US 2017/0123422 A1 - Interactive Autonomous Vehicle Command Controller - The Lens

Interactive Autonomous Vehicle Command Controller

Published: May 4, 2017
Earliest Priority: Nov 04 2015
Family: 3
Cited Works: 0
Cited by: 26
Cites: 22
Additional Info: Full text

Abstract

Various embodiments relate generally to autonomous vehicles and associated mechanical, electrical and electronic hardware, computer software and systems, and wired and wireless network communications to provide an autonomous vehicle fleet as a service. In particular, a method may include receiving, at an autonomous vehicle system, a command to control an ambient feature associated with the autonomous vehicle system. One or more courses of action may be determined based on the command. In addition, one or more probabilistic models associated with the one or more courses of action may also be determined. Based on the one or more probabilistic models, confidence levels may also be determined to form a subset of the one or more courses of action. A course of action from the subset of the one or more courses of action may then be executed at the autonomous vehicle system responsive to the command.

Claims

A method comprising:
receiving, at an autonomous vehicle system, a command to control a feature associated with the autonomous vehicle system;

determining a plurality of courses of action based on the command;

for each of the plurality of courses of action, determining at least one probabilistic model;

based on the probabilistic model, determining a confidence level for each of the plurality of courses of action;

forming a subset of the plurality of courses of action, each course of action in the subset having a confidence level of at least a threshold confidence level; and

executing a course of action from the subset at the autonomous vehicle system.
The method of claim 1, wherein the command is a spoken command and the determining the one or more courses of action comprises using natural language processing.
(canceled)
The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving, from a teleoperator system reviewing the command, a confirmation of the command.
The method of claim 1, wherein the feature comprises an ambient feature of the autonomous vehicle system.
The method of claim 1, wherein the feature comprises at least one of an interior lighting configuration, a sound system configuration, a temperature configuration, or a road handling configuration.
The method of claim 1, wherein the feature comprises the road handling configuration, and a trajectory of the autonomous vehicle system is selected based at least in part on the road handling configuration.
The method of claim 1, wherein the command is received through a microphone mounted in the autonomous vehicle system.
The method of claim 8, further comprising:
responsive to the command, generating an audio response to the command based on the one or more probabilistic models; and

providing the response through one or more interior speakers mounted within the autonomous vehicle system.
The method of claim 1, wherein the command comprises a request to synchronize a user device with the autonomous vehicle system, and synchronizing the user device with the autonomous vehicle systems enables transmission of content from the user device to the autonomous vehicle system.
(canceled)
A method comprising:
receiving, at an autonomous vehicle system comprising a plurality of sensors, a command to change a trajectory associated with the autonomous vehicle system;

determining courses of action based on the command and data received from the plurality of sensors;

determining, for each of the courses of action, a probabilistic model;

determining a confidence level for each of the courses of action, based at least in part on the probabilistic models; and

executing, based at least in part on the confidence levels, a course of action from the courses of action at the autonomous vehicle system responsive to the command.
The method of claim 12, wherein the command comprises an instruction to re-route the autonomous vehicle system from a first destination to a second destination.
The method of claim 12, wherein the course of action comprises an instruction to seek contact a teleoperator system to respond to the command, the method further comprising:
sending the command to the teleoperator system;

receiving a second course of action from the teleoperator system; and

executing the second course of action.
15.-20. (canceled)
The method of claim 12, further comprising selecting the course of action from the one or more courses of action, based at least in part on the confidence levels.
The method of claim 21, wherein the course of action has an associated confidence level higher than a predetermined threshold level.
The method of claim 21, wherein the selecting the course of action comprises selecting the course of action from a subset of the one or more courses of action, each of the courses of action in the subset having a confidence level higher than a predetermined threshold level.
The method of claim 12, wherein the confidence levels are determined based at least in part on at least one of data from the sensors, log data, or information provided by an autonomous vehicle management system.
A system comprising:
an autonomous vehicle configured to drive autonomously on a roadway, the autonomous vehicle including one or more sensors for sensing one or more objects in an environment of the autonomous vehicle; and

a computing system communicatively coupled to the autonomous vehicle to receive data and to transmit instructions to control the autonomous vehicle, the computing system being programmed to:
control the autonomous vehicle to transport a user to a first destination along a trajectory;

receive a user command to transport the user to a second destination;

determine a plurality of courses of action in response to receiving the user command;

determine a confidence level for each of the courses of action; and

control the autonomous vehicle to execute, based at least in part on the confidence levels, a course of action of the courses of action.
The system of claim 25, the computing system being further programmed to: determine a probabilistic model for each of the courses of action, wherein the confidence level is determined based at least in part on the probabilistic models.
The system of claim 25, wherein the confidence level of the course of action is higher than a predetermined threshold level.
The system of claim 25, wherein the confidence levels are determined based at least in part on data from the sensors.