IP Library Granted Patent US 12,651,530
Granted Patent B2
US 12,651,530 · App. 18/325,718 · Granted Jun 9, 2026

Systems and methods for automatically assigning vehicle identifiers for vehicles

Inventors: Samantha Doyle Small (San Francisco, CA); Steve Ayers (San Francisco, CA)
Assignee: Uber Technologies, Inc.
G08G1/017G01C21/34G08G1/20G05D1/0088
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,651,530
App. No.
18/325,718
Granted
Jun 9, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

In one aspect, a system for automatically assigning vehicle identifiers for autonomous vehicles can include a registry server computing system configured to perform operations. The operations can include receiving, at the registry server computing system and from a vehicle computing system onboard an autonomous vehicle, data describing the autonomous vehicle and generating, at the registry server computing system, a vehicle identifier for the autonomous vehicle based on the data describing the autonomous vehicle. The vehicle identifier can be different than and distinct from the data describing the autonomous vehicle. The operations can include associating, at the registry server computing system, the data describing the autonomous vehicle with the vehicle identifier for the autonomous vehicle in a vehicle registry. The vehicle registry can include respective vehicle identifiers associated with a plurality of autonomous vehicles.

Claims (63)

1 . A system for automatically assigning vehicle identifiers for autonomous vehicles, the system comprising:

a registry server computing system comprising one or more processors and one or more non-transitory computer-readable media that collectively store instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the registry server computing system to perform operations, the operations comprising:

receiving, at the registry server computing system and from a vehicle computing system onboard an autonomous vehicle, vehicle identification data, the vehicle identification data identifying the autonomous vehicle;

generating, at the registry server computing system, a vehicle identifier unique to the autonomous vehicle based on applying a hash transformation function directly to the vehicle identification data, the vehicle identifier different than and distinct from the vehicle identification data; and

associating, at the registry server computing system, the vehicle identification data with the vehicle identifier for the autonomous vehicle in a vehicle registry, wherein the vehicle registry comprises respective vehicle identifiers associated with a plurality of autonomous vehicles; and

an operations server computing system comprising one or more processors and one or more non-transitory computer-readable media that collectively store instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the operations server computing system to implement a routing service and a deployment service and perform operations comprising:

receiving a service request from a user, the service request including at least one of a pickup location, a destination location, or a service type;

querying the vehicle registry using the vehicle identifier generated by the hash transformation function to retrieve autonomous vehicle characteristics, the autonomous vehicle characteristics including at least one of autonomy capabilities, software version, or vehicle configuration;

identifying at least a portion of the service request that can be serviced by the autonomous vehicle based on matching the autonomous vehicle characteristics from the vehicle registry to requirements of the service request; and

transmitting the vehicle identifier generated by the hash transformation function with data indicative of the portion of the service request to the autonomous vehicle via at least one of a plurality of intermediate server devices, wherein the vehicle identifier is used to route the data to the autonomous vehicle.

2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the operations to be performed by the operations server computing system further comprise:

identifying a first multi-modal portion of the service request and a second multi-modal portion of the service request, the first multi-modal portion including a first transportation vehicle type, the second multi-modal portion including a second transportation vehicle type that is different from the first transportation vehicle type;

determining that the autonomous vehicle is compatible with the first transportation vehicle type; and

identifying the first multi-modal portion as the portion of the service request that can be serviced by the autonomous vehicle.

3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the operations to be performed by the registry server computing system further comprise associating data describing location information with the vehicle identifier, wherein identifying the portion of the service request is based on the location information.

4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the operations to be performed by the registry server computing system further comprise obtaining, by the registry server computing system, status data from the vehicle computing system onboard the autonomous vehicle, the status data comprising the vehicle identifier.

5 . The system of claim 4 , wherein the status data describes at least one of a status associated with a vehicle service or a location of the autonomous vehicle associated with a vehicle service.

6 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising a database server computing system, and wherein the operations to be performed by the registry server computing system further comprise transmitting, from the registry server computing system to the database server computing system, the vehicle identifier for the autonomous vehicle.

7 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising a database server computing system, and wherein the operations to be performed by the registry server computing system further comprise:

receiving, at the registry server computing system and from the database server computing system, additional information describing the autonomous vehicle; and

associating, at the registry server computing system, the additional information describing the autonomous vehicle with the vehicle identifier in the vehicle registry.

8 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the operations to be performed by the registry server computing system further comprise obtaining, by the registry server computing system, a communication from the vehicle computing system onboard the autonomous vehicle, the communication comprising the vehicle identifier, and wherein the communication is routed using the vehicle identifier to the registry server computing system via at least one of a plurality of intermediate server devices.

9 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the vehicle identification data describes at least one of a vehicle identification number (VIN) or a vehicle alias.

10 . The system of claim 1 , wherein:

generating, at the registry server computing system, the vehicle identifier for the autonomous vehicle based on the data comprises applying the hash transformation function to both the vehicle identification data and to data associated with the vehicle computing system; and

the data associated with the vehicle computing system includes at least one of a vehicle computing system software version or a vehicle computing system hardware identifier.

11 . The system of claim 1 , wherein:

the operations to be performed by the registry server computing system further comprise transmitting the vehicle identifier to one or more back-end services of a service entity associated with the autonomous vehicle; and

the one or more back-end services are configured to provide services to a plurality of autonomous vehicles of the service entity including the autonomous vehicle, wherein the services include at least one of a service assignment service, a remote assistance service, or a routing service.

12 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the operations to be performed by the registry server computing system further comprise generating, at the registry server computing system and after associating the vehicle identification data with the vehicle identifier for the autonomous vehicle in the vehicle registry, a new vehicle identifier for the autonomous vehicle based on the vehicle identification data.

13 . A method for automatically assigning vehicle identifiers for autonomous vehicles, the method comprising:

receiving, at a registry server computing system comprising one or more computing devices and from a vehicle computing system onboard an autonomous vehicle, vehicle identification data, the vehicle identification data identifying the autonomous vehicle;

generating, at the registry server computing system, a vehicle identifier unique to the autonomous vehicle based on applying a hash transformation function to the vehicle identification data, the vehicle identifier different than and distinct from the vehicle identification data;

associating, at the registry server computing system, the vehicle identification data with the vehicle identifier for the autonomous vehicle in a vehicle registry;

receiving, at an operations server computing system, a service request from a user, the service request including at least one of a pickup location, a destination location, or a service type;

querying the vehicle registry using the vehicle identifier generated by the hash transformation function to retrieve autonomous vehicle characteristics, the autonomous vehicle characteristics including at least one of autonomy capabilities, software version, or vehicle configuration;

identifying, at the operations server computing system, at least a portion of the service request that can be serviced by the autonomous vehicle based on matching the autonomous vehicle characteristics from the vehicle registry to requirements of the service request; and

transmitting the vehicle identifier generated by the hash transformation function with data indicative of the portion of the service request to the autonomous vehicle via at least one of a plurality of intermediate server devices, wherein the vehicle identifier is used to route the data to the autonomous vehicle.

14 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising:

identifying, at the operations server computing system, a first multi-modal portion of the service request and a second multi-modal portion of the service request, the first multi-modal portion including a first transportation vehicle type, the second multi-modal portion including a second transportation vehicle type that is different from the first transportation vehicle type;

determining, at the operations server computing system, that the autonomous vehicle is compatible with the first transportation vehicle type; and

identifying, at the operations server computing system, the first multi-modal portion as the portion of the service request that can be serviced by the autonomous vehicle.

15 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising associating, at the registry server computing system, data describing location information with the vehicle identifier, wherein identifying the portion of the service request is based on the location information.

16 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising transmitting status data from the vehicle computing system onboard the autonomous vehicle to the registry server computing system, the status data comprising the vehicle identifier.

17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the status data describes at least one of a status associated with a vehicle service or a location of the autonomous vehicle associated with a vehicle service.

18 . A system for automatically assigning vehicle identifiers for autonomous vehicles, the system comprising:

a registry server computing system comprising one or more computing devices;

an operations server computing system comprising one or more computing devices;

one or more processors; and

one or more non-transitory computer-readable media that collectively store instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to perform operations, the operations comprising:

receiving, at the registry server computing system, vehicle identification data, the vehicle identification data identifying an autonomous vehicle;

generating, at the registry server computing system, a vehicle identifier for the autonomous vehicle based on applying a hash transformation function to the vehicle identification data, the vehicle identifier different than and distinct from the vehicle identification data;

associating, at the registry server computing system, the vehicle identification data with the vehicle identifier for the autonomous vehicle in a vehicle registry;

receiving, at the registry server computing system from a database server computing system, additional information describing the autonomous vehicle;

receiving, by a routing service at the operations server computing system comprising one or more computing devices, a multi-modal service request from a user, the service request including at least one of a pickup location, a destination location, or a service type;

querying the vehicle registry using the vehicle identifier generated by the hash transformation function to retrieve autonomous vehicle characteristics, the autonomous vehicle characteristics including at least one of autonomy capabilities, software version, or vehicle configuration;

identifying, by the routing service, at least a portion of the multi-modal service request that can be serviced by the autonomous vehicle based on matching the autonomous vehicle characteristics from the vehicle registry to requirements of the multi-modal service request; and

transmitting the vehicle identifier generated by the hash transformation function with data indicative of the portion of the multi-modal service request to the autonomous vehicle via at least one of a plurality of intermediate server devices, wherein the vehicle identifier is used to route the data to the autonomous vehicle.

19 . The system of claim 18 , wherein the operations further comprise:

identifying, by the routing service, a first multi-modal portion of the multi-modal service request and a second multi-modal portion of the multi-modal service request, the first multi-modal portion including a first transportation vehicle type, the second multi-modal portion including a second transportation vehicle type that is different from the first transportation vehicle type;

determining, by the routing service, that the autonomous vehicle is compatible with the first transportation vehicle type; and

identifying, by the routing service, the first multi-modal portion as the portion of the multi-modal service request that can be serviced by the autonomous vehicle.

20 . The system of claim 18 , wherein the operations further comprise associating, at the registry server computing system, data describing location information with the vehicle identifier, wherein identifying the portion of the multi-modal service request is based on the location information.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jun 28, 2023
From: SMALL, SAMANTHA DOYLE; AYERS, STEVE
To: UBER TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
Reel/Frame 064102/0358 →
Continuity (3)
Continuation 15930574 · May 13, 2020
Provisional Application 63002645 · Mar 31, 2020
Related Publication 20230316903A1 · Oct 5, 2023
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