Patent Publication Number: US-2023135506-A1

Title: System and Method for Authenticating User of Robotaxi

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a divisional application of U.S. application Ser. No. 17/366,372, filed on Jul. 2, 2021, which claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2020-0180240, filed on Dec. 21, 2020, which applications are hereby incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates to a system and a method for authenticating a user of an autonomous driverless taxi (robotaxi). 
     BACKGROUND 
     The ‘MOTIONAL’, Hyundai Motor Company&#39;s US autonomous driving joint venture, is speeding up preparations for commercialization of autonomous driving. 
     The ‘MOTIONAL’ is recently allowed, by the state of Nevada in the United States, where Las Vegas is located, to conduct an autonomous driving test for traveling on a regular road without a driver. The ‘MOTIONAL’ is the first in Nevada to conduct the autonomous driving test in a state in which the driver is not on board. The ‘MOTIONAL’ plans to put a person in a passenger seat for safety, but plans to check an autonomous driving technology of a level 4 in an actual road situation while leaving a driver&#39;s seat empty. The level 4 is an autonomous driving stage in which the person does not intervene in driving although there is the driver&#39;s seat in case of an emergency. A Chrysler&#39;s Pacifica minivan is put in the test. 
     With this test, the ‘MOTIONAL’ has taken a step closer to commercialization of an autonomous taxi (a robotaxi) in 2022. The ‘MOTIONAL’ is the joint venture to which Hyundai Motor Company and Aptiv, which is a US autonomous driving company, invested $2 billion each in September 2019, and has launched a robotaxi pilot business in Singapore, Las Vegas, and the like. 
     A conventional technology for authenticating a user of the robotaxi is in a scheme using a smart phone on which a digital key application is installed. When the user calls the robotaxi using the smart phone and then requests unlocking of a door of the robotaxi to a server, the server authenticates the user. When the server commands a door lock/unlock controller equipped in the robotaxi to unlock the door, the door lock/unlock controller unlocks the door. 
     Such a conventional technology has a problem in that the user of the robotaxi is not able to be authenticated when an authentication error occurs despite a normal digital key, or when the smart phone dies after calling the robotaxi. 
     The matters described in this background are written to enhance an understanding of the background of the invention, and may include matters other than the prior art already known to those of ordinary skill in the field to which this technology belongs. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present disclosure relates to a system and a method for authenticating a user of an autonomous driverless taxi (robotaxi). Particular embodiments relate to a technology for authenticating a user who has called a robotaxi. 
     Embodiments of the present disclosure can solve problems occurring in the prior art while advantages achieved by the prior art are maintained intact. 
     An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a system and a method for authenticating a user of a robotaxi that may authenticate the user of the robotaxi by authenticating the user of the robotaxi in association with a call button, a touch pad, and various sensors mounted on an exterior of the robotaxi even when an error of authentication of the user of the robotaxi using a digital key occurs or when a smart phone in which the digital key is stored dies. 
     The technical problems to be solved by the present inventive concept are not limited to the aforementioned problems, and any other technical problems not mentioned herein will be clearly understood from the following description by those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains. 
     According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a system for authenticating a user of a robotaxi includes a smart phone that requests an authentication of the user based on a digital key, an authentication server that creates a first authentication number, transmits the first authentication number to the smart phone, and receives a second authentication number from the robotaxi when the authentication using the digital key fails, and requests unlocking of a door to the robotaxi when the first authentication number and the second authentication number are the same, and the robotaxi that receives the second authentication number from the user and transmits the second authentication number to the authentication server, unlocks the door in response to the request from the authentication server. 
     In one implementation, the authentication server may determine a case where the smart phone fails to receive an authentication result within a critical time from a time point of receiving an authentication request from the smart phone as an authentication failure. 
     In one implementation, the robotaxi may be equipped with a touch keypad located on a door window, and the touch keypad may receive the second authentication number from the user. 
     According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a method for authenticating a user of a robotaxi includes requesting, by a smart phone, the authentication of the user based on a digital key, creating, by an authentication server, a first authentication number and transmitting the first authentication number to the smart phone when the authentication using the digital key fails, receiving, by the robotaxi, a second authentication number from the user, transmitting, by the robotaxi, the second authentication number to the authentication server, requesting, by the authentication server, unlocking of a door to the robotaxi when the first authentication number and the second authentication number are the same, and unlocking, by the robotaxi, the door in response to the request from the authentication server. 
     In one implementation, the transmitting of the first authentication number to the smart phone may include determining a case where the smart phone fails to receive an authentication result within a critical time from a time point of receiving an authentication request from the smart phone as an authentication failure. 
     In one implementation, the receiving, by the robotaxi, of the second authentication number from the user may include receiving the second authentication number from the user through a touch keypad located on a door window. 
     According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a system for authenticating a user of a robotaxi includes a smart phone that calls the robotaxi in response to a request of the user, an authentication server that authenticates the user based on reference biometric information of the user and biometric information transmitted from the robotaxi, creates a first authentication number in case of a normal user, receives a second authentication number from the robotaxi, and requests unlocking of a door to the robotaxi when the first authentication number and the second authentication number are the same, and the robotaxi that provides a voice call with a service associate in a customer service center when the smart phone has died, acquires the biometric information of the user and transmits the biometric information of the user to the authentication server, receives the second authentication number from the user and transmits the second authentication number to the authentication server, and unlocks the door in response to the request from the authentication server. 
     In one implementation, the robotaxi may include a call button located on a B pillar to receive a request for the voice call with the service associate of the customer service center from the user, a sensor for acquiring the biometric information of the user, and a touch keypad located on a door window to receive the second authentication number from the user. 
     According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a method for authenticating a user of a robotaxi includes calling, by a smart phone, the robotaxi in response to a request of the user, providing, by the robotaxi, a voice call with a service associate in a customer service center in response to a request of the user when the smart phone has died, acquiring, by the robotaxi, biometric information of the user and transmitting the biometric information of the user to an authentication server, authenticating, by the authentication server, the user based on reference biometric information of the user and the biometric information transmitted from the robotaxi, creating, by the authentication server, a first authentication number in case of a normal user, requesting, by the authentication server, unlocking of a door to the robotaxi when a second authentication number received from the robotaxi and the first authentication number are the same, and unlocking, by the robotaxi, the door in response to the request from the authentication server. 
     In one implementation, the requesting of the unlocking of the door to the robotaxi may include receiving, by the robotaxi, the second authentication number from the user, and transmitting, by the robotaxi, the second authentication number to the authentication server. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The above and other objects, features and advantages of embodiments of the present disclosure will be more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG.  1    is a block diagram of a robotaxi user authentication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  2    is a flowchart of a robotaxi user authentication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  3    is a flowchart of a robotaxi user authentication method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  4    is an exemplary diagram illustrating a state in which a smart phone equipped in a robotaxi user authentication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure displays an authentication number; 
         FIG.  5    is an exemplary diagram illustrating a touch keypad equipped on a robotaxi user authentication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and 
         FIG.  6    is an exemplary diagram illustrating a call button equipped on a robotaxi user authentication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS 
     Hereinafter, some embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the exemplary drawings. In adding the reference numerals to the components of each drawing, it should be noted that the identical or equivalent component is designated by the identical numeral even when they are displayed on other drawings. Further, in describing the embodiments of the present disclosure, a detailed description of the related known configuration or function will be omitted when it is determined that it interferes with the understanding of the embodiments of the present disclosure. 
     In describing the components of the embodiments according to the present disclosure, terms such as first, second, A, B, (a), (b), and the like may be used. These terms are merely intended to distinguish the components from other components, and the terms do not limit the nature, order or sequence of the components. Unless otherwise defined, all terms including technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein. 
       FIG.  1    is a block diagram of a robotaxi user authentication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     As shown in  FIG.  1   , a robotaxi user authentication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include a smart phone  100 , an authentication server  200 , a robotaxi  300 , and a customer service center  400 . In this connection, depending on a scheme for implementing the robotaxi user authentication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, components may be combined with each other to be implemented as one component or some components may be omitted. 
     Each of the components will be described. First, a digital key application is installed on the smart phone  100 . Such a digital key application may be stored in a memory (not shown). In this connection, the memory may include at least one type of recording media (storage media) of a memory of a flash memory type, a hard disk type, a micro type, a card type (e.g., a secure digital card (SD card) or an eXtream digital card (XD card)), and the like, and/or a memory of a random access memory (RAM), a static RAM (SRAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable ROM (PROM), an electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), a magnetic RAM (MRAM), a magnetic disk, and an optical disk type. 
     The smart phone wo may include a mobile communication module and a wireless Internet module to communicate with the authentication server  200 , and may include a short-range communication module to communicate with the robotaxi  300 . 
     In this connection, the mobile communication module may communicate with the authentication server  200  through a mobile communication network built based on technical standards or communication schemes for mobile communication (e.g., a global system for mobile communication (GSM)), a code division multi access (CDMA), a code division multi access 2000 (CDMA2000), an enhanced voice-data optimized or enhanced voice-data only (EV-DO), a wideband CDMA (WCDMA), a high speed downlink packet access (HSDPA), a high speed uplink packet access (HSUPA), a long term evolution (LTE), a long term evolution-advanced (LTE-A), and the like), a 4th generation mobile telecommunication (4G), and a 5th generation mobile telecommunication (5G). 
     In addition, the wireless Internet module, which is a module for wireless Internet access, may communicate with the authentication server  200  through a wireless LAN (WLAN), a wireless-fidelity (Wi-Fi), a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) Direct, a digital living network alliance (DLNA), a wireless broadband (WiBro), a world interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX), a high speed downlink packet access (HSDPA), a high speed uplink packet access (HSUPA), a long term evolution (LTE), a long term evolution-advanced (LTE-A), and the like. 
     The short-range communication module may support short-range communication using at least one of technologies of a Bluetooth™, a radio frequency identification (RFID), an infrared data association (IrDA), an ultra wideband (UWB), a ZigBee, a near field communication (NFC), and/or a wireless universal serial bus (Wireless USB). 
     The smart phone boo may transmit biometric information of a user to the authentication server  200  when signing up for a robotaxi service. In this connection, the biometric information may include a face, an iris, a fingerprint, a handwriting sample, and the like of the user. 
     The smart phone  100  may call the robotaxi  300  through the robotaxi service, and may request unlocking of a door to a door controller  70  of the robotaxi  300  in a state in which authentication is completed through the authentication server  200 . 
     Hereinafter, operations of the authentication server  200  will be described by dividing a case in which an authentication error occurs despite a normal digital key and a case in which the smart phone  100  dies after calling the robotaxi  300  from each other. 
     First, in the case in which the authentication error (an authentication failure) occurs despite the normal digital key, that is, in a case in which the smart phone  100  fails to receive an authentication result (normal or abnormal) within a critical time (e.g., 1.5 seconds) from a time point at which an authentication request is received from the smart phone  100 , the authentication server  200  may create an authentication number and provide the authentication number to the smart phone  100  as shown in  FIG.  4   . In this connection, the authentication failure does not include an authentication failure resulted from an abnormal digital key. 
     The authentication server  200  may guide the smart phone  100  about the authentication error by the digital key and transmit the authentication number to the smart phone  100 . Then, the user inputs the authentication number through a touch keypad  50  equipped on the robotaxi  300  as shown in  FIG.  5   . The authentication number thus input is transmitted to the authentication server  200 , and the authentication server  200  authenticates the authentication number and transmits the authentication result to the door controller  70 . Then, the door controller  70  unlocks the door in case of normal authentication, or maintains a locked state of the door in case of abnormal authentication. 
     Next, when the smart phone  100  dies after calling the robotaxi  300 , as shown in  FIG.  6   , the user may press a call button  30  equipped on the robotaxi  300  to perform a voice call with a service associate of the customer service center  400 . In this connection, the biometric information of the user received from the smart phone  100  is already stored in the authentication server  200 . 
     Thereafter, the user inputs biometric information through a sensor  40  equipped on the robotaxi  300 , and the biometric information thus input is transmitted to the authentication server  200 . 
     The authentication server  200  may authenticate the user by comparing the biometric information (reference biometric information) of the user stored in advance with the biometric information of the user transmitted from the robotaxi  300 , and provide the authentication result to the service associate of the customer service center  400 . In this connection, the authentication server  200  may create the authentication number in a case of a normal user and provide the authentication number to the service associate of the customer service center  400 . Then, the service associate of the customer service center  400  provides the authentication number to the user in the case of the normal authentication. 
     Thereafter, the user inputs the authentication number through the touch keypad  50  equipped on the robotaxi  300 . The authentication number thus input is transmitted to the authentication server  200 , and the authentication server  200  authenticates the authentication number and transmits the authentication result to the door controller  70 . Then, the door controller  70  unlocks the door in the case of the normal authentication, or maintains the locked state of the door in the case of the abnormal authentication. 
     In one example, the robotaxi  300  may include a mobile communication device  10 , a short-range communication device  20 , the call button  30 , the sensor  40 , the touch keypad  50 , an audio video (AV) controller  60 , and the door controller  70 . 
     Each of the components will be described. First, the mobile communication device  10  is a module that provides a communication interface with the authentication server  200 . 
     The short-range communication device  20  is a module that provides a communication interface with the smart phone  100 . 
     The call button  30  may be located on an exterior (e.g., on a B pillar) of the robotaxi  300 , and may be, for example, in association with a telematics terminal (not shown) to request the voice call with the service associate in the customer service center  400 . Thus, the user may use the call button  30  without boarding the robotaxi  300 . 
     The sensor  40 , which is a module for acquiring a bio-signal of the user, may include at least one of a facial recognition sensor, an iris recognition sensor, a fingerprint recognition sensor, and/or a handwriting recognition sensor. 
     The touch keypad  50  is a module located on the exterior (e.g., on a door window) of the robotaxi  300  to receive the authentication number from the user. Accordingly, the user may use the touch keypad  50  without boarding the robotaxi  300 . 
     The AV controller  60  may include a voice processing module and an image processing module, and may transmit the biometric information received from the sensor  40  to the door controller  70  and transmit the authentication number received from the touch keypad  50  to the door controller  70 . 
     The door controller  70  may perform overall control such that each component may normally perform the function thereof. Such door controller  70  may be implemented in a form of hardware, may be implemented in a form of software, or may be implemented in a form in which the hardware and the software are combined with each other. Preferably, the door controller  70  may be implemented as a microprocessor, but may not be limited thereto. 
     The door controller  70  may be implemented as an integrated body control unit (IBU) as an example, may control the locking/unlocking of the door based on the authentication result from the authentication server  200 , and may transmit the biometric information or the authentication information received from the AV controller  60  to the authentication server  200  through the mobile communication device  10 . 
       FIG.  2    is a flowchart of a robotaxi user authentication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, which represents an authentication process in a state in which the user who signed up for the robotaxi service has called the robotaxi  300  through the smart phone  100  thereof and then the robotaxi  300  has arrived at a location where the user is located. 
     First, the authentication server  200  receives the request for the authentication by the digital key from the smart phone wo and performs the authentication procedure ( 201 ). 
     Thereafter, in the case in which the authentication error (the authentication failure) occurs despite the normal digital key, that is, in the case in which the smart phone  100  fails to receive the authentication result (normal or abnormal) within the critical time (e.g., 1.5 seconds) from the time point at which the smart phone  100  transmits the authentication request, the authentication server  200  may create the authentication number and provide the authentication number to the smart phone  100  ( 202 ). In this connection, the case in which the authentication error occurs may include a case in which a request for the unlocking of the door is not transmitted to the door controller  70 , a case in which the authentication server  200  has transmitted the request for the unlocking of the door to the door controller  70 , but the door controller  70  has not received the request, a case in which the authentication server  200  has received permission to unlock the door from the door controller  70 , but has failed to transmit the permission to the smart phone  100 , and the like. 
     Thereafter, the robotaxi  300  transmits the authentication number input from the user to the authentication server  200  ( 203 ). 
     Thereafter, the authentication server  200  authenticates the user by comparing the created authentication number with the authentication number transmitted from the robotaxi  300  ( 204 ). In this connection, the authentication server  200  may determine the user as the normal user when the created authentication number and the authentication number transmitted from the robotaxi  300  are the same. 
     Thereafter, the authentication server  200  requests the unlocking of the door to the door controller  70  of the robotaxi  300  when the authentication is the normal authentication ( 205 ). In this connection, the authentication server  200  does not request the unlocking of the door to the door controller  70  of the robotaxi  300  when the authentication is not the normal authentication. 
     Thereafter, the door controller  70  of the robotaxi  300  unlocks the door ( 206 ). 
       FIG.  3    is a flowchart of a robotaxi user authentication method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure, which represents an authentication process in the state in which the smart phone  100  has died after the user who signed up for the robotaxi service has called the robotaxi  300  through the smart phone  100  thereof. 
     First, the authentication server  200  manages the biometric information of the user received from the user when the user signs up for the robotaxi service ( 301 ). 
     Thereafter, the user may press the call button  30  equipped on the robotaxi  300  to perform the voice call with the service associate of the customer service center  400 . That is, the robotaxi  300  connects the user with the customer service center  400  in response to the request from the user ( 302 ). 
     Thereafter, the user may input the biometric information thereof through the sensor  40  equipped on the robotaxi  300 . That is, the robotaxi  300  acquires the biometric information of the user through the sensor  40  ( 303 ). 
     Thereafter, the robotaxi  300  transmits the biometric information of the user to the authentication server  200  ( 304 ). 
     Thereafter, the authentication server  200  authenticates the user by comparing the biometric information of the user stored in advance with the biometric information of the user transmitted from the robotaxi  300  ( 305 ). The authentication result may be provided to the service associate of the customer service center  400  to which the voice call is connected, and the service associate of the customer service center  400  may provide the authentication number to the user in the case of the normal authentication. 
     Thereafter, the user may input the authentication number through the touch keypad  50  equipped on the robotaxi  300 . That is, the robotaxi  300  receives the authentication number from the user ( 306 ). 
     Thereafter, the robotaxi  300  transmits the authentication number received from the user to the authentication server  200  ( 307 ). 
     Thereafter, the authentication server  200  transmits the authentication result based on the authentication number to the robotaxi  300  ( 308 ). 
     Thereafter, the robotaxi  300  unlocks the door when the user is the normal user, or maintains the locked state of the door when the user is not the normal user ( 309 ). 
     The description above is merely illustrative of the technical idea of the present disclosure, and various modifications and changes may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the essential characteristics of the present disclosure. 
     Therefore, the embodiments disclosed in the present disclosure are not intended to limit the technical idea of the present disclosure but to illustrate the present disclosure, and the scope of the technical idea of the present disclosure is not limited by the embodiments. The scope of the present disclosure should be construed as being covered by the scope of the appended claims, and all technical ideas falling within the scope of the claims should be construed as being included in the scope of the present disclosure. 
     The system and the method for authenticating the user of the robotaxi according to an embodiment of the present disclosure as described above may authenticate the user of the robotaxi by authenticating the user of the robotaxi in association with the call button, the touch pad, and the various sensors mounted on the exterior of the robotaxi even when the error of the authentication of the user of the robotaxi using the digital key occurs or when the smart phone in which the digital key is stored dies. 
     Hereinabove, although the present disclosure has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments and the accompanying drawings, the present disclosure is not limited thereto, but may be variously modified and altered by those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure claimed in the following claims.