Application Monologue for Self-Driving Vehicles

Abstract

The technology includes communicating the current status of a self-driving vehicle to users, such as passengers within the vehicle and other users awaiting pickup. Certain information about the trip and vehicle status is communicated depending on where the passenger is sitting within the vehicle or where the person awaiting pickup is located outside the vehicle. This includes disseminating the “monologue” of a vehicle operating in an autonomous driving mode to a user via an app on the user's device (e.g., mobile phone, tablet or laptop PC, wearable, or other computing device) and/or an in-vehicle user interface. The monologue includes current status information regarding driving decisions and related operations or actions. This alerts the user as to why the vehicle is taking (or not taking) a certain action, which reduces confusion and allows the user to focus on other matters.

1 . A method comprising:
 causing, by one or more processors, a vehicle to operate along a route towards a location in an autonomous driving mode;   obtaining, by the one or more processors, sensor data from a perception system of the vehicle, the sensor data indicating one or more objects in an external environment of the vehicle along the route;   determining, by the one or more processors based on the obtained sensor data, a current driving situation;   receiving, by the one or more processors, contextual data regarding the route;   generating, by the one or more processors, a driving decision based on one or more of the obtained sensor data, the current driving situation, and the contextual data;   operating the vehicle in the autonomous driving mode according to the driving decision;   generating, by the one or more processors, a monologue message indicating current status information corresponding to the driving decision; and   causing, by the one or more processors, the monologue message to be presented to a user of the vehicle to indicate to the user a reason for the driving decision.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein causing the monologue message to be presented to the user includes selecting to present the monologue message via at least one of a user interface system of the vehicle or a client device of the user. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the current driving situation is a stopped situation and the current status information explains why the vehicle has stopped. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the monologue message visually indicates the stopped situation involves a stop sign, a stop light, or a railroad crossing. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the monologue message visually indicates the stopped situation involves gridlock or an unprotected turn. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the current driving situation is a slowed situation and the current status information explains the slowed situation. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the monologue message visually indicates the slowed situation involves yielding to a road user. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the monologue message visually indicates the slowed situation involves a slow zone. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein causing the monologue message to be presented to the user includes selecting to present the monologue message via one or more display devices of a user interface system of the vehicle. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein:
 generating the monologue message indicating current status information corresponding to the driving decision includes selecting a set of data about the driving decision; and   causing the monologue message to be presented includes selecting a first subset of the set of data for presentation on a first one of the one or more display devices, and selecting a second subset of the set of data for presentation on a second one of the one or more display devices.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein:
 the first display device is located along a first area within a cabin of the vehicle;   the second display device is located along a second area within the cabin;   the first subset includes a first amount of detail about the current status information; and   the second subset includes a second amount of detail about the current status information, the second amount of detail being less than the first amount of detail.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the contextual data is received from a remote system. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the contextual data indicates a traffic status along an upcoming portion of the route. 
     
     
         14 . A vehicle operating in an autonomous driving mode, the vehicle comprising:
 a perception system; and   one or more processors operably coupled with the perception system, the one or more processors configured to:
 cause the vehicle to operate along a route towards a location in the autonomous driving mode; 
 obtain sensor data from the perception system, the sensor data indicating one or more objects in an external environment of the vehicle along the route; 
 determine, based on the obtained sensor data, a current driving situation; 
 receive contextual data regarding the route; 
 generate a driving decision based on one or more of the obtained sensor data, the current driving situation, and the contextual data; 
 operate the vehicle in the autonomous driving mode according to the driving decision; 
 generate a monologue message indicating current status information corresponding to the driving decision; and 
 cause the monologue message to be presented to a user of the vehicle to indicate to the user a reason for the driving decision. 
   
     
     
         15 . The vehicle of  claim 14 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to select to present the monologue message via at least one of a user interface system of the vehicle or a client device of the user. 
     
     
         16 . The vehicle of  claim 14 , wherein the current driving situation is a stopped situation and the current status information explains why the vehicle has stopped. 
     
     
         17 . The vehicle of  claim 16 , wherein the monologue message visually indicates the stopped situation involves a stop sign, a stop light, or a railroad crossing. 
     
     
         18 . The vehicle of  claim 16 , wherein the monologue message visually indicates the stopped situation involves gridlock or an unprotected turn. 
     
     
         19 . The vehicle of  claim 14 , wherein the current driving situation is a slowed situation and the current status information explains the slowed situation. 
     
     
         20 . The vehicle of  claim 19 , wherein the monologue message visually indicates the slowed situation involves yielding to a road user or involves a slow zone.