Ford Global Technolgoies, LLC

Joseph I Halaszynski

Dong H Park

Paul J Wraith

Daniel J Kangas

Brian S Paik

Stuart C Salter

Paul Kenneth Dellock

David Brian Glickman

Chelsia Ka Po Lau

Robert Walsh

Edmund Pengfei He

Jacob Michael Haspiel

Pietro Buttolo

Annette Lynn Huebner

Jesse R Diephuis

James Yu-Hsin Kuo

James Kuo

Daveanand M Singh

Quran Buchanan

A vehicle assembly includes a cargo bed having a first and a second sidewall. A rail assembly is disposed on the first sidewall. The rail assembly is movable between an extended position and a retracted position relative to the first sidewall. An actuator system raises and lowers the rail assembly to move the rail assembly between the extended position and the retracted position.

Extendable rail assembly for cargo bed of a vehicle

Multi-mode personal transportation and delivery devices and methods of use are disclosed herein. A device can include a communications interface, the communications interface configured to provide vehicle-to-everything communications, a device controller comprising: a processor; and a memory for storing instructions, the processor executing the instructions to: receive a first message from a service provider that the transportation device is to relocate to a location based on user demand; and activate a redistribution mode to cause the transportation device to autonomously navigate to the location.

Multi-mode personal transportation and delivery devices and methods of use

An example vehicle includes a frame and a body panel attached to the frame and providing an exterior surface of the vehicle. The body panel includes a flexible fabric material. This provides a number of benefits, including providing a resilient, lightweight, and customizable body panel. These and other benefits will be appreciated from the detailed description and drawings.

Vehicle with body panel including flexible fabric

An autonomous vehicle includes an autonomously driven vehicle frame with a retractable pivot mechanism disposed on a platform surface of the vehicle frame. Changeable utility pods are configured to attach to and be removed from the vehicle frame by way of the retractable pivot mechanism onboard the frame, and autonomously change the vehicle from a passenger transport to a logistics transport by changing utility pods. A processor provides autonomous vehicle operations that include extending the retractable pivot mechanism from a retracted position recessed in the platform surface of the vehicle frame to an extended position that engages a utility pod conveyor channel. The retractable pivot mechanism engages a conveyor channel disposed on a mating surface of a utility pod, and conveys the utility pod along the conveyor channel to a centered and laterally-aligned position on the vehicle frame by rotating the pod into position once centered over the pivot mechanism.

Growing community of inventors

Farmington Hills, MI, United States of America

Joseph I Halaszynski