Vehicle Passenger Counting for Shared Ride Capacity Assignment
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current vehicle ridesharing systems face inefficiencies in managing large fleets, particularly in assigning passengers to vehicles and optimizing routes, leading to suboptimal utilization of vehicle capacity and increased travel times due to factors like traffic congestion and passenger preferences.
Innovation Solution
A system that includes a communications interface and processor to receive ride requests, track vehicle capacity, and implement dynamic assignment and reassignment of passengers across a fleet, using historical data to predict demand and optimize routes to minimize backtracking and reduce congestion, while also allowing for flexible pick-up and drop-off locations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If dynamic assignment and reassignment of passengers across a fleet is implemented, then vehicle capacity utilization is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic assignment and reassignment of passengers to vehicles based on real-time conditions. The system continuously monitors vehicle capacity, passenger locations, and traffic conditions, then dynamically adjusts assignments to optimize utilization. This allows the system to adapt to changing conditions rather than using static routing, directly improving vehicle capacity utilization while managing complexity through automated decision-making algorithms.
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs feedback mechanisms by tracking current utilized capacity of each vehicle and using this information to make subsequent assignment decisions. The threshold block mechanism provides feedback control, preventing over-assignment when capacity limits are approached. This feedback loop enables continuous optimization of fleet utilization while maintaining systematic control over the complexity of managing multiple vehicles and passengers.
2Productivity
If real-time tracking of vehicle capacity and dynamic reassignment is implemented, then route efficiency is improved, but computational requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-calculating potential routes and assignments based on historical data and current conditions. Rather than computing all possible permutations in real-time, the system prepares assignment options in advance and selects from these preprocessed options when real-time decisions are needed. This reduces computational burden during critical decision moments while maintaining route efficiency through proactive planning.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes parameters by using threshold blocks for vehicle capacity that can be adjusted based on conditions. Rather than continuously optimizing with full computational complexity, the system uses parameter-based thresholds to simplify decision-making. When vehicle capacity approaches certain thresholds, the system automatically adjusts assignment parameters, reducing computational requirements while maintaining effective route management.
3Ease of operation
If flexible pick-up and drop-off locations are allowed, then passenger satisfaction is improved, but coordination complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the fleet into multiple vehicles with individual capacity tracking and assignment management. This segmentation allows flexible pick-up and drop-off locations to be coordinated across multiple vehicles rather than requiring all passengers to converge at single locations. Each vehicle can independently manage its own route and capacity, reducing overall coordination complexity while maintaining flexibility for passengers.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements self-service mechanisms where vehicles autonomously manage their own capacity and routing decisions based on assigned parameters. The threshold blocks and automated assignment algorithms allow vehicles to make local decisions about pick-up and drop-off coordination without requiring centralized micromanagement of every interaction, reducing coordination complexity while preserving flexibility for passengers.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for managing a fleet of ridesharing vehicles. In one implementation, the system may include a communications interface configured to receive requests for shared rides from a plurality of users; a memory configured to store indications of passenger-capacity for specific ridesharing vehicles in the fleet; and at least one processor configured to receive information from the communications interface and access the memory The at least one processor may be further configured to assign, to ridesharing vehicles already transporting users, additional users for simultaneous transportation in the ridesharing vehicles; track a current utilized capacity of each specific ridesharing vehicle; and implement a threshold block that prevents assignment of additional users to a ridesharing vehicle when the ridesharing vehicle's current utilized capacity is above a threshold being less than the ridesharing vehicle's passenger-capacity.