Pickup Location Preview Using 3D Sensor Streaming
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Solution Overview
Problem
Rideshare users, especially at night or in poorly lit or high-traffic areas, feel unsafe walking to and waiting for their vehicles due to lack of real-time information about the pickup location.
Innovation Solution
A Pickup Location Preview (PLP) system that uses onboard cameras, LIDAR, and RADAR systems to stream real-time 3D camera and sensor image data to a user app, allowing users to preview the surroundings, identify safety features, and opt for alternative locations, with features like extended pickup time and safer location identification.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If users are provided with real-time preview of pickup location surroundings, then user safety perception is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary system consisting of onboard cameras, processors, and communication modules that mediate between the pickup location environment and the user's mobile device. This intermediary captures real-time images, processes them to extract relevant safety information, and transmits selected images to the user, thereby improving safety perception without requiring direct user access to complex vehicle systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates visual copies of the pickup location environment by capturing images with onboard cameras and transmitting selected images to the user's mobile device. These image copies provide users with a virtual view of the surroundings, enabling safety assessment without physical presence at the location, thus improving perceived safety while maintaining manageable system complexity.
2Loss of information
If multiple sensors and cameras are deployed to provide comprehensive environment data, then information accuracy is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the comprehensive sensor data into distinct categories (camera images from multiple positions, LIDAR point clouds, RADAR detections) and processes each type separately through dedicated modules. This segmentation allows the system to maintain high information accuracy from multiple sources while managing complexity through modular processing architecture, where each sensor type has its own processing pipeline.
Solution Approach 2:
The system merges data from multiple independent sources (cameras, LIDAR, RADAR) into a unified environmental representation. By combining these diverse sensor inputs through integrated processing, the system achieves comprehensive and accurate situational awareness while leveraging the complementary strengths of each sensor type to overcome individual limitations.
3Loss of information
If real-time image streaming is implemented, then user awareness of surroundings is improved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of continuous real-time streaming, the system implements periodic image capture and transmission at predetermined time intervals. This periodic action maintains user awareness of changing conditions at the pickup location while significantly reducing energy consumption compared to continuous streaming, as the onboard cameras and communication systems are activated only at scheduled intervals rather than continuously.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transmits only selected images that meet specific criteria (e.g., showing relevant safety features, significant environmental changes) rather than all captured images. This partial transmission approach provides sufficient user awareness for safety assessment while minimizing energy consumption by reducing the frequency and volume of data transmission to the user's mobile device.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enhances user safety by providing real-time, interactive previews of the pickup location, enabling users to assess and change locations based on safety criteria, thereby improving the perceived and actual safety of the rideshare experience.
Implementation Method 1
using onboard cameras, LIDAR, and RADAR systems to stream real-time 3D camera and sensor image data
Implementation Method 2
using onboard cameras, LIDAR, and RADAR systems to stream real-time 3D camera and sensor image data
Data Source
AI summary
A designated location preview method includes obtaining an image of a portion of an environment of a vehicle dispatched to a designated location in response to a service request from a user, wherein the obtaining is performed using at least one onboard sensor of the vehicle; and displaying the image of the environment portion on a user interface (UI) of a user device substantially in real-time.