Surrogate vehicle sensors

• US 10,037,632 B2
• Filed: 09/01/2016
• Issued: 07/31/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/01/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Inventors: Dudar, Aed M., Martin, Douglas Raymond, Miller, Kenneth James
• Primary Examiner(s): Shaawat, Mussa A
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kerrigan, Michael V
• Application Number:
  US15/254,048
• Publication Number:
  US 20180061148A1
• Time in Patent Office: 698 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/30 for imaging, photography or videography
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 50/11 using internal combustion piston engines
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 50/19 using electrically powered motors
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 80/86 Land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0094 involving pointing a payload, e.g. camera, weapon, sensor, towards a fixed or moving target
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0816 Indicating performance data, e.g. occurrence of a malfunction
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/09623 Systems involving the acquisition of information from passive traffic signs by means mounted on the vehicle G08G1/0967 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/165 for passive traffic, e.g. including static obstacles, trees
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/166 for active traffic, e.g. moving vehicles, pedestrians, bikes
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/167 Driving aids for lane monitoring, lane changing, e.g. blind spot detection
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/168 Driving aids for parking, e.g. acoustic or visual feedback on parking space
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/205 Indicating the location of the monitored vehicles as destination, e.g. accidents, stolen, rental
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0069 specially adapted for an unmanned aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0078 for monitoring traffic from the aircraft radar or analogous systems specially adapted for traffic control G01S13/91
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks

Abstract

Upon detecting a failure in a sensor in a vehicle, a request for a surrogate sensor is sent. Communications are established with an unmanned aerial vehicle carrying the surrogate sensor. A vehicle subsystem is actuated based at least in part on data from the surrogate sensor.

Claims

1. A system, comprising a computer including a processor and a memory, the memory storing instructions executable by the computer to:

upon detecting a failure in a sensor in a vehicle, send a request to a remote site to provide an unmanned aerial vehicle located at the remote site carrying a surrogate sensor selected to replace the sensor;

establish communications with the unmanned aerial vehicle carrying the surrogate sensor; and

actuate a vehicle subsystem based at least in part on data from the surrogate sensor.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions further include instructions to identify a position on the vehicle and to instruct the unmanned aerial vehicle to attach to the vehicle at the position.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions further include instructions to identify a position that is a predetermined distance above the vehicle and to instruct the unmanned aerial vehicle to hover above the vehicle at the position.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the sensor is one of a radar, a LIDAR, a camera, and an ultrasonic transducer.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the request includes an identification of a type of failed sensor.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the unmanned aerial vehicle is programmed to hover above the vehicle.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions further include instructions to:

identify a repair location;

determine a route to the repair location; and

actuate the vehicle subsystem to move the vehicle to the repair location based at least in part on the data from the surrogate sensor.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the vehicle subsystem is one of an adaptive cruise control subsystem, a brake subsystem, a collision avoidance subsystem, a propulsion subsystem, and a park assist subsystem.

9. A method, comprising:

upon detecting a failure in a sensor in a vehicle, sending a request to a remote site to provide an unmanned aerial vehicle located at the remote site carrying a surrogate sensor;

establishing communications with the unmanned aerial vehicle carrying the surrogate sensor; and

actuating a vehicle subsystem based at least in part on data from the surrogate sensor.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising identifying a position on the vehicle and to instruct the unmanned aerial vehicle to attach to the vehicle at the position.

11. The method of claim 9, further comprising identifying a position that is a predetermined distance above the vehicle and instructing the unmanned aerial vehicle to hover above the vehicle at the position.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the sensor is one of a radar, a LIDAR, a camera, and an ultrasonic transducer.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the request includes an identification of a type of failed sensor.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein the unmanned aerial vehicle is programmed to hover above the vehicle.

15. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

identifying a repair location;

determining a route to the repair location; and

actuating the vehicle subsystem to move the vehicle to the repair location based at least in part on the data from the surrogate sensor.

16. The method of claim 9, wherein the vehicle subsystem is one of an adaptive cruise control subsystem, a brake subsystem, a collision avoidance subsystem, a propulsion subsystem, and a park assist subsystem.

17. A system, comprising a computer including a processor and a memory, the memory storing instructions executable by the computer to:

receive a request including information identifying a vehicle, a location of the vehicle, and a failed sensor in the vehicle; and

actuate a motor of an unmanned aerial vehicle located at a remote site having a surrogate sensor that is a same type as the failed sensor to move the unmanned aerial vehicle to the location of the vehicle.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the instructions further include instructions to instruct the unmanned aerial vehicle to collect data with the surrogate sensor and to send the data to the vehicle.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the instructions further include instructions to send the information identifying the vehicle from the request to the unmanned aerial vehicle and to instruct the unmanned aerial vehicle to compare the information identifying the vehicle from the request to an authentication sent from the vehicle when the unmanned aerial vehicle arrives at the location of the vehicle.

20. The system of claim 17, wherein the instructions further include instructions to:

identify a repair location;

determine a route from the location of the vehicle to the repair location; and

instruct the vehicle to actuate a vehicle subsystem to move the vehicle to the repair location based at least in part on data from the surrogate sensor.