General Motors Patent Grants

Environment awareness system for experiencing an environment through music

Granted: March 12, 2024
Patent Number: 11929051
An environment awareness system includes a memory and first and second modules. The memory is configured to store environmental data, one or more music composition templates, and one or more maps, where the environmental data is indicative of at least one of a state, condition, or change in an environment in which the environment awareness system is located. The first module is configured to receive and store the environmental data in the memory. The second module is configured to: based…

Identification and clustering of lane lines on roadways using reinforcement learning

Granted: December 5, 2023
Patent Number: 11836992
A system comprises a processor and a memory storing instructions. The processor receives an image for processing using a reinforcement learning based agent comprising a neural network trained using a reward function. The image includes N lane lines of a roadway, where N is a positive integer. The instructions configure the processor to traverse the image using the agent at least N times from a first end of the image to a second end of the image by: incrementally moving the agent from a…

Reinforcement learning based system for aerial imagery acquisition using drone following target vehicle

Granted: May 23, 2023
Patent Number: 11655028
A method of surveying roads includes generating a dynamic flight plan for a drone using a vehicle traveling on a road as a target. The dynamic flight plan includes instructions for movement of the drone. The method includes controlling the drone as a function of position of the vehicle based on the dynamic flight plan. The method includes maintaining, based on the controlling, line of sight with the drone while the drone with an onboard camera follows the vehicle and captures images of…

Apparatus and method to provide access to shared vehicles without power locks

Granted: September 6, 2022
Patent Number: 11434684
A vehicle sharing system for use with a vehicle. The vehicle sharing system comprises: i) a lockbox mounted on an exterior of the vehicle, the lockbox including a vehicle key that opens a door of the vehicle; and ii) a vehicle sharing control module disposed in the interior of the vehicle. The vehicle sharing control module communicates with the lockbox in order to open a door associated with the lockbox in response to a first command message received from a mobile device associated with…

System and method to initiate remote control of an autonomous vehicle

Granted: October 19, 2021
Patent Number: 11150641
One general aspect includes a method to initiate remote control of a vehicle, the method including: receiving, via a processor, an indication that a manual drive sequence should be initiated by a remotely located data center; and based on the indication, via the processor, initiating the manual drive sequence such that the data center can remotely control the vehicle.

Monitoring quality of care at vehicle

Granted: August 10, 2021
Patent Number: 11087571
A system and method of monitoring a vehicle during a peer-to-peer (P2P) reservation of the vehicle, wherein the vehicle is a part of a P2P vehicle sharing network, the method including: establishing a vehicle reservation between a vehicle renter and a vehicle manager; sending an indication to the vehicle of the vehicle reservation; after sending the indication to the vehicle of the vehicle reservation, receiving vehicle monitoring information that includes information used to determine a…

Vehicle usage assessment of drivers in a car sharing service

Granted: July 27, 2021
Patent Number: 11074539
A method and system for use in performing a vehicle usage assessment for a first driver of a vehicle participating in a car sharing service based on a vehicle condition assessment of the vehicle by a second, subsequent driver. The method carried out by the system includes the steps of providing a user assessment interface that enables the second driver to provide one or more quantified assessments for one or more corresponding characteristics of the vehicle; receiving the one or more…

Dynamic determination of route conclusion before reaching destination

Granted: June 8, 2021
Patent Number: 11029164
Vehicle navigation systems and methods may generally provide navigation instructions in a vehicle. A navigation guidance session to a destination may be initiated at a telematics unit installed to the vehicle. Upon determination that the vehicle has been parked, example methods and systems may facilitate continuing the navigation guidance session when a park time duration is less than a pedestrian travel time associated with pedestrian travel from the vehicle parking location to the…

System and method to dim at least a portion of a vehicle window

Granted: November 24, 2020
Patent Number: 10845628
One general aspect includes a system to tint at least a portion of a vehicle window, the system including: a memory configured to include one or more executable instructions and a processor configured to execute the executable instructions, where the executable instructions enable the processor to: monitor ambient light in a surrounding vehicle environment; and based on the ambient light, dim at least a portion of an OLED window located at a vehicle.

Video and/or image mapping system

Granted: June 16, 2020
Patent Number: 10685240
A method for capturing video and/or images for a mapping system includes, in a vehicle, wirelessly receiving a request from a remote server for videos and/or images. The request specifies a location and a heading for the videos and/or images. The method includes comparing a vehicle location and a vehicle heading to the location and heading of the request. If a match occurs, recording a video and/or an image corresponding to the location and heading and uploading the video and/or image to…

Augmented reality (AR) remote vehicle assistance

Granted: June 9, 2020
Patent Number: 10679420
A system and method of providing augmented reality (AR) remote assistance to a vehicle user of a vehicle. The method includes: sending live video data to a remote assistant application at a remote computer from a portable wireless device (PWD) that is local to the vehicle; receiving the annotation information at the mobile device from the remote assistant application, wherein the annotation information includes annotation graphic information and annotation location information, wherein…

Vehicle sharing accessory module and system

Granted: May 19, 2020
Patent Number: 10654447
A system for authorizing temporary access and operation of a vehicle via a mobile computing device, the system includes a processor and a memory device. The system also includes a SRWC module configured to communicate with the mobile computing device; and a CNG module being in communication with the SRWC module, the CNG module includes a NAD, configured to communicate with one or more remote entities over a wireless carrier system; a GPS module, configured to generate vehicle position…

System and method to alter a telematics unit phone number

Granted: April 28, 2020
Patent Number: 10638309
A system to alter a phone number assigned to a telematics unit in which a server of a data center retrieves a phone call log that includes the call transmissions of a telematics unit made over a time period. Moreover, upon retrieval, the server will extract certain criteria from the phone call log, compile the extracted criteria, and then determine whether or not to alter the phone number based on the compiled criteria. When it is determined to do so, the server may alter the phone…

Embedding blockchain information in digital images

Granted: April 21, 2020
Patent Number: 10628906
A system and method for producing vision data that is embedded with a blockchain hash stored on a blockchain, the method including: detecting a vehicle event at a vehicle using vehicle electronics included in the vehicle; sending a vehicle event report message to a blockchain domain server in response to the detected vehicle event, the vehicle event report message including information pertaining to the detected vehicle event, and wherein the blockchain domain server is configured to…

System and method for mitigation of anomalous data in a connected vehicle system

Granted: March 24, 2020
Patent Number: 10599140
At least one transceiver is configured to wirelessly receive data from a source node that is external to a vehicle, the data including a unique identifier (ID) of the source node and at least one of: a first location of the source node; a first heading of the source node; a first speed of the source node; and a first object type of the source node. At least one of a camera and a sensor is configured to identify objects located around the vehicle. An anomaly module is configured to…

Managing short-range wireless communications (SRWC) at a vehicle

Granted: March 17, 2020
Patent Number: 10595182
A system and method of managing short-range wireless communications (SRWC) at a vehicle, the method being carried out by vehicle electronics of the vehicle, wherein the method includes: detecting a vehicle SRWC initiation event; in response to the detection of the vehicle SRWC initiation event, sending a user data stream availability request to a remote facility; receiving a user data stream availability response from the remote facility; during a time between the detecting and receiving…

Vehicle remote start functionality

Granted: March 17, 2020
Patent Number: 10589717
A system and method of method of operating a vehicle using wireless communications, the method including: receiving a remote vehicle ignition start request via a wireless signal, wherein the remote vehicle ignition start request is a request to start an ignition of the vehicle; when the remote vehicle ignition start request is received, obtaining vehicle state information including a vehicle operating state and/or a vehicle environmental state; in response to receiving the remote vehicle…

System and method to provide a misplacement notification

Granted: December 24, 2019
Patent Number: 10515535
One general aspect includes a system to provide a misplacement notification, the system including: a memory configured to include a program and a processor configured to execute the program, where the program enables the processor to, after a vehicle ingress event, cause a sensor to capture a reference image of a portion of a vehicle interior; after a vehicle egress event, cause the sensor to capture a test image of the portion of the vehicle interior; determine whether the test image…

Updating vehicle clock

Granted: December 24, 2019
Patent Number: 10514465
A system and method of setting a clock at a vehicle, including: operating a vehicle clock installed in a vehicle; receiving an external time signal via wireless communications, wherein the external time signal is a wireless communications signal that includes a time value; determining whether a predetermined amount of time has passed since a most-recent clock update; when it is determined that a predetermined amount of time has passed since the most-recent vehicle clock update, then…

Method and system for unlocking vehicle engine cover

Granted: December 17, 2019
Patent Number: 10508480
The present invention discloses a method and system for unlocking vehicle engine cover. Method comprising: acquiring an action signal transmitted from an action sensor, and executing an action signal judging step; executing an unlocking step if the received action signal matches a preset unlock action signal, otherwise not executing the unlocking step, the unlock action signal is a combination of a signal or a plurality of consecutive signals; unlocking step: sending an unlock signal to…