Autonomous Terminus Assistance for User Tracking and Threat Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Autonomous vehicles lack effective assistance systems for ensuring safe passage of users between the vehicle and their destination, particularly in unfamiliar or hazardous environments, and there is a need for real-time monitoring and verification of user safety during this transition.
Innovation Solution
A terminus assistance tool integrated into the vehicle's navigation system, utilizing sensors and machine learning to track users, detect potential threats, and provide real-time feedback and illumination, while allowing communication with supervisors and first responders as needed, using a combination of onboard and cloud-based processing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If autonomous vehicles are deployed without terminus assistance systems, then device complexity is reduced, but user safety during transitions between vehicle and destination deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a terminus assistance system as an intermediary between the autonomous vehicle and the user during transition phases. This system includes sensors, processors, and communication devices that mediate the interaction between the vehicle environment and the external terminus environment, providing safety monitoring, threat detection, and real-time communication without requiring complex integration into the core autonomous vehicle systems.
2Reliability
If comprehensive monitoring and tracking systems are implemented, then user safety and verification are improved, but use of energy and device complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The terminus assistance system employs periodic monitoring and tracking actions rather than continuous operation. The system activates monitoring functions during critical transition phases (when user is approaching or leaving the vehicle) and can enter lower-power states during stable periods, reducing overall energy consumption while maintaining adequate verification capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The system utilizes the vehicle's existing sensors, processors, and communication infrastructure to provide terminus assistance functions, rather than requiring entirely separate dedicated systems. This self-service approach leverages available resources to reduce additional energy consumption and device complexity.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If real-time threat detection and communication systems are added, then user protection from harmful factors is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The terminus assistance system is designed with multi-functional components that serve multiple purposes. For example, sensors used for threat detection also provide environmental monitoring and user tracking functions. The communication system handles both emergency alerts and routine status updates, reducing the need for separate specialized systems and lowering overall device complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
Various systems and methods for providing assistance at the end of an autonomous system journey are provided. A system can include an autonomous system configured to transport the user, a first sensor coupled to the autonomous system and configured to provide a sensor stream of an environment between the autonomous system and a terminus, and a terminus assistance processor mechanically coupled to the autonomous system. In an example, the terminus assistance processor can receive and process the sensor stream, detect and can track the user in the environment in response to the sensor stream, and can provide status information to a first mobile device based on the sensor stream.