Automated fleet-connected cleaning and inspection system
AssigneeGM Cruise Holdings LLC
InventorsKenneth Ferguson, Jeffrey Brandon
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Systems and methods for automated cleaning and inspection of electric vehicles. The systems and methods for automated cleaning eliminate the need for human interaction with the vehicle and/or cleaning system. Vehicle cleaning is typically a heavily manual task that consumes operation personnel time and resources. Providing automated systems and methods for vehicle cleaning can reduce human resources used for cleaning. Additionally, automated cleaning systems and methods can increase vehicle utilization efficiency by decreasing downtime for cleaning. In various implementations, systems and methods are provided for automated vehicle inspections. In some examples, automated vehicle inspections can occur concurrently with automated vehicle cleaning.
Claims12
A system for fleet cleaning of a plurality of fleet vehicles, comprising:
- a dispatch service configured to communicate with each of the plurality of fleet vehicles, wherein the dispatch service is configured to:
- receive a cleaning request from a fleet vehicle of the plurality of fleet vehicles;
- identify a cleaning facility with an available parking spot for cleaning;
- and
- transmit a message indicating that the fleet vehicle is arriving at the identified cleaning facility at a first time;
- and
- the cleaning facility, including:
- a plurality of parking spots;
- a robotic cleaner, wherein the robotic cleaner has access to a vacuum system and a cleansing system, and wherein the robotic cleaner is configured to clean the fleet vehicle parked in at least one of the plurality of parking spots;
- the vacuum system including a plurality of vacuum system end effectors configured for deployment by the robotic cleaner to vacuum at least a portion of the fleet vehicle;
- and
- the cleansing system including a plurality of cleansing system end effectors configured for deployment by the robotic cleaner to cleanse at least a portion of the fleet vehicle,
- wherein the robotic cleaner is configured to identify at least one of a vacuum system end effector and a cleansing system end effector corresponding to a vehicle cleanliness issue, and
- wherein the robotic cleaner is configured to open a door of the fleet vehicle to access a vehicle interior and autonomously clean the vehicle interior using the identified at least one of the vacuum system end effector and the cleansing system end effector.
A system for vehicle cleaning, comprising:
- a plurality of parking spots;
- a robotic cleaner, wherein the robotic cleaner has access to a vacuum system and a cleansing system, and wherein the robotic cleaner is configured to clean a vehicle in at least one of the parking spots;
- the vacuum system including a plurality of vacuum system end effectors configured for deployment by the robotic cleaner to vacuum at least a portion of the vehicle;
- and
- the cleansing system including a plurality of cleansing system end effectors configured for deployment by the robotic cleaner to cleanse at least a portion of the vehicle;
- wherein the robotic cleaner is configured to identify at least one of a vacuum system end effector and a cleansing system end effector corresponding to a vehicle cleanliness issue;
- and
- wherein the robotic cleaner is configured to open a door of the vehicle to access a vehicle interior and autonomously clean the vehicle interior using the identified at least one of the vacuum system end effector and the cleansing system end effector.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.