Ford Global Technolgoies, LLC

Other

Brian Petersen

Ritesh Pandya

Joseph Paul Rork

Praveen Kumar Yalavarty

Edward Andrew Pleet

Robert Bruce Kleve

John Robert Van Wiemeersch

Kelly Lee Zechel

Michael Kruntovski

Perry Robinson Macneille

Oleg Yurievitch Gusikhin

Ryan J Skaff

John Naum Vangelov

Mark John Jennings

Mary A Smith

Yevgeniya Sosonkina

Susan Curry

William M Frykman

Elizabeth Profitt-Brown

Harley B Martin

John F Bryan, Iii

Joseph Andrew De Leon

In at least one embodiment, a system for authorizing use of a vehicle communication and information system may include one or more data processors configured to receive information associating one or more devices with a vehicle computer. The data processor(s) may be also configured to receive information identifying a user requesting authorization to command the vehicle controls from the one or more devices associated with the vehicle computer. The user(s) may be authorized to command the vehicle controls from the one or more devices associated with the vehicle computer based on performing an authentication process for authenticating the user, determining that the user is an authenticated user based on the authentication process, and enabling command of one or more vehicle controls from the one or more remote devices via the associated vehicle computer based on the user being authenticated.

Methods and systems for authenticating one or more users of a vehicle communications and information system

A computer implemented method includes logging vehicle startup information. The method also includes determining, via a computer, if timing commonalities exist between logged vehicle startup information instances. Further, the method includes recommending automatic vehicle startup, based on a threshold number of timing commonalities. The method also includes formulating recommended start times based on logged vehicle startup information instances having timing commonalities. The method additionally includes presenting a schedule including recommended start times to a vehicle user and scheduling automatic vehicle startups upon vehicle user acceptance of the presented schedule.

Method and apparatus for scheduling vehicle startup

A system may include a vehicle-based computing system. The vehicle-based computing system may identify from a first software update chunk retrieved from a subscribed topic for receiving vehicle updates, a number of chunks of the update, retrieve additional chunks of the update by subscription to each of a sequence of subtopics to the subscribed topic, each subtopic associated with a respective remaining one of the number of chunks, and update the software utilizing the retrieved chunks.

Multiple chunk software updates

A system includes a processor configured to receive a request for publication of a message to a vehicle. The processor is further configured to determine if the message has a time-sensitive indicia, defining an expiration time, affiliated therewith. Also, the processor is configured to deliver messages having time-sensitive indicia to a time-sensitive inbox. The processor is additionally configured to remove messages from the time sensitive inbox when a defined expiration time for a given message has passed.

Method and apparatus for vehicle message recall

A computer-implemented method may include subscribing to a first topic tree topic associated with an installed vehicle software component version; identifying a desired software component version based on a published notification retrieved from the first topic; and when the desired version and the installed version differ, updating a software component using a software update retrieved from a second topic tree topic associated with software updates to the installed version.

Autonomous global software update

A message broker may initialize, responsive to a connection notification published via vehicle connection to a vehicle-associated topic tree topic to which a service delivery network is subscribed, a lost-connection notification to be published to the topic by the broker upon broker identification of the connection as lost, and when a periodic notification over the connection to the message broker is missed, publish the lost-connection notification to the vehicle-associated topic. A service delivery may receive a message publish request for a vehicle topic via a message broker to which the service delivery network and vehicle subscribe; and send a wakeup message to the vehicle out-of-band from the message broker to request the vehicle to reconnect to the message broker when a type of the message requires the vehicle to be connected to publish the message and the vehicle is disconnected.

Remote vehicle connection status

A system includes a processor configured to receive a vehicle-access-PIN generation request from a vehicle computing system (VCS). The processor is also configured to generate the vehicle-access-PIN. The processor is additionally configured to associate a vehicle with the vehicle-access-PIN. Further, the processor is configured to return the vehicle-access-PIN to the requesting VCS. Also, the processor is configured to receive a validation request, including a validation-PIN, from a non-vehicle computing system (NVCS). In addition, the processor is configured to validate the validation-PIN by comparison with stored vehicle-access-PINs to find a match and provide access credentials, for a vehicle associated with a stored vehicle-access-PIN that matches the validation-PIN, to the NVCS.

Method and apparatus for secure vehicle system access from a remote system

A system includes a processor configured to receive remote vehicle identification information and a user-confirmable vehicle variable value from a remote vehicle computing system. The processor is also configured to receive vehicle identification information and user-confirmable variable value user-input, input in conjunction with a remote process remote access request. Further, the processor is configured to compare the user-input variable value to the remotely received variable value. The processor is additionally configured to provide access to the remote process upon a correspondence between the user-input variable value and the remotely received variable value.

Method for securely authorizing vehicle owners to an in-vehicle telematics feature absent in-car screen

A system includes a processor, configured to wirelessly communicate with at least a vehicle computing system, wherein the processor is further configured to receive input from a vehicle owner indicating that transfer of administrative rights to vehicle systems is desired. The processor is further configured to send a confirmation message to a new owner of the vehicle and send a confirmation request to the vehicle computing system, following receipt of a response to the first confirmation message. Also, the processor is configured to establish the new owner as having administrative rights upon receipt of a response to the confirmation request.

A vehicle may gather vehicle build configuration information, and provide a vehicle identifier and the vehicle information to a server. The server may determine a feature set configuration of a configurable module of the vehicle based on the vehicle information and vehicle feature associations retrieved from a vehicle data source, and provide, in a message topic of a topic tree associated with the vehicle identifier to which the vehicle is subscribed, a notification to configure the configurable module. The vehicle may update a feature set configuration of a configurable module supporting a plurality of features based on the notification.

Flexible feature deployment strategy

A computer-implemented method includes establishing a road network model on which a plurality of simulated vehicles may be run. The method also includes setting up a plurality of scenarios under which vehicle driving conditions vary to be run on the road network model. The illustrative method includes receiving energy usage related data for a plurality of simulated vehicles run in at least one of the plurality of scenarios on the road network model. The method further includes calculating a total energy consumption for each of the vehicles. The method additionally includes repeating the receiving and calculating steps to determine how various elements of the road network model and scenarios effect vehicle energy consumption.

Methods and apparatus for estimating power usage

A vehicle may include at least one controller configured to maintain a communication channel over a network between a vehicle and a vehicle service server accessible through an access point node. The at least one controller may be further configured to receive, over the network out-of-band from the communication channel, an update message including updated communication channel connection information, and upon receiving the message, reconnect the communication channel according to the updated connection information. A secure server may be configured to generate the update message specifying at least one of updated access point node information and updated address information, encrypt the update message according to an encryption key shared with a vehicle destination, and provide the update message over a network to the vehicle out-of-band from the communication channel.

Secure manipulation of embedded modem connection settings through short messaging service communication

A system may include a configurable module having a firmware version supporting multiple functions and a configuration specifying which of the functions are utilized for a vehicle feature; and a controller configured to update the configuration of the module, based on a command published by a server to a controller-subscribed topic tree message topic, the command targeting the vehicle according to one of unique vehicle identifier and the vehicle feature.

Targeted vehicle remote feature updates

A system includes a processor configured to detect that a vehicle module update has been performed. The processor is further configured to create an identifier associated with a module that indicates an updated status and for each module having an identifier indicating an updated status associated therewith, requesting subscription to a topic, corresponding to the updated module, and specific to an individual vehicle, from a remote server.

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Beverly Hills, MI, United States of America

Brian Petersen