Autonomous Vehicle Trip Segmentation for Multi-Payload Validation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Autonomous vehicles lack the capability to efficiently manage multi-stage trips with varying payloads, such as picking up cargo before or dropping off cargo after a passenger ride, due to limitations in remote operation and validation processes.
Innovation Solution
A processor-based system for remote operation of autonomous vehicles that receives trip requests with multiple travel portions, determines routes, and performs validation processes to confirm the presence of cargo or passengers across different stages of the trip, enabling the provision of special services like cargo delivery before or after a passenger ride.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If autonomous vehicles operate with fixed single-purpose trips, then operational simplicity is maintained, but service versatility and cargo handling capability are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The trip is segmented into multiple travel portions, each with its own payload type (passenger or cargo). The system divides a single trip into distinct segments that can be independently managed and validated, allowing the vehicle to handle different services in sequence without requiring complete system redesign for each service type.
Solution Approach 2:
The autonomous vehicle is designed to perform multiple functions within a single trip framework. The vehicle can transport passengers in one portion and cargo in another portion of the same trip, making the vehicle universally capable of handling both passenger transport and cargo delivery services without requiring separate dedicated vehicles.
2Productivity
If remote validation processes are simplified, then operational efficiency is improved, but cargo presence confirmation reliability is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The validation process incorporates feedback mechanisms where the remote operator receives information about payload presence and can verify it before the vehicle departs. This feedback loop ensures that cargo or passenger presence is confirmed reliably while maintaining efficient remote operation without requiring complex on-site verification procedures.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multi-stage trips with different payloads are enabled, then special services capability is enhanced, but operational coordination difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
A remote operator serves as an intermediary between the autonomous vehicle system and the trip management requirements. The remote operator coordinates the complex multi-stage trip arrangements, payload validations, and service transitions, making the operational coordination easier by humanizing the management of complex autonomous vehicle operations.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for remote support of autonomous operation of a vehicle includes a processor that is configured to perform a method including receiving a request for a trip through a transportation network, wherein the trip includes a first travel portion from a first location to a second location, and a second travel portion from the second location to a third location. Each of the first travel portion and the second travel portion is associated with a different service such that a first payload of the first travel portion is different from a second payload of the second travel portion. The method also includes determining, based on the request, a route for the trip from the first location to the second location, and from the second location to the third location, and performing a validation process that confirms a presence of cargo in the first payload and/or the second payload.