Method and system for providing an equipped autonomous vehicle to a destination

A companion autonomous vehicle comprising:

• an autonomous driving system including a steering system and a propulsion system to provide a driving force and a stopping force to one or more wheels of the companion autonomous vehicle;
• a communication interface including at least one component for providing wireless communication;
• a suite of sensors including one or more of a camera, a LIDAR sensor, or a global positioning system (GPS) sensor;
• and
• a processor in communication with at least the autonomous driving system, the communication interface, and the suite of sensors;
• wherein the processor is configured to:
• link the companion autonomous vehicle to a device associated with a user by establishing and maintaining a data connection using wireless communication technology between the communication interface and the device associated with the user to establish a virtual tether between the companion autonomous vehicle and the device associated with the user, wherein the companion autonomous vehicle is virtually tethered to the device associated with the user such that the companion autonomous vehicle is configured to travel ahead of the device associated with the user by a predetermined distance;
• and
• operate the companion autonomous vehicle using the steering system and the propulsion system of the autonomous driving system and the suite of sensors to travel ahead of the tethered device associated with the user by the predetermined distance.