Abstract: A energy meter unit for an electric vehicle contains energy measuring circuitry, a GPS unit, a CPU, and memory. The energy meter unit is capable of detecting the amount of energy charged at a specific location and storing that information for later uses, such as with a governmental incentive program.

Abstract: In one disclosed embodiment, a portable user-carried device includes wireless communication circuitry capable of determining a relative direction of a wireless signal in a vehicle. A processor may be programmed to determine a location of the device within a vehicle based upon the relative direction of the wireless signal as determined by the wireless communication circuitry. In a disclosed method for activating a function in a vehicle, a state of a user-carried portable device is determined. A function is activated based upon the state of the user-carried portable device.

Abstract: An example vehicle communication device includes a vehicle installed unit and a portable unit in communication with the vehicle installed unit. The portable unit communicates a message through the vehicle installed unit to a remote location, and the vehicle installed unit adds information to the message.

Abstract: A telematics system provides a platform for generating coaching tips, feedback, and simple indices based on driving behavior, historical information, heursistics and expert knowledge. The coaching tips are displayed on the policyholder portal and text describing the tips is completely configurable by an administrator on the server for the application. Furthermore, both ‘driving behavior’ and ‘environmentally friendly (green) driving’ tips can be supported.

Abstract: A voice interaction system includes one or more independent, concurrent state charts, which are used to model the behavior of each of a plurality of participants. The model simplifies the notation and provide a clear description of the interactions between multiple participants. These state charts capture the flow of voice prompts, the impact of externally initiated events and voice commands, and capture the progress of audio through each prompt. This system enables a method to prioritize conflicting and concurrent events leveraging historical patterns and the progress of in-progress prompts.

Abstract: A method of initiating a communication from a mobile communication device includes receiving a plurality of spoken letters corresponding to a spelling of at least a portion of a contact name and identifying a contact and associated contact information from a database associated with a mobile communication device in response to the spoken letters. A communication to the contact is initiated from the mobile communication device using the associated contact information. A method of presenting voicemail to a user establishes communication with a mobile communication device. A first voicemail box is checked for messages, the first voicemail box being associated with the mobile communication device. A second voicemail box is checked for messages, the second voicemail box being associated with a second communication device. At least one voicemail message received from at least one of the first and second voicemail boxes is presented to a user via a single interface.

Abstract: A vehicle communication system includes a control unit in a vehicle, a vehicle data bus operable to transmit vehicle data to the control unit, and a mobile communication device having data network access. The mobile device has a self-contained mode in which the mobile communication device processes and displays the network data received via the data network and in which the control unit transmits the vehicle data to the mobile communication device. The mobile communication device also has an immersive mode in which the control unit processes the network data received via the data network and in which the control unit converts the vehicle data to audible speech and plays the audible speech in the vehicle.

Abstract: This vehicle monitoring system provides a plurality of sensors in the vehicle recording performance of the vehicle. A processor (remote or on-board) receives data from the sensors. The processor classifies the data from the at least one sensor as an event in one of a plurality of classifications. The processor associates at least one parameter with the classification.

Abstract: A telematic system interfaces with a vehicle diagnostic interface to provide access to vehicle health and performance related information. The telematic system includes a primary gateway connector and various subsystem modules that connect to the primary gateway connector to provide functions in addition to those provided by the primary gateway connector.

Abstract: A user-centric vehicle platform may include an in-vehicle device. A user portal remote from the in-vehicle device provides a plurality of user agents communicating with the in-vehicle device.

Abstract: This invention is a system and process for determining and verifying the voracity of data gathered for use in recording and tracking vehicle usage. The device operates to verify and detect events that may affect data integrity by sensing a condition indicative of faulty data acquisition or of corruption of data integrity. Data evidencing potential problems are encoded and included with normal data uploaded to a central server. The central server compares the encoded entries against criteria that have been determined to indicate potential data inconsistencies.

Abstract: A vehicle communication system includes a control unit in a vehicle, a vehicle data bus operable to transmit vehicle data to the control unit, and a mobile communication device having data network access. The mobile device has a self-contained mode in which the mobile communication device processes and displays the network data received via the data network and in which the control unit transmits the vehicle data to the mobile communication device. The mobile communication device also has an immersive mode in which the control unit processes the network data received via the data network and in which the control unit converts the vehicle data to audible speech and plays the audible speech in the vehicle.

Abstract: A vision-based vehicle occupant detection and classification system includes a camera mounted in the vehicle interior to capture low resolution images of the seating area. Image processing algorithms account for lighting, motion, and other phenomena. A spatial-feature matrix numerically describes the content of the image. This descriptor is the result of a number of digital filters being run against a set of sub-images, derived from pre-defined window regions in the original image. This spatial-feature matrix is used as an input to an expert classifier function, which classifies this image as best representing a scenario in which the seat is (i) empty, (ii) occupied by an adult, (iii) occupied by a child, (iv) occupied by a rear-facing infant seat (RFIS), (v) occupied by a front-facing infant seat (FFIS), or (vi) occupied by an undetermined object.

Abstract: A energy meter unit for an electric vehicle contains energy measuring circuitry, a GPS unit, a CPU, and memory. The energy meter unit is capable of detecting the amount of energy charged at a specific location and storing that information for later uses, such as with a governmental incentive program.

Abstract: A method for monitoring travel by a vehicle includes monitoring location of a vehicle as it travels along a plurality of routes from each of a plurality of origins to a plurality of destinations. Frequently-traveled routes are determined from the monitored location of the vehicle. The frequently-traveled routes are displayed to the user. Current traffic conditions may also be displayed on routes between the current location of the vehicle and potential destinations, which are determined based upon previous destinations, contacts, or calendar events.

Abstract: A speech recognition system includes a mobile device and a remote server. The mobile device receives the speech from the user and extracts the features and phonemes from the speech. Selected phonemes and measures of uncertainty are transmitted to the server, which processes the phonemes for speech understanding and transmits a text of the speech (or the context or understanding of the speech) back to the mobile device.

Abstract: A system enables the user to customize the temporal and/or spatial behaviour aspects of desired things with respect to one or more target platforms. The desired things include objects, actions, and media files and can be associated with a time (T-thing), a location (L-thing), a time and location (LT-thing), a platform (P-thing), and combinations thereof. The user can pick and assemble multiple things into meta-things and create meta things of various types. The target platforms include any devices or systems that can be programmed to perform behaviors. The user programs a set of rules, which are then used to specify the behavioral aspects exercised by the system on the target platforms. The user interacts with the system through a portal and/or a mobile application. The portal is an intuitive GUI that enables the user to program the system in a simple pick-drag-and-drop fashion.

Abstract: This vehicle monitoring and reporting system provides a platform for providing improved communication of information to the driver and/or vehicle owner (collectively “the user”). A user can create a customized report to be sent to the user. The report can indicate (among other things) driving behavior, such as average speed and maximum speed, vehicle health data and driving tips. The report can also include coupons or advertisements that are based upon location information and vehicle health data gathered from the data.

Abstract: A energy meter unit for an electric vehicle contains energy measuring circuitry, a GPS unit, a CPU, and memory. The energy meter unit is capable of detecting the amount of energy charged at a specific location and storing that information for later uses, such as with a governmental incentive program.

Abstract: A vehicle monitoring system includes an accelerometer installed in the vehicle in an unknown orientation. The system infers the orientation of the accelerometer in the vehicle from the acceleration signals. The proposed method detects and corrects the orientation in two steps. In the first step, the gravity vector is used to estimate the orientation in the vertical plane. Then, based on the acceleration data collected during the vehicle movement, the heading of the vehicle is estimated and the orientation within the horizontal plane is corrected.