Communication system for an autonomous vehicle

Abstract

A communication system for an autonomous vehicle (AV) can include a plurality of antennas, each operable to transmit and receive communications through a communications protocol of a plurality of communications protocols. The system can further include a communications controller to dynamically select one of the plurality of antennas for transmitting and receiving communications based on a current communications bandwidth associated with the AV in order to optimize bandwidth usage by the communication system.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A communication system for an autonomous vehicle (AV), comprising:
 a plurality of antennas, each operable to transmit and receive communications through a communications protocol of a plurality of communications protocols; and   a communications controller to dynamically select one of the plurality of antennas for transmitting and receiving communications based on a current communications bandwidth associated with the AV, the dynamically selecting comprising optimizing bandwidth usage by the communication system.   
     
     
         2 . The communication system of  claim 1 , wherein information corresponding to the current communications bandwidth is received from a backend computing system that manages routing of AVs operating throughout a given region. 
     
     
         3 . The communication system of  claim 1 , wherein information corresponding to the current communications bandwidth is received via a nesh network with one or more proximate AVs. 
     
     
         4 . The communication system of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of communications protocols comprises a plurality of a 4G, a long-term evolution (LTE), a WiGig, a WiMax, a WiFi, or a DSRC communication protocol. 
     
     
         5 . The communication system of  claim 1 , wherein the current communications bandwidth comprises network jitter data that indicates variations in delay of transmitted or received data packets. 
     
     
         6 . The communication system of  claim 1 , wherein the communications controller dynamically selects the selected antenna using a spectrum heat map that indicates network bandwidth for each of the plurality of communications protocols. 
     
     
         7 . The communication system of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a communication interface to transmit and receive communications with one or more subsystems of the AV.   
     
     
         8 . The communication system of  claim 7 , wherein the communications with the one or more subsystems of the AV comprise at least one of status updates of the AV, location data, traffic data, route updates, map data, video data, audio data, alerts, transport commands, software updates, or sub-map updates. 
     
     
         9 . An autonomous vehicle (AV) comprising:
 a plurality of sensors generating sensor data corresponding to a surrounding environment of the AV;   acceleration, braking, and steering systems;   a control system processing the sensor data to autonomously operate the acceleration, braking, and steering systems; and   a communication system comprising:
 a plurality of antennas, each operable to transmit and receive communications through a communications protocol of a plurality of communications protocols; and 
 a communications controller to dynamically select one of the plurality of antennas for transmitting and receiving communications based on a current communications bandwidth associated with the AV, the dynamically selecting comprising optimizing bandwidth usage by the communication system. 
   
     
     
         10 . The AV of  claim 9 , wherein information corresponding to the current communications bandwidth is received from a backend computing system that manages routing of AVs operating throughout a given region. 
     
     
         11 . The AV of  claim 9 , wherein information corresponding to the current communications bandwidth is received via a mesh network with one or more proximate AVs. 
     
     
         12 . The AV of  claim 9 , wherein the plurality of communications protocols comprises a plurality of a 4G, a long-term evolution (LTE), a WiGig, a WiMax, a WiFi, or a DSRC communication protocol. 
     
     
         13 . The AV of  claim 9 , wherein the current communications bandwidth comprises network jitter data that indicates variations in delay of transmitted or received data packets. 
     
     
         14 . The AV of  claim 9 , wherein the communications controller dynamically selects the selected antenna using a spectrum heat map that indicates network bandwidth for each of the plurality of communications protocols. 
     
     
         15 . The AV of  claim 9 , the communications system further comprising:
 a communication interface to transmit and receive communications with one or more subsystems of the AV.   
     
     
         16 . The AV of  claim 15 , wherein the communications with the one or more subsystems of the AV comprise at least one of status updates of the AV, location data, traffic data, route updates, map data, video data, audio data, alerts, transport commands, software updates, or sub-map updates. 
     
     
         17 . A communications controller for an autonomous vehicle (AV), comprising:
 one or more processors; and   one or more memory resources storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:   using a plurality of antennas of the AV, transmit and receive communications through a communications protocol of a plurality of communications protocols;   dynamically determine a current communications bandwidth associated with the AV; and   dynamically select one of the plurality of antennas for transmitting and receiving the communications based on the current communications bandwidth associated with the AV, the dynamically selecting comprising optimizing bandwidth usage by the communication system.   
     
     
         18 . The communications controller of  claim 17 , wherein information corresponding to the current communications bandwidth is received from a backend computing system that manages routing of AVs operating throughout a given region. 
     
     
         19 . The communications controller of  claim 17 , wherein information corresponding to the current communications bandwidth is received via a mesh network with one or more proximate AVs. 
     
     
         20 . The communications controller of  claim 17 , wherein the plurality of communications protocols comprises a plurality of a 4G, a long-term evolution (LTE), a WiGig, a WiMax, a WiFi, or a DSRC communication protocol.