What if a person leaves a wallet, purse,
or other item in a self-driving vehicle?
Problem
Inevitably, some riders will accidentally leave valuables behind in the self-driving vehicle. For example, riders’ wallets sometimes slip out of their pockets while they are sitting in the vehicle. Riders sometimes forget their backpack or purse when they exit the vehicle. Some riders even forget their luggage in the trunk when they leave the vehicle.
Returning valuables to riders is essential. Failing to immediately return valuables to riders can lead to distraught customers. In addition, valuables left in vehicles are sometimes stolen by subsequent riders, bystanders, or others.
Some riders leave trash such as food wrappers in vehicles. Removing trash is important to ensure the satisfaction of future riders.
Solution
Valuables must be immediately returned to former riders to ensure former riders have a positive overall experience and to prevent theft of the valuables by subsequent riders or other people.
Trash must be efficiently removed from vehicles to ensure future riders have a positive riding experience.
We would love to enable you to integrate these helpful features into your autonomous vehicles.
Immediately Return Valuables and Efficiently Remove Trash
Return Valuables
Once the rider has exited the vehicle, a camera inside the self-driving vehicle takes a picture of the passenger area. An AI image analysis system determines that the picture shows a valuable item left behind by the former rider.
A communication system can send a picture of the valuable item to the former rider to notify the former rider that she left the item in the vehicle. The communication system can also ask the former rider if the item left in the vehicle belongs to the rider and if the rider wants the item to be returned.
A location detection system receives the current location of the former rider. (The location detection system begins tracking the current location of the former rider in response to the image analysis system detecting the item left by the rider.)
In response to the AI image analysis system detecting the item left by the former rider, the vehicle management system drives the vehicle to the current location of the former rider to return the item to the former rider.
The former rider could be walking to their destination, so the location detection system can track the current location of the former rider as the former rider is walking.
Remove Trash
Once the rider has exited the vehicle, a camera inside the self-driving vehicle takes a picture of the passenger area (to look for trash left in the vehicle).
To protect the privacy of the rider, the vehicle management system can wait to take the picture until after the rider has exited the vehicle. The vehicle management system determines that the rider has exited the vehicle by receiving a GPS location of the rider’s phone and determining that the GPS location is not inside the vehicle.
To ensure a good view of the passenger area, the camera can be mounted to the ceiling of the vehicle’s cabin. Another camera can be mounted in the trunk of the vehicle to look for items left behind in the trunk.
An AI image analysis system determines that the picture shows trash left behind by the former rider.
An image analysis system can detect the item left behind by comparing a first baseline image taken by the camera of the interior of the vehicle (before the rider entered the vehicle) to a second image taken by the camera after the rider exits the vehicle. Any item that is shown in the second image but not in the first image was likely left behind by the rider.
To be sure the item left in the vehicle is not important to the former rider, a communication system sends a picture of the item to the former rider and asks the former rider if she wants the item to be returned. If the former rider does not want the item to be returned, the vehicle management system can discard the item.
The vehicle management system drives the vehicle to a service location to remove the item. The vehicle management system can also fine the account of the rider who left the item in the vehicle.
We would love to enable you to integrate these helpful features into your self-driving vehicles.
