Abstract: System and methods are provided for implementing friction circle safety controls in a vehicle, such as an autonomous vehicle. A system can apply a friction circle analysis during the vehicle's operation, in order to perform a safety-based evaluation of maneuvers that impact the dynamic relationship between a vehicle's tires and a road surface. The system also establishes a link between the vehicle's lateral controls (e.g., steering wheel) and the vehicle's longitudinal controls (e.g., brake and throttle pedals), such that a frictional force of the tires against the road's surface, does not does not exceed a traction limit (e.g., limit of a tire's grip on the road surface) for the particular vehicle. For example, friction circle safety controls can automatically provide feedback and/or automatic driving actions to adjust a relationship between the steering wheel and brake/throttle pedals of the vehicle to maintain operation of the vehicle within the friction circle.

Abstract: A method for providing lane keeping support to enable improved one-hand operation of a vehicle is described. The method includes detecting a one-hand location of a vehicle operator on a steering wheel of the vehicle. The method also includes determining a level of control of the vehicle operator on the steering wheel during the one-hand operation of the vehicle. The method further includes adjusting a level of compensation applied to the steering wheel to facilitate the one-hand operation of the vehicle.

Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for improved and intuitive adjustment of a vehicle headrest. A vehicle headrest adjustment system may include touch sensors and/or motion sensors to determine a driver or passenger intends to adjust a vehicle headrest. Upon detection of touch consistent with intent to adjust a vehicle headrest and/or a hand gesture consistent with intent to adjust a vehicle headrest, a system may unlock a vehicle headrest. A driver or passenger may move the unlocked vehicle headrest into the desired position. Upon detection of a condition indicating the driver or passenger is finished and/or upon a set period of time elapsing, the system may re-lock the vehicle headrest into place. A vehicle headrest adjustment system may also include a power-assist function. The power-assist function may include motors and force sensors to assist a driver or passenger in moving a vehicle headrest into a desired position.

Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for improved and intuitive adjustment of a vehicle headrest. A vehicle headrest adjustment system may include touch sensors and/or motion sensors to determine a driver or passenger intends to adjust a vehicle headrest. Upon detection of touch consistent with intent to adjust a vehicle headrest and/or a hand gesture consistent with intent to adjust a vehicle headrest, a system may unlock a vehicle headrest. A driver or passenger may move the unlocked vehicle headrest into the desired position. Upon detection of a condition indicating the driver or passenger is finished and/or upon a set period of time elapsing, the system may re-lock the vehicle headrest into place. A vehicle headrest adjustment system may also include a power-assist function. The power-assist function may include motors and force sensors to assist a driver or passenger in moving a vehicle headrest into a desired position.

Abstract: A method for vehicle eye tracking is described. The method includes capturing sensor data based on eye tracking of a vehicle operator. The method also includes identifying sensor data associated with an external environment of a vehicle within the captured sensor data. The method further includes filtering out a sensor data associated with the external environment from the captured sensor data to provide an internal vehicle sensor data. The method also includes controlling a vehicle interface based on the internal vehicle sensor data.

Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for improved collision prevention. Systems and methods may provide for the prevention of rear-end vehicle collisions by locking the forward movement of the throttle pedal when a threshold is reached. An end stop or mechanical linkage may completely lock the throttle pedal in situations in which continued acceleration is likely to result in a rear-end collision. The systems and methods disclosed herein may provide from a complete locking of the throttle pedal which may physically avoid or eliminate a rear-end collision due to improper throttle actuation. The systems and methods disclosed herein may also improve a driver's mental model for safe driving by teaching a driver that certain maneuvers are not available in certain conditions.

Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for improving a localization estimate of a vehicle by leveraging localization estimates of surrounding dynamic objects from surrounding vehicles. A vehicle may estimate its own location relative to a global reference frame. The vehicle may identify nearby dynamic objects. The vehicle may estimate the location of the nearby dynamic objects. The vehicle and nearby vehicles may generate and exchange localization packets containing information about the dynamic objects and the location estimates for the dynamic objects. The vehicle may refine its localization estimate based on received localization packets.

Abstract: An easy entrance/exit system for a vehicle includes a vehicle seat, a pad, a pad-side magnetic device, and a seat-side magnet. The vehicle seat includes a seat base. The pad is supported atop the seat base for swiveling about a pivot point. The pad-side magnetic device is coupled to the pad at the pivot point. The seat-side magnet is within the seat base at the pivot point. The seat-side magnet is configured to apply a magnetic field to the pad-side magnetic device to govern swiveling of the pad about the pivot point.

Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for improving a localization estimate of a vehicle by leveraging localization estimates of surrounding vehicles. A vehicle may estimate its own location relative to a global reference frame. The vehicle may identify nearby vehicles. The vehicle may estimate the location of the nearby vehicles. The vehicle and nearby vehicles may generate and exchange localization packets containing information about the vehicles and the location estimates. The vehicle may refine its localization estimate based on received localization packets.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a method of controlling adaptive window transparency includes calculating a buffer period having a start time and an end time. The method also includes adjusting transparency on a set of windows based on the start time of the buffer period and transferring control of the vehicle to the vehicle or driver based on the end time. In response to detecting an emergency, the method further includes removing all tinting on the set of windows. In another embodiment, a method of controlling adaptive window transparency includes calculating a buffer period based on a navigation route.

Abstract: Systems, methods, and other embodiments described herein relate to keeping a vehicle within a safety envelope. In one embodiment, a method includes determining a safety envelope having a boundary, determining a risk level for an environment surrounding the vehicle, and associating an index value with a location within the safety envelope based on at least one of the risk level and a relationship between the location and the boundary. The method includes, in response to a vehicle being located at the location, tilting a vehicle seat to a tilt angle relative to a floor of the vehicle. The tilt angle can be based on the index value associated with the location.

Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for influential control over a driver's operation of a vehicle's steering wheel. Upon issuing an autonomous control signal to control motive operation of the vehicle, an autonomous control system of the vehicle may reinforce or influence the application of the autonomous control signal by inducing or cuing to induce the driver's hand(s) to turn the vehicle's steering wheel in a particular direction or by a particular amount/with a particular level of torque.

Abstract: Systems, methods, and other embodiments described herein relate to keeping a vehicle within a safety envelope. In one embodiment, a method includes determining a safety envelope having a boundary, determining a risk level for an environment surrounding the vehicle, and associating a torque value with a location within the safety envelope based on at least one of the risk level, a lateral velocity of the vehicle, and a relationship between the location and the boundary. The method includes, in response to the vehicle being located at the location and a torque being applied to a steering wheel of the vehicle, applying a counter torque of the torque value to the steering wheel.

Abstract: System, methods, and other embodiments described herein relate to remotely assisting an operator that is impaired using alerts from a vehicle. In one embodiment, a method includes receiving, by a first vehicle using a communications network, assistance information about an operator and a second vehicle near the first vehicle, wherein the assistance information indicates a state of the operator and a position of the second vehicle. The method also includes, upon approving an action according to the state and the position, selecting an alert that changes the state according to the position and attributes determined according to sensor data of the first vehicle. The method also includes activating the alert by the first vehicle.

Abstract: A distracted driver can be informed of his or her distraction by a visual notification. It can be detected whether a driver of a vehicle is focused on a non-critical object located within the vehicle. In response to detecting that the driver of the vehicle is focused on a non-critical object located within the vehicle, an amount of time the driver is focused on the non-critical object can be determined. When the amount of time exceeds a threshold amount of time, a visual notification of distracted driving can be caused to be presented on or visually adjacent to the non-critical object.

Abstract: Systems and methods of collaborative localization for a vehicle are provided. In particular, one or more vehicles that are able to localize themselves with high accuracy may transmit timestamped localization information (i.e. localization packets) to a nearby vehicles which lack high-accuracy localization sensors. Each localization packet may include the location of the transmitting vehicle with respect to a global reference frame. Upon receiving the localization packets, a vehicle may use radiolocation techniques to estimate its location relative to the transmitting vehicle(s). Based on this estimation and the information in the localization packets, the vehicle may then estimate its location with respect to the global reference frame with a high degree of accuracy.

Abstract: The embodiments described herein concern a reconfigurable throttle-by-wire pedal subsystem for a vehicle and associated methods. One embodiment detects a pedal error in which a driver of the vehicle mistakenly actuates an accelerator foot pedal unit of the vehicle instead of a separate brake pedal of the vehicle, the accelerator foot pedal unit controlling a throttle of the vehicle, and performs the following in response to the detected pedal error: reconfiguring the accelerator foot pedal unit to control a braking subsystem of the vehicle instead of the throttle and reconfiguring a haptic feedback of the accelerator foot pedal unit from a throttle-by-wire mode to a brake-by-wire mode.

Abstract: Displaced haptic feedback can be provided to a person providing an input on a user interface. The user interface can be operatively connected to a processor. The processor can be configured to receive an input signal from the user interface. Responsive to receiving the input signal, the processor can be further configured to cause a haptic device to be activated. The haptic device can be physically separated from the user interface. The haptic device can provides a haptic feedback to a user interacting with the user interface.

Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for influential control over a driver's hand(s) that grip a vehicle's steering wheel. Upon issuing an autonomous control signal to control motive operation of the vehicle, an autonomous control system of the vehicle may further reinforce the application of the autonomous control signal by inducing the driver's hand(s) to grip/increase grip strength on the vehicle's steering wheel or by releasing the grip/decreasing grip strength on the vehicle's steering wheel. Moreover, the increasing/decreasing of the driver's grip may alternatively, or in addition to the reinforcement aspect, induce augmentative or intervening action(s)/behavior(s) by the driver.

Abstract: Directional vehicle steering cues are presented to a vehicle operator to suggest a particular steering direction (e.g., left vs. right) or to warn the operator of the directionality of an impending hazard. A directional vehicle steering cue may include one or more changes in steering angle that convey an associated directionality. A directional steering cue can include a first vibration pattern that includes a change in steering angle in a first direction to represent, for example, a suggested right turn, followed by a second vibration pattern that includes a change in steering angle in a second direction opposite to the first direction. The angular rate of change of the steering angle in the first direction may be larger than the angular rate of change of the steering angle in the second direction such that the first vibration pattern is more perceptible to a vehicle operator than the second vibration pattern.