Restricting areas available to autonomous and teleoperated vehicles

Abstract

A vehicle policy server maintains a set of policies for constraining operations of one or more remote vehicles. The policies may specify areas, locations, or routes that specified vehicles are restricted from accessing based on a set of acquired information. An application programming interface (API) enables programmatic updates of the policies or related information. Policies may be enforced by transmitting control signals fully or in part to onboard vehicle computers or to a teleoperation support module providing remote support to the vehicles using human teleoperators and/or artificial intelligence agents. The control signals may directly control the vehicles or teleoperation, or may cause a navigation system to present known restrictions in a suitable fashion such as generating an augmented reality display or mapping overlays.

1 . A method for restricting operation of a vehicle via interactions with a remote server, the method comprising:
 storing, at a policy database, a set of policies specifying rules constraining scenarios in which the vehicle is permitted to operate;   obtaining, from the vehicle, first input data relating to a state of the vehicle at a first time while the vehicle is controlled by an autonomous drive system of the vehicle;   determining, by a processor, a first set of one or more applicable policies from the set of policies that apply to the vehicle based on the state of the vehicle;   establishing a teleoperation session with the vehicle by a remote teleoperation server;   transmitting the first set of the one or more applicable policies to the remote teleoperation server to enforce constraints on the remote teleoperation server in controlling operation of the vehicle during the teleoperation session in accordance with the one or more applicable policies;   during the teleoperation session, receiving by the remote teleoperation server, sensor data from the vehicle over a network and generating, by the remote teleoperation server, teleoperation controls to remotely control operation of the vehicle based on the sensor data in compliance with the one or more applicable policies;   transmitting, by the remote server over the network, the teleoperation controls to the vehicle to control operation of the vehicle during the teleoperation session; and   terminating the teleoperation session and restoring control of the vehicle to the autonomous drive system of the vehicle.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein storing the set of policies comprises:
 storing a time-based policy that constrains operation in a time-dependent manner that is based in part on a local time.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein storing the set of polices comprises:
 storing an occupant-based policy that constrains operation of the vehicle based in part on an identity of one or more occupants of the vehicle.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein storing the set of policies comprise:
 storing a cargo-based policy that constrains operation of the vehicle based in part on an identification of one or more items being transported by the vehicle.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein storing the set of polices comprises:
 communicating with an administrator server via an application programming interface that enables an administrator to create or update an administrator-generated policy; and   storing the administrator-generated policy.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the state of the vehicle comprises at least one of: a unique identifier of the vehicle, location of the vehicle, a speed of the vehicle, a physical characteristic of the vehicle, a capability of the vehicle, an identifier of an occupant of the vehicle, an identifier of a cargo of the vehicle, environmental conditions in a vicinity of the vehicle, and network connectivity data associated with the vehicle. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein storing the set of policies comprises:
 storing a whitelist policy comprising identifiers for a set of scenarios wherein the vehicle is allowed to operate if the state of the vehicle meets a specified set of conditions.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein storing the set of policies comprises:
 storing a blacklist policy comprising identifiers for a set of scenarios in which the vehicle is prohibited from operating if the state of the vehicle meets a specified set of conditions.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the set of policies include at least one of:
 a declarative policy; and   a procedurally defined policy that depends on one or more computations applied to one or more input parameters associated with the vehicle.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the set of policies comprise at least one operator-based policy that constrains operation of the vehicle based in part on a quality metric associated with a teleoperator assigned to provide control inputs during the teleoperation session. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the set of policies comprise at least one information-based policy that constrains operation of the vehicle based in part on signals obtained from roadside infrastructure or information obtained from an external database. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the set of policies comprise at least one geography-based policy that constrains operation of the vehicle based in part on a geographic location of the vehicle. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the set of policies comprise at least one policy that controls whether a human or machine intelligent agent is assigned to control the vehicle during the teleoperation session. 
     
     
         14 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions for restricting operation of a vehicle via interactions with a remote server, the instructions when executed by a processor causing the processor to perform steps comprising:
 storing, at a policy database, a set of policies specifying rules constraining scenarios in which the vehicle is permitted to operate;   obtaining, from the vehicle, first input data relating to a state of the vehicle at a first time while the vehicle is controlled by an autonomous drive system of the vehicle;   determining, by a processor, a first set of one or more applicable policies from the set of policies that apply to the vehicle based on the state of the vehicle;   establishing a teleoperation session with the vehicle by a remote teleoperation server;   transmitting the first set of the one or more applicable policies to the remote teleoperation server to enforce constraints on the remote teleoperation server in controlling operation of the vehicle during the teleoperation session in accordance with the one or more applicable policies;   during the teleoperation session, receiving by the remote teleoperation server, sensor data from the vehicle over a network and generating, by the remote teleoperation server, teleoperation controls to remotely control operation of the vehicle based on the sensor data in compliance with the one or more applicable policies;   transmitting, by the remote server over the network, the teleoperation controls to the vehicle to control operation of the vehicle during the teleoperation session; and   terminating the teleoperation session and restoring control of the vehicle to the autonomous drive system of the vehicle.   
     
     
         15 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 14 , wherein storing the set of policies comprises at least one of:
 a time-based policy that constrains operation in a time-dependent manner that is based in part on a local time;   an occupant-based policy that constrains operation of the vehicle based in part on an identity of one or more occupants of the vehicle;   a cargo-based policy that constrains operation of the vehicle based in part on an identification of one or more items being transported by the vehicle; and   a geography-based policy that constrains operation of the vehicle based in part on a geographic location of the vehicle.   
     
     
         16 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 14 , wherein the set of policies include at least one of:
 a declarative policy; and   a procedurally defined policy that depends on one or more computations applied to one or more input parameters associated with the vehicle.   
     
     
         17 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 14 , wherein the set of policies comprise at least one operator-based policy that constrains operation of the vehicle based in part on a quality metric associated with a teleoperator assigned to provide control inputs during the teleoperation session. 
     
     
         18 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 14 , wherein the set of policies comprise at least one information-based policy that constrains operation of the vehicle based in part on signals obtained from roadside infrastructure or information obtained from an external database. 
     
     
         19 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 14 , wherein the set of policies comprise at least one policy that controls whether a human or machine intelligent agent is assigned to control the vehicle during the teleoperation session. 
     
     
         20 . A computer system comprising:
 a processor; and   a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions for restricting operation of a vehicle via interactions with a remote server, the instructions when executed by the processor causing the processor to perform steps comprising:
 storing, at a policy database, a set of policies specifying rules constraining scenarios in which the vehicle is permitted to operate; 
 obtaining, from the vehicle, first input data relating to a state of the vehicle at a first time while the vehicle is controlled by an autonomous drive system of the vehicle; 
 determining, by a processor, a first set of one or more applicable policies from the set of policies that apply to the vehicle based on the state of the vehicle; 
 establishing a teleoperation session with the vehicle by a remote teleoperation server; 
 transmitting the first set of the one or more applicable policies to the remote teleoperation server to enforce constraints on the remote teleoperation server in controlling operation of the vehicle during the teleoperation session in accordance with the one or more applicable policies; 
 during the teleoperation session, receiving by the remote teleoperation server, sensor data from the vehicle over a network and generating, by the remote teleoperation server, teleoperation controls to remotely control operation of the vehicle based on the sensor data in compliance with the one or more applicable policies; 
 transmitting, by the remote server over the network, the teleoperation controls to the vehicle to control operation of the vehicle during the teleoperation session; and 
 terminating the teleoperation session and restoring control of the vehicle to the autonomous drive system of the vehicle.