Autonomous Vehicle Early Boarding Using Passenger Authentication
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Autonomous vehicles face challenges in identifying and safely allowing passengers to board before reaching the designated pickup location due to environmental uncertainties and the absence of a human driver, leading to confusion and disruption in transportation services.
Innovation Solution
The vehicle's computing devices actively search for an assigned passenger within a predetermined distance of the pickup location using sensor data from the perception system, authenticate the passenger, and adjust the vehicle's stopping and boarding process to facilitate early passenger entry, employing shrinking threshold distances and safety checks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If the vehicle stops early to wait for the passenger before reaching the pickup location, then the passenger boarding time is reduced, but the vehicle may stop in unsafe locations or cause traffic disruption
Solution Approach 1:
The vehicle performs preliminary actions by actively searching for the passenger and authenticating them before reaching the designated pickup location. The system uses sensor data to detect the passenger's presence and processes authentication credentials in advance, allowing the vehicle to stop early only when the passenger is confirmed to be ready and waiting, thus reducing boarding time while maintaining safety through pre-verification
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors sensor data about the passenger's location and authentication status, using this feedback to determine whether conditions are appropriate for early stopping. The vehicle adjusts its behavior based on real-time information about passenger presence and environmental safety conditions, stopping early only when feedback confirms both passenger readiness and safe stopping conditions
2Measurement precision
If the vehicle actively searches for the passenger using sensor data, then the passenger detection accuracy is improved, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The perception system serves itself by using the vehicle's existing sensor data, which is already being collected for other autonomous driving functions. The system processes this existing data to detect the passenger's presence and track their movement toward the vehicle, eliminating the need for separate dedicated detection hardware while maintaining high detection accuracy
Solution Approach 2:
The sensor data collection system performs multiple functions: it supports both the vehicle's autonomous navigation and safety requirements, and simultaneously enables passenger detection and tracking. By making the perception system universal, the patent avoids adding dedicated passenger detection sensors, thus improving detection accuracy without proportionally increasing system complexity
3Reliability
If the vehicle waits for the passenger to enter after stopping, then the passenger can board safely, but the vehicle remains stationary longer, reducing transportation efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The vehicle performs preliminary authentication of the passenger's credentials and continuous monitoring of their approach using sensor data before stopping. This preliminary verification ensures that the vehicle stops only for authorized passengers who are actively approaching, reducing unnecessary waiting time while maintaining safe boarding conditions
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts the waiting period based on real-time sensor data about the passenger's approach speed and distance. The vehicle maintains a flexible stopping duration, extending or reducing wait time according to the passenger's actual movement toward the vehicle, thereby balancing safety requirements with transportation efficiency
Data Source
AI summary
The technology relates to actively looking for an assigned passenger prior to a vehicle 100 reaching a pickup location. For instance, information identifying the pickup location and client device information for authenticating the assigned passenger is received. Sensor data is received from a perception system of the vehicle identifying objects in an environment of the vehicle. When the vehicle is within a predetermined distance from the pickup location, authenticating a client device using the client device information is attempted. When the client device has been authenticated, the sensor data is used to determine whether a pedestrian is within a first threshold distance of the vehicle. When a pedestrian is determined to be within the first threshold distance of the vehicle, the vehicle is stopped prior to reaching the pickup location, to wait for the pedestrian within the first threshold distance of the vehicle to enter the vehicle.