US Patent 10088846 System and method for intended passenger detection

A system and method for locating and identifying a potential passenger by an autonomous vehicle includes: receiving a pickup request for the potential passenger, where the pickup request includes a geographic location for locating and picking up the potential passenger by the autonomous vehicle; locating the potential passenger based on the geographic location and using data from one or more sensors of the autonomous vehicle; and in response to locating the potential passenger, controlling the autonomous vehicle to a position to enable pickup of the potential passenger.