IP Library Granted Patent US 12,589,761
Granted Patent B2
US 12,589,761 · App. 18/474,972 · Granted Mar 31, 2026

Vehicle control system

Inventors: Morgan D. Jones (Pittsburgh, PA); Michael John Dacko (Oakmont, PA); Brian Thomas Kirby (Pittsburgh, PA)
Assignee: AURORA OPERATIONS, INC.
B60W50/082B60W10/18B60W10/20B60W50/029B60W60/0051B60W60/0053B60W60/0059G05D1/0055G05D1/0061G05D1/0088A61B3/11A61B5/00B60K28/06B60W40/08B60W2040/0881B60W50/085B60W2420/403B60W2420/408B60W2540/049G01C21/34G01S19/42
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,589,761
App. No.
18/474,972
Granted
Mar 31, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

Systems and methods for controlling a failover response of an autonomous vehicle are provided. In one example embodiment, a method includes determining, by one or more computing devices on-board an autonomous vehicle, an operational mode of the autonomous vehicle. The autonomous vehicle is configured to operate in at least a first operational mode in which a human driver is present in the autonomous vehicle and a second operational mode in which the human driver is not present in the autonomous vehicle. The method includes detecting a triggering event associated with the autonomous vehicle. The method includes determining actions to be performed by the autonomous vehicle in response to the triggering event based on the operational mode. The method includes providing one or more control signals to one or more of the systems on-board the autonomous vehicle to perform the one or more actions in response to the triggering event.

Claims (44)

1 . A computer-implemented method, comprising:

receiving, from a remote computing system, data indicative of a triggering event, wherein the triggering event is associated with an autonomous vehicle;

determining a state of the autonomous vehicle, wherein the autonomous vehicle is configured to operate in at least a first state in which a human driver is present in the autonomous vehicle and a second state in which the human driver is not present in the autonomous vehicle;

determining one or more actions to be performed by one or more systems of the autonomous vehicle based at least in part on whether the autonomous vehicle is in the first state or the second state; and

generating one or more control signals for the autonomous vehicle to perform the one or more actions in response to the triggering event.

2 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the triggering event is remotely identified by the remote computing system.

3 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:

transmitting, to the remote computing system, monitoring data indicative of one or parameters of the autonomous vehicle.

4 . The computer-implemented method of claim 3 , wherein the monitoring data is used to determine the data indicative of the triggering event.

5 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more actions comprises at least of: (i) stopping a motion of the autonomous vehicle, (ii) changing the state of the autonomous vehicle, or (iii) updating a user interface on-board the autonomous vehicle.

6 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining the triggering event has satisfied one or more conditions;

based on the triggering event being addressed, determining the autonomous vehicle is in a ready state; and

adjusting the state of the autonomous vehicle from the ready state.

7 . The computer-implemented method of claim 6 , wherein the ready state of the autonomous vehicle is indicative of a readiness to transition to the first state or the second state.

8 . An autonomous vehicle control system comprising:

one or more processors; and

one or more memory devices storing instructions that are executable by the one or more processors to cause the autonomous vehicle control system to perform operations, the operations comprising:

receiving, from a remote computing system, data indicative of a triggering event, wherein the triggering event is associated with an autonomous vehicle;

determining a state of the autonomous vehicle, wherein the autonomous vehicle is configured to operate in at least a first state in which a human driver is present in the autonomous vehicle and a second state in which the human driver is not present in the autonomous vehicle;

determining one or more actions to be performed by one or more systems of the autonomous vehicle based at least in part on whether the autonomous vehicle is in the first state or the second state; and

generating one or more control signals for the autonomous vehicle to perform the one or more actions in response to the triggering event.

9 . The autonomous vehicle control system of claim 8 , wherein the triggering event is remotely identified by the remote computing system.

10 . The autonomous vehicle control system of claim 8 , wherein the determining the state of the autonomous vehicle comprises receiving data indicative of the state of the autonomous vehicle from the remote computing system.

11 . The autonomous vehicle control system of claim 8 , wherein the operations further comprise:

transmitting, to the remote computing system, monitoring data indicative of one or parameters of the autonomous vehicle.

12 . The autonomous vehicle control system of claim 11 , wherein the monitoring data is used to determine the data indicative of the triggering event.

13 . The autonomous vehicle control system of claim 8 , wherein the one or more actions comprises at least of: (i) stopping a motion of the autonomous vehicle, (ii) changing the state of the autonomous vehicle, (iii) or updating a user interface on-board the autonomous vehicle.

14 . The autonomous vehicle control system of claim 8 , wherein the operations further comprise:

determining the triggering event has been addressed, wherein addressing the triggering event is associated with a ready state of the autonomous vehicle; and

adjusting the state of the autonomous vehicle based on the determining the triggering event has been addressed.

15 . The autonomous vehicle control system of claim 14 , wherein the ready state of the autonomous vehicle is indicative of a readiness to transition to the first state or the second state.

16 . A computing system comprising:

one or more processors; and

one or more memory devices storing instructions that are executable by the one or more processors to cause the computing system to perform operations, the operations comprising:

receiving data indicative of a triggering event, wherein the triggering event is associated with an autonomous vehicle;

determining a state of the autonomous vehicle, wherein the autonomous vehicle is configured to operate in at least a first state in which a human driver is present in the autonomous vehicle and a second state in which the human driver is not present in the autonomous vehicle;

determining one or more actions to be performed by one or more systems of the autonomous vehicle based at least in part on whether the autonomous vehicle is in the first state or the second state; and

generating one or more signals for the autonomous vehicle to perform the one or more actions in response to the triggering event.

17 . The computing system of claim 16 , wherein receiving the data indicative of the triggering event comprises detecting an occurrence of the triggering event associated with the autonomous vehicle and generating the data indicative of the triggering event.

18 . The computing system of claim 17 , wherein the operations further comprise:

receiving monitoring data indicative of one or parameters of the autonomous vehicle.

19 . The computing system of claim 18 , wherein the triggering event is determined based on the monitoring data.

20 . The computing system of claim 17 , wherein the computing system is a remote computing system that is remote from the autonomous vehicle.

Assignments (3)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jun 14, 2024
From: UATC, LLC
To: AURORA OPERATIONS, INC.
Reel/Frame 067733/0001 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Apr 11, 2024
From: UBER TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
To: UATC, LLC
Reel/Frame 067077/0243 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Mar 27, 2024
From: JONES, MORGAN D.; DACKO, MICHAEL JOHN; KIRBY, BRIAN THOMAS
To: UBER TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
Reel/Frame 066916/0385 →