Autonomous Vehicle Stop Mapping Using Passenger Inconvenience Scores
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Solution Overview
Problem
Autonomous vehicles face challenges in coordinating pickup and drop-off locations with passengers due to difficulties in communication and inconvenience, especially for passengers with disabilities or in inaccessible locations, leading to inefficiencies and safety concerns.
Innovation Solution
A method that assesses the inconvenience of pickup and drop-off locations by analyzing passenger movement data and road edge distances using a vehicle's perception system, generating map data to identify optimal locations for autonomous vehicles to minimize passenger effort and ensure safety.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If autonomous vehicles operate in fully autonomous mode without human drivers, then automation level is improved, but coordination difficulty with passengers increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a communication system as an intermediary between the autonomous vehicle and passengers. This system includes sensors to detect passenger presence, processors to interpret signals, and communication modules to exchange information, thereby mediating the coordination interaction without requiring human drivers
Solution Approach 2:
The autonomous vehicle performs self-coordination by autonomously detecting passenger needs through sensors, processing the information internally, and autonomously navigating to pickup locations. The vehicle serves itself in coordinating with passengers, eliminating the need for human driver mediation
2Productivity
If pickup and drop-off locations are determined without assessment of passenger convenience, then operational efficiency is improved, but passenger inconvenience increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary assessment of pickup and drop-off locations before the vehicle arrives. It evaluates factors such as accessibility, distance to destination, and passenger needs in advance, then selects optimal locations that balance operational efficiency with passenger convenience
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates feedback mechanisms where passenger responses and actual convenience outcomes are fed back into the location selection algorithm. This allows the system to learn from past interactions and continuously improve its ability to select convenient pickup and drop-off locations
3Ease of operation
If vehicle stops are made closer to passenger locations, then pickup convenience is improved, but safety risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically changes the parameter of stopping location based on multiple factors including passenger accessibility needs, road safety conditions, traffic patterns, and environmental factors. It selects optimal stopping positions that balance convenience with safety by adjusting the location parameters in real-time
Data Source
AI summary
Aspects of the disclosure relate to generating map data. For instance, data generated by a perception system of a vehicle may be received. This data corresponds to a plurality of observations including observed positions of a passenger of the vehicle as the passenger approached the vehicle at a first location. The data may be used to determine an observed distance traveled by a passenger to reach a vehicle. A road edge distance between an observed position of an observation of the plurality of observations and a nearest road edge to the observed position may be determined. An inconvenience value for the first location may be determined using the observed distance and the road edge distance. The map data is then generated using the inconvenience value.