Conflict Resolution via Contingency Plan Execution or Human Interaction

A method for resolving a conflict encountered by an autonomous vehicle comprising:

• gathering data from one or more sensors located on an autonomous vehicle as it traverses a route;
• comparing the gathered data to stored data;
• determining whether the gathered data varies from the stored data;
• determining whether the variance between the gathered data and the stored data exceeds a safe operating threshold;
• if the variance between the gathered data and the stored data exceeds a safe operating threshold, determining whether the variance exceeds an operator intervention threshold;
• if the variance exceeds the operator intervention threshold, transmitting data from the autonomous vehicle to a human operator;
• if the variance exceeds the operator intervention threshold, receiving instructions from the human operator that resolve the conflict;
• and
• if the variance exceeds the safe operating threshold but not the operator intervention threshold, retrieving a contingency plan and executing the contingency plan.

A method for overcoming obstacles or dangers encountered by an autonomous delivery vehicle as it traverses a delivery route comprising:

• gathering a first sensor data from a route;
• storing the first sensor data;
• gathering a second sensor data from a route;
• comparing the first and second sensor data;
• determining whether the comparison between the first and second sensor data exceeds an operating delta;
• determining whether the comparison between the first and second sensor data exceeds an intervention delta;
• retrieving a contingency plan if the operating delta is exceeded but not the intervention delta;
• causing the autonomous delivery vehicle to execute the retrieved contingency plan if the operating delta but not the intervention delta was exceeded;
• contacting a human operator if the intervention delta was exceeded;
• causing the autonomous vehicle to transmit sensor data to the human operator if the intervention delta was exceeded;
• causing the autonomous delivery vehicle to await instructions from the human operator;
• and
• wherein the first and second first and second sensor data was gathered from the same type of sensor.