Ford Global Technolgoies, LLC

Oliver Lei

Jayanthi Rao

Vladyslav Slyusar

Somak Datta Gupta

Arpita Chand

Allen R Murray

Joshua R Wheeler

Nicholas Colella

Joe F Stanek

Daniel Robert Taylor

Sikder Imam

Fahad Liaqat

Matt Jones

A method includes determining that at least two charging stops are projected to be required to complete travel along a planned route and determining a reachable first charging stop, within a first predefined proximity of the planned route. The method also includes determining one or more second charging stops, within a second predefined proximity of the planned route and reachable from the first charging stop, and for each second charging stop, determining a minimum charge required to reach a respective second charging stop. The method additionally includes determining which of the second charging stops are achievable, based on the minimum vehicle charge required and whether the minimum vehicle charge can be achieved through charging at the first charging stop. The method further includes reserving charging at the first charging stop and modifying the planned route to include stops at the first charging stop and the selected achievable second charging stop.

Charging reservation and route planning with load balancing

Delivering software updates is provided. An update server in communication with an Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) transmitter and with a cellular network broadcasts a probe message to a plurality of vehicles. The update server receives probe results from the plurality of vehicles, responsive to the broadcasting. The update server analyzes the probe results to determine software updates to send to the plurality of vehicles. The update server generates an aggregate common package including the software updates in common with at least a subset of the plurality of vehicles. The update server, sends using the ATSC transmitter, the aggregate common package to the plurality of vehicles. The update server sends, over the cellular network, any remaining portion of the software updates not included in the aggregate common package to the plurality of vehicles.

Aggregated common package OTA broadcast

A vehicle includes a radio receiver configured to receive emergency alert messages initiated by an alerting authority and broadcast by an alerting disseminator. The radio receiver is normally inactive when the vehicle is in the dormant state. A user monitor is configured to track a user during a time that the vehicle is in the dormant state to detect whether the user remains in the vehicle or is within a predetermined distance of the vehicle. A controller coupled to the radio receiver and to the user monitor is configured to activate the radio receiver during the dormant state when the user is present. The controller detects the existence of a relevant emergency alert message and initiates an annunciation signal which is generated by the vehicle and perceptible to the user to inform the user that the relevant emergency alert message is available.

Emergency alerts via parked vehicles

Systems and methods for in-transit charging of an electric vehicle. An electric autonomous vehicle (EAV) may request charging services when its battery level falls below a threshold. The EAV may be in transit to a destination when the charging service is requested. A charging range route may be determined for the EAV. A charging-AV may identify one or more candidate merge points. If a feasible merge point is identified, the charging-AV may transit to the merge point and platoon with the EAV. The EAV and charging-AV may platoon with each other so that the charging-AV may provide charging services to the EAV. Vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications may be used to synchronize the moments of the charging-AV and EAV while in transit.

Systems and methods for electric autonomous vehicle charging assistance on the road

Managing vehicle application usage of computing resources is provided. A request for computing resources of a communications network is received from a vehicle application installed to a vehicle. An access point name (APN) is assigned to the vehicle application based on an application identifier corresponding to the vehicle application by accessing stored APN information including a mapping of application identifiers to corresponding APNs. The computing resources are accessed by the vehicle application connecting to the communications network using the APN.

Adaptively selecting network APN for vehicle application remote computing demand

A system includes a plurality of vehicles and at least one first processor in a first vehicle and at least one second processor in each other of the plurality of vehicles. The first vehicle wirelessly receives remote driving commands, from a remote computing system, instructing control of the first vehicle and executes the remote driving commands to control the first vehicle in accordance with the remote driving commands. The first vehicle wirelessly broadcasts the remote driving commands, including a location of the first vehicle where a given of the driving commands was executed. The second vehicle wirelessly receives the broadcast remote driving commands, stores the received remote driving commands in sequence, and executes the given of the driving commands when a location of the second vehicle corresponds to the location of the first vehicle where the given of the driving commands was executed.

Method and apparatus for remote driving a plurality of vehicles in a platoon

A system broadcasts a vehicle state query to a plurality of vehicles within an ATSC broadcast radius at a plurality of different time windows. The system receives responses to the state query indicating at least vehicle motion data. The system aggregates the data to determine time windows when vehicles are present within the broadcast radius and are not stationary when vehicles are present within the broadcast radius and are stationary. Further, the system determines time windows projected to result in completed delivery above a predefined threshold percentage of a vehicle software update designated for broadcast, chosen for delivering the update to the threshold percentage as quickly as possible with higher data rate transmission relative to other time windows. The system automatically instructs an ATSC transmission point to broadcast the vehicle software update during the determined time windows.

Methods and apparatuses for OTA broadcast efficiency

The disclosure generally pertains to systems and methods for providing a vehicle- and drone-based tracking system. In an example method, a tracker system associated with a vehicle may be initiated. At least one parameter associated with a route may be received via the tracker system. A first notification may subsequently be received from a device, and the first notification may be associated with a first location of the device. After a first predetermined period of time since the first notification is received, a second notification may be received from the device. The second notification may be associated with a second location of the device. The tracker system may then determine, based on the second notification, that the second location of the device is within the at least one parameter associated with the route.

Systems and methods for providing a vehicle-and drone-based tracking system

Systems and methods for off-road connectivity and sharing of time-sensitive information. Techniques described herein may be utilized to allow for off-road vehicles to share their animal watching information quickly with other off-road vehicles via vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and/or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications in real-time. Real-time watching information may be shared from off-road vehicles to one another, thereby enabling a more pleasant watching experience, as individuals are able to spend less time exploring and searching for wild animals and more time at points of interests where wild animals are expected to be seen based on information provided by other watchers.

Systems and methods for off-road connectivity and sharing of time sensitive watch information

An autonomous vehicle may determine that it has an amount of power remaining projected to be needed to reach a recharging point by autonomously traveling with predefined systems disabled. The vehicle may disable the predefined systems and travel towards the recharging point. Subsequent to the disabling, the autonomous vehicle may determine that it no longer has the amount of power remaining projected to be needed to reach the recharging point. The vehicle may then communicate with a server and request assistance. The vehicle may then travel to an instructed rendezvous point with a second autonomous vehicle, the rendezvous received from the server. The two vehicles may then communicate to allow the first vehicle to leverage a capability of the second autonomous vehicle, responsive to the first and second autonomous vehicles being within communication range, allowing the first vehicle to reach the recharging point via the leveraging.

Electric autonomous vehicle ride service assistance

Monitoring of a vehicle is provided. A plurality of video feeds captured from cameras of the vehicle are received, over a network from a vehicle, each of the plurality of video feeds including a plurality frames, each of the frames of each of the video feeds being assigned a sequence number that increases for each successive frame. The sequence numbers are analyzed to identify missing frames, delayed frames, or stale frames. The plurality of video feeds is displayed, to one or more monitors, the sequence numbers corresponding to the displayed frames, and for each of the plurality of video feeds, indications of whether any missed frames, delayed frames, or stale frames were identified.

Video streaming anomaly detection

A server may determine a plurality of recommended exit paths for vehicles departing a locality. The server may also correlate a plurality of present geofenced locations within the locality to exit paths, so that each location has one or more exit paths correlated thereto, informing vehicles within a given locality about the one or more exit paths recommended for that locality. Further, the server may instruct an ATSC transmitter to broadcast map data for the locality, the map data including designations of geofences around the locations and the correlations between the geofenced locations and the exit paths.

Method and apparatus for adaptive routing broadcasting and handling

A vehicle computer can be programmed to detect, in a vehicle, one of a plurality of variations, based on data received from one or more vehicle sensors or a vehicle interface, to transmit, to a remote computer, variation data including the detected variation and a version of software in the vehicle computer, wherein the variation data identifies the detected variation and the version of the software, to receive, from the remote computer, a response including that a software update is identified based on the detected variation, and upon identifying the software update, to download and install the software update in the vehicle computer.

Growing community of inventors

Windsor, Canada

Oliver Lei