Autonomous Vehicle Driveway Entry for Opposite-Side Pickup
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Solution Overview
Problem
Autonomous vehicles face challenges in determining whether to enter a driveway for passenger pickup or drop-off, often resulting in inconvenience to passengers and other road users due to their inability to assess the best maneuvering options like human drivers.
Innovation Solution
The vehicle's processors receive instructions to pick up or drop off passengers, determine the difficulty score for maneuvering to the adjacent lane, compare it to a threshold, and decide to enter an available driveway on the same side of the street, using sensor data and map information to ensure safety and convenience.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the autonomous vehicle arrives in the opposite lane and attempts to maneuver to the adjacent lane, then the vehicle can pick up or drop off passengers at the location, but the maneuver may be difficult or unsafe due to traffic conditions
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of attempting to maneuver to the adjacent lane on the opposite side of the street, the autonomous vehicle inverts the approach by entering an available driveway on the same side of the street as the location. This reverses the conventional maneuvering direction and avoids the safety issues associated with crossing traffic lanes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a driveway as an intermediary space between the vehicle's current position in the opposite lane and the final destination at the adjacent lane. By using the driveway as a mediator, the vehicle can safely transition to the same side of the street without directly maneuvering across traffic lanes.
2Productivity
If the autonomous vehicle waits in the opposite lane to maneuver to the adjacent lane, then the vehicle can eventually complete the pickup or drop-off, but the wait time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The autonomous vehicle performs preliminary action by entering the available driveway before attempting the main maneuver to the adjacent lane. This preliminary positioning in the driveway reduces the overall time required by eliminating the need to wait in the opposite lane for safe maneuvering conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The vehicle skips the time-consuming step of waiting in the opposite lane by directly entering the driveway on the same side of the street. This allows the vehicle to rush through the maneuvering process more efficiently by taking a different route that avoids traffic-related delays.
3Ease of operation
If the autonomous vehicle enters the driveway on the same side of the street, then the passenger convenience is improved by avoiding street crossings, but the vehicle requires additional space and maneuvering room
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by selecting a driveway that has sufficient space and appropriate characteristics for the vehicle's maneuvering needs. By evaluating the specific qualities of available driveways (size, shape, accessibility), the system ensures that the selected driveway can accommodate the vehicle while providing passenger convenience.
Data Source
AI summary
Aspects of the disclosure provide for controlling an autonomous vehicle to enter a driveway. As an example, an instruction to pickup or drop off a passenger at a location may be received. It may be determined that the vehicle is arriving in a lane on an opposite side of a street as the location, the lane having a traffic direction opposite to a traffic direction of a lane adjacent to the location. A difficulty score to maneuver the vehicle to the lane adjacent to the location may be determined, and the difficulty score may be compared to a predetermined difficulty score. Based on the comparison, it may be determined to an available driveway on the same side of the street as the location. The vehicle may be controlled to enter the available driveway.