Autonomous Vehicle Interior Cleaning via Camera Detection

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Solution Overview

Problem

Self-driving vehicles face challenges in maintaining cleanliness between rides, leading to potential messes and dissatisfaction among riders, as current solutions like frequent cleaning are costly and inefficient due to the short rental duration of these vehicles.

Innovation Solution

A maintenance system equipped with a camera system that autonomously detects items left behind by riders, communicates with them to confirm ownership, and drives to designated locations for removal or cleaning, optimizing cleaning only when necessary and allowing the vehicle to be used by multiple riders without intermediate cleanings.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If frequent cleaning is performed to maintain vehicle cleanliness between rides, then rider satisfaction is improved, but operational costs and time loss increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvevehicle cleanlinessVSAvoidoperational efficiency

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The system uses automated camera-based detection to monitor the vehicle interior for items left by riders. The vehicle autonomously identifies when cleaning is needed and navigates to cleaning facilities without human intervention, enabling self-service maintenance that reduces operational costs while maintaining cleanliness standards.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The camera system continuously captures images of the vehicle interior and compares them against baseline images to detect changes indicating items left by riders. This feedback mechanism triggers cleaning operations only when necessary, optimizing the balance between maintaining cleanliness and minimizing unnecessary cleaning trips.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

2Reliability

If the vehicle drives to remove items left by riders, then vehicle cleanliness is maintained, but miles driven and energy consumption increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvevehicle cleanlinessVSAvoidenergy consumption

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of energy

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs partial cleaning actions by only traveling to remove items when they are actually detected, rather than performing full cleaning operations after every ride. This reduces unnecessary energy consumption while maintaining adequate vehicle cleanliness between rides.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #16Partial or excessive action

Solution Approach 2:

The vehicle autonomously detects items left by riders using camera systems and independently decides when and where to retrieve them, eliminating the need for manual inspection and reducing energy-wasting unnecessary trips to cleaning facilities.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

3Productivity

If camera systems and image analysis are implemented to detect left items, then cleaning efficiency is improved, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecleaning efficiencyVSAvoidsystem complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system replaces manual mechanical inspection of the vehicle interior with automated optical detection using camera systems and image analysis algorithms. This substitution improves cleaning efficiency by enabling rapid, consistent detection of left items without requiring human workers to physically search the vehicle after each ride.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Data Source

PatentUS10289922B1System for managing lost, mislaid, or abandoned property in a self-driving vehicle

Publication Date: 2019.05.14 DRIVENT LLC

AI summary

A maintenance system can be used with a self-driving vehicle. The maintenance system can include a camera system coupled to an interior of the vehicle and a vehicle management system configured to autonomously drive the vehicle to a first location to remove an item left in the vehicle by a rider.