US 12,425,822 B2
Early boarding of passengers in autonomous vehicles
Philip Nemec, San Jose, CA (US); Renaud-Roland Hubert, Gilroy, CA (US); Joshua Seth Herbach, San Francisco, CA (US); Min Li Chan, San Francisco, CA (US); Michael Epstein, Danville, CA (US); Salil Pandit, Palo Alto, CA (US); John Wesley Dyer, Los Altos, CA (US); and Juliet Rothenberg, San Francisco, CA (US)
Assigned to Waymo LLC, Mountain View, CA (US)
Filed by Waymo LLC, Mountain View, CA (US)
Filed on Jun. 8, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/207,471.
Application 18/207,471 is a continuation of application No. 17/683,510, filed on Mar. 1, 2022, granted, now 11,716,598.
Application 17/683,510 is a continuation of application No. 17/073,433, filed on Oct. 19, 2020, granted, now 11,297,473, issued on Apr. 5, 2022.
Application 17/073,433 is a continuation of application No. 16/554,810, filed on Aug. 29, 2019, granted, now 10,848,938, issued on Nov. 24, 2020.
Application 16/554,810 is a continuation of application No. 15/854,211, filed on Dec. 26, 2017, granted, now 10,440,536, issued on Oct. 8, 2019.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/577,856, filed on Oct. 27, 2017.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/508,482, filed on May 19, 2017.
Prior Publication US 2023/0396970 A1, Dec. 7, 2023
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. G08B 21/00 (2006.01); B60W 30/18 (2012.01); G05D 1/00 (2006.01); G06Q 10/04 (2023.01); G06Q 10/047 (2023.01); G06Q 50/40 (2024.01); H04W 4/40 (2018.01); H04W 12/06 (2021.01)
CPC H04W 4/40 (2018.02) [B60W 30/181 (2013.01); G05D 1/0088 (2013.01); G06Q 10/04 (2013.01); G06Q 10/047 (2013.01); G06Q 50/40 (2024.01); B60W 2556/45 (2020.02); H04W 12/06 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method comprising:
receiving, by one or more processors, information identifying a pickup location and authentication information for a client device of a passenger;
maneuvering, by the one or more processors, a vehicle in order to pick up the passenger at the pickup location;
receiving, by the one or more processors, sensor data identifying one or more characteristics of a person detected by a sensor of the vehicle;
when the vehicle is within a predetermined distance of the pickup location, authenticating, by the one or more processors, the client device of the passenger using the authentication information;
in response to authenticating the client device of the passenger, determining, by the one or more processors, whether the person is making progress towards the vehicle based on the one or more characteristics of the person; and
based on the authentication and the determination that the person is making progress towards the vehicle, causing, by the one or more processors, the vehicle to stop and wait for the passenger to enter the vehicle.