Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.

Vladimeros Vladimerou

Derek Stanley Caveney

Rohit Pandita

John-Michael McNew

Miles J Johnson

Danil V Prokhorov

Ahmed Hamdi Sakr

Gregg J Overfield

Trenton B Lindholm

John Michael McNew

Drew Cunningham

Stephen Paul McFarland, Jr

Gaurav Bansal

Christopher J Smalley

Matthew W Dreisbach

Noah Mitchell Einstein

Colin E Das

Guarav Bansal

David A Hamilton

Systems, methods, and other embodiments described herein relate to updating vehicle software by using additional connectivity from an alternate device. In one embodiment, a method includes initiating a download from a first point and a second point within a software package by a communication module associated with a vehicle and an alternate device. The method also includes, responsive to comparing progress points of the download between the communication module and the alternate device, adapting the download according to the progress points and network connectivity by the communication module to complete the download, the first point and the second point being opposing ends within the software package.

Systems and methods for updating vehicle software

A system for determining a type of a road upon which a vehicle is traveling includes a processor and a memory in communication with the processor. The memory has a road type determination module having has instructions that cause the processor to determine, using sensor data having information about at least one of a vehicle and a road upon which the vehicle is traveling, that the vehicle previously traveled on a ramp leading to a limited access highway. The road type determination module also has instructions that cause the processor to determine, using the sensor data, that the road is a limited access highway when the vehicle is traveling at or below a first predetermined speed for a first predetermined amount of time sufficiently immediately after determining that the vehicle was traveling on a ramp, and the vehicle is behind one or more preceding slow-moving vehicles.

Systems and methods for road type determination

A subscription system and method of facilitating permission-based access to a subset of vehicle sensor data in a vehicle electronic control unit (ECU) to augment an information application. The system includes a vehicle subscription server. The method includes generating, by the vehicle subscription server, a sensor key and a subscription key, installing in a memory of the vehicle ECU the vehicle sensor key. In response to a request for a subscription by a mobile device, transmitting by the vehicle subscription server the subscription key. The vehicle ECU uses the subscription key to authenticate the mobile device as having a current subscription, and augments the information application with the subset of vehicle sensor data accessed based on the sensor subscription key.

System and method of manufacturer-approved access to vehicle sensor data by mobile application

A system for updating software installed on an electronic unit on a vehicle can include a processor and a memory. The processor can be disposed on an intermediate communications device. The intermediate communications device can be a mobile device. The memory can store an update request module and an update existence module. The update request module can include instructions that when executed by the processor cause the processor to receive, from the electronic unit on the vehicle, a request for an update of the software. The request can include: (1) an identification of a version of the software currently installed on the electronic unit and (2) a key to specifically identify the electronic unit. The update existence module can include instructions that when executed by the processor cause the processor to receive, from a device associated with development of the software, information about an existence of the update.

Updating software installed on an electronic unit on a vehicle

A mapping system creates feature data associated with a first section of a route, stores the feature data in the local storage system as stored feature data, fuses the feature data with the stored feature data to create map data associated with the first section when the vehicle has traversed the first section and collected the stored feature data at least a threshold number of times, stores the map data in the local storage system, identifies one or more route sections as being part of one or more commute routes, and when space in the local storage system is insufficient for storage of the map data or the feature data, enables the storage by removing stored map data from the location storage system based at least in part on a determination that the removed data is not associated with the one or more commute routes.

System and method for local storage based mapping

A host vehicle including a plurality of sensors communicably coupled to the host vehicle. Additionally, the host vehicle includes processing circuitry configured to map-match a location of the host vehicle while the host vehicle is operating on a highway, receive obstruction information from the plurality of sensors, the plurality of sensors having a predetermined field of view corresponding to a host vehicle field of view, estimate a driver field of view based on the host vehicle field of view, determine whether a speed of the host vehicle is safe based on the driver field of view and the obstruction information, and modify driver operation in response to a determination that the speed of the host vehicle is not safe based on the driver field of view.

System, method, and computer-readable storage medium for vehicle collision avoidance on the highway

In one embodiment, example systems and methods relate to a providing a regional server directory that identifies local servers and vehicles that can provide services to a requesting vehicle. A geographic area such as a country is divided into a plurality of regions. Each region is associated with a plurality of local servers that provide one or more driving related services with respect to the roads and highways that pass through their associated region. The services may include traffic light statuses, traffic speed and flow information, weather information, accident information, etc. The regional servers may further identify one or more other vehicles in their associated region that can similarly provide services. On a periodic basis, each of these regional servers communicates their associated regions and provided services to a directory server. The directory server may be one or more servers whose address is known to vehicles.

System and method for providing services to vehicles

Systems, methods, and other embodiments described herein relate to securing personally identifiable information associated with riding in a vehicle. In one embodiment, a method includes, in response to receiving, in a mobile device from the vehicle, telematics data about a current trip of the vehicle, securing the telematics data according to at least a mobile cryptographic key associated with the mobile device to provide the telematics data as secured data that is obfuscated. The method includes generating, by the mobile device, a secure packet including at least the secured data and a signature from the vehicle associated with the secured data. The method includes communicating, by the mobile device, the secure packet to a remote computing device to cause the remote computing device to securely store the secured data without identifying a user associated with the mobile device.

Systems and methods for securing personally identifiable information within telematics data

A method and system generates a collision warning to a driver of a host vehicle. The system includes an on-board sensor of the host vehicle to detect presence of a preceding vehicle, wireless communication circuitry to establish wireless communication with a remote vehicle, and processing circuitry to detect existence of a slow remote vehicle ahead of the host vehicle, track an immediately preceding vehicle ahead of the host vehicle, confirm that the slow remote vehicle is affecting the host vehicle's lane speed of traffic by detecting that the immediately preceding vehicle is decelerating. When it is determined that, that the remote vehicle is sow, display an information message indicating the existence of the slow remote vehicle, and output, when the remote vehicle is slow and the preceding vehicle is decelerating, the collision warning as an audio sound and a visual message.

Apparatus and method for extended forward collision warning

Methods and systems to crowd source road related information. The crowd sourced road related information may include lane-specific data related to a lane-level police presence and/or a disabled roadside vehicle presence. The crowd sourced road related information may include lane-level vehicle spacing information. The communication of the lane-specific data to a crowd sourced road condition server may occur automatically in one mode and may occur only after confirmation from a user in another mode.

Automated crowd sourcing of road environment information

A system for determining a road type includes processing circuitry configured to receive information from a plurality of sensors. The information corresponds to one or more of operation of a host vehicle and an environment surrounding the host vehicle. Additionally, the system determines whether one or more of the plurality of sensors detects an off highway event, classifies the road type as a local road in response to one or more of the plurality of sensors detecting an off highway event, determines whether the speed of the host vehicle is greater than a first predetermined speed for a first predetermined amount of time, and classifies the road type as a limited access highway in response to the speed of the host vehicle being greater than the first predetermined speed for the first predetermined amount of time.

System, method, and computer-readable storage medium for determining road type

System, methods, and other embodiments described herein relate to detecting a lane change of a target vehicle ahead of an ego vehicle. In one approach, a method includes receiving communications from a target vehicle specifying state information about the target vehicle. The method includes determining a location of a first decision point at a first distance ahead of an ego vehicle and acquiring sensor data about the target vehicle. The method includes determining motion information about the target vehicle based on the sensor data. The motion information includes positions that the target vehicle occupied relative to the ego vehicle. The method includes storing the state information and motion information for a first amount of time, and determining whether the target vehicle has changed lanes based on the state information and the motion information that has been stored once the ego vehicle has reached the first decision position.

System and method for determining a lane change of a preceding vehicle

A host vehicle includes a plurality of sensors communicably coupled to the host vehicle. Additionally, the host vehicle includes processing circuitry configured to map-match a location of the host vehicle in response to approaching a traffic intersection, receive traffic intersection information from the plurality of sensors in response to approaching the traffic intersection, the plurality of sensors having a predetermined field of view corresponding to a host vehicle field of view, estimate a driver field of view based on the host vehicle field of view, determine whether navigating through the traffic intersection is safe based on the driver field of view, and modify driver operation in response to a determination that navigation through the traffic intersection is not safe based on the driver field of view.

System, method, and computer-readable storage medium for traffic intersection navigation

In one embodiment, example systems and methods relate to a manner of providing lane curvature estimations. As vehicles travel, lane curvature estimates for lane segments as provided by the vehicle lane curvature estimation systems are collected. The estimated lane curvatures and the actual paths of the vehicles as they traveled in the lane segments are used as training data for a model that can both determine if a lane curvature estimate for a lane segment is likely incorrect and provide a correct lane curvature estimate. When a vehicle later travels such a lane segment, the model can be used to provide the vehicle with a correct lane curvature estimate. The correct estimate can be used by the vehicle in place of an estimate generated by the existing lane curvature estimation system of the vehicle.

System and method for providing lane curvature estimates

One or more roadway features can be determined based on information received from one or more vehicles traveling on a roadway. A data packet can be received from a remote vehicle. The data packet can include data corresponding to locations and headings of the remote vehicle. A path history for the remote vehicle can be determined based on the data packet. The path history can include data points corresponding to a plurality of locations and headings for the remote vehicle. A geometry for a portion of the roadway preceding the remote vehicle can be determined using the path history. The determined geometry of the roadway can be used to determine a driving maneuver for a vehicle and/or to verify a map.

Growing community of inventors

Whitmore Lake, MI, United States of America

Vladimeros Vladimerou