Pedestrian Guidance Patents (Class 340/944)
  • Patent number: 11953330
    Abstract: System and methods are provided for that allow users of micro mobility and shared mobility services to reduce the uncertainty related to the availability of a shared vehicle by quickly identifying such vehicles using a route that maximizes the visibility of the shared vehicle through line-of-sight computations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 18, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2024
    Assignee: HERE GLOBAL B.V.
    Inventor: Jerome Beaurepaire
  • Patent number: 11935428
    Abstract: An orientation, navigation, and information system intended for use by blind or visually impaired people, characterized in that it enables the access to a plurality of reference information which is usually made available to users visually within a private facility using a user interface device comprising a wireless communicator, and an acoustic system containing a plurality of speakers, and a base charging station containing a plurality of charging docks, and a local wireless communication, these being implemented in and related to the places of interest in terms of useful information for the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2024
    Inventor: Chris Del Herron
  • Patent number: 11912311
    Abstract: A system and method of detecting and mitigating an erratic vehicle by a host vehicle. The method includes gathering sensor information on a calibratable external region surrounding the host vehicle; analyzing the sensor information to detect a target vehicle traveling in a lane and a movement of the target vehicle in the lane; determining whether the movement of the target vehicle in the lane is erratic; if erratic then designating target vehicle as erratic vehicle; assigning a risk score to the erratic vehicle; and implementing a predetermined mitigating action correlating to the assigned risk score to the erratic vehicle. The mitigating action includes one or more of: warning an operator of the host vehicle, warning a vehicle proximal to the host vehicle, and taking at least partial control of the host vehicle to further distance the host vehicle apart from the erratic vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2024
    Assignee: GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS LLC
    Inventors: Gabriel Tayoung Choi, Paul A. Adam, Namal P. Kumara, Christopher Michael Churay
  • Patent number: 11900810
    Abstract: Presented are intelligent electronic footwear with controller automated features, methods for making/using such footwear, and control systems for executing automated features of intelligent electronic footwear. An intelligent electronic shoe (IES) includes an upper that attaches to a user's foot, and a sole structure that is attached to the upper and supports thereon the user's foot. An alert system, which is mounted to the sole structure and/or upper, generates predetermined outputs in response to electronic command signals. The IES system also includes a wireless communications device that wirelessly communicates with a remote computing node, and a footwear controller that communicates with the wireless communications device and alert system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2024
    Assignee: NIKE, Inc.
    Inventors: Christopher Andon, Jamian R. Cobbett, Vikram Malhotra, Hien Tommy Pham
  • Patent number: 11856367
    Abstract: A method of providing an alert for a user by a hearing device configured to be worn at an ear of the user includes providing user-related data including information about at least one of the user, an ambient environment of the user, or a property of the hearing device worn by the user; characterized by providing vehicle-related data associated with at least one vehicle in a vicinity of the user, the vehicle-related data including information about a property of the vehicle; determining, based on the user-related data and the vehicle-related data, a relevance measure indicative of a probability that the user is endangered by the vehicle; and controlling an operation of the hearing device depending on the relevance measure, the operation alerting the user about the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 22, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2023
    Assignee: Sonova AG
    Inventors: Manuela Feilner, Alexander Markus
  • Patent number: 11763677
    Abstract: An approach is provided for dynamically identifying a danger zone for a predicted traffic accident and generating a warning about the accident. From a monitoring device at a first location, information about traffic conditions for vehicles at time T0 and at least one subsequent time T0+t is received. Based on speeds of the vehicles and a fixed distance from the first location, a response time is calculated. Within the response time, a dual artificial intelligence (AI) model using shallow and deep learners applied on historical accident data is employed. Based on the dual AI model and the traffic conditions, an accident involving vehicle(s) in the traffic is predicted to occur in a zone. A warning about the accident is generated and sent to device(s) in the vehicle(s). The warning is presented to driver(s) of the vehicle(s).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2023
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Kuo-Liang Chou, Min Luo, Der-Joung Wang, Xiang Yu Yang, Ci-Wei Lan
  • Patent number: 11735051
    Abstract: A method for alerting a driver when a cyclist is detected near an ego vehicle is described. The method includes detecting a presence of an object proximate the ego vehicle. The method also includes identifying the object as the cyclist according to geometric characteristics and/or speed data of the detected object. The method further includes displaying a graphical indication of the cyclist on a passenger side/driver side mirror of the ego vehicle while the cyclist is in a blind spot of the ego vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2023
    Assignee: TOYOTA RESEARCH INSTITUTE, INC.
    Inventors: Stephen Hughes, Erik C. Sobel, Todd J. Rowell
  • Patent number: 11682272
    Abstract: Systems and methods are disclosed herein for a pedestrian crossing warning system that may use multi-modal technology to determine attributes of a person and provide a warning to the person in response to a calculated risk level to effect a reduction of the risk level. The system may utilize sensors to receive data indicative of a trajectory of a person external to the vehicle. Specific attributes of the person such as age or walking aids may be determined. Based on the trajectory data and the specific attributes, a risk level may be determined by the system using a machine learning model. The system may cause emission of a warning to the person in response to the risk level.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 20, 2023
    Assignee: NVIDIA Corporation
    Inventors: Niranjan Avadhanam, Sumit Bhattacharya, Atousa Torabi, Jason Conrad Roche
  • Patent number: 11610508
    Abstract: The apparatus comprises a wireless communication device which is to be carried by the person and has a GPS receiver, a blind guiding device with an acoustic source, a position memory, a second GPS receiver and a comparator for comparison of the position data of the GPS receivers. The communication device continuously sends attention information and, upon receipt of the attention information, the blind guiding device switches on pedestrian orientation signals, an optical release signal and acoustic release signals and/or changes their volume.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 1, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2023
    Inventor: Andreas Hegemann
  • Patent number: 11610482
    Abstract: A system to warn a motorist of the presence of a pedestrian in a crosswalk at a traffic intersection includes at least one standard traffic signal configured for directing motorists through the traffic intersection. At least one standard walk light is included and configured for directing pedestrians for use on the crosswalk at the traffic intersection. At least one additional pedestrian warning signal is also included and configured to face the motorists. Each of the at least one additional pedestrian warning signals is in communication with the at least one standard traffic signal and the at least one standard walk light. Wherein, each of the at least one additional pedestrian warning signals is configured to warn the motorist of a certain presence of the pedestrian at the traffic intersection who are either about to cross or already crossing the traffic intersection.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 10, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2023
    Inventors: Vihaan Gaurav, Tanuj Karthikeyan, Mihika Kiran, Namit Vernekar, Shikha Gaurav, Vishal Gaurav
  • Patent number: 11551533
    Abstract: A system and a method for presence detection and notification. The system includes a a first unit including a first sensor and a first visual alert, and a second unit including a second sensor and a second visual alert. The first unit is constructed to send a signal to the second unit to trigger the second visual alert, when the first sensor detects a presence. The second unit is constructed to send a signal to the first unit to trigger the first visual alert, when the second sensor detects a presence. The first and second visual alerts are constructed to be triggered independently of one another.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 27, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2023
    Inventor: Daniel F. Bower
  • Patent number: 11488393
    Abstract: Systems and corresponding methods are provided for moving object predictive locating, reporting, and alerting. An exemplary method includes receiving moving object data corresponding to a moving object; receiving sensor data from a sensor; merging the received moving object data and received sensor data into a set of merged data; and based thereon, automatically determining one or more of: a predicted location or range of locations for the moving object, a potential path of travel or area for the moving object, and a potential for interaction between the moving object and subject objects. The method can include automatically generating and providing alerts based on the determining. Alert can be configured for users having potential for interaction with the moving object. A method may include receiving sensor data from third parties, and provide information generated by the system pertaining to moving objects to other third parties.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 1, 2022
    Inventor: Joshua May
  • Patent number: 11462021
    Abstract: An obstacle detection and notification system for a motorcycle. The system includes a forward looking camera and a backward looking camera mountable to the motorcycle and a processor in operable communication with the forward looking camera and the backward looking camera. The processor executes program instructions to execute processes including: receiving video from the of the forward looking camera and the backward looking camera, performing a computer vision and machine learning based object detection and tracking process to detect, classify and track obstacles in the video and to output detected object data, defining a blind spot region around one or more other vehicles using the detected object data, determining whether the motorcycle is located in the blind spot region, and outputting audible, tactile or visual feedback, via an output system, to a rider of the motorcycle when the motorcycle is determined to be located in the blind spot region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 13, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 4, 2022
    Assignee: GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS LLC
    Inventors: Christopher L. Oesterling, David H. Clifford
  • Patent number: 11455669
    Abstract: A system is provided and generally includes a server (e.g., application server), an associate computing device, and a client computing device. The server can receive a user arrival notification that indicates a user has arrived to pick up purchased goods. The server can transmit a scan initiation request to a remote terminal that causes the remote terminal to scan at least one network. The server can receive scan data for the scanned network from the remote terminal indicating, for example, a signal strength of that network. The server can determine a current wait time based on the received scan data for the scanned network, and can transmit the current wait time to the remote terminal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 27, 2022
    Assignee: Walmart Apollo, LLC
    Inventors: Arun Prasad Nagarathinam, Sneha Narahalli Balasubramanya, Madhavan Kandhadai Vasantham, Syed Aman, Rohit Jain, Deepak Deshpande
  • Patent number: 11447129
    Abstract: A system and related method for predicting movement of a plurality of pedestrians may include one or more processors and a memory. The memory includes an initial trajectory module, an exit point prediction module, a path planning module, and an adjustment module. The modules include instructions that when executed by the one or more processors cause the one or more processors to obtain trajectories of the plurality of pedestrians, predict future exit points for the plurality of pedestrians from a scene based on the trajectories of the plurality of pedestrians, determine trajectory paths of the plurality of pedestrians based on the future exit points and at least one scene element of a map, and adjust the trajectory paths based on at least one predicted interaction between at least two of the plurality of pedestrians.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 11, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 20, 2022
    Assignee: Toyota Research Institute, Inc.
    Inventors: Karttikeya Mangalam, Kuan-Hui Lee, Adrien David Gaidon
  • Patent number: 11432131
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a method and device by which a terminal performs communication in a wireless communication system. The terminal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may receive risk area information from a base station, when it is determined, based on the risk area information, that the terminal is located in a risk area, obtain pedestrian-to-vehicle (P2V) data, and transmit the P2V data, on a resource allocated to the terminal by the base station.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 30, 2022
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Sangyeob Jung, Soenghun Kim, Anil Agiwal, Suyoung Park
  • Patent number: 11365847
    Abstract: Provided herein are LED warning lights and related methods for detecting oncoming traffic around corners, including in a warehouse. The warning lights have: a LED light module and an external motion sensor operably connected to the LED light module. The device is self-contained with respect to power, communication and alerts in that no other components are required, so that the warning lights are portable and readily positioned as desired and are immediately operable.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 14, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 21, 2022
    Assignee: Keystone Sales Group, Inc.
    Inventors: Parker Jones, Brent Jones, Stephen Jones
  • Patent number: 11328604
    Abstract: A pedestrian alert system and method that acts in two alternative manners: (1) an individual device is configured to “listen” for an audible alert (over ambient noise) or “look” for a visual alert issued by the driver of a vehicle, or the vehicle itself, in advance of an impending impact event and, upon detecting such audible or visual alert, issue a local alert to a pedestrian, cyclist, scooter rider, skateboarder, or other vulnerable road user wearing the individual device; and (2) upon the automated detection of an impending impact event by a vehicle, the vehicle is configured to automatically emit an audible and/or non-audible signal that is detected by the individual device associated with the pedestrian, cyclist, scooter rider, skateboarder, or other vulnerable road user and acted upon to locally alert the pedestrian, cyclist, scooter rider, skateboarder, or other vulnerable road user of the impending impact event.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2022
    Assignee: Volvo Car Corporation
    Inventors: Mikael Ljung Aust, Jenny Strömberg, Magdalena Lindman
  • Patent number: 11277710
    Abstract: An Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) service station is provided that comprises a receiver configured to receive, from each of a set of ITS stations, a status message which includes the geographical position of the ITS station; a controller connected to the receiver and configured to determine, on the basis of the received geographical positions, whether a subset of ITS stations in the set meets a predetermined criterion of mutual proximity; and a transmitter connected to the controller and configured to transmit, when the subset comprises two or more ITS stations, a service message indicative of the subset to the ITS stations of the subset. Aspects may also include an ITS station receiving a service message.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 11, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2022
    Assignee: Kapsch TrafficCom AG
    Inventors: Jasja Tijink, Dieter Smely
  • Patent number: 11255695
    Abstract: A system (10) for pedestrian use includes an accelerometer (110) having multiple electronic sensors; an electronic circuit (100) operable to generate a signal stream representing magnitude of overall acceleration sensed by the accelerometer (110), and to electronically correlate a sliding window (520) of the signal stream with itself to produce peaks at least some of which represent walking steps, and further operable to electronically execute a periodicity check (540) to compare different step periods for similarity, and if sufficiently similar then to update (560) a portion of the circuit substantially representing a walking-step count; and an electronic display (190) responsive to the electronic circuit (100) to display information at least in part based on the step count. Other systems, electronic circuits and processes are disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2022
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventors: Jayawardan Janardhanan, Sandeep Rao, Goutam Dutta
  • Patent number: 11209823
    Abstract: Aspects of the disclosure relate to arranging a pick up and drop off locations between a driverless vehicle and a passenger. As an example, a method of doing so may include receiving a request for a vehicle from a client computing device, wherein the request identifies a first location. Pre-stored map information and the first location are used to identify a recommended point according to a set of heuristics. Each heuristic of the set of heuristics has a ranking such that the recommended point corresponds to a location that satisfies at least one of the heuristics having a first rank and such that no other location satisfies any other heuristic of the set of heuristics having a higher rank than the first rank. The pre-stored map information identifying a plurality of pre-determined locations for the vehicle to stop, and the recommended point is one of the plurality of pre-determined locations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 28, 2021
    Assignee: Waymo LLC
    Inventors: Salil Pandit, Nirmal Patel, Tacettin Dogacan Guney, Kevin Rawlings, Laurens Andreas Feenstra
  • Patent number: 11142121
    Abstract: Aspects of the disclosure provide methods and mobile robots for providing information to a pedestrian. In some examples, a mobile robot includes processing circuitry. The processing circuitry obtains, via a sensor, sensing data that indicates an ambient environment of the mobile robot. The processing circuitry determines path indication information according to the sensing data. The path indication information includes a planned path of the mobile robot. The processing circuitry projects the path indication information on a target projection surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2021
    Assignee: Tencent Technology (Shenzhen) Company Limited
    Inventors: Chao Chen, Wei Wu, Chengjun Li
  • Patent number: 11007929
    Abstract: A method for improving pedestrian safety is provided. The method includes determining operating conditions of a vehicle using a plurality of vehicle sensors. A path of the vehicle is predicted based on the determined operating conditions. Pedestrian parameters for a pedestrian in a vicinity of the vehicle are acquired using the plurality of vehicle sensors. The pedestrian parameters include at least one of a position, a speed of the pedestrian, gait, body posture and a level of distractedness. A determination is made whether a notification of the pedestrian is necessary based on the determined vehicle operating conditions and the acquired pedestrian parameters. A mode of notification of the pedestrian is selected from a plurality of modes of notification, in response to determining that the notification of the pedestrian is necessary. The pedestrian is notified using the selected mode of notification.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 29, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 18, 2021
    Assignee: GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS LLC
    Inventors: Miguel A. Saez, Marcus J. Huber, Qinglin Zhang, Lei Wang, Sudhakaran Maydiga
  • Patent number: 10971003
    Abstract: Exemplary embodiments described in this disclosure are generally directed to systems and methods for predicting a behavior of a pedestrian on the basis of a behavioral profile of the pedestrian. The behavioral profile may be generated in a personal communication device of the pedestrian (such as a smartphone) based on activities performed by the pedestrian such as walking on a sidewalk, stepping off the sidewalk to walk on a road, standing on a sidewalk waiting for a traffic light to change, stepping onto the road when waiting for a traffic light to change, and/or crossing a road when the traffic light is red. The behavioral profile may also be based on other factors such as a traffic citation, an accident report, a status of a driver's license, and/or physical characteristics of the pedestrian (age, gender, etc.).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 6, 2021
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Leah Busch, Andrea Chowanic, Jessamyn Smallenburg
  • Patent number: 10960761
    Abstract: A vehicle situation that can occur at a later time than the current time is displayed on a first display device, a second display device, and a third display device, and display content is controlled so that a display content of the second display device includes a vehicle situation that can occur at a later time than the vehicle situation displayed on the first display device, and a display content of the third display device includes a vehicle situation that can occur at a later time than the vehicle situation displayed on the second display device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 5, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 30, 2021
    Assignee: MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Atsuki Tachibana, Reiko Sakata
  • Patent number: 10850730
    Abstract: A crossing determination apparatus includes: an object detection unit which detects an object moving in a direction perpendicular to a traveling path of an own vehicle; a crossing speed calculation unit which calculates a crossing speed that is a speed at which the object detected by the objection detection unit is crossing a current traveling path of the own vehicle; a crossing determination unit which, when the crossing speed calculated by the crossing speed calculation unit is higher than a predetermined speed, determines that the object is crossing the traveling path of the own vehicle; and a yaw rate detection unit which detects a yaw rate of the own vehicle. The crossing determination unit corrects the crossing speed of the object or the predetermined speed based on the yaw rate detected by the yaw rate detection unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 13, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 1, 2020
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Takahiro Baba, Wataru Ike, Masayuki Shimizu
  • Patent number: 10801166
    Abstract: A dynamic paver device with vibration feedback is provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 13, 2020
    Assignee: Sidewalk Labs LLC
    Inventors: Samara Trilling, Thomas Joseph Kennedy
  • Patent number: 10771921
    Abstract: A pedestrian terminal device receives pedestrian information transmitted from another pedestrian terminal device which is present in the vicinity of the pedestrian terminal device. A location of the pedestrian terminal device is acquired, and it is determined whether or not a pedestrian who carries the pedestrian terminal device is located inside a pedestrian group based on the location of the pedestrian terminal device and a location of the other pedestrian terminal device included in the pedestrian information. When the pedestrian is located inside the pedestrian group, pedestrian-vehicle communication is stopped.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 8, 2020
    Assignee: PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Tsuyoshi Ueno, Yoshimasa Shirosaki, Satoshi Tanaka, Hiroaki Sudo, Yoshiyuki Okubo, Shintaro Muramatsu
  • Patent number: 10755557
    Abstract: An in-vehicle device comprises a communication unit and at least one processor. The communication unit receives first information for detecting proximity of a vehicle to a predetermined area. The at least one processor acquires second information indicating a schedule of changing a travel direction of the vehicle. When the at least one processor detects the proximity of the vehicle to the predetermined area based on the first information received by the communication unit, the at least one processor estimates a route of the vehicle in the predetermined area based on the second information. The at least one processor transmits, using the communication unit, third information to an electronic apparatus located outside the vehicle, the third information for notifying a person getting close to the estimated route of the proximity of the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 25, 2020
    Assignee: KYOCERA Corporation
    Inventors: Shigeki Tanabe, Hideki Morita, Isao Masuike, Shinya Saito, Tetsushi Wakasa
  • Patent number: 10736811
    Abstract: A portable environment sensing device is described which comprises at least one time-of-flight sensor capable of detecting the distances from the time-of-flight sensor to at least two features within the field of view of the time-of-flight sensor simultaneously. The portable environment sensing device further comprises a processing unit capable of converting the at least two measured distances into at least two different distance signals, where each distance signal is correlated with the corresponding measured distance, and an output interface providing the at least two distance signals to a user simultaneously.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 4, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 11, 2020
    Assignee: ams AG
    Inventor: Jan Enenkel
  • Patent number: 10726728
    Abstract: Disclosed is a control system mounted on a first movable body. The control system has a sensor recognizing a peripheral object of the first movable body, a processor connected to the sensor, and an output device connected to the processor. The processor estimates safety of overtaking of the first movable body by a second movable body moving at the back of the first movable body, on the basis of information acquired from the sensor, and the processor outputs an estimation result of the safety to the second movable body via the output device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 7, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 28, 2020
    Assignee: HITACHI, LTD.
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Kubo, Shoji Yunoki
  • Patent number: 10699560
    Abstract: An integrated pedestrian access system comprising of wireless push buttons adapted to transmit and receive wireless signals and receivers connected to pedestrian crosswalk signal systems, wherein said one or more receivers are configured to communicate with the wireless push buttons through wireless signals, communicate among the receivers, determine whether source device from which a request for registering a pedestrian signal is received through the said communication is the wireless push button or the receivers, determine status of pedestrian signal based on signals received from the pedestrian signal system, register request for pedestrian crosswalk signal if walk signal of the pedestrian signal is not on in the desired direction as per the status of pedestrian signal and provide acknowledgement corresponding to the status of pedestrian signal through the said source device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 30, 2020
    Assignee: Key2Access inc.
    Inventor: Mohamad Motaz Aladas
  • Patent number: 10688928
    Abstract: In order to enable a driver in driving a vehicle to quickly and assuredly recognize a pedestrian having a collision risk with the vehicle even when it is difficult for the driver to recognize the pedestrian by eyes, such as during night time, an in-vehicle terminal device is configured to: determine a collision risk based on pedestrian position information and vehicle position information; generate turn-on instruction information which, when the pedestrian is determined to have the collision risk with the vehicle, causes an indicator light carried by the pedestrian to be turned on in a prescribed light color; and transmit the turn-on instruction information to a pedestrian terminal device via pedestrian-vehicle communication, and wherein the pedestrian terminal device is configured to: receive the turn-on instruction information transmitted from the in-vehicle terminal device; and turn on the indicator light based on the turn-on instruction information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 23, 2020
    Assignee: PANASONIC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Tsuyoshi Ueno, Satoshi Tanaka, Hiroaki Sudo, Yoshimasa Shirosaki, Shintaro Muramatsu
  • Patent number: 10665130
    Abstract: A method, system and computer program product are provided for implementing enhanced cognitively guiding visually impaired users. A 5G enabled guide for visually impaired (5G EGFVI) apparatus is provided to implement enhanced cognitively guiding visually impaired users. The 5G EGFVI apparatus provides an appropriate map for the visually impaired based on Internet of Things (IoT) enabled signals. An optimal path is provided by identifying IoT enabled traffic signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 26, 2020
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Rizwan Dudekula, Kushal Patel, Gandhi Sivakumar, Sarvesh Patel
  • Patent number: 10648831
    Abstract: A method, apparatus, and computer program product are provided for providing an indication of parking space favorability proximate a vehicle and a routing algorithm to reach the most desirable parking spaces of a parking facility. A method may include: providing route guidance for a vehicle within a parking facility; determining a favorability of a parking space proximate the vehicle in response to receiving an indication of vehicle location within the parking facility; and providing an indication of the favorability of a parking space proximate the vehicle where the indication of favorability includes an indication of a distance from the vehicle to a pedestrian access point of the parking facility and an indication of a distance from the pedestrian access point to the final destination. The routing algorithm may compute a route through the most suitable clusters of available parking spaces based on favorable criteria such as distance, availability, and desirability.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 12, 2020
    Assignee: HERE Global B.V.
    Inventors: Jerome Beaurepaire, Sven Krome
  • Patent number: 10621859
    Abstract: An alert may be triggered to notify a pedestrian of the current operational mode of a nearby vehicle. For instance, a vehicle may operate in an autonomous or manual mode, and may occasionally switch from one mode to the other. A pedestrian who may be unaware of the current operational mode of a nearby vehicle may notice the alert and proceed accordingly. In one embodiment, an indication of the current operational mode of the nearby vehicle may be transmitted to an electronic device associated with the pedestrian. The device may generate a notification to the pedestrian based on the current operational mode. In an additional or alternative embodiment, the alert may be transmitted by the vehicle externally to be visible or audible to the pedestrian. In some embodiments, the alert may be triggered only for particular operational modes (e.g., only for autonomous or only for manual).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 14, 2020
    Assignee: STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY
    Inventors: Brian Mark Fields, Steve Roberson
  • Patent number: 10580291
    Abstract: Aspects of the present disclosure relate to using audible cues to guide a passenger to a vehicle having an autonomous driving mode. For instance, one or more processors of the vehicle may receive, from a server computing device, instructions to pick up the passenger at a pickup location. The one or more processors may maneuver the vehicle towards the pickup location in the autonomous driving mode. The one or more processors may receive a signal indicating that the passenger requests assistance locating the vehicle. The one or more processors may use the signal to generate the audible cues. The audible cues may be played by the one or more processors through a speaker of the vehicle in order to guide the passenger towards the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 3, 2020
    Assignee: Waymo LLC
    Inventors: Juliet Rothenberg, Kiran Kaja
  • Patent number: 10497255
    Abstract: Systems and methods are provided in an autonomous vehicle for providing auditory guidance to a pedestrian. In one embodiment, a processor-implemented method in a vehicle for providing auditory guidance includes: identifying a desire to communicate with a pedestrian; determining a message to communicate to the pedestrian; calculating a travel path about which to make the pedestrian aware; positioning a directional acoustic device to project directional sound waves to a starting point of the travel path; modulating the message in the directional sound waves; and repositioning the directional acoustic device to project the directional sound waves with the modulated message along the travel path, wherein as the directional sound waves contact with a travel path surface the message is demodulated and a sound conveying the message appears to originate from and travel along the travel path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 3, 2019
    Assignee: GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS LLC
    Inventors: Yael Shmueli Friedland, Eli Tzirkel-Hancock, Ilan Malka
  • Patent number: 10493913
    Abstract: A first output mechanism in a wearable device is actuated when a vehicle reverse speed exceeds a first threshold. A second output mechanism in a vehicle is actuated when a rear obstacle collision detection controller detects an impending collision with a rear obstacle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 3, 2019
    Assignee: FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    Inventors: Kwaku O. Prakah-Asante, Basavaraj Tonshal, Yifan Chen, Padma Aiswarya Kolisetty, Hsin-hsiang Yang
  • Patent number: 10493914
    Abstract: A system and method for vehicle collision mitigation with vulnerable road user context sensing. The system and method include determining one or more biosignal parameters and one or more physical movement parameters associated with a vulnerable road user (VRU). The system and method also include determining a context of the VRU based on the one or more biosignal parameters and one or more physical movement parameters associated with the VRU. Additionally, the system and method include determining one or more physical movement parameters associated with a vehicle. The system and method further include estimating a probability of collision between the VRU and the vehicle. The system and method also include providing a human machine interface output response based on the estimation of probability of collision between the VRU and the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 3, 2019
    Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Yoichi Sugimoto
  • Patent number: 10470131
    Abstract: An electronic device according to various embodiments may include a communication circuit, including a reception circuit and a transmission circuit, and a processor. The processor may be configured to: receive at least one piece of identification information corresponding to at least one external electronic device for providing a traffic-related signal to at least one vehicle outside the electronic device, via the reception circuit, identify the position of the electronic device, based at least on the at least one piece of identification information, and activate the transmission circuit to transmit movement-related information of the electronic device to the at least one vehicle or the at least one external electronic device, based at least on the position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2019
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Dong-Il Son, A-Reum Choi, Sun-Min Hwang, Ga-Jin Song, Ki-Ho Cho, Jong-Sung Joo
  • Patent number: 10441020
    Abstract: Presented are intelligent electronic footwear with controller automated features, methods for making/using such footwear, and control systems for executing automated features of intelligent electronic footwear. An intelligent electronic shoe (IES) includes an upper that attaches to a user's foot, and a sole structure that is attached to the upper and supports thereon the user's foot. An alert system, which is mounted to the sole structure and/or upper, generates predetermined outputs in response to electronic command signals. The IES system also includes a wireless communications device that wirelessly communicates with a remote computing node, and a footwear controller that communicates with the wireless communications device and alert system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2019
    Assignee: NIKE, Inc.
    Inventors: Christopher Andon, Jamian R. Cobbett, Vikram Malhotra, Hien Tommy Pham
  • Patent number: 10395539
    Abstract: A non-line of sight obstacle detection and localization system and method of detecting and localizing a non-line of sight object include receiving reflections at a detection system of a moveable platform, the reflections including direct and multipath reflections, identifying the reflections associated with static targets to retain the reflections associated with moving targets, and distinguishing between line of sight objects and non-line of sight objects among the moving targets. The method also includes localizing the non-line of sight objects relative to the platform and indicating approaching non-line of sight objects among the non-line of sight objects, the approaching non-line of sight objects moving toward the platform on a path that intersects the platform.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 27, 2019
    Assignee: GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS LLC
    Inventors: Michael Slutsky, Igal Bilik
  • Patent number: 10306418
    Abstract: A location of a target associated with a first system is determined at the first system at a first time. A signal is constructed at the first system where the data of the signal includes an identifier indicative of a collision avoidance nature of the signal. The signal is broadcast from the first system. the broadcasting causes a second system to receive the signal; compute a likelihood of a collision between the first system and the second system using the location from the signal, a velocity of the first system, a location of the second system at the first time, and a velocity of the second system at the first time; and send a notification from the second system about the likelihood of collision when the likelihood of collision exceeding a threshold likelihood.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 28, 2019
    Assignee: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: James E. Bostick, Paul Alexander Raphael Frank, John M. Ganci, Jr., Martin G. Keen
  • Patent number: 10274595
    Abstract: Systems and methods for embedding a warning signal in a sensor pulse. When a taxi anticollision system of a host aircraft senses a threat headed for the aircraft, a warning signal is embedded in a sensor pulse to warn the offending vehicle that it is in the field of view of the host aircraft's sensor and is moving on a trajectory that is threatening collision with the host aircraft. Alternately, the radar issues a dedicated pulse for reading and alerting the receiving device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 6, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 30, 2019
    Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
    Inventor: James C. Kirk
  • Patent number: 10235882
    Abstract: Among other things, equipment is located at an intersection of a transportation network. The equipment includes an input to receive data from a sensor oriented to monitor ground transportation entities at or near the intersection. A wireless communication device sends to a device of one of the ground transportation entities, a warning about a dangerous situation at or near the intersection, there is a processor and a storage for instructions executable by the processor to perform actions including the following. A machine learning model is stored that can predict behavior of ground transportation entities at or near the intersection at a current time. The machine learning model is based on training data about previous motion and related behavior of ground transportation entities at or near the intersection.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2019
    Assignee: DERQ Inc.
    Inventors: Georges Aoude, Amer Abufadel, Karl Jeanbart, Rishabh Choudhary, Ankit Sharma
  • Patent number: 10178890
    Abstract: Presented are intelligent electronic footwear with controller automated features, methods for making/using such footwear, and control systems for executing automated features of intelligent electronic footwear. An intelligent electronic shoe (IES) includes an upper that attaches to a user's foot, and a sole structure that is attached to the upper and supports thereon the user's foot. An alert system, which is mounted to the sole structure and/or upper, generates predetermined outputs in response to electronic command signals. The IES system also includes a wireless communications device that wirelessly communicates with a remote computing node, and a footwear controller that communicates with the wireless communications device and alert system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 15, 2019
    Assignee: NIKE, Inc.
    Inventors: Christopher Andon, Jamian R. Cobbett, Vikram Malhotra, Hien Tommy Pham
  • Patent number: 10134283
    Abstract: In this invention, letters that can be seen by a pedestrian (101) are drawn on an intersection (103). A mark (MM2) that can be seen by the driver of the host vehicle (C) is drawn on the road (104) between the intersection (103) and the host-vehicle (C). The shapes of the letters (MO4) are corrected in accordance with the positional relationship between the pedestrian (101) and the intersection (103). The shape of the mark (MM2) is corrected in accordance with the positional relationship between the driver of the host-vehicle (C) and the road (104).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2018
    Assignee: KOITO MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Takeshi Masuda, Michihiko Hayakawa, Yuichi Shibata, Takayuki Yagi, Misako Nakazawa, Toshiaki Tsuda, Hidetada Tanaka, Satoshi Yamamura
  • Patent number: 10121368
    Abstract: A system for registering pedestrian signal requests comprising receivers configured to broadcast wireless messages, wherein a first field of a first receiver location information message is occupied by a first receiver angle code defined for a first receiver corresponding to a first crosswalk of a traffic intersection and a second field of the first receiver advertisement packet is occupied by a first special code corresponding to the first receiver. An advanced wireless push button is configured to enable a first button to identify any wireless message to be the first receiver message if the first receiver angle code is found in the first field. On activation of the first button the advanced wireless push button transmits the first receiver angle code and, on receipt of the first receiver angle code, first receiver registers a request for a pedestrian signal for the first crosswalk if a walk signal is found off.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 6, 2018
    Inventor: Motaz Aladas
  • Patent number: 10074007
    Abstract: A mode of transportation, a device, and a method for informing a user on approaching a destination which includes predefining the destination for the user requesting an identification of a person present at the destination, comparing the identification with associated person-related data and, in response to the result of the comparison, outputting a note to the user with respect to the person.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 23, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 11, 2018
    Assignee: VOLKSWAGEN AG
    Inventor: Volkmar Schöning