# US 12,181,870 B2 · System and method for adjusting vehicle location

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- Number: US 12,181,870 B2
- Document ID: US12181870B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 18/110,257
- Filed: 2023-02-15
- Published: 2023-09-21
- Granted: 2024-12-31
- Earliest claimed: 2018-09-06
- Assignees: Ridecell, Inc.
- Applicants: Ridecell, Inc.
- Inventors: Aarjav Trivedi; ArunKumar Elangovan; Samyak Pandya; Jit Ray Chowdhury; Srinivas Reddy Aellala
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12181870B2

## CPC

- 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 1/0297: {by controlling means in a control room}
- G01C 21/3605: {Destination input or retrieval}
- G01C 21/3815: {Road data}
- G01C 21/3848: {Data obtained from both position sensors and additional sensors}
- G05D 1/0088: {characterized by the autonomous decision making process, e.g. artificial intelligence, predefined behaviours (using knowledge based models G06N5/00)}
- G05D 1/0217: {in accordance with energy consumption, time reduction or distance reduction criteria}
- G05D 1/69: Coordinated control of the position or course of two or more vehicles
- G06F 16/29: Geographical information databases
- G06Q 10/02: Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events
- G06Q 10/06315: {Needs-based resource requirements planning or analysis}
- G06Q 30/0645: Rental transactions; Leasing transactions
- G06Q 50/40: Business processes related to the transportation industry (shipping G06Q10/083)
- G08G 1/202: {Dispatching vehicles on the basis of a location, e.g. taxi dispatching}
- G08G 1/205: {Indicating the location of the monitored vehicles as destination, e.g. accidents, stolen, rental}
- G01S 2205/01: specially adapted for specific applications
- H04W 4/029: Location-based management or tracking services
- G05D: SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES
- G01C: MEASURING DISTANCES, LEVELS OR BEARINGS; SURVEYING; NAVIGATION; GYROSCOPIC INSTRUMENTS; PHOTOGRAMMETRY OR VIDEOGRAMMETRY (measuring liquid level G01F; radio navigation, determining distance or velocity by use of propagation effects, e.g. Doppler effects, propagation time, of radio waves, analogous arrangements using other waves G01S)
- G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N)
- G06Q: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- 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})
- G01S: RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
- H04W: WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS (broadcast communication H04H; communication systems using wireless links for non-selective communication, e.g. wireless extensions H04M1/72)

## Abstract

Systems and methods for repositioning autonomous vehicles are disclosed. The systems and methods facilitate moving vehicles of a fleet of vehicles into more advantageous locations. For example, autonomous vehicles can be moved from positions where a vehicle would be difficult to access by a user and/or be less likely to be used by a user to positions that provide easier access by a user and/or make the vehicle more likely to be used.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method for relocating autonomous vehicles of a plurality of autonomous vehicles available for use, said method comprising:
providing one or more hardware servers, each including a network interface;
establishing a vehicle data connection between each autonomous vehicle of said plurality of autonomous vehicles and one of said hardware servers;
receiving, via said vehicle data connections, vehicle location data associated with each autonomous vehicle of said plurality of autonomous vehicles, said vehicle location data being indicative of a location of a corresponding autonomous vehicle at a particular time;
defining a first geographical region;
establishing a user data connection between each user device of a plurality of user devices and one of said hardware servers, each user device of said plurality of user devices corresponding to a prospective user of at least one of said autonomous vehicles;
receiving access information indicative of said user devices accessing said one or more hardware servers, said access information including user location data indicative of a second location of each corresponding user device at a second particular time;
determining a first number of accesses to said one or more hardware servers from within said first geographical region based at least in part on said access information, said accesses to said one or more hardware servers being unassociated with any request for use of said autonomous vehicles;
determining a first demand for said autonomous vehicles within said first geographical region based at least in part on said first number of accesses to said one or more hardware servers;
determining a second number of said autonomous vehicles that are available within said first geographical region, based at least in part on said vehicle location data;
determining, based on said first demand for autonomous vehicles within said first geographical region, whether said second number of said autonomous vehicles is sufficient; and
communicating movement instructions to a particular one of said autonomous vehicles if said second number of autonomous vehicles available within said first geographical region is not sufficient, said movement instructions causing a relocation of said particular one of said autonomous vehicles into said first geographical region.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further comprising:
dividing a larger geographical region into a plurality of geographical regions including said first geographical region;
determining a regional demand for said autonomous vehicles within each geographical region of said plurality of geographical regions based at least in part on a regional number of said accesses to said one or more hardware servers from within each geographical region of said plurality of geographical regions;
determining from said vehicle location data an available number of said autonomous vehicles within each geographical region of said plurality of geographical regions;
determining whether, within each particular geographical region of said plurality of geographical regions, said available number of said autonomous vehicles within each particular geographical region is sufficient for that particular geographical region; and
identifying a first subset of said plurality of geographical regions in which said available number of said autonomous vehicles is insufficient to meet said regional demand for said autonomous vehicles, said first subset of said plurality of geographical regions including said first geographical region.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The method of claim 2, further comprising:
identifying a second subset of said plurality of geographical regions in which said available number of said autonomous vehicles is sufficient to meet said regional demand for said autonomous vehicles; and wherein
said movement instructions cause relocation of said particular one of said autonomous vehicles from a second geographical region of said second subset of said plurality of geographical regions to said first geographical region.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The method of claim 3, wherein said step of identifying said first subset of said plurality of geographical regions in which said available number of said autonomous vehicles is insufficient to meet said regional demand for said autonomous vehicles includes:
determining a first regional number of said accesses to said one or more hardware servers from within each geographical region of said plurality of geographical regions;
determining a second regional number of said autonomous vehicles that are available within each geographical region;
calculating, for each geographical region of said plurality of geographical regions, a ratio of said second regional number of said autonomous vehicles to said first regional number of said server accesses; and
comparing, for each geographical region of said plurality of geographical regions, said ratio to a threshold number to determine whether a corresponding geographical region is oversupplied or undersupplied with said autonomous vehicles.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The method of claim 4, wherein:
said step of identifying said second subset of said plurality of geographical regions in which said available number of said autonomous vehicles is sufficient to meet said regional demand for said autonomous vehicles includes organizing said second subset of said plurality of geographical regions based at least in part on said ratios; and
said ratio calculated for said second region of said second subset of said plurality of geographical regions is the maximum ratio of said ratios.

### Claim 6 (depends on 3)

The method of claim 3, wherein said particular one of said autonomous vehicles is a closest vehicle to said first geographical region out of said autonomous vehicles located within said geographical regions of said second subset of said plurality of geographical regions.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein:
said movement instructions include a future time; and
said movement instructions cause said relocation of said particular one of said autonomous vehicles at said future time.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The method of claim 7, wherein said future time is selected based at least in part on historical traffic conditions.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further comprising:
identifying a subset of said plurality of autonomous vehicles that have been stationary for at least a threshold amount of time; and wherein
said particular one of said autonomous vehicles is selected from said subset of said plurality of autonomous vehicles.

### Claim 10 (depends on 9)

The method of claim 9, wherein said threshold amount of time is adjustable.

### Claim 11

A system for relocating autonomous vehicles of a plurality of autonomous vehicles available for use, said system comprising:
a set of hardware servers, said set of hardware servers including one or more hardware processors, memory, and an internetwork; and wherein
each of said one or more hardware processors is configured to execute code, said code including a native set of instructions for causing each said hardware processor to perform a corresponding set of native operations when executed by said hardware processor; and
said memory is electrically connected to store data and said code, said data and said code including
a data management module including
a first subset of said native set of instructions configured to establish a vehicle data connection between each autonomous vehicle of said plurality of autonomous vehicles and one of said hardware servers,
a second subset of said native set of instructions configured to receive, via said vehicle data connections, vehicle location data associated with each autonomous vehicle of said plurality of autonomous vehicles, said vehicle location data being indicative of a location of a corresponding autonomous vehicle at a particular time,
a third subset of said native set of instructions configured to establish a user data connection between each user device of a plurality of user devices and one of said hardware servers, each user device of said plurality of user devices corresponding to a prospective user of at least one of said autonomous vehicles, and
a fourth subset of said native set of instructions configured to receive access information indicative of said user devices accessing said hardware servers, said access information including user location data indicative of a second location of each corresponding user device at a second particular time, and
a routing module including
a fifth subset of said native set of instructions configured to define a first geographical region,
a sixth subset of said native set of instructions configured to determine a first number of accesses to said hardware servers from within said first geographical region based at least in part on said access information, said accesses to said hardware servers being unassociated with any request for use of said autonomous vehicles,
a seventh subset of said native set of instructions configured to determine a first demand for said autonomous vehicles within said first geographical region based at least in part on said first number of accesses to said hardware servers,
an eighth subset of said native set of instructions configured to determine a second number of said autonomous vehicles that are available within said first geographical region, based at least in part on said vehicle location data,
a ninth subset of said native set of instructions configured to determine, based on said first demand for said autonomous vehicles within said first geographical region, whether said second number of said autonomous vehicles is sufficient, and
a tenth subset of said native set of instructions configured to communicate movement instructions to a particular one of said autonomous vehicles if said second number of autonomous vehicles available within said first geographical region is not sufficient, said movement instructions causing a relocation of said particular one of said autonomous vehicles into said first geographical region.

### Claim 12 (depends on 11)

The system of claim 11, wherein:
said fifth subset of said native set of instructions is additionally configured to divide a larger geographical region into a plurality of geographical regions including said first geographical region;
said seventh subset of said native set of instructions is additionally configured to determine a regional demand for said autonomous vehicles within each geographical region of said plurality of geographical regions based at least in part on a regional number of said accesses to said hardware servers from within each geographical region of said plurality of geographical regions;
said eighth subset of said native set of instructions is additionally configured to determine from said vehicle location data an available number of said autonomous vehicles within each geographical region of said plurality of geographical regions;
said ninth subset of said native set of instructions is additionally configured to determine whether, within each particular geographical region of said plurality of geographical regions, said available number of said autonomous vehicles within each particular geographical region is sufficient; and
said routing module includes an eleventh subset of said native set of instructions configured to identify a first subset of said plurality of geographical regions in which said available number of said autonomous vehicles is insufficient to meet said regional demand for said autonomous vehicles, said first subset of said plurality of geographical regions including said first geographical region.

### Claim 13 (depends on 12)

The system of claim 12, wherein:
said routing module includes a twelfth subset of said native set of instructions configured to identify a second subset of said plurality of geographical regions in which said available number of said autonomous vehicles is sufficient to meet said regional demand for said autonomous vehicles; and
said movement instructions cause relocation of said particular one of said autonomous vehicles from a second geographical region of said second subset of said plurality of geographical regions to said first geographical region.

### Claim 14 (depends on 13)

The system of claim 13, wherein said eleventh subset of said native set of instructions is additionally configured to:
determine a first regional number of said accesses to said hardware servers from within each geographical region of said plurality of geographical regions;
determine a second regional number of said autonomous vehicles that are available within said each geographical region;
calculate, for each geographical region of said plurality of geographical regions, a ratio of said second regional number of said autonomous vehicles to said first regional number of said server accesses; and
compare, for each geographical region of said plurality of geographical regions, said ratio to a threshold number to determine whether a corresponding geographical region is oversupplied or undersupplied with said autonomous vehicles.

### Claim 15 (depends on 14)

The system of claim 14, wherein:
said twelfth subset of said native set of instructions is additionally configured to organize said second subset of said plurality of geographical regions based at least in part on said ratios; and
said ratio calculated for said second region of said second subset of said plurality of geographical regions is the maximum ratio of said ratios.

### Claim 16 (depends on 13)

The system of claim 13, wherein said particular one of said autonomous vehicles is a closest vehicle to said first geographical region out of said autonomous vehicles located within said geographical regions of said second subset of said plurality of geographical regions.

### Claim 17 (depends on 11)

The system of claim 11, wherein:
said movement instructions include a future time; and
said movement instructions cause said relocation of said particular one of said autonomous vehicles at said future time.

### Claim 18 (depends on 17)

The system of claim 17, wherein said future time is selected based at least in part on historical traffic conditions.

### Claim 19 (depends on 11)

The system of claim 11, wherein:
said routing module includes an eleventh subset of said native set of instructions configured to identify a subset of said plurality of autonomous vehicles that have been stationary for at least a threshold amount of time; and
said particular one of said autonomous vehicles is selected from said subset of said plurality of autonomous vehicles.

### Claim 20 (depends on 19)

The system of claim 19, wherein said threshold amount of time is adjustable.