Smart signs for autonomous vehicles
AssigneeWaymo LLC
InventorsJohn Wesley Dyer, Philip Nemec, Joshua Newby, Michael Epstein
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The disclosure relates to smart signs or physical markers for facilitating passenger trips for autonomous vehicles. For instance, a physical marker remote from the autonomous vehicles may receive a first notification indicating a request for a trip has been made via a client computing device. The physical marker may determine when the client computing device has reached a physical marker, and in response to the determination, the physical marker may send a second notification to a dispatching server computing device indicating that the client computing device has reached a physical marker. Other aspects of the disclosure relate to various features and uses for the physical marker.
Claims20
A system for facilitating passenger trips for autonomous vehicles, the system comprising a physical marker remote from the autonomous vehicles, the physical marker having one or more processors configured to:
- receive a first notification indicating a request for a trip has been made via a client computing device;
- determine when the client computing device has reached the physical marker;
- and
- in response to the determination, send a second notification to a dispatching server computing device indicating that the client computing device has reached the physical marker.
A system for assigning autonomous vehicles for passenger trips, the system comprising one or more server computing devices having one or more processors configured to:
- receive, from a client computing device, a request for an autonomous vehicle, the request identifying a location of the client computing device;
- select one of a plurality of physical markers based on the location, each of the plurality of physical markers being remote from the autonomous vehicles;
- send a first notification to the selected physical marker indicative of the received request;
- send a second notification to the client computing device identifying the selected physical marker;
- receive confirmation from the selected physical marker that the client computing device has reached the selected physical marker;
- in response to receiving the confirmation, assign one of the autonomous vehicles to the client computing device;
- and
- send instructions to the one of the autonomous vehicles to dispatch the one of the autonomous vehicles to pick up a passenger associated with the client computing device at a location of the selected physical marker.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.