Abstract: System, methods, and other embodiments described herein relate to improving latency when establishing peer-to-peer connections between devices. In one embodiment, a method includes, responsive to determining that a connection is to be established with at least one remote vehicle by a subject vehicle, acquiring parameters, from a remote server, that define characteristics of the connection. The method includes performing device discovery and service discovery simultaneously by embedding information about available services within a communication for device discovery. The method includes establishing the connection between the subject vehicle and the at least one remote vehicle according to the parameters.

Abstract: A vehicle including a cross member and a tow hook assembly. The tow hook assembly is coupled to the cross member and includes a housing, a tow hook, and a shear pin. The housing includes an arcuate interior. The tow hook is moveable between an extended position and a retracted position. The tow hook includes a retaining block and a receiving member having a distal portion extending from the retaining block and a leading portion extending from the distal portion. The shear pin is positionable to extend through the housing. When the tow hook is in the extended position and a force exceeding a predetermined threshold is applied to the leading portion of the receiving member, the shear pin shears to permit the retaining block of the tow hook to move along the arcuate interior of the housing and position the tow hook into the retracted position.

Abstract: A tow hook assembly including a crush box and a tow hook. The crush box includes a support section having a first end and an opposite second end, the tubular support section extending in a vehicle longitudinal direction, and a connector section provided at the first end of the tubular support section, the connector section including a face plate extending in a vehicle vertical direction perpendicular to the vehicle longitudinal direction, and an upper plate extending from an upper end of the face plate in the vehicle longitudinal direction. The tow hook includes a body having a first portion provided on an upper surface of the upper plate and extending parallel to the upper plate, and an attachment member extending at an oblique angle from the first portion.

Abstract: Disclosed is a vehicle having a breakaway tie rod. The tie rod has a longitudinal axis oriented substantially orthogonal to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, and includes a rod portion and a receiver portion. The rod portion includes a proximal ball joint disposed at the proximal end and a male coupling section disposed at the distal end. The receiver portion includes a female coupling section disposed at the proximal end, a distal ball joint disposed at the distal end, and a narrowing feature disposed between the proximal end and distal end. The male coupling section of the rod portion is received into the female coupling section of the receiver portion, forming a connection, and the distal end of the rod portion is disposed proximate to the narrowing feature. The narrowing feature is configured to fracture when subjected to a threshold force substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle.

Abstract: A soft actuator includes an origami structure with an inflatable hollow body formed from at least one of Dyneema fabric or Kevlar fabric, and a plurality of TCPAs formed from at least one of polyethylene terephthalate, spandex, and nylon. The soft actuator also includes a plurality of heating wires disposed on the plurality of TCPAs and a controller configured to selectively heat the plurality of heating wires such that the plurality of TCPAs are selectively actuated by being heated by the plurality of heating wires.

Abstract: A window can be used to detect objects located within an opening. A structure can define the opening. The window can be operatively positioned within the opening. The window can be movable to selectively open and close the opening. The window can include an optical grating operatively positioned near a closing edge of the window. A light source configured to emit light toward the optical grating. A detector operatively positioned to acquire spectroscopic data of the light emitted from the light source after the light has interacted with the optical grating. A processor can be operatively connected to the detector. The processor can be configured to: determine a temperature based on the spectroscopic data; determine, based on the temperature, whether an object is located in the opening; and responsive to determining that an object is located in the opening, control a movement of window.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a vehicle defogging system may include a side mirror defogger, one or more other vehicle defoggers, one or more sensors, and a control unit. The side mirror defogger is independently controllable from the one or more other vehicle defoggers. The one or more sensors are configured to output a signal indicative a substance on a side mirror of a vehicle. The control unit is configured to detect the substance on the side mirror based on the signal of the one or more sensors, and activate the side mirror defogger in response to detecting the substance on the side mirror.

Abstract: An electrode pair is provided including a first electrode and a second electrode. Each of the first electrode and the second electrode have an outer surface, an inner surface, a first end, a second end, and a lead extending outwardly from the first end. The lead has a first width at the first end. The second end of at least one of the first electrode and the second electrode have a recess formed therein having a first terminus and a second terminus. A second width extends between the first terminus and the second terminus of the recess. The recess is defined by a saw-tooth pattern. When the first electrode is positioned on the second electrode, the recess of the at least one of the first electrode is adjacent the lead of the other electrode.

Abstract: A duct includes a duct body defining an inlet, an outlet, and a channel connecting the inlet and the outlet. The duct body also defines an upstream resonator. The upstream resonator includes an upstream annular cavity external to the channel and an annular perforated plate coplanar with the upstream annular cavity. The duct body further defines a downstream resonator. The downstream resonator includes a downstream annular cavity external to the channel and an annular neck coplanar with the downstream annular cavity.

Abstract: A method of autonomously controlling interior lighting of an occupied vehicle is provided. The method includes receiving vehicle-to-vehicle information from a nearby vehicle. A controller controls an illumination setting of an interior light of the occupied vehicle based on the vehicle-to-vehicle information.

Abstract: A server for communication-efficient model aggregation in federated networks for connected vehicle applications is provided. The server includes a controller programmed to: obtain contributions of a plurality of vehicles in a federated learning framework; determine weights for local gradients received from the plurality of vehicles based on the contributions; adjust the weights based on a comparison of potential functions for the plurality of vehicles; and aggregate the local gradients based on the adjusted weights to obtain a global model.

Abstract: A power electronics assembly, power electronics device assemblies, and a cold plate incorporating power electronics device assemblies are disclosed. The power electronics assembly includes a cold plate including a power electronics device assembly including an S-cell and a power electronics device. The S-cell includes a first graphite layer a second graphite layer and a metal layer encasing the first graphite layer and the second graphite layer. A recess is formed in an outer surface of the metal layer. The power electronics device is disposed within the recess of the outer surface of the S-cell.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus for a monitoring system to monitor and detect a vehicle load. The monitoring system includes a first camera configured to capture first image data including a load in the vehicle, a memory configured to store image data, and an electronic control unit coupled to the first camera and the memory. The electronic control unit is configured to obtain, from the first camera, the first image data including the load, determine a movement of the load based on the first image data, and provide a notification when the movement of the load exceeds a first threshold.

Abstract: A method may include learning reward functions for a plurality of first vehicles based on first vehicle data associated with the plurality of first vehicles using inverse reinforcement learning, associating each vehicle of the plurality of first vehicles with one cluster among a plurality of clusters based on the reward functions, determining a centroid reward function for each of the clusters based on the reward functions associated with each cluster, performing a comparison between second vehicle data associated with a second vehicle and the first vehicle data, determining a vehicle among the plurality of first vehicles having associated first vehicle data that is most similar to the second vehicle data based on the comparison, associating the second vehicle with the cluster associated with the determined vehicle, and controlling operation of the second vehicle based on the centroid reward function of the cluster associated with the second vehicle.

Abstract: A method may include receiving training data comprising a time series of gaps between an ego vehicle and one or more lead vehicles at a plurality of time steps, embedding the training data into a fixed-length sequence, inputting the fixed-length sequence into a Transformer-RNN model comprising a Transformer component and an RNN component, wherein the transformer component applies attention to each data point of the fixed-length sequence based on a fixed number of previous inputs, and training the Transformer-RNN model, using the training data, to output a predicted gap at a future time step based on an input sequence of gaps.

Abstract: A power electronics assembly includes a circuit board assembly including a first electrically insulating layer, an electrically insulating substrate, a laminate panel provided between the first electrically insulating layer and the electrically insulating substrate, and one or more electrically conductive layers provided within the electrically insulating substrate. The laminate panel includes a power electronics device assembly including an S-cell and a power electronics device. The S-cell includes a graphite layer and a metal layer encasing the graphite layer. A recess is formed in an outer surface of the metal layer and the power electronics device is disposed within the recess of the outer surface of the S-cell.

Abstract: A tow hook assembly is detachably mounted to a frame member of a vehicle. The tow hook assembly includes a housing and a tow hook. The housing has a front wall with a front surface and an aperture formed in the front wall. The tow hook at least partially extends through the aperture and is movable between an extended position and a retracted position, in the extend position the tow hook extends farther outward from the housing than in the retracted position. The tow hook is configured to move from the extended position to the retracted position upon application of a force exceeding a first threshold. The housing is configured to disengage from the frame member upon an application of a force exceeding a second threshold greater than the first threshold.

Abstract: A system for contribution-aware federated learning is provided. The system includes a server and a plurality of vehicles. Each of the plurality of vehicles includes a controller programmed to: train a local machine learning model using first local data; obtain metadata for hardware elements of corresponding vehicle; transmit the trained local machine learning model and the metadata to a server; receive an aggregated machine learning model from the server; and train the aggregated machine learning model using second local data. The server generates the aggregated machine learning model based on the trained local machine learning models and the metadata received from the plurality of vehicles.

Abstract: The disclosure generally relates to a system comprising a memory and a processor configured to access the memory and execute the machine-executable instructions stored on the memory to determine that a target vehicle is engaging in an abnormal driving, determine that the abnormal driving exceeds a notification threshold parameter of an abnormal driving notification system, generate a notification, and monitor the ego vehicle and/or driver to alter notification threshold values based on the reactions of the ego vehicle and/or driver inputs.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method for controlling the speed of a vehicle, the method comprising: determining a speed limit; determining an offset value based on (i) the speed limit, and (ii) a speed map, the speed map comprising a plurality of entries, each entry associating one of the offset values with a respective speed limit; and setting the speed of the vehicle according to the speed limit and the determined offset value.