Abstract: A plug-compatible interface between a car and its human and/or computer driver makes both car and driver a “black box”, or abstraction, to the other. The two black boxes can then be developed and built independently before being integrated together only at the final stage. Designers on both the car and driver sides of the interface need design only to the interface and need not worry about how things are done on the other side of it. When cars and computer drivers are built to interact over a plug-compatible interface, any computer driver works with any car. If a computer driver becomes outdated, it can be updated or replaced much more quickly and cheaply than replacing the entire car.

Abstract: Our car operating system allows a car's driver to control—using abstract direction and speed commands—the car's devices that make the car move. The car operating system uses information like the current state of the car's devices to process those high-level abstract commands and generate device-specific commands at a lower level of abstraction to send to the car devices that will implement the driver's commands. The car operating system sits between the driver of the car (which may be a human or an automated driving program) and the car's devices, much like a computer operating system sits between the user of a computer (which may be a human or an application program) and the computer's devices. The car operating system performs two functions: (1) Provides an abstract machine that allows the car's driver to use more powerful abstract commands rather than more primitive device-level commands. (2) Manages the car's resources so that the car's driver does not have to control each device directly.

Abstract: An electric car draws lots of power that needs to be on board the moving vehicle. An adaptive power supply can combine a variety of sources of electrical energy—which may include an internal combustion engine—and use those different sources to efficiently produce the electrical power required. An adaptive power supply provides optimal performance by sensing changing conditions, often hundreds of times per second, and then adapting itself to those conditions in order to optimize efficiency at each particular instant during a car's operation. Those conditions may include changes in user inputs, machine operating conditions, and machine operating parameters. Having multiple sources of electrical power allows effective control of more independent power parameters, enabling greater freedom to adapt to optimize efficiency. That gives adaptive power supplies that are cheaper, smaller, lighter, more powerful, and more efficient than conventional designs.

Abstract: A plug-compatible interface between a car and its human and/or computer driver makes both car and driver a “black box”, or abstraction, to the other. The two black boxes can then be developed and built independently before being integrated together only at the final stage. Designers on both the car and driver sides of the interface need design only to the interface and need not worry about how things are done on the other side of it. When cars and computer drivers are built to interact over a plug-compatible interface, any computer driver works with any car. If a computer driver becomes outdated, it can be updated or replaced much more quickly and cheaply than replacing the entire car.

Abstract: Our car operating system allows a car's driver to control—using abstract direction and speed commands—the car's core resources that make the car move. The car operating system then translates those high-level abstractions to a lower level of abstraction, providing device-specific commands to the car devices that will implement the driver's commands. That means that the same car operating system can work on a wide variety of car configurations. That differs from the control system for today's cars, which is hardwired into the car's design and lasts from the car's manufacture to its junking. Each model of today's car has a custom control system (steering wheel, accelerator, brake pedal) that cannot be replaced by the control system from another car, even though they do the same thing. Our car operating system allows car technology to evolve more rapidly and carmaking to become a more vibrant industry.

Abstract: Better cars and better carmaking—they can solve problems like oil depletion, global warming, and the dying carmaking industry. But how do we get them? Modularity. Cars can be modular in design, production and use. Making cars using modularity will change the car industry. Now a very vertical industry where a few huge companies sell just complete cars, carmaking can change to a horizontal industry where thousands of companies sell car modules. Carmaking can become like the computer industry—innovative, vibrant, profitable. And modularity allows “mass customization”—tailoring a product to each buyer, but selling it at a mass production price. Like hand-tailored suits at off-the-rack prices. This invention brings that concept to cars. Cars are made out of black-box modules, and buyers choose from among different versions of each module. That makes buyer choice expand while price remains low.

Abstract: Truly electric cars may make other cars obsolete. Not just gasoline cars, but other electric cars. Unlike gasoline cars, truly electric cars can be divided up into modules. Different fuels—gasoline, electricity from batteries, hydrogen—can be used to power the car by replacing a power unit. Car bodies can be updated to conform to changing fashion. Even while keeping the motors that power the car, still good for a million miles. Functions like four-wheel drive and electronic stability control can be done in software, so they can be fixed and upgraded cheaply. Motor controls can be software-based too, and upgraded over the Internet rather than requiring a mechanic's services. With electric motors in a car's wheels, it can beat any gasoline car, going from 0 to 100 miles per hour in 10 seconds, while getting 100 miles per gallon and going 1,000 miles on a tank of gas.