US 2019/0057209 A1Published application

Recognizing assigned passengers for autonomous vehicles

AssigneeWaymo LLC

InventorsJohn Wesley Dyer, Luis Torres, Michael Epstein, Yu-Hsin Chen

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Abstract

Aspects of the disclosure provide systems and methods for recognizing an assigned passenger. For instance, dispatching instructions to pick up a passenger at a pickup location are received. The instructions include authentication information for authenticating a client computing device associated with the passenger. A vehicle is maneuvered in an autonomous driving mode towards the pickup location. The client device is then authenticated. After authentication, a set of pedestrians within a predetermined distance of the vehicle are identified from sensor information generated by a sensor of the vehicle and location information is received over a period of time from the client device. The received location information is used to estimate a velocity of the passenger. This estimated velocity is used to identify a subset of set of pedestrians that is likely to be the passenger. The vehicle is stopped to allow the passenger to enter the vehicle based on the subset.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A method of recognizing an assigned passenger, the method comprising:

receiving, by one or more processors of a vehicle, dispatching instructions to pick up the assigned passenger at a pickup location, the dispatching instructions including authentication information for a client computing device associated with the assigned passenger;
maneuvering, by the one or more processors, the vehicle towards the pickup location in an autonomous driving mode;
authenticating, by the one or more processors, the client computing device using the authentication information;
after authenticating the client computing device, identifying, by the one or more processors, from sensor information generated by a sensor of the vehicle a set of pedestrians within a predetermined distance of the vehicle;
after authenticating the client computing device, receiving, by the one or more processors, information from the client computing device identifying locations of the client computing device over a period of time;
using, by the one or more processors, the received information to estimate a velocity of the client computing device;
using, by the one or more processors, the estimated velocity to identify a subset of set of pedestrians that is likely to be the assigned passenger;
and
stopping, by the one or more processors, the vehicle to allow the assigned passenger to enter the vehicle based on the subset.

6 more elements

A system for recognizing an assigned passenger, the system comprising one or more processors configured to:

receive dispatching instructions to pick up a passenger at a pickup location, the dispatching instructions including authentication information for a client computing device associated with the assigned passenger;
maneuver a vehicle towards the pickup location in an autonomous driving mode;
authenticate the client computing device using the authentication information;
after authenticating the client computing device, identify from sensor information generated by a sensor of the vehicle a set of pedestrians corresponding to pedestrians within a predetermined distance of the vehicle;
after authenticating the client computing device, receive location information from the client computing device over a period of time;
receive information from the client computing device identifying locations of the client computing device over a period of time;
use the received information to estimate a velocity of the client computing device;
use the estimated velocity to identify a subset of the set of pedestrians that is likely to be the passenger;
and
stop the vehicle to allow the passenger to enter the vehicle based on the subset.

7 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 15/679,485Filed 17 Aug 2017
Published: 21 Feb 2019
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification23 codes

G06F 21/44
Authentication, i.e. establishing the identity or authorisation of security principals: program or device authentication
B60R 21/01538
Using field detection presence sensors: for image processing, e.g. cameras or sensor arrays
G06F 21/35
Involving the use of external additional devices, e.g. dongles or smart cards: communicating wirelessly
G06Q 10/04
Administration; Management: forecasting or optimisation specially adapted for administrative or management purposes, e.g. linear programming or…

Family

US 10,579,788 B2Related patent
US 2019/0057209 A1This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.

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