Autonomous vehicle parking
Methods and systems autonomously parking and retrieving vehicles are disclosed. Available parking spaces or parking facilities may be identified, and the vehicle may be navigated to an available space from a drop-off location without passengers. Special-purpose sensors, GPS data, or wireless signal triangulation may be used to identify vehicles and available parking spots. Upon a user request or a prediction of upcoming user demand, the vehicle may be retrieved autonomously from a parking space. Other vehicles may be autonomously moved to facilitate parking or retrieval.
1. A computer-implemented method for automatically parking a vehicle capable of autonomous operation at a parking facility, comprising:
receiving, at one or more processors via a communication network, a request for a parking space for the vehicle, wherein the request indicates a destination;
sending, from the one or more processors via the communication network, an indication of a drop-off location based upon the destination, which drop-off location is remote from the parking facility;
determining, by the one or more processors, whether at least one parking space is available at the parking facility;
when the parking facility is determined to have at least one parking space available:
reserving, by the one or more processors, a requested parking space associated with a specific location within the parking facility based upon an estimate of a parking time duration the vehicle is expected to remain in the parking facility;
sending, from the one or more processors via the communication network, an indication that the requested parking space is available at the parking facility;
causing, by the one or more processors, a vehicle control system of the vehicle to operate the vehicle autonomously from the drop-off location to the requested parking space and park at the requested parking space; and
when the parking facility is determined not to have at least one parking space available:
determining, by the one or more processors, an alternative parking facility, and
sending, from the one or more processors via the communication network, an indication of the alternative parking facility.
2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein:
determining whether at least one parking space is available at the parking facility includes determining a location of the requested parking space at the parking facility when the parking facility is determined to have at least one parking space available; and
sending the indication that the requested parking space is available at the parking facility includes sending an indication of the location of the requested parking space.
3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein:
the parking facility is equipped with a plurality of sensors to determine whether each of a plurality of parking spaces is occupied; and
the determination of whether at least one parking space is available is based upon sensor data received from the plurality of sensors.
4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein determining whether at least one parking space is available at the parking facility includes:
receiving, at the one or more processors, location data from geolocation units within each of a plurality of vehicles parked within the parking facility; and
comparing, by the one or more processors, the received location data with locations of a plurality of parking spaces within the parking facility to determine whether at least one of the plurality of parking spaces has no corresponding location data from the plurality of vehicles.
5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising, when the parking facility is determined to have at least one parking space available:
causing, by the one or more processors, the vehicle control system of the vehicle to operate the vehicle autonomously to the drop-off location; and
causing, by the one or more processors, the vehicle to stop at the drop-off location to allow one or more passengers to exit the vehicle.
6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising, when the parking facility is determined to have at least one parking space available:
after the vehicle is parked at the requested parking space, causing, by the one or more processors, an additional vehicle control system of an additional vehicle to park the additional vehicle in a location that blocks movement of the vehicle.
7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising, when the parking facility is determined to have at least one parking space available:
determining, by the one or more processors, a location of the requested parking space; and
causing, by the one or more processors, a vehicle control system of the vehicle to operate the vehicle autonomously from a drop-off location to the requested parking space without any passengers,
wherein the requested parking space is located within a portion of the parking facility where passenger access is restricted.
8. The computer-implemented method of claim 7 , wherein the requested parking space is configured in such proximity to other parking spaces that there is insufficient room to open one or more doors of the vehicle when parked in the requested parking space.
9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein determining the alternative parking facility includes determining that at least one parking space is available at the alternative parking facility.
10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:
determining, by the one or more processors, the parking facility from a plurality of parking facilities based upon one or more of the following: price, distance from a current location of the vehicle, distance from a destination location of the vehicle, or accessibility of the vehicle while parked.
11. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising, when the parking facility is determined to have at least one parking space available:
determining, by the one or more processors, that one or more parked vehicles must be moved to permit access to the requested parking space by the vehicle;
determining, by the one or more processors, a movement plan including routes for movement of the one or more parked vehicles; and
causing, by the one or more processors, vehicle control systems of the one or more parked vehicles to operate autonomously according to the movement plan.
12. The computer-implemented method of claim 11 , wherein:
the movement plan further includes a route for movement of the vehicle; and
the vehicle is caused to move according to the movement plan.
13. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:
determining, by the one or more processors, the estimate of the parking time duration for the vehicle,
wherein determining whether a least one parking space is available at the parking facility includes determining whether a parking space matching the estimate of the parking time duration is available in a parking queue, the parking queue being either a first-in first-out (FIFO) queue or a last-in first-out (LIFO) queue.
14. A computer system for automatically parking a vehicle capable of autonomous operation at a parking facility, comprising:
one or more processors;
a communication unit configured to communicate between the one or more processors and a computing device associated with the vehicle via a communication network; and
a program memory coupled to the one or more processors and storing executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computer system to:
receive a request for a parking space for the vehicle at the communication unit via the communication network, wherein the request indicates a destination;
send an indication of a drop-off location based upon the destination via the communication network, which drop-off location is remote from the parking facility;
determine whether at least one parking space is available at the parking facility;
when the parking facility is determined to have at least one parking space available:
reserve a requested parking space associated with a specific location within the parking facility based upon an estimate of a parking time duration the vehicle is expected to remain in the parking facility;
send an indication that the requested parking space is available at the parking facility from the communication unit via the communication network;
cause a vehicle control system of the vehicle to operate the vehicle autonomous from the drop-off location to the requested parking space and park at the requested parking space; and
when the parking facility is determined not to have at least one parking space available:
determine an alternative parking facility, and
send an indication of the alternative parking facility from the communication unit via the communication network.
15. The computer system of claim 14 , wherein the program memory further stores executable instructions that cause the computer system to, when the parking facility is determined to have at least one parking space available:
cause the vehicle control system of the vehicle to operate the vehicle autonomously to the drop-off location; and
cause the vehicle to stop at the drop-off location to allow one or more passengers to exit the vehicle.
16. The computer system of claim 14 , wherein the program memory further stores executable instructions that cause the computer system to, when the parking facility is determined to have at least one parking space available:
determine that one or more parked vehicles must be moved to permit access to the requested parking space by the vehicle;
determine a movement plan including routes for movement of the one or more parked vehicles; and
cause vehicle control systems of the one or more parked vehicles to operate autonomously according to the movement plan.
17. The computer system of claim 14 , wherein the executable instructions that cause the computer system to determine whether at least one parking space is available at the parking facility further cause the computer system to:
receive location data from geolocation units within each of a plurality of vehicles parked within the parking facility; and
compare the received location data with locations of a plurality of parking spaces within the parking facility to determine whether at least one of the plurality of parking spaces has no corresponding location data from the plurality of vehicles.
18. A tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions for automatically parking a vehicle capable of autonomous operation at a parking facility that, when executed by at least one processor of a computer system, cause the computer system to:
receive a request for a parking space for the vehicle from a computing device associated with the vehicle via a communication network, wherein the request indicates a destination;
send an indication of a drop-off location based upon the destination via the communication network, which drop-off location is remote from the parking facility;
determine whether at least one parking space is available at the parking facility;
when the parking facility is determined to have at least one parking space available:
reserve a requested parking space associated with a specific location within the parking facility based upon an estimate of a parking time duration the vehicle is expected to remain in the parking facility;
send an indication that the requested parking space is available at the parking facility to the computing device associated with the vehicle via the communication network;
cause a vehicle control system of the vehicle to operate the vehicle autonomous from the drop-off location to the requested parking space and park at the requested parking space; and
when the parking facility is determined not to have at least one parking space available:
determine an alternative parking facility, and
send an indication of the alternative parking facility to the computing device associated with the vehicle via the communication network.
19. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18 , further storing instructions that cause the computer system to, when the parking facility is determined to have at least one parking space available:
determine that one or more parked vehicles must be moved to permit access to the requested parking space by the vehicle;
determine a movement plan including routes for movement of the one or more parked vehicles; and
cause vehicle control systems of the one or more parked vehicles to operate autonomously according to the movement plan.