An electric vehicle can include an electric drive capable of moving the vehicles, together with a non-battery operative feature to enhance the performance of the vehicle, such as extending the range or increasing the power. The non-electrical enhanced feature is independent and not integrated with the electric drive, to enable the return of the vehicle design to pure electrical power with minimum modification.

A vehicle is provided that determines a need for communication with a third party vendor, retrieves a user rule from the memory (the user rule defines to which third party vendor the vehicle can send a first communication to address the need and defines a geographic location of the third party vendor relative to a current location of the vehicle, a monetary amount the vehicle can pay to a third party vendor for a product or service to address the need, and a time limit for the third party vendor to provide the product or service to address the need), based on the user rule, selects a third party vendor from among multiple possible third party vendors, and when determined by the user rule, automatically sends the first communication to the selected third party vendor to address the need. The first communication is associated with an order for the product or service, and the processor provides an authorization to the selected third party vendor to complete the order. The vehicle uses different antennas positioned at different physical locations on an exterior of the vehicle to provide the first communication and authorization to the selected third party vendor.

A method according to an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure includes, among other things, charging a battery pack of an electrified vehicle using an amount of harvested energy from an energy harvesting device and an amount of energy from a grid. The amount of harvested energy is predicted based on at least a weather forecast.

Vehicle alternative power system is a power and generating system for an electric vehicle that allows the vehicle to self-generate power for propulsion of the vehicle eliminating the use of fossil fuel thereby improving the natural state of the environment.

In one illustrative embodiment, a wind-driven charging system includes a wind-driven rotation device coupled to a rotatable shaft, and a plurality of electric generators disposed at different longitudinal locations along the rotatable shaft and each of the plurality of electric generators are rotationally driven simultaneously by the rotatable shaft. By having the electric generators disposed at different longitudinal locations, more electric generators may be simultaneously driven by a common shaft. In some instances, a controller may be configured to enable more of the electric generators to provide electrical current to recharge a battery when the speed of rotation of the rotatable shaft increases, and may disable more of the plurality of electric generators to not provide electrical current when the speed of rotation of the rotatable shaft decreases.

A negative pressure air suction type fluid-driven power machine comprises a fluid pressure accumulation bin, a necking port, a flow inlet, a flow guiding cover, a fluid-inlet flow guiding cover, turbine driving blades, a turbine housing, a turbine shaft, a turbine bracket, nozzles surrounding peripheries of the turbine driving blades, a turbine fluid outlet, a fluid negative-pressure flow guiding cover, a fluid negative-pressure outlet, an external driving fluid inlet, an external driving fluid flow guiding cover, and nozzles. The negative pressure air suction type fluid-driven power machine is formed using a gravity acceleration fluid generated by a fluid flowing to a direction opposite to operation of an object as a main driving power source and using a fluid air suction phenomenon as an auxiliary power source, and can replace some effects of steam engines, internal combustion engines, motors and the like.

A computer-implemented method includes: monitoring, by a computer device, a charge level of a battery of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV); determining, by the computer device and based on the monitoring, the charge level is less than a threshold level; docking the UAV on a host vehicle; charging the battery using wind-induced rotation of a rotor of the UAV while the UAV is docked on the host vehicle; determining, by the computer device, the UAV is moving away from a destination while the UAV is docked on the host vehicle; and undocking the UAV from the host vehicle based on the determining the UAV is moving away from the destination.

A vehicle includes an on board microprocessor that is programmed to receive and transmit multiple authentication factors or a key derived therefrom to a remote server to authenticate the vehicle or a vehicle occupant to a remote server. The multiple authentication factors comprise a plurality of an electronic address of a portable communication device of the occupant sensed by an on board sensor, a wireless remote signal description sensed by an on board sensor, a vehicle-related identifier, a vehicle parameter sensed by the on board processor, an environmental parameter sensed by the on board processor, and a passcode received by the microprocessor from the remote server.

Provided is a wind powered system which provides electrical energy to a vehicle using wind flow through wind tunnels. The system includes a plurality of ducts or wind tunnels each of which accommodates a plurality of rotary fans which are connected to a corresponding one of a plurality of alternators. A pulling fan and a motor connected to the pulling fan are provided to pull and move the wind throughout the ducts.

The present invention discloses electric vehicles and methods to operate such vehicles, comprising an electric drive capable of moving the vehicles, together with a non-battery operative feature to enhance the performance of the vehicle, such as extending the range or increasing the power. The non-electrical enhanced feature is independent and not integrated with the electric drive, to enable the return of the vehicle design to pure electrical power with minimum modification.