Autonomous vehicle having light projector for illuminating ground under pedestrians and cyclists

An autonomous vehicle comprising:

• a chassis;
• a plurality of wheels rotationally mounted to the chassis;
• a body supported by the chassis;
• a sensor supported by the body, the sensor detecting an object in a vicinity of the autonomous vehicle, the sensor generating sensor data for the object;
• a processor communicatively coupled to the sensor to receive the sensor data from the sensor, wherein the processor is configured to process the sensor data to recognize that the object is a pedestrian or cyclist and wherein the processor is configured to cooperate with the sensor to track the pedestrian or cyclist, wherein the processor is further configured to determine if a road surface beneath the pedestrian or cyclist is to be illuminated and, upon determining that the road surface beneath the pedestrian or cyclist is to be illuminated, to output an illumination signal;
• a light projector supported by the body and coupled to the processor to receive the illumination signal, wherein the light projector, in response to receiving the illumination signal, projects a beam of light onto the road surface beneath the pedestrian or cyclist to visually notify the pedestrian or cyclist that the autonomous vehicle is presently tracking the pedestrian or cyclist, wherein the light projector projects a message to the pedestrian or cyclist on the road surface, wherein the message is oriented based on a face direction of the pedestrian or cyclist.