System and method to charge a penalty fee to an uncooperative client of an automated-taxi

1. A system for operating an automated-taxi, said system comprising:

a perception-sensor operable to:

obtain an image of an interior section of the automated-taxi;

identify, using the image, an object that was brought aboard the automated-taxi by a client of the automated taxi; and

determine, using the image, a location and at least one dimension of the object aboard the automated-taxi;

a communication-device operable to communicate with the client of the automated-taxi; and

a controller-circuit in communication with the perception-sensor and the communication-device, said controller-circuit configured to:

determine that the at least one dimension of the object is greater than a specified threshold;

upon determining that the at least one dimension of the object is greater than the specified threshold, determine that the location of the object is outside a storage area of the automated-taxi designated for storage of objects during movement of the automated-taxi;

operate the communication-device to send a message that indicates the client will be charged a fee unless the object is relocated to the designated storage area of the automated-taxi; and

operate, based on a determination related to re-location of the object, vehicle-controls of the automated taxi.

2. The system in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the controller-circuit charges the fee in response to a determination that the object was not relocated in less time than a time-threshold.

3. The system in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the system includes a previous-client list, and the controller-circuit increases the fee in response to a determination that the client was sent the same message previously.

4. The system in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the controller-circuit is configured to wait to operate the automated-taxi until the object is relocated to the designated storage area of the automated-taxi.

5. A controller-circuit for operating an automated-taxi, said controller-circuit comprising:

a controller-circuit input that is communicatively coupled with a perception-sensor, wherein the perception-sensor is operable to:

obtain an image of an interior section of the automated-taxi, and

determine, using the image, a location and at least one dimension of an object that was brought aboard an automated-taxi by a client of the automated-taxi;

a controller-circuit output that is communicatively coupled with a communication-device, wherein the communication-device is operable to communicate with the client of the automated-taxi; and

a processor in communication with the perception-sensor and the communication-device, said processor configured to:

determine that the at least one dimension of the object is greater than a specified threshold;

upon determining that the at least one dimension of the object is greater than the specified threshold, determine that the location of the object is outside a storage area of the automated-taxi designated for storage of objects during movement of the automated-taxi;

operate the communication-device to send a message that indicates the client will be charged a fee unless the object is relocated to the designated storage area of the automated-taxi; and

operate, based on a determination related to re-location of the object, vehicle-controls of the automated taxi.

6. The controller-circuit in accordance with claim 5 , wherein the controller-circuit charges the fee in response to a determination that the object was not relocated in less time than a time-threshold.

7. The controller-circuit in accordance with claim 5 , wherein the controller-circuit is configured to access a previous-client-list, and the processor increases the fee in response to a determination that the client was sent the same message previously.

8. The controller-circuit in accordance with claim 5 , wherein the controller-circuit is configured to wait to operate the automated-taxi until a re-location of the object to the designated storage area of the automated-taxi.

9. A method for operating an automated-taxi, said method comprising:

determining, using a perception-sensor, a location and at least one dimension of an object that was brought aboard an automated-taxi by a client of the automated-taxi;

determining, using a controller-circuit, that the at least one dimension of the object is greater than a specified threshold;

upon determining that the at least one dimension of the object is greater than the specified threshold, determining, using the controller-circuit that the location of the object aboard is outside a storage area of the automated-taxi designated for storage of objects during movement of the automated-taxi;

operating a communication-device to send a message to the client that indicates the client will be charged a fee unless the object is relocated to the designated storage area of the automated-taxi; and

operating, by the controller-circuit, vehicle-controls of the automated taxi based on a determination related to re-location of the object.

10. The method in accordance with claim 9 , wherein the method includes charging the fee in response to a determination that the object was not relocated in less time than a time-threshold.

11. The method in accordance with claim 9 , wherein the method includes:

accessing a previous-client-list; and

increasing the fee in response to a determination that the client was sent the same message previously.

12. The method in accordance with claim 9 , wherein the method includes:

determining, by the perception-sensor, whether the object was re-located subsequent to sending the message to the client; and

causing, by the controller-circuit, the vehicle-controls to not move the taxi until the location of the object is in the designated storage of the automated-taxi.

13. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one dimension includes one of size or weight.

14. The system of claim 13 , wherein the operational requirement of the automated-taxi specifies that objects having weights greater than a specified weight threshold or having sizes greater than a specified size threshold are to be stowed in a designated storage area in the interior of the automated-taxi.

15. The system of claim 14 , wherein the determined location of the object is outside the designated storage area in the interior of the automated-taxi.

16. The controller-circuit of claim 5 , wherein the at least one dimension includes one of size or weight.

17. The controller-circuit of claim 16 , wherein the operational requirement of the automated-taxi specifies that objects having weights greater than a specified weight threshold or having sizes greater than a specified size threshold are to be stowed in a designated storage area in the interior of the automated-taxi.

18. The controller-circuit of claim 17 , wherein the determined location of the object is outside the designated storage area in the interior of the automated-taxi.

19. The method of claim 9 , wherein the at least one dimension includes one of size or weight.

20. The method of claim 19 , wherein the operational requirement of the automated-taxi specifies that objects having weights greater than a specified weight threshold or having sizes greater than a specified size threshold are to be stowed in a designated storage area in the interior of the automated-taxi.

21. The method of claim 20 , wherein the determined location of the object is outside the designated storage area in the interior of the automated-taxi.