US-12627374-B1 - Vehicle with free-space optical link for log data uploading

Abstract

The disclosure describes a system that includes a self-driving system for operating a vehicle autonomously, one or more optical transmitters mounted on the vehicle, and one or more computing devices in communication with the self-driving system and the one or more optical transmitters. The one or more computing devices are configured to operate the self-driving system to cause the vehicle to approach a designated location in proximity of a structure on which one or more receivers are mounted and determine that the one or more optical transmitters have an alignment with the one or more receivers. Then, the one or more computing devices are configured to operate the one or more optical transmitters to establish an optical communication link with the one or more receivers and transmit data to the one or more receivers over the optical communication link.

Inventors

• Michael Sleator

Assignees

• WAYMO LLC

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20231113

Claims (20)

1. 1 . A vehicle comprising: a first communication device; a memory storing map information identifying an area proximate to a structure in which a second communication device is located, wherein the first communication device is configured to transmit a plurality of optical beams at different angles while the vehicle is in the area; and one or more computing devices configured to control the vehicle to move autonomously to the area for communication alignment with the second communication device, wherein the first communication device is further configured to receive one or more optical signals from the second communication device in response to the transmission of the plurality of optical beams, the one or more optical signals indicating an amount of received power of each of the plurality of optical beams that has been received by the second communication device while the vehicle is in the area, and wherein the one or more computing devices is further configured to select one of the plurality of optical beams based on a respective amount of received power of each of the plurality of optical beams.
2. 2 . The vehicle of claim 1 , further comprising a perception system, wherein the one or more computing devices are further configured to detect, using the perception system, a plurality of markers in the area.
3. 3 . The vehicle of claim 2 , wherein the plurality of markers includes a first range marker and a second range marker, each having respective indicators.
4. 4 . The vehicle of claim 3 , wherein the respective indicators of the first range marker are positioned to be aligned from a perspective of the vehicle when the vehicle has a correct pose relative to the structure.
5. 5 . The vehicle of claim 4 , wherein the respective indicators of the first range marker form a horizontal range line along which a length of the vehicle is to be positioned.
6. 6 . The vehicle of claim 3 , wherein the respective indicators of the second range marker are aligned from a perspective of the vehicle when the vehicle is at a correct angular position relative to the structure.
7. 7 . The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of optical beams is coplanar.
8. 8 . The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the plurality of optical beams overlap at least one other beam of the plurality of optical beams.
9. 9 . The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of optical beams is configured in a fan arrangement.
10. 10 . The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the one or more computing devices are further configured to: while the vehicle is in the area: determine when at least one optical transmitter of the first communication device is aligned with at least one optical receiver of the second communication device for transmitting data collected by the vehicle to the second communication device; and when the at least one optical transmitter is determined to be aligned with the at least one optical receiver, control the at least one optical transmitter to transmit the data to the at least one optical receiver over at least one optical communication link.
11. 11 . The vehicle of claim 10 , wherein the at least one optical communication link is established between the first communication device and the second communication device using the selected one of the plurality of optical beams.
12. 12 . The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the respective amount of received power of the selected one of the plurality of optical beams is greater than the respective amount of received power of any other optical beam of the plurality of optical beams.
13. 13 . The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the one or more computing devices are further configured to determine when a minimum amount of received power of the selected one of the plurality of optical beams has been received by the second communication device.
14. 14 . The vehicle of claim 13 , wherein the minimum amount of received power of the selected one of the plurality of optical beams is a preset value.
15. 15 . The vehicle of claim 14 , wherein the one or more computing devices are further configured to control the vehicle to slow down when it is determined that the minimum amount of power of the selected one of the plurality of optical beams has been received.
16. 16 . The vehicle of claim 1 , further comprising a gimbal configured to physically adjust a pointing direction of the selected one of the plurality of optical beams.
17. 17 . The vehicle of claim 1 , further comprising a phased array configured to physically adjust a pointing direction of the selected one of the plurality of optical beams.
18. 18 . A method comprising: storing in a memory of a vehicle having a first communication device, by one or more computing devices of the vehicle, map information identifying an area proximate to a structure in which a second communication device is located, wherein the first communication device is configured to transmit a plurality of optical beams at different angles while the vehicle is in the area; and controlling, by the one or more computing devices, the vehicle to move autonomously to the area for communication alignment with the first communication device, wherein the first communication device is further configured to receive one or more signals from the second communication device in response to the transmission of the plurality of optical beams, the one or more signals indicating an amount of received power of each of the plurality of optical beams that has been received by the second communication device while the vehicle is in the area, and wherein the one or more computing devices is further configured to select one of the plurality of optical beams based on a respective amount of received power of each of the plurality of optical beams.
19. 19 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the method further comprises: while the vehicle is in the area: determining, by the one or more computing devices, when at least one optical transmitter of the first communication device is aligned with at least one optical receiver of the second communication device for transmitting data collected by the vehicle to the second communication device; and when the at least one optical transmitter is determined to be aligned with the at least one optical receiver, controlling, by the one or more computing devices, the at least one optical transmitter to transmit the data to the at least one optical receiver over at least one optical communication link.
20. 20 . A non-transitory, tangible computer-readable storage medium on which computer readable instructions of a program are stored, the instructions, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform a method comprising: storing in a memory of a vehicle having a first communication device, map information identifying an area proximate to a structure in which a second communication device is located, wherein the first communication device is configured to transmit a plurality of optical beams at different angles while the vehicle is in the area; and controlling the vehicle to move autonomously to the area for communication alignment with the first communication device, wherein the first communication device is further configured to receive one or more signals from the second communication device in response to the transmission of the plurality of optical beams, the one or more signals indicating an amount of received power of each of the plurality of optical beams that has been received by the second communication device while the vehicle is in the area, and wherein the one or more processors is further configured to select one of the plurality of optical beams based on a respective amount of received power of each of the plurality of optical beams.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/831,084, filed Jun. 2, 2022, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/155,161, filed Jan. 22, 2021, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 11,381,308, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/678,458, filed Nov. 8, 2019, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 10,931,374, which claims the benefit of the filing date of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/779,142, filed Dec. 13, 2018, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. BACKGROUND Autonomous vehicles, such as vehicles that do not require a human driver, can be used to aid in the transport of passengers or items from one location to another. Such vehicles may operate in a fully autonomous mode where passengers may provide some initial input, such as a pickup or destination location, and the vehicle maneuvers itself to that location. While in operation, autonomous vehicles may collect large amounts of data, such as location data, object data, or sensor data. The collected data may need to be offloaded to make room for new data, to be communicated to other systems, or for a variety of other reasons. BRIEF SUMMARY Aspects of the disclosure provide for a system that includes a self-driving system for operating a vehicle autonomously, one or more optical transmitters mounted on the vehicle, and one or more computing devices in communication with the self-driving system and the one or more optical transmitters. The one or more computing devices are configured to operate the self-driving system to cause the vehicle to approach a designated location in proximity of a structure on which one or more receivers are mounted, and determine when the one or more optical transmitters have an alignment with the one or more receivers. When the alignment is determined, the one or more computing devices use the one or more optical transmitters to establish at least one optical communication link with the one or more receivers, and transmit data from the one or more optical transmitters to the one or more receivers over the at least one optical communication link. In one example, the one or more optical transmitters are configured to output a plurality of optical communication beams at different angles. In this example, the plurality of optical communication beams is coplanar and overlapping. Also in this example, the one or more computing devices are also configured to select a given transmitter of the one or more transmitters with which to establish the at least one optical communication link based on an amount of received power by the one or more receivers. In another example, the one or more receivers are in communication with a remote computing device configured to process the transmitted data from the one or more optical transmitters. In a further example, a first portion of the one or more optical transmitters is positioned to point through an exterior surface of the vehicle, and a second portion of the one or more optical transmitters are positioned within an interior of the vehicle. In yet another example, the system also includes the vehicle. Other aspects of the disclosure provide for a method for transferring data from a vehicle. The method includes operating, by one or more computing devices, the vehicle in an autonomous manner to approach a designated location in proximity of a structure on which one or more receivers are mounted. The vehicle includes one or more optical transmitters. The method also includes using the one or more computing devices to determine when the one or more optical transmitters have an alignment with the one or more receivers, establish at least one optical communication link with the one or more receivers using the one or more optical transmitters when the alignment is determined, and transmit data from the one or more optical transmitters to the one or more receivers over the at least one optical communication link. In one example, determining when the one or more optical transmitters have the alignment with the one or more receivers includes transmitting an optical communication beam and determining when a threshold amount of power of the optical communication beam has been received by the one or more receivers. In this example, the threshold amount of power is greater than the minimum amount of power. Optionally in this example, the method also includes stopping a motion of the vehicle when it is determined that the threshold amount of power has been received. Additionally or alternatively in this example, determining when the one or more optical transmitters have the alignment with the one or more receivers also includes determining when a minimum amount of power of the optical communication beam has been received by the one or more receivers, and slowing a motion of the vehicle when it is determined that the minimum amount of power has been received. In another exa