Crowdsourced servicing of on-demand electric-vehicles

1. A system, comprising:

a communication interface; and

a processor coupled to the communication interface and configured to:

receive, via the communication interface from at least a subset of electric vehicles, data representing a corresponding location and a corresponding replenishment-related attribute value of the at least the subset of electric vehicles comprising a fleet of electric vehicles made available for use on demand;

determine based at least in part on the corresponding replenishment-related attribute value of electric vehicles included in the at least the subset of electric vehicles a set of electric vehicles required to be replenished;

provide via the communication interface to each of a plurality of users a display indicating for each electric vehicle included in the set of electrical vehicles required to be replenished a corresponding location of the electric vehicle and a price offered to retrieve, replenish, and redeploy the electric vehicle;

receive from a device associated with one of the plurality of users a selection to retrieve at least one of the electrical vehicles included in the set of electric vehicles required to be replenished; and

update, based on the selection, the display indicating for each electric vehicle included in the set of electrical vehicles required to be replenished, wherein the updated display includes the electric vehicles included in the set of electric vehicles required to be replenished other than the selected at least one of the electric vehicles.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the corresponding replenishment-related attribute value comprises a battery charge level.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the data representing the corresponding location and the corresponding replenishment-related attribute value is received from the respective electric vehicles, each being configured to determine and report its own location and battery charge level.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the data representing the corresponding location and the corresponding replenishment-related attribute value is received from respective mobile devices each brought within communication range of one or more of the at least a subset of electric vehicles.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to monitor the corresponding replenishment-related attribute value of electric vehicles that have been retrieved by users for replenishment.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to provide to the plurality of users information identifying a plurality of deployment locations available to be used to redeploy electric vehicles that have been replenished by users included in the plurality of users.

7. The system of claim 6 , wherein the information identifying a plurality of deployment locations includes for each location a number of spots currently available to be used to redeploy electric vehicles that have been replenished by users.

8. The system of claim 7 , wherein the processor is further configured to provide to the plurality of users via an application user interface an ability to reserve for a limited time one or more spots available at a selected location to be used by the reserving user to redeploy a corresponding number of electric vehicles that have been replenished by that user.

9. The system of claim 6 , wherein the processor is further configured to provide the information identifying a plurality of deployment locations via a map-based graphical user interface.

10. The system of claim 6 , wherein the processor is further configured to receive an indication from a redeploying user that a specific electric vehicle that has been charged by the redeploying user is being redeployed by the redeploying user at a specific one of the plurality of deployment locations.

11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the processor is further configured to prompt the redeploying user to take and submit a photograph of the electric vehicle as parked at the specific one of the plurality of deployment locations.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the processor is further configured to process the photograph using machine learning techniques to determine without human intervention whether the electric vehicle has been parked in a manner that satisfies one or more prescribed criteria.

13. The system of claim 1 , wherein said display indicating for each of at least a subset of electrical vehicles required to be charged a location of the vehicle and a price offered to retrieve, charge, and redeploy the vehicle comprises an interactive graphical user interface.

14. The system of claim 13 , wherein the interactive graphical user interface includes a set of one or more filter controls, each filter control enables one or both of a lower limit and an upper limit of a range to be defined for a parameter, the processor being further configured to include in the display only a subset of electric vehicles for which the corresponding value for the parameter falls within the defined range.

15. The system of claim 1 , wherein the display comprises an interactive graphical user interface that includes a control usable by a capturing user to capture a specific electric vehicle for replenishment by the capturing user.

16. The system of claim 15 , wherein capture of a specific electric vehicle by a replenishing user results in the electric vehicle no longer being included in the display as displayed to other users.

17. The system of claim 1 , wherein the display includes one or more controls operable to do one or more of the following: sound an alarm or other audible signal from the electric vehicle; report damage to the vehicle; report the vehicle as lost; designate the vehicle as having been captured and picked up; and unlock the vehicle for a limited time and/or range to be able to move it to or from a vehicle for transport to or from a replenishment location.

18. The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to update dynamically the respective prices offered to charge electric vehicles comprising the at least a subset of electrical vehicles required to be replenished.

19. A method, comprising:

receiving via a communication interface from at least a subset of electric vehicles, data representing a corresponding location and a corresponding replenishment-related attribute value of the at least the subset of electric vehicles comprising a fleet of electric vehicles made available for use on demand; and

using a processor to:

determine based at least in part on the corresponding replenishment-related attribute value of electric vehicles included in the at least the subset of electric vehicles a set of electric vehicles required to be replenished;

provide via the communication interface to each of a plurality of users a display indicating for each electric vehicle included in the set of electrical vehicles required to be replenished a corresponding location of the electric vehicle and a price offered to retrieve, replenish, and redeploy the electric vehicle;

receive from a device associated with one of the plurality of users a selection to retrieve at least one of the electrical vehicles included in the set of electric vehicles required to be replenished; and

update, based on the selection, the display indicating for each electric vehicle included in the set of electrical vehicles required to be replenished, wherein the updated display includes the electric vehicles included in the set of electric vehicles required to be replenished other than the selected at least one of the electric vehicles.

20. A computer program product embodied in a non-transitory computer-readable medium, comprising computer instructions for:

receiving via a communication interface from at least a subset of electric vehicles, data representing a corresponding location and a corresponding replenishment-related attribute value of the at least the subset of electric vehicles comprising a fleet of electric vehicles made available for use on demand;

determining based at least in part on the corresponding replenishment-related attribute value of electric vehicles included in the at least the subset of electric vehicles a set of electric vehicles required to be replenished;

providing via the communication interface to each of a plurality of users a display indicating for each electric vehicle included in the set of electrical vehicles required to be replenished a corresponding location of the electric vehicle and a price offered to retrieve, replenish, and redeploy the electric vehicle;

receiving from a device associated with one of the plurality of users a selection to retrieve at least one of the electrical vehicles included in the set of electric vehicles required to be replenished; and

updating, based on the selection, the display indicating for each electric vehicle included in the set of electrical vehicles required to be replenished, wherein the updated display includes the electric vehicles included in the set of electric vehicles required to be replenished other than the selected at least one of the electric vehicles.