20240025440. STATE ESTIMATION AND RESPONSE TO ACTIVE SCHOOL VEHICLES IN A SELF-DRIVING SYSTEM simplified abstract (Ford Global Technologies, LLC)
STATE ESTIMATION AND RESPONSE TO ACTIVE SCHOOL VEHICLES IN A SELF-DRIVING SYSTEM
Organization Name
Inventor(s)
John Russell Lepird of Pittsburgh PA (US)
Patrick Stirling Barone of Saratoga CA (US)
Alexander Wah Tak Metz of Munich (DE)
STATE ESTIMATION AND RESPONSE TO ACTIVE SCHOOL VEHICLES IN A SELF-DRIVING SYSTEM - A simplified explanation of the abstract
This abstract first appeared for US patent application 20240025440 titled 'STATE ESTIMATION AND RESPONSE TO ACTIVE SCHOOL VEHICLES IN A SELF-DRIVING SYSTEM
Simplified Explanation
The patent application discloses a system, method, and computer program product for anticipating the state of a school transportation vehicle. The method involves receiving sensor data of the environment near an autonomous vehicle and analyzing the data to estimate the current state of the school transportation vehicle. If the estimated state is either actively loading or unloading or imminently loading or unloading, the autonomous vehicle will slow down or stop until the school transportation vehicle is in an inactive state.
- The method involves receiving sensor data of the environment near an autonomous vehicle.
- The sensor data includes a representation of a school transportation vehicle.
- The sensor data is analyzed to estimate the current state of the school transportation vehicle.
- The estimated current state can be actively loading or unloading or imminently loading or unloading.
- If the estimated current state is actively loading or unloading or imminently loading or unloading, the autonomous vehicle will slow down or stop.
- The autonomous vehicle will wait until the school transportation vehicle is in an inactive state.
Potential Applications:
- Autonomous school transportation vehicles can anticipate the state of a school transportation vehicle and adjust their speed accordingly.
- This technology can improve the safety and efficiency of school transportation systems.
- It can be applied to autonomous vehicles in other contexts where it is important to anticipate the state of nearby vehicles.
Problems Solved:
- The technology solves the problem of autonomous vehicles not being able to anticipate the state of a school transportation vehicle.
- It addresses the issue of potential collisions or disruptions caused by autonomous vehicles not adjusting their speed when a school transportation vehicle is actively loading or unloading or imminently loading or unloading.
Benefits:
- Improved safety for school transportation vehicles and autonomous vehicles sharing the road.
- Increased efficiency of school transportation systems by reducing delays caused by autonomous vehicles.
- Enhanced overall traffic flow and reduced congestion.
Original Abstract Submitted
this document discloses system, method, and computer program product embodiments for anticipating an imminent state of a school transportation vehicle. for example, the method includes receiving sensor data of an environment near an autonomous vehicle. the method further includes, in response to the sensor data including a representation of a school transportation vehicle, analyzing the sensor data to estimate, from a set of candidate states, a current state of the school transportation vehicle, wherein the candidate states include an actively loading or unloading state, an imminently loading or unloading state, and an inactive state. the method further includes, in response to the estimated current state being either the actively loading or unloading state or the imminently loading or unloading state, causing the autonomous vehicle to slow or stop until the school transportation vehicle is in the inactive state.
