Visual Ride Matching Using Camera Orientation Vectors
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Location-based service providers face challenges in ensuring ride providers and passengers meet efficiently, often due to GPS errors, accessibility issues, and difficulties in identifying the correct vehicle or passenger, especially in crowded areas, leading to inconvenience and potential safety risks.
Innovation Solution
A system that uses camera activation and sensor data processing to guide passengers and drivers to visually identify each other by determining the correct orientation and providing real-time imagery, enabling facial recognition and vehicle detection to confirm identities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If GPS location data is used to identify ride providers and passengers, then the system can operate with simple infrastructure, but location accuracy deteriorates due to GPS errors and accessibility issues
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces camera-based visual identification as an intermediary system between GPS location data and the actual identification of ride providers and passengers. The camera captures images that are processed to confirm identities, serving as a mediator that compensates for GPS inaccuracies without requiring complex infrastructure changes
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces reliance on mechanical/GPS positioning systems with optical/image processing systems for identification. By substituting the mechanical GPS-based location verification with camera-based visual confirmation, the system maintains simplicity while improving identification accuracy
2Measurement precision
If drivers and passengers wait for each other at the correct location, then identification accuracy improves, but waiting time increases due to uncertainty about the other party's arrival
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the camera system continuously monitors and provides real-time visual confirmation of the other party's presence. This feedback allows drivers and passengers to know when the other has arrived and is visible, enabling them to stop waiting and proceed with identification, thus reducing unnecessary waiting time while maintaining high identification accuracy
3Measurement precision
If camera activation is used to visually identify ride providers and passengers, then identification accuracy improves, but device complexity increases due to sensor processing requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service through automated image processing algorithms that automatically analyze camera captures to identify and confirm the presence of ride providers and passengers. The system performs self-verification without requiring manual intervention or complex user operations, achieving high identification accuracy while keeping the user-side device complexity manageable
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies partial action by activating the camera and processing images only when needed - specifically when GPS location data indicates proximity between driver and passenger. This selective activation reduces the overall processing burden and device complexity while maintaining high identification accuracy during critical moments
4Ease of operation
If real-time camera imagery is provided to guide orientation, then ease of operation improves, but energy consumption increases due to continuous camera and sensor operation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic action by activating the camera and image processing only at specific intervals - when GPS location data indicates that the driver has arrived at the passenger's location or vice versa. Instead of continuous operation, the system periodically checks location and activates camera functionality only when proximity is detected, providing guidance capability when needed while significantly reducing energy consumption during transit
Data Source
AI summary
An approach is disclosed for visually identifying and/or pairing ride providers and passengers. The approach involves, for example, receiving location data indicating that a driver vehicle is within a proximity threshold of a passenger pickup location. The approach also involves initiating an activation of a camera of a passenger device to present live imagery on the passenger device. The approach further involves processing sensor data collected from one or more sensors of the passenger device to determine a rotation vector indicating a pointing direction of the passenger device. The approach also involves determining a new direction to point the passenger device to capture the driver vehicle in a field of view of the camera based on the rotation vector and the location data. The approach further involves providing output data for presenting a representation of the new direction in a user interface of the passenger device.