IP Library Granted Patent US 12,140,438
Granted Patent B2
US 12,140,438 · App. 18/163,626 · Granted Nov 12, 2024

Multi-modal transportation service planning and fulfillment

Inventors: Kevin Tian (San Francisco, CA); Adam Warmoth (San Francisco, CA); Raphael Max Lurie (San Francisco, CA); Hasrat Godil (Millbrae, CA); Nikhil Goel (San Francisco, CA)
Assignee: JOBY AERO, INC.
G01C21/3423G01C21/343G01C21/3438G01C21/3453G01C21/3691G06F21/44G06Q10/02G06Q50/40H04L63/08H04L63/10H04L63/105H04L63/205G06F21/31H04L63/0876H04L2463/082
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,140,438
App. No.
18/163,626
Granted
Nov 12, 2024
Kind
B2
Abstract

The present disclosure provides systems and methods for real-time planning and fulfillment of multi-modal transportation services in a multi-modal ride sharing network. In particular, aspects of the present disclosure are directed to a computing system that creates an end-to-end multi-modal itinerary responsive to a user request for transportation service between an origin and a destination. The multi-modal itinerary can include two or more transportation legs that include travel via two or more different transportation modalities such as, as examples, via a car and via an aircraft.

Claims (52)

1. A computing system comprising:

one or more processors; and

one or more non-transitory computer-readable media that store instructions for execution by the one or more processors to cause the computing system to perform operations, the operations comprising:

accessing a request to transport a user from an origin to a destination;

computing one or more candidate end-to-end itineraries based at least in part on the origin and the destination, each candidate end-to-end itinerary comprising a plurality of transportation legs that include transportation via a plurality of different transportation modalities,

wherein the plurality of transportation legs comprise at least a first transportation leg and a second transportation leg, the first transportation leg comprising ground-based transportation provided via one or more ground-based vehicles associated with a service provider of ground-based transportation and the second transportation leg comprising flight-based transportation provided via one or more aircraft associated with a service provider of flight-based transportation;

scoring each of the one or more candidate end-to-end itineraries using an objective function that evaluates a cost associated with the plurality of transportation legs and a time associated with the plurality of transportation legs;

computing a selected end-to-end itinerary for presentation to the user that has a best score based on the scoring using the objective function; and

providing data indicative of the selected end-to-end itinerary to a user device.

2. The computing system of claim 1 , wherein scoring each of the one or more candidate end-to-end itineraries using the objective function further evaluates at least one of a number of or a quality of contingency plans for providing alternative transportation legs associated with each candidate end-to-end itinerary.

3. The computing system of claim 1 , wherein scoring each of the one or more candidate end-to-end itineraries using the objective function further evaluates at least one of a deviation of an estimated arrival time from a requested arrival time or a deviation of an estimated departure time from a requested departure time.

4. The computing system of claim 1 , wherein scoring each of the one or more candidate end-to-end itineraries using the objective function further evaluates at least one of an uncertainty or a variance associated with respective transportation legs of each candidate end-to-end itinerary.

5. The computing system of claim 1 , wherein providing the data indicative of the selected end-to-end itinerary to the user device comprises providing a single end-to-end price of fulfilling the selected end-to-end itinerary, the single end-to-end price corresponding to a sum of respective prices for the plurality of transportation legs.

6. The computing system of claim 1 , the operations further comprising:

receiving an indication from the user device indicative of a modified end-to-end itinerary comprising user modifications to one or more characteristics of the selected end-to-end itinerary; and

providing updated data indicative of the modified end-to-end itinerary to the user device.

7. The computing system of claim 1 , the operations further comprising:

receiving an indication from the user device indicative of the user choosing to request fulfillment of the selected end-to-end itinerary; and

initiating a request to one or more ride sharing networks to enable the user to complete the selected end-to-end itinerary.

8. The computing system of claim 1 , the operations further comprising: in response to receiving the indication from the user device indicative of the user choosing to request fulfillment of the selected end-to-end itinerary, adding the user at a current time to a transportation plan of at least one of the first transportation leg or the second transportation leg.

9. The computing system of claim 1 , wherein one or more of the plurality of transportation legs is a placeholder transportation plan that will be available at a future time for which the user is seeking to travel, the placeholder transportation plan being an estimation of a transportation service that will be available at the future time generated based on at least one of historical data or real-time data.

10. A computer-implemented method comprising:

accessing a request to transport a user from an origin to a destination;

computing one or more candidate end-to-end itineraries based at least in part on the origin and the destination, each candidate end-to-end itinerary comprising a plurality of transportation legs that include transportation via a plurality of different transportation modalities,

wherein the plurality of transportation legs comprise at least a first transportation leg and a second transportation leg, the first transportation leg comprising ground-based transportation provided via one or more ground-based vehicles associated with a service provider of ground-based transportation and the second transportation leg comprising flight-based transportation provided via one or more aircraft associated with a service provider of flight-based transportation;

scoring each of the one or more candidate end-to-end itineraries using an objective function that evaluates a cost associated with the plurality of transportation legs and a time associated with the plurality of transportation legs;

computing a selected end-to-end itinerary for presentation to the user that has a best score based on the scoring using the objective function; and

providing data indicative of the selected end-to-end itinerary to a user device.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 10 , wherein scoring each of the one or more candidate end-to-end itineraries using the objective function further evaluates at least one of a number of or a quality of contingency plans for providing alternative transportation legs associated with each candidate end-to-end itinerary.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 10 , wherein scoring each of the one or more candidate end-to-end itineraries using the objective function further evaluates at least one of a deviation of an estimated arrival time from a requested arrival time or a deviation of an estimated departure time from a requested departure time.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 10 , wherein scoring each of the one or more candidate end-to-end itineraries using the objective function further evaluates at least one of an uncertainty or a variance associated with respective transportation legs of each candidate end-to-end itinerary.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 10 , wherein providing the data indicative of the selected end-to-end itinerary to the user device comprises providing a single end-to-end price of fulfilling the selected end-to-end itinerary, the single end-to-end price corresponding to a sum of respective prices for the plurality of transportation legs.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 10 , further comprising:

receiving an indication from the user device indicative of a modified end-to-end itinerary comprising user modifications to one or more characteristics of the selected end-to-end itinerary; and

providing updated data indicative of the modified end-to-end itinerary to the user device.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 10 , further comprising:

receiving an indication from the user device indicative of the user choosing to request fulfillment of the selected end-to-end itinerary; and

initiating a request to one or more ride sharing networks to enable the user to complete the selected end-to-end itinerary.

17. The computer-implemented method of claim 10 , wherein one or more of the plurality of transportation legs is a placeholder transportation plan that will be available at a future time for which the user is seeking to travel, the placeholder transportation plan being an estimation of a transportation service that will be available at the future time generated based on at least one of historical data or real-time data.

18. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media that store instructions for execution by one or more processors that cause the one or more processors to perform operations, the operations comprising:

accessing a request to transport a user from an origin to a destination;

computing one or more candidate end-to-end itineraries based at least in part on the origin and the destination, each candidate end-to-end itinerary comprising a plurality of transportation legs that include transportation via a plurality of different transportation modalities,

wherein the plurality of transportation legs comprise at least a first transportation leg and a second transportation leg, the first transportation leg comprising ground-based transportation provided via one or more ground-based vehicles associated with a service provider of ground-based transportation and the second transportation leg comprising flight-based transportation provided via one or more aircraft associated with a service provider of flight-based transportation;

scoring each of the one or more candidate end-to-end itineraries using an objective function that evaluates a cost associated with the plurality of transportation legs and a time associated with the plurality of transportation legs;

computing a selected end-to-end itinerary for presentation to the user that has a best score based on the scoring using the objective function, and

providing data indicative of the selected end-to-end itinerary to a user device.

19. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 18 , the operations further comprising:

receiving an indication from the user device indicative of a modified end-to-end itinerary comprising user modifications to one or more characteristics of the selected end-to-end itinerary; and

providing updated data indicative of the modified end-to-end itinerary to the user device.

20. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 18 , the operations further comprising:

receiving an indication from the user device indicative of the user choosing to request fulfillment of the selected end-to-end itinerary; and

initiating a request to one or more ride sharing networks to enable the user to complete the selected end-to-end itinerary.

Assignments (4)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Apr 14, 2023
From: JOBY ELEVATE, INC.
To: JOBY AERO, INC.
Reel/Frame 063324/0208 →
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Mar 21, 2023
From: UBER ELEVATE, INC.
To: JOBY ELEVATE, INC.
Reel/Frame 063123/0063 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Mar 6, 2023
From: UBER TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
To: UBER ELEVATE, INC.
Reel/Frame 062887/0241 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Feb 9, 2023
From: TIAN, KEVIN; WARMOTH, ADAM; LURIE, RAPHAEL MAX; GODIL, HASRAT; GOEL, NIKHIL
To: UBER TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
Reel/Frame 062642/0815 →
Continuity (4)
Continuation 17092805 · Nov 9, 2020
Continuation 16786319 · Feb 10, 2020
Provisional Application 62820011 · Mar 18, 2019
Related Publication 20230375348A1 · Nov 23, 2023