Apple may have abandoned its plans for an Apple Car, but the company continues to be granted vehicle-related patents. The latest is number US 12128877 B2 for “Guidance of Autonomous Vehicles in Destination Vicinities Using Intent Signals.”
About the patent
The patent involves systems and algorithms for using various types of signals from occupants for controlling the motion of autonomous or partially autonomous vehicles. In the patent Apple says that “autonomous” or “self-driving” vehicles, are an increasing focus of research and development.
Given the multiplicity of choices that are typically available with respect to vehicle trajectories in real-world environments, occupant input or guidance with regard to selecting vehicle trajectories (without requiring traditional steering, braking, accelerating and the like) may be extremely valuable to the motion control components of such vehicles, the tech giant adds. However, providing interfaces for such guidance which are intuitive and easy to use, especially within environments such as parking lots for which detailed and/or accurate mapping data may not be available, may present a non-trivial challenge. Apple’s patent involves means of dealing with such challenges. .
Summary of the patent
Here’s Apple’s abstract of the patent: “Signals usable to determine a path of a vehicle towards a particular stopping point in a vicinity of a destination are detected from an individual authorized to provide guidance with respect to movements of the vehicle. Based at least in part on the signals and a data set pertaining to the external environment of the vehicle, one or more vehicular movements to be implemented to proceed along the path are identified. A directive is transmitted to a motion control subsystem of the vehicle to initiate one of the vehicular movements.”
