VEHICLE WORK ENVIRONMENT

A vehicle work environment provides capabilities for working and participating in meetings while riding in a vehicle such as a driverless autonomous vehicle (AV). In some examples, mobile meeting features are added to a calendaring system so that a meeting organizer can schedule a teleconference or in-vehicle meeting while some or all participants in the meeting are commuting to/from work or another destination. When attempting to schedule a meeting, a transport facilitation system in communication with the calendaring system calculates optimal times when attendees can meet inside a vehicle or teleconference in multiple vehicles simultaneously. The transport facilitation system sends AVs to the pick-up addresses for the attendees. The AVs provide a vehicle work environment including secure audio and visual communications with a conferencing system between vehicles and any non-mobile participants. The vehicle work environment opens up more options for meetings and allows workers to spend their travel time productively.

BACKGROUND

Commuters increasingly spend more of their time driving cars to and from work, which is time that could be spent productively as a passenger utilizing a transport arrangement service that provides autonomous vehicles or matches drivers with requesting users. Furthermore, companies have limited meeting spaces, and workers do not always work the same hours as their colleagues, making scheduling meetings difficult.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

According to examples, a mobile meeting system is provided for enabling multiple participants to schedule meetings to take place in one or more vehicle work environments managed by a transport facilitation service. The mobile meeting system can receive meeting proposals, retrieve travel profiles for desired participants that indicate blocks of time when the participants are traveling and available for the meeting, and transmit the travel profiles to a meeting organizer.

Example vehicle work environments provide capabilities for working and participating in meetings while riding in a vehicle such as a driverless autonomous vehicle (AV). In some examples, mobile meeting features are added to a calendaring system so that a meeting organizer can schedule a teleconference or in-vehicle meeting while some or all participants in the meeting are commuting to/from work or another destination. Employers can set up individual employee accounts and enter payment details; employees can update addresses, such as home and work addresses, as well as their usual commute times with the calendaring system. When attempting to schedule a meeting, a transport facilitation system in communication with the calendaring system calculates optimal times when attendees can meet inside a vehicle or teleconference in multiple vehicles simultaneously. The transport facilitation system provides these blocks of time to the calendaring system so that they appear to the meeting organizer as available times for mobile meetings.

When the time for a mobile meeting approaches, the transport facilitation system sends vehicles to the pick-up addresses for the attendees and notifies the attendees of the meeting. Based on the pick-up addresses, the transport facilitation system can identify a number of proximate available vehicles and transmit a transport invitation to one or more driver devices of the proximate available vehicles to service the pick-up requests. In other examples, the transport facilitation system sends driverless autonomous vehicles to pick up the meeting attendees. The vehicles, whether driverless or with a driver, can provide a vehicle work environment including secure audio and visual communications with a conferencing system between vehicles and any non-mobile participants (e.g., participants in a conference room or using a desktop computer in an office). The vehicle work environment opens up more options for meetings and allows workers to spend their travel time productively.

Among other benefits, a schedulable, reliable, in-vehicle work environment allows a transportation company to offer additional services to employers and employees. Employers get more minutes of work from their employees with extra productivity benefits that the in-vehicle work environment offers while paying the transportation company significantly less than the hourly rate of the employee. Employers also get on-demand expansion of meeting rooms and workspace resources through the ability to reserve secure, private spaces in autonomous vehicles. Employees get a transportation benefit that can be paid by the employer that is much safer than trying to make calls while driving. The vehicle work environment opens up a new ecosystem of conference, work hardware, and software tools to the transportation company, which can also benefit from bulk commercial arrangements with large corporations, reducing billing and credit card overhead compared to individual rider-funded models.

According to some examples, a mobile meeting system receives a request over a network from an organizer to propose a meeting between a number of participants. The system retrieves a travel profile for each of the participants and transmits the travel profiles over the network to the organizer. The travel profiles indicate one or more blocks of time when each participant is traveling and available for the meeting. These blocks of time in the travel profiles can be submitted by each of the plurality of participants.

In some examples, the mobile meeting system receives an indication for a mobile meeting and a meeting time from the organizer, schedules the mobile meeting at the meeting time, and selects one or more vehicles to pick up at least some of the participants prior to the meeting time. The travel profiles include addresses, such as a home address and a work address for each participant, and the one or more vehicles are sent to the appropriate address for each participant. In some variants, the one or more vehicles are selected optimally to coincide with each of the plurality of participants' travel profiles.

One or more aspects described provide for verifying identify information for the participants and establishing a secure networked meeting between the one or more vehicles at the meeting time, for example, through the use of a virtual private network (VPN).

As used herein, a computing device refers to devices corresponding to desktop computers, cellular devices or smartphones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), laptop computers, tablet devices, virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) devices such as VR or AR headsets, television (IP Television), wearable devices, etc. that can provide network connectivity and processing resources for communicating with the system over a network. A computing device can also correspond to custom hardware, in-vehicle devices, or on-board computers, etc. The computing device can also operate a designated application configured to communicate with network services.

Some examples described herein can generally require the use of computing devices, including processing and memory resources. For example, one or more examples described herein may be implemented, in whole or in part, on computing devices such as servers, desktop computers, cellular or smartphones, personal digital assistants (e.g., PDAs), laptop computers, printers, digital picture frames, network equipment (e.g., routers) and tablet devices. Memory, processing, and network resources may all be used in connection with the establishment, use, or performance of any example described herein (including with the performance of any method or with the implementation of any system).

Alternatively, one or more examples described herein may be implemented through the use of dedicated hardware logic circuits that are comprised of an interconnection of logic gates. Such circuits are typically designed using a hardware description language (HDL), such as Verilog and VHDL. These languages contain instructions that ultimately define the layout of the circuit. However, once the circuit is fabricated, there are no instructions. All the processing is performed by interconnected gates.

Numerous examples are referenced herein in context of an autonomous vehicle (AV) or self-driving vehicle. An AV and/or self-driving vehicle refers to any vehicle which is operated in a state of automation with respect to steering and propulsion. Different levels of autonomy may exist with respect to AVs. For example, some vehicles may enable automation in limited scenarios, such as on highways, provided that drivers are present in the vehicle. More advanced AVs and self-driving vehicles can drive without any human assistance from within or external to the vehicle.

System Descriptions

FIG. 1is a block diagram illustrating an example transport facilitation system100and calendaring system150that support a vehicle work environment, as described herein. In some aspects, the calendaring system150is a software program that manages meetings, tasks, and availability across an organization for an employer125, users121, and meeting organizers123. The calendaring system150can provide a calendar interface152to display calendars to users121and meeting organizers123and to accept input from the users121and meeting organizers123, for example to create a meeting at a certain time and invite attendees to the meeting. It should be appreciated that calendaring system150can include additional components and interact with other computer systems not depicted inFIG. 1for simplicity.

In general, calendaring system150provides a suite of tools that allow users121to schedule meetings between multiple participants. For example, a meeting organizer123can choose a day and time for a meeting and enter details such as a subject, location for the meeting, and text describing the purpose of the meeting. The calendaring system150can also access calendars that contain the availability of each of the desired participants and the availability of locations such as conference rooms in which to hold the meeting. Based on the time chosen for the meeting, some conference rooms may already be reserved, and some desired participants may not be in the office.

In one aspect, the calendaring system150includes mobile meeting logic160to communicate with transport facilitation system100in order to display mobile meeting options on the calendar interface152when a meeting organizer123is creating a meeting or updating an existing meeting. A mobile meeting engine110on the transportation facilitation system100calculates optimal times for when all attendees can meet while on the road (e.g., during a commute to or from work). Instead of just seeing a list of available rooms at the office on the calendar interface152, the meeting organizer123also sees possible mobile meeting scenarios as optional “places” to hold the meeting.

Transport facilitation system100is an on-demand transportation arrangement service linking available drivers and/or autonomous vehicles (AVs) with requesting riders throughout a given region. In doing so, the transport facilitation system100(or “transport system”) can receive user requests for transportation via a designated rider application executing on the users' mobile computing devices. Based on an inputted pick-up location, the transport system can identify a number of proximate available vehicles and transmit a transport invitation to one or more driver devices of the proximate available vehicles to service the pick-up request. In the context of a vehicle work environment and calendaring system150, transport facilitation system100calculates optimal times for when all attendees can meet while on the road and sends vehicles to the appropriate locations at the appropriate times to pick up the meeting participants.

Users121, meeting organizers123, and employer125can interact with the calendar interface152with various types of computing devices across the Internet or a local intranet. The calendaring system150can reside on a server located at the employer's place of business, on a remote server on the Internet, or as part of a larger office application. In one example, the functionality of the calendaring system150is provided through the transportation facilitation system100itself over network180. In another example, an entity providing the transport facilitation system100makes the mobile meeting logic160available as a plug-in module for various types of calendaring systems150.

In some aspects, an employer125can configure the calendaring system150to support mobile meeting logic160with the transport facilitation system100for its employees (i.e., users121and meeting organizers123). In one implementation, an employer125can enable the mobile meeting feature in a calendaring system150customized for their company. In other implementations, employer125downloads a plug-in module for mobile meeting logic160and installs it into the calendaring system150. Employers125provide employee data131for users121to have access to the mobile meeting feature in the calendaring system150. Employee data131can include information that mobile meeting logic160uses to suggest meeting times and coordinate vehicles with the transport facilitation system100, such as user credentials, home and work addresses, business hours, etc. Employer125can also enter payment info133, such as a company credit card or bank account, to which transport facilitation system100bills rides that employees take. Employee data131and payment info133can be stored in a database140with the transport facilitation system100as an employer profile142.

In one aspect, users121invited to participate in the mobile meeting feature are sent emails to confirm their registration and provide profile data144. For example, users121can provide or update addresses on the calendar interface152. Invited employees then enter their preferences for blocks of commute hours in which they may be available for in-commute conference meetings or general work presence. Combined with each employee's home and work addresses, these preferences are sent to the transport facilitation system100and added to a commute block table in a database140. In other aspects, profile data144is stored locally with the calendaring system150in addition to or in lieu of storing it with transport facilitation system100.

When an employee accesses the calendar interface152to schedule a meeting with other employees, calendaring system150prompts the meeting organizer123to add attendees, establish a time for the meeting, and choose a location for the meeting. In addition to the usual conference rooms available as locations for the meeting, mobile meeting logic160mines travel profiles145, which include addresses and the commute blocks for each of the users121chosen for the meeting, and sends suggestions for multi-attendee mobile meeting options from the transport facilitation system100to the meeting organizer123on the calendar interface152.

In some aspects, meeting organizer123can schedule a vehicle that has special office equipment, such as Wi-Fi, tables, virtual-reality equipment, video screens, etc. for use as a conference room. Thus, when scheduling a meeting, calendar interface152can present options to the meeting organizer123for types of vehicles and various productivity, security, and privacy options. For example, options may include one seat in a vehicle driven by a human driver, one seat in a public AV (for calls where the participant is just listening on headphones), private use of an AV, and private use of an AV in which all video/audio records inside the AV are deleted (or not recorded). AVs may have internal cameras and other equipment to ensure security, monitor ride quality, and identify people who cause damage to the AV. However, if the ride is sponsored by an employer, the employer may prefer that the internal camera is turned off and is willing to accept the risk that employees may cause damage to the vehicle. Privacy features may also include noise cancellation between seats (e.g., through noise cancelling emitters in headrests).

In some aspects, a meeting organizer123is any of the users121, other persons who have access to create meetings in the calendaring system150, or systems that can programmatically create meetings with the calendaring system150. The meeting organizer123can be an attendee of the meeting or set up a meeting on behalf of other users121. In addition, users121invited to the meeting can act as meeting organizers123and can suggest or directly invite additional participants, propose meeting locations, and arrange for mobile meetings for themselves or other participants through the calendar interface152.

In order to generate the suggested mobile meeting options, mobile meeting engine110on the transport facilitation system100uses an algorithm to predict travel times and find overlapping time blocks in which participants are traveling. To determine the possibility of holding a meeting with multiple participants in the same vehicle, the mobile meeting engine110can utilize a mapping engine170to provide map data171and also retrieve historical data141from the database140that includes historical travel time information. Based on the pick-up addresses of two of the participants (e.g., a home address for a morning commute meeting), mobile meeting engine110predicts the travel time between the pick-up addresses from the map data171and historical data141. If the predicted travel time is below an acceptable threshold, mobile meeting logic160displays an option for a shared ride meeting between the selected participants on the calendar interface152. In some aspects, the acceptable threshold is an amount of time that allows a vehicle to pick up each of the shared ride meeting participants during their set commute blocks and also arrive at their destination address during their set commute blocks with enough time spent traveling for the meeting to take place. In other aspects, the acceptable threshold can extend commute blocks by a number of minutes in order to accommodate the shared ride meeting.

If the meeting organizer123creates a meeting request135for a shared ride meeting on the calendar interface152, mobile meeting logic160can create meeting invitations with each invitation offset by the predicted travel time. For example, if the meeting organizer123creates a meeting request135for a 7:20 am meeting with a predicted travel time of 20 minutes between two participants, mobile meeting logic160can generate an invitation for a 7:00 am pick-up at the first participant's home address and an invitation for a 7:20 am pick-up at the second participant's home address. Upon receiving confirmation from the participants, mobile meeting engine110can log vehicle request orders for the meeting. In the above example, the mobile meeting engine110logs a request to send a vehicle to the first participant's home address by 7:00 am with further destinations of the second participant's home address and their work address.

To determine the possibility of holding a meeting with multiple participants in separate vehicles, the mobile meeting engine110analyzes travel profiles145for the meeting participants to find time blocks representing overlapping commute blocks between the participants. If there is an overlap large enough to accommodate the length of the proposed meeting, mobile meeting logic160displays options for a multi-vehicle mobile meeting on the calendar interface152. For example, if the meeting organizer123creates a meeting request135for a multi-vehicle mobile meeting at 7:20 am, mobile meeting logic160can generate an invitation for a 7:20 am pick-up at the first participant's home address and an invitation for a 7:20 am pick-up at the second participant's home address. Upon receiving confirmation from the participants, mobile meeting engine110can log vehicle request orders for the meeting. In this example, the mobile meeting engine110logs two requests: the first to send a vehicle to the first participant's home address by 7:20 am, and the second to send a vehicle to the second participant's home address by 7:20 am.

When scheduling the meeting, transport facilitation system100can also provide meeting organizer123with a cost of the meeting/trip. The cost can be based on the pickup and destination locations as well as a predicted time of the trip and/or scheduled time of the meeting. The cost may also change based on the selection of the vehicle, features, or how much privacy is requested.

In other aspects, travel profiles145include meeting profiles that are created or modified in response to a meeting request135. The meeting organizer123can create a meeting request135and propose a mobile meeting as the location for the meeting to one or more users121regardless of their normal travel schedules. For example, a first meeting organizer123creates a meeting with multiple attendees through the calendaring system150and chooses an office conference room as the location for the meeting. One of the attendees can then propose using a vehicle as the meeting location for that attendee and add additional attendees to the vehicle meeting location. Mobile meeting engine110can create or update a meeting profile for any attendees using the mobile meeting option.

Meeting profiles can include pickup addresses and destinations that are based on the meeting itself and not pre-stored in any particular person's travel profile145. For example, a meeting between a salesperson and a client could take place in a vehicle en route to a sporting event. Meeting profiles can also include a list of addresses that should be visited during the meeting. For example, if a real estate agent is showing houses to a potential buyer, the real estate agent could schedule a meeting with a list of houses to visit, and the meeting organizer123could schedule when to pick up the real estate agent and the buyer, schedule when to visit each house (and in what order), and provide specific route details to the AV to get from house to house.

When scheduling the meeting, the meeting organizer123can include one or more addresses in the meeting request135, and mobile meeting logic160can schedule the AV (and automatically take care of routing) as well as interact with other systems based on the provided information for additional functionality. For example, calendaring system150can interface with centralized showing servers that allow real estate agents to schedule showings when homeowners are away. The real estate agent can input the addresses and mobile meeting logic160can take care of scheduling visits and routing between locations based on output from the centralized showing servers. In addition, the centralized showing servers can provide information to mobile meeting logic160to dynamically update the schedule and routing, such as in response to the real estate agent running behind schedule or a homeowner cancelling a showing because they will still be in the house.

In order to protect the privacy of users121, the calendar interface152can hide specific addresses from meeting organizers123. For example, other users' home addresses may be shown to meeting organizers123as simply “home” or a broader region such as a city or neighborhood.

Although the examples described are for a meeting between two participants, mobile meeting logic160and the mobile meeting engine110can predict travel times and schedule mobile meetings between any number of participants using the same logic. In addition, a meeting request135can include both a shared ride meeting and a multi-vehicle mobile meeting. For example, two participants can ride in one vehicle with a third participant in a separate vehicle tele-conferenced with the other vehicle. Furthermore, the transport facilitation system100and mobile meeting engine110can operate to pick up single users121without requiring a meeting with other participants. For example, one person can schedule a meeting alone to take advantage of an autonomous vehicle's office capabilities, thereby creating a mobile workplace. Depending on a type of vehicle and options chosen, mobile meeting engine110can determine whether the mobile meeting qualifies to be paid for by the employer125.

Furthermore, mobile meeting logic160can schedule meetings and rides using pickup and destination locations outside of home and work addresses and work commutes. For example, a salesperson can pick up a client, and the two can have a scheduled meeting in an AV (making full use of the video screens and other technology available in the AV) while on their way to a sporting event.

FIG. 2is a block diagram illustrating an example transport facilitation system in communication with user devices and a fleet of vehicles, as described herein. The transport facilitation system200can include a mobile meeting engine210to communicate with the user devices295and an AV interface205to communication with a fleet of autonomous vehicles (AVs)290over a number of networks280. In addition or in variations, the transport facilitation system200can communicate with human drivers operating service vehicles to facilitate transportation in accordance with a transportation arrangement service managed by the transport facilitation system200. In many examples, the transport facilitation system200can provide the transportation arrangement service to link requesting users with service vehicles and/or AVs in the AV fleet290managed by the transport facilitation system200. A designated application285corresponding to the transportation arrangement service can be executed on the user devices295. A requesting user can provide an input on a user device295to transmit a pick-up request to the transport facilitation system200. The pick-up request can be received by a communications interface and sent to a selection engine235, which can match the requesting user with a proximate AV from the fleet290.

In the context of a mobile meeting, mobile meeting engine210stores pick-up requests for scheduled meetings when meeting participants confirm their intention to attend the mobile meeting. Each of these saved pick-up requests297includes a pick-up location (e.g., a home or work address) where a selected AV209can rendezvous with the meeting participant. In many aspects, the AV209can be selected based on a proximity, distance, or time relative to the pick-up location. The fleet of AVs290can be dispersed throughout a given region (e.g., a city or metropolitan area) and transmit location data292to the AV interface205of the transport facilitation system200. The AV interface205can transmit the vehicle locations292to the selection engine235in order to enable the selection engine235to determine candidate vehicles that can readily service the pick-up request297.

Based on the pick-up location, the locations of proximate AVs in the fleet290or other proximate human-driven service vehicles, the selection engine235can select a vehicle (e.g., AV209) to service the saved pick-up request297. In addition, the number of meeting participants that are going to share the vehicle and a specific service level requested can also determine which vehicle is selected. In certain aspects, the selection engine235can further utilize a mapping engine270to identify a most optimal vehicle (e.g., AV209) based on map data279(e.g., a distance to the pick-up location) and/or traffic data277(e.g., a time to reach the pick-up location). Upon selecting AV209as being the most optimal vehicle, the selection engine235can transmit an invitation282to AV209to service the saved pick-up request297. In some examples, AV209can accept or deny the invitation depending on a number of factors (e.g., remaining fuel or energy, service indicators, owner requirements, etc.). In certain implementations, when AV209accepts the invitation282, the transport facilitation system200can utilize the map data279and traffic data277to provide AV209with route information indicating a shortest or most optimal route to the pick-up location. Alternatively, AV209may be provided with local mapping resources to identify the most optimal route independently.

After AV209accepts the invitation282to service the saved pick-up request297, the mobile meeting engine210can generate a notification299for the meeting and the incoming AV209for transmission to the user device295over the network280. In one example, the notification299can include identifying information of the selected AV209, such as the vehicle type, license plate number, vehicle color, time delta to the pick-up location, and the like. In other examples, the notification299can include security authentication details so that the AV209and user device295can perform a security handshake when the AV209arrives at the pick-up point. The notification299can be displayed to the meeting participant via the designated application285on a display screen of the user device295.

FIG. 3is a block diagram illustrating a fleet of vehicles providing vehicle work environments for riders in communication with a conference system, as described herein. Autonomous vehicles (AV)309are sent to pick up riders301,302,303, who may be participants in a mobile meeting scheduled through calendaring systems and a transport facilitation system as described inFIGS. 1 and 2. Each of the AVs309can provide a vehicle work environment including secure audio and visual communications with a conference system320between vehicles and any non-mobile participants305(e.g., participants in a conference room or using a desktop computer in an office). The vehicle work environment opens up more options for meetings and allows workers to spend their travel time productively.

AVs309can come equipped with various security authentication systems310to ensure that only authorized employees have access to meetings and confidential systems. In some aspects, AVs309enforce one or more security protocols between each rider's user device395and the AV authentication systems310to ensure that the correct rider301,302,303is in the correct AV309. As described inFIGS. 1 and 2, the transport facilitation system300can store and verify security credentials for user devices395, which may be tied to an individual user account or designated application.

In one implementation, AV authentication systems310perform identity verification311by implementing a handshaking session between the user device395and a transmitter/receiver on the AV309to exchange security credentials managed by the transport facilitation system300. For each pickup scheduled, the transport facilitation system300can generate a unique security code (e.g., an AV approach light code, view finder light acknowledgement, or a unique service set identifier (SSID)). In addition, an application on the user device395can send identification credentials, such as a Wi-Gig or Bluetooth media access control (MAC) address or SSID, to the transport facilitation system300. Transport facilitation system300sends the unique security code and identifiers for the AV309(e.g., the AV Wi-Gig/Bluetooth MAC or an SSID) to the user device395. Furthermore, transport facilitation system300sends the unique security code and identifiers for the user device395to the AV309.

When the AV309arrives to pick up the rider, AV authentication systems310can perform the handshaking session over a radio connection such as Wi-Gig, BlueTooth, or Wi-Fi and request a MAC address and/or SSID from the user device395. Similarly, the AV309transmits its security credentials to the user device395for a two-way verification.

In another implementation, the security handshake between the user device395and AV309can use an infrared light based handshaking session using a phone light and vehicle light bar.

In another implementation, the security handshake between the user device395and AV309can use a Near-field Communication (NFC) protocol at the door or inside the AV309.

In another implementation, the security handshake between the user device395and AV309can use a quick response (QR) code in the vehicle using the designated application on the user device395and a camera provided with the AV309as a QR scanner.

In another implementation, the security handshake between the user device395and AV309can use audio tones, either audible to people or ultrasonic tones, between the designated application on the user device395and the AV309or a driver application in examples where a mobile meeting is conducted with a driver in the vehicle.

In another implementation, the security handshake between the user device395and AV309can also use further login authentication, such as a username and password combination from the rider, on a computing device provided with the AV309.

Once the security handshake is successful, the AV309provides secure network access for riders over network380to the conference system320. In other aspects, AV309can automatically provide secure network access to an employer's network through a virtual private network (VPN), which employers can enable and configure through the transport facilitation system300. If a mobile meeting is scheduled, AVs309can automatically join the meeting through the conference system320and provide conference audio and video313between each of the AVs309participating in the meeting and the conference system320.

In addition to the AV authentication systems310, AVs309can furnish AV work environment features312to optimize a rider's mobile meeting or commute in general to be more productive. For example, AVs309can provide a tele-conferencing system with audio and video to allow a rider301in one AV309to have a meeting with riders302and303in another AV309along with any non-mobile participants305. AV work environment features312can also include ergonomic features that facilitate work and conference productivity, such as swivel seating, dimmable lighting, privacy glass, work surfaces, power and data for personal computing, mutable individual microphone pickups per rider position, virtual or augmented reality headsets, and human input device motion tracking sensors. The AV309can also provide virtual reality tracking data along with audio and video to facilitate virtual reality meetings.

Methodology

FIGS. 4-6illustrate example methods for establishing profile information, creating a meeting with mobile participants, and facilitating a mobile meeting in a vehicle work environment, according to some aspects. While operations of the methods are described below as being performed by specific components, modules, or systems, it should be appreciated that these operations need not necessarily be performed by the specific components identified, and could be performed by a variety of components and modules, potentially distributed over a number of machines. Accordingly, references may be made to elements of transport facilitation system100and calendaring system150for the purpose of illustrating suitable components or elements for performing a step or sub step being described. Alternatively, at least certain ones of the variety of components and modules described in transport facilitation system100and calendaring system150can be arranged within a single hardware, software, or firmware component. It should also be appreciated that some of the steps of these methods may be performed in parallel or in a different order than illustrated.

FIG. 4is a flow chart describing an example method of establishing profile information for employers and workers in a vehicle work environment. According to some aspects, an employer125can register with transport facilitation system100to support mobile meetings for its employees (410). Employers125provide employee data131for users121to have access to the mobile meeting feature in the calendaring system150(412). Employee data131can include information that mobile meeting logic160uses to suggest meeting times and coordinate vehicles with the transport facilitation system100, such as user credentials, home and work addresses, business hours, etc. Employer125can also enter payment info133, such as a company credit card or bank account, to which transport facilitation system100bills rides that employees take (414). Employee data131and payment info133can be stored in a database140with the transport facilitation system100as an employer profile142. In one implementation, an employer125can enable the mobile meeting feature in a calendaring system150customized for their company (420). In other implementations, employer125downloads a plug-in module for mobile meeting logic160and installs it into the calendaring system150.

In one aspect, users121invited to participate in the mobile meeting feature are sent emails to confirm their registration and provide profile data144(430). For example, users121can provide or update addresses on the calendar interface152. Invited employees then enter their preferences for blocks of commute hours in which they may be available for in-commute conference meetings or general work presence. Combined with each employee's home and work addresses (443), these preferences are sent to the transport facilitation system100and added to a commute block (441) table in a database140. In other aspects, profile data144is stored locally with the calendaring system150in addition to or in lieu of storing it with transport facilitation system100.

FIG. 5is a flow chart describing an example method of a meeting organizer creating a meeting with mobile participants in a vehicle work environment. According to some aspects, a meeting organizer123accesses the calendaring system150through calendar interface152to create a new meeting (510). Calendaring system150can then prompt the meeting organizer123to choose desired participants for the meeting (520).

In addition to the usual conference rooms available as locations for the meeting, mobile meeting logic160mines travel profiles145for commute blocks (541), participant addresses (543) and available times (545) for each of the users121chosen for the meeting.

In order to generate the suggested mobile meeting options, mobile meeting engine110on the transport facilitation system100uses an algorithm to predict travel times and find overlapping time blocks in which participants are traveling. To determine the possibility of holding a meeting with multiple participants in the same vehicle, the mobile meeting engine110can utilize a mapping engine170to provide map data171and also retrieve historical data141from the database140that includes historical travel time information. Based on the pick-up addresses of two of the participants (e.g., a home address for a morning commute meeting), mobile meeting engine110predicts the travel time between the pick-up addresses from the map data171and historical data141(540). If the predicted travel time is below an acceptable threshold, mobile meeting logic160displays an option for a shared ride meeting between the selected participants on the calendar interface152for possible time slots (550). In some aspects, the acceptable threshold is an amount of time that allows a vehicle to pick up each of the shared ride meeting participants during their set commute blocks and also arrive at their destination address during their set commute blocks with enough time spent traveling for the meeting to take place. In other aspects, the acceptable threshold can extend commute blocks by a number of minutes in order to accommodate the shared ride meeting.

If the meeting organizer123creates a meeting request135for a shared ride meeting on the calendar interface152, mobile meeting logic160can create meeting invitations with each invitation offset by the predicted travel time. For example, if the meeting organizer123creates a meeting request135for a 7:20 am meeting with a predicted travel time of 20 minutes between two participants, mobile meeting logic160can generate an invitation for a 7:00 am pick-up at the first participant's home address and an invitation for a 7:20 am pick-up at the second participant's home address. Upon receiving confirmation from the participants, mobile meeting engine110can log vehicle request orders for the meeting. In the above example, the mobile meeting engine110logs a request to send a vehicle to the first participant's home address by 7:00 am with further destinations of the second participant's home address and their work address.

To determine the possibility of holding a meeting with multiple participants in separate vehicles, the mobile meeting engine110analyzes travel profiles145for the meeting participants to find time blocks representing overlapping commute blocks between the participants (560). If there is an overlap large enough to accommodate the length of the proposed meeting, mobile meeting logic160displays time slot options for a multi-vehicle mobile meeting on the calendar interface152(570). For example, if the meeting organizer123creates a meeting request135for a multi-vehicle mobile meeting at 7:20 am, mobile meeting logic160can generate an invitation for a 7:20 am pick-up at the first participant's home address and an invitation for a 7:20 am pick-up at the second participant's home address. Upon receiving confirmation from the participants, mobile meeting engine110can log vehicle request orders for the meeting. In this example, the mobile meeting engine110logs two requests: the first to send a vehicle to the first participant's home address by 7:20 am, and the second to send a vehicle to the second participant's home address by 7:20 am.

Although the examples described are for a meeting between two participants, mobile meeting logic160and the mobile meeting engine110can predict travel times and schedule mobile meetings between any number of participants using the same logic. In addition, a meeting request135can include both a shared ride meeting and a multi-vehicle mobile meeting. For example, two participants can ride in one vehicle with a third participant in a separate vehicle tele-conferenced with the other vehicle.

Mobile meeting logic160then sends suggestions for multi-attendee mobile meeting time slots from the transport facilitation system100to the meeting organizer123to be displayed on the calendar interface152(580).

FIG. 6is a flow chart describing an example method of facilitating a mobile meeting in a vehicle work environment. According to some aspects, the transport facilitation system sends a notification for the meeting to each of the meeting participants prior to the meeting time (610). For example, after an autonomous vehicle (AV) accepts the invitation282to service the saved pick-up request297, the mobile meeting engine210can generate a notification299for the meeting and the incoming AV for transmission to the user device295over the network280(620). In one example, the notification299can include identifying information of the selected AV, such as the vehicle type, license plate number, vehicle color, time delta to the pick-up location, and the like. In other examples, the notification299can include security authentication details so that the AV209and user device295can perform a security handshake when the AV209arrives at the pick-up point. The notification299can be displayed to the meeting participant via the designated application285on a display screen of the user device295.

AVs309can come equipped with various security authentication systems310to ensure that only authorized employees have access to meetings and confidential systems. In some aspects, AVs309enforce one or more security protocols between each rider's user device395and the AV authentication systems310to verify the identifies of each of the meeting participants (630). As described inFIGS. 1 and 2, the transport facilitation system300can store and verify security credentials for user devices395, which may be tied to an individual user account or designated application.

In one implementation, AV authentication systems310perform identity verification311by implementing a handshaking session between the user device395and a transmitter/receiver on the AV309to exchange security credentials managed by the transport facilitation system300. For each pickup scheduled, the transport facilitation system300can generate a unique security code (e.g., an AV approach light code, view finder light acknowledgement, or a unique service set identifier (SSID)). In addition, an application on the user device395can send identification credentials, such as a Wi-Gig or Bluetooth media access control (MAC) address or SSID, to the transport facilitation system300. Transport facilitation system300sends the unique security code and identifiers for the AV309(e.g., the AV Wi-Gig/Bluetooth MAC or an SSID) to the user device395. Furthermore, transport facilitation system300sends the unique security code and identifiers for the user device395to the AV309.

Once the security handshake is successful, the AV309provides secure network access for riders over network380to the conference system320(640). In other aspects, AV309can automatically provide secure network access to an employer's network through a virtual private network (VPN), which employers can enable and configure through the transport facilitation system300. If a mobile meeting is scheduled, AVs309can automatically join the meeting through the conference system320and provide conference audio and video313between each of the AVs309participating in the meeting and the conference system320(650).

Computer System

FIG. 7is a block diagram that illustrates a computer system upon which aspects described herein may be implemented. For example, in the context ofFIG. 1, transport facilitation system100and calendaring system150may be implemented using one or more servers such as described byFIG. 7.

In an aspect, computer system700includes processor704, memory706(including non-transitory memory), storage device710, and communication interface718. Computer system700includes at least one processor704for processing information. Computer system700also includes the main memory706, such as a random access memory (RAM) or other dynamic storage device, for storing information and instructions to be executed by processor704. Main memory706also may be used for storing temporary variables or other intermediate information during execution of instructions to be executed by processor704. Computer system700may also include a read only memory (ROM) or other static storage device for storing static information and instructions for processor704. The storage device710, such as a magnetic disk or optical disk, is provided for storing information and instructions. The communication interface718may enable the computer system700to communicate with one or more networks through use of the network link720and any one of a number of well-known transfer protocols (e.g., Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)). Examples of networks include a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), the Internet, mobile telephone networks, Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) networks, and wireless data networks (e.g., WiFi and WiMax networks).

Examples described herein are related to the use of computer system700for implementing the techniques described herein. According to one aspect, those techniques are performed by computer system700in response to processor704executing one or more sequences of one or more instructions (e.g., mobile meeting instructions707) contained in main memory706. Such instructions may be read into main memory706from another machine-readable medium, such as storage device710. Execution of the sequences of instructions contained in main memory706causes processor704to perform the process steps described herein. In alternative aspects, hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of or in combination with software instructions to implement aspects described herein. Thus, aspects described are not limited to any specific combination of hardware circuitry and software.

Although illustrative aspects have been described in detail herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, variations to specific examples and details are encompassed by this disclosure. It is intended that the scope of examples described herein be defined by claims and their equivalents. Furthermore, it is contemplated that a particular feature described, either individually or as part of an aspect, can be combined with other individually described features, or parts of other aspects. Thus, absence of describing combinations should not preclude the inventor(s) from claiming rights to such combinations.