Abstract: A method for determining which of a plurality of data connectivity pipes will be used to transmit data for one or more applications operating on a vehicle. The method identifies which of the applications are active at a particular point in time and identifies a number of available configurations based on the number of applications that are active and the number of the data pipes that are available to transmit the data for the application. The method identifies a plurality of performance metrics for each configuration and determines an optimal performance value for each performance metric from all of the configurations. The method then determines an overall utility function for each configuration that is based on its performance metrics and the optimal performance value and selects a data pipe for each application that is active based on a maximum overall utility function from each application's available overall utility functions.

Abstract: An onboard computer system including instructions causing a processor to store a first-user media profile indicating media preferences of a user. The processor also determines that the vehicle is encountering a second vehicle and receives a second-user media profile. The processor also evaluates the profiles to determine whether the profiles bear a predetermined similarity and, in response to determining the similarity exists, identifies recommended media, based on characteristics of the profiles, and initiates provision of the recommended media to one of the users of the first vehicle and the user of the second vehicle.

Abstract: A method for establishing secure wireless communications between a mobile device and a vehicle, where a user is not required to enter a password, but instead the telematics system is used to bootstrap the trust between the mobile device and the vehicle. The user initiates the process by pressing a button on the mobile device to request pairing. The vehicle uses its secure OnStar cellular communication link to verify the mobile device with the OnStar server, which generates and sends a session key to the vehicle via the vehicle-OnStar cellular connection, and also sends the session key to the mobile device via the device's own cellular connection. The session key serves as a shared secret, such that the vehicle can issue a secrecy challenge to the mobile device. When the mobile device responds appropriately, a trusted wireless communications link can be established between the mobile device and the vehicle.

Abstract: A method and system for cooperatively caching digital content in a vehicle for sharing with other vehicles in a vehicle-to-vehicle network. A content utility value is assigned to each piece of digital content available on the network, where the utility value is a function of the popularity of the content, the freshness of the content, and the size of the content. Any piece of content with a sufficiently high content utility value is stored in a host vehicle's collective cache, so that other vehicles may be able to retrieve it quickly on demand. The host vehicle may cache a particular piece of digital content even if the host vehicle is not interested in it. The host vehicle periodically re-computes the content utility value for all digital content in the vehicle's cache to determine if any of the data should be evicted from the cache.

Abstract: A method for receiving and storing a packet of symbols. The method decodes the packet of symbols using a first decoding algorithm, and if the first decoding algorithm fails to correctly decode the packet of symbols, then the method decodes the packet of symbols using a second decoding algorithm. If the second decoding algorithm fails to decode the packet of symbols, then a third decoding algorithm is used. The third decoding algorithm can be sub-packet decoding, where a first sub-packet is part of the packet of symbols. If the first sub-packet is decoded successfully, then the method generates a channel estimate using the properly decoded information, and then uses that channel estimate to decode a subsequent sub-packet using the channel estimate, where the second sub-packet is a set of symbols that are a portion of the packet of symbols.

Abstract: A method for determining which of a plurality of data connectivity pipes will be used to transmit data for one or more applications operating on a vehicle. The method identifies which of the applications are active at a particular point in time and identifies a number of available configurations based on the number of applications that are active and the number of the data pipes that are available to transmit the data for the application. The method identifies a plurality of performance metrics for each configuration and determines an optimal performance value for each performance metric from all of the configurations. The method then determines an overall utility function for each configuration that is based on its performance metrics and the optimal performance value and selects a data pipe for each application that is active based on a maximum overall utility function from each application's available overall utility functions.

Abstract: A system and method for providing dynamic channel equalization in V2V and V2I communications systems. The method includes separating the channel bandwidth of a message into a plurality of subcarriers having different subcarrier frequencies, where the subcarriers include data subcarriers and pilot subcarriers. The method demodulates the message in the receiver to extract symbols from the message and determines channel estimation frequency responses using a least-squares estimation process and the extracted symbols for the pilot subcarriers. The channel estimation frequency responses of either the pilot subcarriers, the pilot subcarriers and some data subcarriers, or the pilot subcarriers and all data subcarriers are used to generate updated channel estimation frequency responses, and a new channel estimation frequency response is generated for each extracted signal using a previous channel estimation frequency response and the updated channel estimation frequency response.

Abstract: A method includes collecting vehicle health data from a plurality of vehicles. A peer group is identified among the plurality of vehicles. The collected vehicle health data from the peer group into a collaborative vehicle health model, the collaborative vehicle health model being applicable to a current vehicle to predict a state of at least a component of the current vehicle.

Abstract: A method includes receiving a query by a current user for a recommendation regarding a provider of a specified service or commodity in a locality. A profile of the current user is obtained. Tracking data is obtained corresponding to a traceable device of each user of a set of users. A relevant subset of the set of users is selected based on the profile of the current user. The query is responded to by generating the recommendation based on the tracking data that corresponds to the selected relevant subset of the users.

Abstract: A method includes collecting state of health (SOH) data and usage data from a plurality of vehicles. A peer group is identified among the vehicles. A vehicle health prognosis is generated for each vehicle of the peer based on the collected SOH and usage data. The vehicles of the peer group are ranked based on the generated vehicle health prognosis and the rank is reported to an output device that is associated with each vehicle or with a user of each vehicle. If evaluation of the ranking indicates that the health prognosis of a vehicle of the peer group is improvable by modifying vehicle usage, an alert is issued to a user of that vehicle.

Abstract: A method is provided for efficiently transferring records related to places of interest between two communicating vehicles in a V2V system without initially having to transfer full text records. A determination is made as to whether information stored in a memory of the vehicle is redundant with the respect to the other vehicle. A query request is transmitted from a first vehicle to a second vehicle containing specifics as to what records the first vehicle is seeking. Data satisfying the query request represented by global unique index numbers is hashed to determine the similarity between the data of the two communicating vehicles. The similarity is used to determine whether a full filtered set of global unique index numbers should be transferred to the second vehicle for determining which records are not duplicate records. Thereafter, the second vehicle wirelessly transmits to the first vehicle the non-overlapping data that satisfies the query request.

Abstract: A multimedia content dissemination system is provided for mobile vehicles. A wireless vehicle communication network provides communication among mobile vehicles in the network. At least one host vehicle within the wireless vehicle communication network is selected by an authorized entity for disseminating multimedia content received by the authorized entity. The at least one host vehicle transmits an inquiry to target vehicles in the wireless vehicle communication network. The inquiry comprises a content profile that includes descriptors associated with the multimedia content for allowing target vehicles to determine whether an interest exists in the multimedia content. The at least one host vehicle transmits the multimedia content in encrypted form to an interested target vehicle for sampling the multimedia content. The interested target vehicle requests ongoing use of the multimedia content from the authorized entity in response to sampling the multimedia content.

Abstract: A system for intelligent dissemination of messages via long-range communications to select delegate vehicles, and short-range communications from the delegate vehicles. The system includes a processor and a memory storing a delegation and dissemination algorithm that, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to define a dissemination area and define multiple delegation zones within the dissemination area. The algorithm also causes the processor to identify at least one delegate vehicle, of a network of vehicles, for each delegation zone and seed a message into the network of vehicles by transmitting the message to each delegate vehicle via long-range communications so that the delegate vehicles can transmit the message throughout the network of vehicles via short-range communications.

Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a method for intelligent procurement of data from a plurality of vehicles in a data-aggregation region using long-range communications, short-range communications, and group leader vehicles. The method includes a central server defining a plurality of data-aggregation areas and identifying at least one group leader vehicle in each data-aggregation area. The method also includes the group leader vehicle in each data-aggregation area collecting data from other vehicles in the data-aggregation area using short-range communications and the group leader vehicle in each data-aggregation area determining to cease collecting data from the other vehicles in the data-aggregation area. The method further includes the group leader vehicle in each data-aggregation area generating a consensus report using the data collected from the other vehicles in its data-aggregation area.

Abstract: A method and system for augmenting smartphone-centric in-car infotainment systems using Wi-Fi or DSRC communications between a vehicle and surrounding infrastructure. One or more smartphones or other electronic devices within a vehicle electronically communicate with the vehicle via a wireless protocol, such as Bluetooth, or a wired connection. The electronic devices run applications which submit requests for internet-based files or data, such as web pages, audio or video files. The vehicle brokers these requests and, using its own external wireless communications systems, such as Wi-Fi or DSRC, retrieves as many of the files or data as possible whenever internet access is available via an external wireless connection. The vehicle then provides the files or data to the requesting electronic devices. A token-based method for prioritizing the requests and rendering the data to the electronic devices is also disclosed.

Abstract: A system and method for providing a protocol to maintain a persistent warning message in a region of interest. The protocol begins its operation when a hazardous condition is detected by a vehicle. The detecting vehicle uses a multi-hop geocast broadcasting process to transmit a warning message to other vehicles in the region of interest. When the vehicles in the region of interest receive the warning message, they are prevented from re-broadcasting the message for a first predetermined period of time. After the first predetermined period of time has expired, a contentious timing process is used to determine which of those vehicles will re-broadcast the message to other vehicles entering the region of interest. This process of re-broadcasting continues until a second predetermined period of time expires at which time the message is not re-broadcast.

Abstract: Systems and methods for controlling communication on a control channel and service channels of an ad hoc wireless network includes periodically switching to the control channel during a control interval, periodically switching to one of the service channels during a service interval, and variably switching to another of the service channels during the service interval.

Abstract: A method and system may receive, at an intermediate vehicle, a route request packet from a source vehicle. The system and method may enter a routing entry comprising a path from intermediate vehicle to the source vehicle and a quality metric value in a routing table. The method and system may receive, at a destination vehicle, the route request packet broadcast from one or more intermediate vehicles. The method and system may transmit, along a path from the destination vehicle to source vehicle, a route reply message. The method and system may transfer data from the source vehicle to the destination vehicle along the path. The method and system may monitor one or more quality metric values associated with the data transferred to the destination vehicle along the path.

Abstract: A self-contained vehicular traffic travel time information system for a vehicle in an inter-vehicle ad-hoc network includes an on-board vehicular broadcasting unit for communicating with other vehicles within the inter-vehicle ad hoc network. A positioning device identifies the vehicle's position throughout a course of travel. An on-board vehicle processing unit stores road segments throughout the vehicle path of travel. The on-board vehicle processing unit determines a starting position and an ending position for each respective road segment. A length of time for traveling through each respective road segment is determined. A memory storage device stores the segmented road portions and the time of travel associated with each respective road segment. The on-board vehicular broadcasting unit disseminates the determined travel times of recently traveled road segments via a broadcast message to other vehicles within the inter-vehicle ad hoc network.

Abstract: An onboard computer system including instructions causing a processor to store a first-user media profile indicating media preferences of a user. The processor also determines that the vehicle is encountering a second vehicle and receives a second-user media profile. The processor also evaluates the profiles to determine whether the profiles bear a predetermined similarity and, in response to determining the similarity exists, identifies recommended media, based on characteristics of the profiles, and initiates provision of the recommended media to one of the users of the first vehicle and the user of the second vehicle.