IP Library Granted Patent US 11,914,366
Granted Patent B2
US 11,914,366 · App. 17/706,897 · Granted Feb 27, 2024

Blended operator and autonomous control in an autonomous vehicle

Inventors: Aaron Carroll (Mountain View, CA); Mario Delgado (San Francisco, CA); Basheer Tome (Oakland, CA); Noah Shaw (San Francisco, CA); John Hayes (Mountain View, CA); Volkmar Uhlig (Cupertino, CA); Justin Erickson (San Francisco, CA)
Assignee: GHOST AUTONOMY INC.
G05D1/0061G05D1/0077G05D2201/0213
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,914,366
App. No.
17/706,897
Granted
Feb 27, 2024
Kind
B2
Abstract

Blended operator and autonomous control in an autonomous vehicle, including: receiving sensor data from a plurality of sensors of an autonomous vehicle; determining, based on the sensor data, a degree of autonomous control for each control input of a plurality of control inputs; and applying the degree of autonomous control for each control input of the plurality of control inputs.

Claims (33)

1. An autonomous vehicle, comprising:

an apparatus configured perform steps comprising:

receiving sensor data from a plurality of sensors of the autonomous vehicle;

determining, based on the sensor data, a plurality of degrees of autonomous control for a plurality of control inputs by determining, for each input of the plurality of control inputs, a corresponding degree of autonomous control of the plurality of degrees of autonomous control, wherein a first degree of autonomous control for a first control input is determined dependent on a second degree of autonomous control for a second input, wherein two or more of the determined degrees of autonomous control are different; and

applying the plurality of degrees of autonomous control to the plurality of control inputs by applying, for each control input of the plurality of control inputs, the corresponding degree of autonomous control.

2. The autonomous vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the corresponding degree of autonomous control for each control input of the plurality of control inputs comprises a distribution of operator control and autonomous control.

3. The autonomous vehicle of claim 2 , wherein the corresponding degree of autonomous control for one or more of the plurality of control inputs comprises partial autonomous control and partial operator control.

4. The autonomous vehicle of claim 1 , wherein determining the plurality of degrees of autonomous control comprises determining, based on an operator input to a control input, the corresponding degree of autonomous control for one or more of the control inputs.

5. The autonomous vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the sensor data describes one or more of a location of the autonomous vehicle, a movement of the autonomous vehicle, an exterior environment of the autonomous vehicle, or an interior of the autonomous vehicle.

6. The autonomous vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the steps further comprise updating the plurality of degrees of autonomous control at a predefined interval.

7. A method comprising:

receiving sensor data from a plurality of sensors of an autonomous vehicle;

determining, based on the sensor data, a plurality of degrees of autonomous control for a plurality of control inputs by determining, for each input of the plurality of control inputs, a corresponding degree of autonomous control of the plurality of degrees of autonomous control, wherein a first degree of autonomous control for a first control input is determined dependent on a second degree of autonomous control for a second input, wherein two or more of the determined degrees of autonomous control are different; and

applying the plurality of degrees of autonomous control to the plurality of control inputs by applying, for each control input of the plurality of control inputs, the corresponding degree of autonomous control.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the corresponding degree of autonomous control for each control input of the plurality of control inputs comprises a distribution of operator control and autonomous control.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the corresponding degree of autonomous control for one or more of the plurality of control inputs comprises partial autonomous control and partial operator control.

10. The method of claim 7 , wherein determining the plurality of degrees of autonomous control comprises determining, based on an operator input to a control input, the corresponding degree of autonomous control for one or more of the control inputs.

11. The method of claim 7 , wherein the sensor data describes one or more of a location of the autonomous vehicle, a movement of the autonomous vehicle, an exterior environment of the autonomous vehicle, or an interior of the autonomous vehicle.

12. The method of claim 7 , further comprising updating the plurality of degrees of autonomous control at a predefined interval.

13. An apparatus configured to perform steps comprising:

receiving sensor data from a plurality of sensors of an autonomous vehicle;

determining, based on the sensor data, a plurality of degrees of autonomous control for a plurality of control inputs by determining, for each input of the plurality of control inputs, a corresponding degree of autonomous control of the plurality of degrees of autonomous control, wherein a first degree of autonomous control for a first control input is determined dependent on a second degree of autonomous control for a second input, wherein two or more of the determined degrees of autonomous control are different; and

applying the plurality of degrees of autonomous control to the plurality of control inputs by applying, for each control input of the plurality of control inputs, the corresponding degree of autonomous control.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the corresponding degree of autonomous control for each control input of the plurality of control inputs comprises a distribution of operator control and autonomous control.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the corresponding degree of autonomous control for one or more of the plurality of control inputs comprises partial autonomous control and partial operator control.

16. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein determining the plurality of degrees of autonomous control comprises determining, based on an operator input to a control input, the corresponding degree of autonomous control for one or more of the control inputs.

17. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the sensor data describes one or more of a location of the autonomous vehicle, a movement of the autonomous vehicle, an exterior environment of the autonomous vehicle, or an interior of the autonomous vehicle.

18. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the steps further comprise updating the plurality of degrees of autonomous control at a predefined interval.

19. A computer program product disposed upon a non-transitory computer readable medium, the computer program product comprising computer program instructions that, when executed, cause a computer system of the autonomous vehicle to carry out the steps of:

receiving sensor data from a plurality of sensors of an autonomous vehicle;

determining, based on the sensor data, a plurality of degrees of autonomous control for a plurality of control inputs by determining, for each input of the plurality of control inputs, a corresponding degree of autonomous control of the plurality of degrees of autonomous control, wherein a first degree of autonomous control for a first control input is determined dependent on a second degree of autonomous control for a second input, wherein two or more of the determined degrees of autonomous control are different; and

applying the plurality of degrees of autonomous control to the plurality of control inputs by applying, for each control input of the plurality of control inputs, the corresponding degree of autonomous control.

20. The computer program product of claim 19 , wherein the corresponding degree of autonomous control for each control input of the plurality of control inputs comprises a distribution of operator control and autonomous control.

Assignments (3)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Sep 18, 2024
From: GHOST AUTONOMY, INC.
To: APPLIED INTUITION, INC.
Reel/Frame 068982/0647 →
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Aug 8, 2022
From: GHOST LOCOMOTION INC.
To: GHOST AUTONOMY INC.
Reel/Frame 061118/0665 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Mar 29, 2022
From: CARROLL, AARON; DELGADO, MARIO; TOME, BASHEER; SHAW, NOAH; HAYES, JOHN; UHLIG, VOLKMAR; ERICKSON, JUSTIN
To: GHOST LOCOMOTION INC.
Reel/Frame 059423/0389 →
Continuity (2)
Provisional Application 63212421 · Jun 18, 2021
Related Publication 20220404828A1 · Dec 22, 2022