Peloton Technology, Inc.

Tula Technology, Inc.

Other

Waymo LLC

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.

Joshua P Switkes

Stephen Michael Erlien

Austin Bennett Schuh

Joseph Christian Gerdes

Eugene Michael Berdichevsky

Charles A Price

Xin Yuan

Steven E Carlson

Colleen Twitty

Shad Mitchell Laws

Adya S Tripathi

Mark A Wilcutts

Brian Eric Smartt

Lorenz Laubinger

Trevor Laing

Christopher W Chandler

Mark S Luckevich

Matthew Aaron Younkins

Evan Nakano

Louis Joseph Serrano

Stephan Pleines

Christopher C Hand

John L Jacobs

John Connelly Kegelman

Joseph Jackson Bendor

James Kuszmaul

Shikui Kevin Chen

James Thomas O'Keeffe

Mark A Shost

Chester Silvestri

Andrew Barton-Sweeney

Li-Chun Chien

Thomas J Birnbaum

David Smith

Diomidis Katzourakis

Vadim Butakov

Craig Latimer

Todd Christopher Klaus

Arne Stoschek

David Frederick Lyons

Mohammad R Pirjaberi

Oliver Thomas Bayley

John W Parsels

Ronald D Yuille

Biswa R Ghosh

Chris Hand

Stephen Erlein

Stephen Norris Boyd

John F Impeduglia

Norman C Lo

Brian Jeremy Silverman

Mark Herbert

Marc Tange

Art Gavrysh

Carlos Rosario

Dean Hogle

Andrew Tamoney

Eric Monsler

Louis Donayre

Joyce Tam

Laurenz Laubinger

Ganymed B Stanek

Richard Pallo

Brian Silverman

Tabitha Jarvis

Murad Bharwani

Steven Erlein

Systems and methods for coordinating and controlling vehicles, for example heavy trucks, to follow closely behind each other, or linking to form a platoon. In one aspect, on-board controllers in each vehicle interact with vehicular sensors to monitor and control, for example, gear ratios on vehicles. A front vehicle can shift a gear which, via a vehicle-to-vehicle communication link, can cause a rear vehicle to shift gears. To maintain a gap, vehicles may shift gears at various relative positions based on a grade of a road.

Devices, systems, and methods for transmitting vehicle data

Systems and methods for coordinating and controlling vehicles, for example heavy trucks, to follow closely behind each other, or linking to form a platoon. In one aspect, on-board controllers in each vehicle interact with vehicular sensors to monitor and control, for example, relative distance, relative acceleration or deceleration, and speed. In some aspects, vehicle onboard systems supply various data (breadcrumbs) to a Network Operations Center (NOC), which in turn provides data (authorization data) to the vehicles to facilitate platooning. The NOC suggests vehicles for platooning based on, for example, travel forecasts and analysis of relevant roadways to identify platoonable roadway segments. The NOC also can provide traffic, roadway, weather, or system updates, as well as various instructions. In some aspects, a mesh network ensures improved communication among vehicles and with the NOC. In some aspects, a vehicle onboard system may provide the authorization data.

Devices, systems, and methods for remote authorization of vehicle platooning

Systems and methods for coordinating and controlling vehicles, for example heavy trucks, to follow closely behind each other, or linking, in a convenient, safe manner and thus to save significant amounts of fuel while increasing safety. In an embodiment, on-board controllers in each vehicle interact with vehicular sensors to monitor and control, for example, relative distance, relative acceleration/deceleration, and speed. Additional safety features in at least some embodiments include providing each driver with one or more visual displays of forward and rearward looking cameras. Long-range communications are provided for coordinating vehicles for linking, and for communicating analytics to fleet managers or others.

Vehicle platooning systems and methods

Systems and methods for increasing the safely platooning are described. In one aspect, safely platooning includes verifying that a vehicle is not decelerating less than necessary, verifying that the vehicle is not accelerating unintendedly, verifying that the vehicle is not decelerating unintendedly, verifying that the vehicle is not platooning unintendedly, verifying that notifications provided by a platooning electronic control unit are being transmitted to their intended destinations, verifying that information received from a network operations center is correct, and verifying that the instability of the vehicle does not exceed a threshold amount.

Systems and methods for platooning and automation safety

A method includes identifying mass distribution data of an autonomous vehicle (AV). The mass distribution data is associated with a first load proximate a first distal end of a first axle of the AV and a second load proximate a second distal end of the first axle of the AV. The method further includes determining, based on the mass distribution data, one or more handling maneuver limits for the AV. The method further includes causing the AV to travel a route based on the one or more handling maneuver limits.

Handling maneuver limits for autonomous driving systems

A method includes identifying sensor data associated with corresponding distal ends of one or more axles of an autonomous vehicle (AV). The method further includes determining, based on the sensor data, mass distribution data of the AV. The mass distribution data is associated with a first load proximate a first distal end of a first axle of the AV and a second load proximate a second distal end of the first axle of the AV. The method further includes causing, based on the mass distribution data, performance of a corrective action associated with the AV.

Mass distribution-informed optimization for autonomous driving systems

A variety of methods, controllers and algorithms are described for identifying the back of a particular vehicle (e.g., a platoon partner) in a set of distance measurement scenes and/or for tracking the back of such a vehicle. The described techniques can be used in conjunction with a variety of different distance measuring technologies including radar, LIDAR, camera based distance measuring units and others. The described approaches are well suited for use in vehicle platooning and/or vehicle convoying systems including tractor-trailer truck platooning applications. In another aspect, technique are described for fusing sensor data obtained from different vehicles for use in the at least partial automatic control of a particular vehicle. The described techniques are well suited for use in conjunction with a variety of different vehicle control applications including platooning, convoying and other connected driving applications including tractor-trailer truck platooning applications.

Gap measurement for vehicle convoying

A system and method for mitigating or avoiding risks due to hazards encountered by platooning vehicles. The system and method involve interrogating, with one or more sensors, a space radially extending from a lead vehicle as the lead vehicle travels over the road surface, perceiving the environment within the space, ascertaining a hazard caused by an object in the space, and causing a following vehicle, operating in a platoon with the lead vehicle, to take a preemptive braking action to avoid or mitigate risks resulting from the hazard caused by the object in the space.

System and method for implementing precognition braking and/or avoiding or mitigation risks among platooning vehicles

Systems and methods for platooning using aspects of various cruise control systems are described. In one aspect, a platooning system may cause an engine to provide a desired amount of torque by commanding a cruise control system to cause an amount of torque provided by the engine to be limited. In one aspect, a platooning system may cause a platoon to end in response to the detection of a condition that would cause a cruise control system to exit a cruise control state, such as pressing a brake pedal.

Systems and methods for platooning

Systems and methods for increasing the efficiency of vehicle platooning systems are described. In one aspect, drivers are more likely to enjoy a system if it begins platooning as desired and does not accidently end platoons. When a certain amount of data packets sent between vehicles are dropped, systems typically will either not engage in a platoon or end a current platoon. When a platoon has a very small gap between vehicles, the platoon should end—or not start, when a certain amount of packets are dropped. However, if a gap is large enough to provide a driver with more time to react, a system may accept a greater amount of dropped packets before it refuses to start a platoon or causes the end of a platoon.

Systems and methods for managing communications between vehicles

Various applications for use of mass estimations of a vehicle, including to control operation of the vehicle, sharing the mass estimation with other vehicles and/or a Network Operations Center (NOC), organizing vehicles operating in a platoon and/or partially controlling the operation of one or more vehicles operating in a platoon based on the relative mass estimations between the platooning vehicles. When vehicles are operating in a platoon, the relative mass between a lead and a following vehicle may be used to scale torque and/or brake commands generated by the lead vehicle and sent to the following vehicle.

Applications for using mass estimations for vehicles

Disclosed herein are a method and apparatus for automated following behind a lead vehicle. The lead vehicle navigates a path from a starting point to a destination. The lead vehicle and the following vehicle are connected via V2V communication, allowing one or more following vehicles to detect the path taken by the lead vehicle. A computerized control system on the following vehicle (a Follow-the-Leader, or FTL, system) allows the following vehicle to mimic the behavior of the lead vehicle, with the FTL system controlling steering to guide the following vehicle along the path previously navigated by the lead vehicle. In some embodiments, the lead vehicle and following vehicle may both use Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) position coordinates. In some embodiments, the following vehicle may also have a system of sensors to maintain a gap between the following and lead vehicles.

Control of automated following in vehicle convoys

The present invention relates to systems and methods for vehicles to closely follow one another safely through partial automation. Following closely behind another vehicle has significant fuel savings benefits, but is unsafe when done manually by the driver. On the opposite end of the spectrum, fully autonomous solutions require inordinate amounts of technology, and a level of robustness that is currently not cost effective.

Methods and systems for semi-autonomous vehicular convoys

Growing community of inventors

Mountain View, CA, United States of America

Joshua P Switkes