balancing safety verification with time efficiency
Data Source
AI summary
This disclosure relates to a system and method for preventing an unwanted dismissal of an autonomous vehicle. This disclosure may be particularly useful when the autonomous vehicle is used in on-demand transportation applications, including ridesharing applications, or shuttle applications. An example method includes identifying a condition indicating an autonomous vehicle should remain stationary, and taking an action configured to prevent unwanted dismissal of an autonomous vehicle when the condition has been identified. Several example conditions and actions are discussed in the written description.