Sensory stimulation for an autonomous vehicle

1. A sensory stimulation system for an autonomous vehicle (AV), the sensory stimulation system comprising:

a number of output systems;

one or more processors; and

one or more memory resources storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, causes the sensory stimulation system to:

monitor AV data indicating actions to be performed by the AV;

provide a user interface that enables a rider of the AV to adjust a number of output parameters of the sensory stimulation system;

based at least in part on the AV data, generate a set of stimulation commands for one or more of the output systems; and

based on adjustments made by the rider on the user interface, execute the stimulation commands on the one or more output systems.

2. The sensory stimulation system of claim 1 , wherein the actions comprise acceleration, braking, and change of direction actions to be performed by the AV, and wherein the executed stimulation commands on the one or more output systems provide sensory cues to the rider in anticipation of the actions.

3. The sensory stimulation system of claim 1 , wherein the user interface enables the rider to make timing adjustments to a timing parameter of the stimulation commands.

4. The sensory stimulation system of claim 3 , wherein the timing adjustments cause the sensory stimulation system to execute stimulation commands prior to the actions being performed by the AV, and either earlier or later than a default timing setting.

5. The sensory stimulation system of claim 1 , wherein the user interface enables the at least one rider to make intensity adjustments to an intensity parameter of the stimulation commands.

6. The sensory stimulation system of claim 1 , wherein the output systems comprise a hand-puck system that the rider can optionally place a hand on to receive anticipatory sensory stimulation for the actions to be performed by the AV.

7. The sensory stimulation system of claim 1 , wherein the output systems comprise a foot pedal system driven by at least one motor operated by the sensory stimulation system and mounted to a floor of the AV.

8. The sensory stimulation system of claim 7 , wherein the foot pedal system comprises a foot pedal for each foot of the rider.

9. The sensory stimulation system of claim 7 , wherein the foot pedal system is mounted to tilt fore and aft to provide preemptive sensory stimulation for acceleration and deceleration forces of the AV.

10. The sensory stimulation system of claim 9 , wherein the foot pedal system is mounted on a universal joint to further tilt laterally in order to further provide preemptive sensory stimulation for lateral forces of the AV.

11. The sensory stimulation system of claim 1 , wherein the output systems comprise a virtual reality (VR) headset to be worn by the rider, and wherein the executed stimulation commands cause a visual graphic to be displayed on a display of the VR headset that indicates upcoming forces of the AV.

12. An autonomous vehicle (AV) comprising:

a number of output systems;

a sensor system to generate sensor data indicating a situational environment of the AV;

acceleration, steering, and braking systems; and

a control system comprising one or more processors executing instructions that cause the control system to:

process the sensor data to determine a set of actions to be performed by the AV and autonomously control the acceleration, steering, and braking systems;

provide a user interface that enables a rider of the AV to adjust a number of output parameters of stimulation outputs from the output systems;

based at least in part on the determined set of actions, generate a set of stimulation commands for one or more of the output systems; and

based on adjustments made by the rider on the user interface, execute the stimulation commands on the one or more output systems.

13. The AV of claim 12 , wherein the actions comprise acceleration, braking, and change of direction actions to be performed by the AV, and wherein the executed stimulation commands on the one or more output systems provide sensory cues to the rider in anticipation of the set of actions.

14. The AV of claim 12 , wherein the user interface enables the rider to make timing adjustments to a timing parameter of the executed stimulation commands.

15. The AV of claim 14 , wherein the timing adjustments cause the control system to execute stimulation commands prior to the set of actions of the AV, and either earlier or later than a default timing setting.

16. The AV of claim 12 , wherein the user interface enables the rider to make intensity adjustments to an intensity parameter of the stimulation commands.

17. The AV of claim 12 , wherein the output systems comprise a hand-puck system that the rider can optionally place a hand on to receive anticipatory sensory stimulation for the set of actions to be performed by the AV.

18. The AV of claim 12 , wherein the output systems comprise a foot pedal system driven by at least one motor operated by the control system and mounted to a floor of the AV.

19. The AV of claim 18 , wherein the pedal system is mounted on at least one universal joint to provide preemptive sensory stimulation for acceleration, deceleration, and lateral forces of the AV.

20. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a sensory stimulation system for an autonomous vehicle (AV), cause the one or more processors to:

monitor AV data indicating actions to be performed by the AV;

provide a user interface the enables a rider of the AV to adjust a number of output parameters of the sensory stimulation system;

based at least in part on the AV data, generate a set of stimulation commands for one or more of the output systems; and

based on adjustments made by the rider on the user interface, execute the stimulation commands on the one or more output systems.