A system for controlling vehicle sensors includes one or more processors and a memory coupled to the one or more processors and storing a sensor control module including instructions that control processor(s) to, if the vehicle is not moving, and responsive to occurrence of an event, control operation of at least one radar sensor to scan the vehicle occupant compartment at a first scanning rate. Responsive to an occurrence of another event following commencement of scanning at the first scanning rate, the processor(s) control operation of the at least one radar sensor to scan the occupant compartment at a second scanning rate different from the first scanning rate. After passage of a predetermined time period after commencement of scanning at the second scanning rate, it is determined whether a living object resides in the occupant compartment. If no living object resides in the occupant compartment, radar scanning of the occupant compartment is discontinued.

Embodiments may relate to a vehicle comprising: a sensor to identify, based on an audio or visual condition, the occurrence of a condition related to a passenger of the vehicle. The vehicle may further include a processor coupled with the sensor. The processor may be configured to identify, in a user profile of the first passenger of the vehicle, a pre-identified action. The processor may further be configured to perform, or facilitate the performance of, the pre-identified action by the vehicle based on the occurrence of the audio or visual condition. Other embodiments may be described or claimed.

A method is provided for optimizing the use of autonomous features of advanced driver assistance systems and the tracking thereof. For example, a vehicle may be equipped with several driver assistance systems in which a driver of the vehicle may be assisted. The vehicle may automatically change the number of active assistance systems or suggest to the driver one or more assistance systems to activate based on several factors, including poor driving on behalf of the driver or poor driving conditions due to weather or road quality. Statistics regarding the use of such advanced driver assistance systems may be monitored and tracked and stored on an onboard database or transmitted continuously or periodically to various entities. For example, the system may operate to allow an insurance company to track the driving performance and the use of the advanced driver assistance systems to update actuarial models to more accurately adjust rates.

An alighting point determination method is used in a vehicle allocation system configured to move a vehicle to a predetermined point in response to a request from a user. The vehicle allocation system includes a processor. The processor operates to: set a predetermined range including a point associated with a first user; specify a second user who is expected to alight in the predetermined range; acquire a request point included in the request from each user; calculate an access cost for each user to reach the request point from a common point at which the users including at least the first user and the second user alight; and calculate as the predetermined point the common point obtained based on the calculated access cost for each of the first user and the second user.

An autonomous driving vehicle includes a main vehicle part, a processor, and a memory storing thereon a computer program, which when executed by the processor, causes the processor to perform operations. The operations include detecting a gesture made, to try to stop the main vehicle part, by a person present near a road on which the main vehicle part is running, determining whether there is a passenger in the main vehicle part, and controlling autonomous driving of the main vehicle part. In a case where it is determined that there is no passenger in the main vehicle part, when a person making the gesture is detected, the controlling controls the main vehicle part to stop near the person.

A method for route planning for an autonomous vehicle includes determining whether a route to a destination includes a stall factor and determining whether the autonomous vehicle will be occupied during the route. The method also includes determining an alternate route based on the determined stall factor when the autonomous vehicle will be unoccupied. The method still further includes controlling the autonomous vehicle to drive on the alternate route when the alternate route does not include a stall factor.

A management device that manages a service of transporting a user in a designated section using a vehicle which is able to travel autonomously without a driver by causing the vehicle to travel includes: a user detector configured to detect whether a user in the vehicle has alighted at a scheduled alighting position of the user; and an operation controller configured to cause the vehicle to perform a predetermined operation when the user detector detects that the user has not alighted at the scheduled alighting position.

A method is provided for optimizing the use of autonomous features of advanced driver assistance systems and the tracking thereof. For example, a vehicle may be equipped with several driver assistance systems in which a driver of the vehicle may be assisted. The vehicle may automatically change the number of active assistance systems or suggest to the driver one or more assistance systems to activate based on several factors, including poor driving on behalf of the driver or poor driving conditions due to weather or road quality. Statistics regarding the use of such advanced driver assistance systems may be monitored and tracked and stored on an onboard database or transmitted continuously or periodically to various entities. For example, the system may operate to allow an insurance company to track the driving performance and the use of the advanced driver assistance systems to update actuarial models to more accurately adjust rates.

An information processing method to be executed by a computer includes: obtaining a driving skill of a person who rides an autonomous vehicle, which represents at least one of whether the person can drive a manually-drivable autonomous vehicle or a level at which the person can drive; obtaining specifications of autonomous vehicles about autonomous driving; obtaining a route for transporting the person; determining deviation risks, each of which includes at least one of a possibility of deviation of an autonomous driving system including a corresponding one of the autonomous vehicles from an operational design domain or a degree of the deviation, based on the specifications and the route; selecting an autonomous vehicle assigned to transportation of the person from the autonomous vehicles according to each of the deviation risks and the driving skill; and sending a notification of the selected autonomous vehicle.

Aspects of the disclosure relate to parking behaviors and maneuvering a vehicle in an autonomous driving mode accordingly. For instance, a pullover location for the vehicle to stop and wait for a passenger may be identified. The vehicle may be maneuvered in the autonomous driving mode in order to pull over by pulling forward into the pullover location. Whether to maneuver the vehicle in reverse in the pullover location before or after the passenger enters the vehicle may be determined based on context for the pull over with respect to the passenger. The vehicle may be maneuvered in the autonomous driving mode in reverse based on the determination of whether to maneuver the vehicle in reverse in the pullover location before or after the passenger enters the vehicle.