Device, method and system for determining a pilot vehicle for an autonomous vehicle

An autonomous vehicle capable of independently travelling along a road and to communicate in a wireless way comprising a device, said device configured to:

• determine a route for the autonomous vehicle;
• determine presence of any risk segment along the route, where a risk segment is a segment of the road where the autonomous vehicle is determined to be in need of assistance based on specific characteristics associated with such road segment;
• if a risk segment is determined, perform a matching sequence in order to find a pilot vehicle from a plurality of possible vehicles with determined capabilities specific for piloting the autonomous vehicle past the risk segment by following the pilot vehicle;
• and
• generate information data about a result of the performed matching sequence.

A method for an autonomous vehicle capable of independently travelling along a road and to communicate in a wireless way, the method comprises to:

• determining a route of the autonomous vehicle;
• determining presence of any risk segment along the route, where a risk segment is a segment of the road where the autonomous vehicle is determined to be in need of assistance based on specific characteristics associated with such road segment;
• if a risk segment is determined, performing a matching sequence in order to find a pilot vehicle from a plurality of possible vehicles with determined capabilities specific for piloting the autonomous vehicle past the risk segment by following the pilot vehicle;
• and
• generating information data about a result of the performed matching sequence.

A computer program product comprising a computer program code stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium readable by a computer, said computer program product used with an autonomous vehicle capable of independently travelling along a road and to communicate in a wireless way, said computer program code comprising computer instructions to cause one or more computer processors to perform the following operations:

• determining a route of the autonomous vehicle;
• determining presence of any risk segment along the route, where a risk segment is a segment of the road where the autonomous vehicle is determined to be in need of assistance based on specific characteristics associated with such road segment;
• if a risk segment is determined, performing a matching sequence in order to find a pilot vehicle from a plurality of possible vehicles with determined capabilities specific for piloting the autonomous vehicle past the risk segment by following the pilot vehicle;
• and
• generating information data about a result of the performed matching sequence.

A system for an autonomous vehicle capable of independently travelling along a road and to communicate in a wireless way, wherein the system comprises:

• a processing unit;
• a memory unit;
• and
• a computer program product comprising a computer program code stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium readable by a computer, said computer program product used with an autonomous vehicle capable of independently travelling along a road and to communicate in a wireless way, said computer program code comprising computer instructions to cause one or more computer processors to perform the following operations:
• determining a route of the autonomous vehicle;
• determining presence of any risk segment along the route, where a risk segment is a segment of the road where the autonomous vehicle is determined to be in need of assistance based on specific characteristics associated with such road segment;
• if a risk segment is determined, performing a matching sequence in order to find a pilot vehicle from a plurality of possible vehicles with determined capabilities specific for piloting the autonomous vehicle past the risk segment by following the pilot vehicle;
• and
• generating information data about a result of the performed matching sequence.