In a recent US patent application (US 20170217351) Ford is pursuing another aspect of an autonomous vehicle in which the front seats can rotate to face the back seats. In this case the company is suggesting an inflatable cushion (18, 19) between the front and rear seats that can serve as a footrest. The inflatable […]
In a fully autonomous vehicle there is really no need for the driver and passenger seats to be facing forward. But rearward facing seats pose new challenges when the car is involved in an accident. Ford’s patent application US 2017/0210322 is addressing this new challenge. Ford writes: “One way to allow the driver to relax […]
GM is apparently thinking hard about rideshare technology. In patent application US20170213403 they are concerned with dropping passengers off in areas that require security clearance. The idea seems legit. But also somewhat demanding: A vehicle that transports a passenger automatically to a drop-off location that requires a security clearance would have to authenticate all passengers on […]
… apparently fifteen! GM patent application publication 20170213165 addresses a legitimate problem facing ridesharing in autonomous vehicles: How does a rider know that she is getting into the right vehicle? GM is offering several solutions. For example, as a shared vehicle approaches pick up of a rider, the rider’s smartphone vibrates to indicate that the shared […]
Similar claims are presented in three Mazda patent applications 20170203688, 20170203689 and 20170202501. 1. A driving assistance system comprising: a distracted driving sensing unit configured to determine whether or not a driver is distracted from driving; an alerting unit configured to alert, if the distracted driving sensing unit has determined the driver to be distracted from […]
Mobileye’s patent application publication 20170203744 claims a method for assessing an overall system failure rate associated with a braking decisioning system for a vehicle. The system is based on the analysis of video data. It calculates a first failure based on a change in texture between images and a second failure rate based on optical flow. The specification […]
Getting humans and automated vehicles to play nicely together in the same lanes is a tricky task. Ford’s patent application US20170197626 recognizes the difficulty and suggests dedicated “AV-only lanes” – and a system how these dedicated lanes can be managed by a server. Also, finally there appears to be a legitimate use for DSRC V2X communication. […]
Being accused of patent infringement is an expensive place to be. The accused infringer has options, but all of them are costly. One option is to initiate an Inter Partes Review (IPR) to invalidate the accuser’s patent, which can cost $100k just to initiate the proceedings. A complete IPR proceeding through PTAB hearing can cost […]
Cruise Automation, GM’s expensive Silicon Valley outpost, is seeking to patent “A method for controlling an autonomous vehicle at an external interface, the method comprising: at an external interface, operably in communication with the autonomous vehicle: allowing an entity in a proximity of an outside of the autonomous vehicle to interact with the external interface; […]
This week we looked through a few autonomous vehicle patent applications: In US20170185089 Toyota claims a method of detecting overhanging objects in an external environment of an autonomous vehicle. It appears, the Toyota engineers are primarily concerned with trees, and whether the autonomous vehicle can drive below overhanging branches. The overhanging object are detected with a […]