# US 10,310,514 B2 · Centralized maneuvering of autonomous vehicles for user pick-up > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,310,514 B2 - Document ID: US10310514B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 16/014,585 - Filed: 2018-06-21 - Published: 2018-10-25 - Granted: 2019-06-04 - Earliest claimed: 2015-02-01 - Assignees: Lyft, Inc. - Applicants: Lyft, Inc. - Inventors: Thomas Danaher Harvey - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10310514B2 ## CPC - G05D 1/0297: {by controlling means in a control room} - B60Q 1/5035: {electronic displays} - B60Q 1/507: {specific to autonomous vehicles} - B60Q 1/508: {specific to vehicles driving in fleets or convoys} - G05D 1/00: Control of position, course, altitude or attitude of land, water, air or space vehicles, e.g. using automatic pilots (drive control systems specially adapted for autonomous road vehicles B60W60/00) - G05D 1/0022: {characterised by the communication link (data switching networks in general H04L12/00)} - G05D 1/0027: {involving a plurality of vehicles, e.g. fleet or convoy travelling (fleet control of land vehicles from a control room G05D1/0297; traffic control systems for road vehicles G08G1/00; for marine craft G08G3/00; for aircraft G08G5/00)} - G05D 1/0293: {Convoy travelling} - G05D 1/0295: {by at least one leading vehicle of the fleet} - G08G 1/20: {Monitoring the location of vehicles belonging to a group, e.g. fleet of vehicles, countable or determined number of vehicles} - G08G 1/22: {Platooning, i.e. convoy of communicating vehicles} - B60Q 1/544: {for indicating other states or conditions of the vehicle occupants, e.g. for indicating disabled occupants} - B60Q 1/547: {for issuing requests to other traffic participants; for confirming to other traffic participants they can proceed, e.g. they can overtake} - B60W 30/06: Automatic manoeuvring for parking - E04H 6/422: {Automatically operated car-parks} - G08G 1/168: {Driving aids for parking, e.g. acoustic or visual feedback on parking space} - G05D: SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES - B60Q: ARRANGEMENT OF SIGNALLING OR LIGHTING DEVICES, THE MOUNTING OR SUPPORTING THEREOF OR CIRCUITS THEREFOR, FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL - G08G: TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS (guiding railway traffic, ensuring the safety of railway traffic B61L; arrangement of road signs or traffic signals E01F9/00; radar or analogous systems, sonar systems, lidar systems specially adapted for traffic control G01S13/91, G01S15/88, G01S17/88; {radar or analogous systems, sonar systems, lidar systems specially adapted for anti-collision purposes G01S13/93, G01S15/93, G01S17/93}) - B60W: CONJOINT CONTROL OF VEHICLE SUB-UNITS OF DIFFERENT TYPE OR DIFFERENT FUNCTION; CONTROL SYSTEMS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR HYBRID VEHICLES; ROAD VEHICLE DRIVE CONTROL SYSTEMS FOR PURPOSES NOT RELATED TO THE CONTROL OF A PARTICULAR SUB-UNIT - E04H: BUILDINGS OR LIKE STRUCTURES FOR PARTICULAR PURPOSES; SWIMMING OR SPLASH BATHS OR POOLS; MASTS; FENCING; TENTS OR CANOPIES, IN GENERAL (foundations E02D) ## Abstract A method includes receiving from a client computing device of a user, a request for access to an autonomous vehicle, determining one of a plurality of autonomous vehicles to provide the user access to in response to the request, wherein the determined autonomous vehicle is blocked by one or more other ones of the autonomous vehicles, determining locations of the determined autonomous vehicle and the blocking autonomous vehicles, and computing based on the locations of the determined autonomous vehicle and the blocking autonomous vehicles, coordinated movements to provide access to the determined autonomous vehicle as requested by the user. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method comprising: receiving, by a central computing device, from a client computing device of a user, a request for access to an autonomous vehicle; determining, by the central computing device, one of a plurality of autonomous vehicles to provide the user access to in response to the request, wherein the determined autonomous vehicle is blocked by one or more other ones of the autonomous vehicles; determining, by the central computing device, locations of the determined autonomous vehicle and the blocking autonomous vehicles; computing, by the central computing device, based on the locations of the determined autonomous vehicle and the blocking autonomous vehicles, coordinated movements to provide access to the determined autonomous vehicle as requested by the user, the coordinated movements including moving at least one of the blocking vehicles back to a starting position after providing the user access to the determined autonomous vehicle; and causing, by the central computing device, the blocking autonomous vehicles and the determined autonomous vehicle to perform the coordinated movements to provide the user access to the determined autonomous vehicle. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the central computing device is external to the autonomous vehicles. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the central computing device is in one of the plurality of autonomous vehicles. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising causing, by the central computing device, the coordinated movements to be executed autonomously by the determined autonomous vehicle and the blocking autonomous vehicles. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the locations of the determined autonomous vehicle and the blocking autonomous vehicle are determined based on location information from each of one or more of the plurality of autonomous vehicles that indicates: a location of the autonomous vehicle as determined by the autonomous vehicle using one or more vehicle sensors of the autonomous vehicle; or a location of another autonomous vehicle as determined by the autonomous vehicle using one or more vehicle sensors of the autonomous vehicle. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising causing the determined autonomous vehicle to pick up the user. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the locations of the determined autonomous vehicle and the blocking autonomous vehicle are determined based on location information from one or more sensors in a facility that the autonomous vehicles are in, wherein the information from the sensors indicates a location of each of one or more of the autonomous vehicles as determined using the sensors. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The method of claim 7, wherein one or more of the sensors uses markers on one or more of the autonomous vehicles to determine their locations. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises, during execution of the coordinated movements: determining, by the central computing device, updated locations of the determined autonomous vehicle and the blocking autonomous vehicles; and computing, by the central computing device, based on the updated locations of the determined autonomous vehicle and the blocking autonomous vehicles, updated coordinated movements to provide access to the determined autonomous vehicle as requested by the user. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The method of claim 9, further comprising causing, by the central computing device, the updated coordinated movements to be executed autonomously by the determined autonomous vehicle and the blocking autonomous vehicles. ### Claim 11 (depends on 9) The method of claim 9, wherein feedback is provided to the central computing device by one or more of the autonomous vehicles in an open-loop mode. ### Claim 12 (depends on 9) The method of claim 9, wherein feedback is provided to the central computing device by one or more of the autonomous vehicles in a closed-loop mode. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein a communication network wirelessly connects the autonomous vehicles to the central computing device. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The method of claim 13, wherein the communication network: communicates location information from one or more of the autonomous vehicles to the central computing device; or communicates movement information based on the coordinated movements computed by the central computing device from the central computing device to one or more of the autonomous vehicles. ### Claim 15 (depends on 13) The method of claim 13, wherein the communication network is unidirectional or bidirectional. ### Claim 16 (depends on 13) The method claim 13, wherein the communication network is: part of a vehicle-control network operating only in an area where the autonomous vehicles are located; or part of a communication system operating in a larger area that encompasses the location of the autonomous vehicles. ### Claim 17 One or more computer-readable non-transitory storage media embodying software that is operable when executed to: receive, by a central computing device, from a client computing device of a user, a request for access to an autonomous vehicle; determine, by the central computing device, one of a plurality of autonomous vehicles to provide the user access to in response to the request, wherein the determined autonomous vehicle is blocked by one or more other ones of the autonomous vehicles; determine, by the central computing device, locations of the determined autonomous vehicle and the blocking autonomous vehicles; compute, by the central computing device, based on the locations of the determined autonomous vehicle and the blocking autonomous vehicles, coordinated movements to provide access to the determined autonomous vehicle as requested by the user, the coordinated movements including moving at least on of the blocking vehicles back to a starting position after providing the user access to the determined autonomous vehicle; and cause, by the central computing device, the blocking autonomous vehicles and the determined autonomous vehicle to perform the coordinated movements to provide the user access to the determined autonomous vehicle. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The media of claim 17, further operable when executed to, during execution of the coordinated movements: determine, by the central computing device, updated locations of the determined autonomous vehicle and the blocking autonomous vehicles; and compute, by the central computing device, based on the updated locations of the determined autonomous vehicle and the blocking autonomous vehicles, updated coordinated movements to provide access to the determined autonomous vehicle as requested by the user. ### Claim 19 A system comprising: one or more processors; and one or more computer-readable non-transitory storage media coupled to one or more of the processors and comprising instructions operable when executed by one or more of the processors to cause the system to: receive, by a central computing device, from a client computing device of a user, a request for access to an autonomous vehicle; determine, by the central computing device, one of a plurality of autonomous vehicles to provide the user access to in response to the request, wherein the determined autonomous vehicle is blocked by one or more other ones of the autonomous vehicles; determine, by the central computing device, locations of the determined autonomous vehicle and the blocking autonomous vehicles; compute, by the central computing device, based on the locations of the determined autonomous vehicle and the blocking autonomous vehicles, coordinated movements to provide access to the determined autonomous vehicle as requested by the user, the coordinated movements including moving at least one of the blocking vehicles back to starting position after providing the user access to the determined autonomous vehicle; and cause, by the central computing device, the blocking autonomous vehicles and the determined autonomous vehicle to perform the coordinated movements to provide the user access to the determined autonomous vehicle. ### Claim 20 (depends on 19) The system of claim 19, further operable when executed by the processors to cause the system to, during execution of the coordinated movements: determine, by the central computing device, updated locations of the determined autonomous vehicle and the blocking autonomous vehicles; and compute, by the central computing device, based on the updated locations of the determined autonomous vehicle and the blocking autonomous vehicles, updated coordinated movements to provide access to the determined autonomous vehicle as requested by the user.