A system for generating mist includes a vehicle with ventilation system, a misting device configured to atomized fluid to generate a variable amount of mist, and a fan configured to move the variable amount of mist through the ventilation system. The system further includes a particle sensor configured to measure particles and a controller in communication with the particle sensor, misting device, and fan, configured to receive a particle concentration from the particle sensor, compare it to a threshold, and control the variable amount of mist and/or the fan to keep the particle concentration greater than the threshold. A method for controlling mist in a vehicle includes pumping fluid to a misting device, generating a mist of fluid, pumping the mist into a vehicle ventilation system, measuring a particle concentration, and manipulating a misting device, pump, and/or fan using a controller to keep the particle concentration above a threshold.

The present invention is a hand sanitizer, air purification, fogger vehicle mount, or combination thereof, attach to a dashboard of a vehicle. Its purpose is to maximize disinfecting opportunities as a countermeasure to the spread of disease, including COVID-19. As a hand sanitizer, this invention is a hand-free device that minimizes cross-contamination among vehicle patrons during operation. A sensor, activated by hand proximity, sends a signal to a controller, then to a pump to dispense a portion-controlled volume of hand sanitizer. To disinfect airborne antigens, HEPA filtration and UV light are utilized. Pathogen lingering on surfaces are disinfected by a fogger, which dispenses atomized droplets throughout a vehicle. To eliminate exposure to nebulized sanitizer, the controller may receive a wireless signal from outside the vehicle. Independently powered, a vehicle can be sanitized each time it arrives at a destination, made ready to transport the next group of patrons safely.

A fragrance diffuser for a vehicle has a structure separate from an air conditioning operation of a vehicle and may selectively emit a fragrance stored in a plurality of cartridges by an opening/closing device. The fragrance diffuser includes: a plurality of cartridges each including: a casing having an internal space configured to store a fragrance; and an opening/closing member extending to communicate with an interior and an exterior of the casing, and configured to open or close the internal space; a housing including: an inlet; a movement passage for the air; insertion ports into which the cartridges are inserted in the movement passage; and an outlet from which the fragrance or the air is discharged depending on an opened or closed state of each of the cartridges; an opening/closing device configured to operate the opening/closing members; and a control unit configured to control an operation of the opening/closing device.

Provided is a control device for a vehicle sharing system in which a plurality of persons shares a vehicle having a fragrance generator configured to generate a fragrance in a vehicle cabin, the device including an acquiring unit configured to acquire user preference information as information relating to a fragrance preferred by a user who starts using the vehicle, and a usage start date and time when the user starts using the vehicle, and a controller configured to cause the fragrance generator to generate the fragrance preferred by the user in the vehicle cabin based on the user preference information before the usage start date and time.

A mobile body including: a smell releasing device that releases to the outside, a smell substance that generates smell; and a control device that controls the smell releasing device, in which when there is no release target that is predetermined as a target to which the smell substance is to be released within a predetermined range from the mobile body, the control device controls the smell releasing device to stop the smell substance from being released to the outside. This makes it possible to increase the time during which the smell substance can be released.

An apparatus for use with vehicle includes one or more cameras located in the vehicle, used to detect a figure and/or a behavior of a user sat in the vehicle. The apparatus also includes a controller communicated with the cameras, which obtains the detected figure and/or behavior of the user, and optimizes one or more components of the vehicle for the user, based on the detected figure and/or behavior of the user.

A fragrancing system may include at least one cartridge for storing a fragrance and at least one closing mechanism. The cartridge may have a cartridge opening. The closing mechanism may include a flap, a shaft, a lever, and a pin. The flap may be displacable via the shaft to a closed position, in which the flap closes the cartridge opening, and an open position, in which the flap frees the cartridge opening. The fragrancing system may further include an actuating mechanism, which may have a disc rotatable via an actuator. A cam plate structure may project axially from the disc. The pin may be arranged on a radially outward facing outer side of the cam plate structure when the flap is in the closed position and may be engaged with a recess of the cam plate structure when the flap is in the open position.

An autonomous vehicle utilizing machine learning method, system, and computer program product include training, by a computing device, a driver attention model utilizing historical ambient sensor data and historical physiological sensor data associated with an autonomous vehicle, receiving ambient sensor data associated with a currently driving autonomous vehicle, receiving physiological sensor data associated with a driver of the currently driving autonomous vehicle, and using, by a computing device, the trained driver attention model in conjunction with the ambient sensor data and the physiological sensor data to generate an alert for a driver of the currently driving autonomous vehicle.

Systems and methods are disclosed for an embedded in-vehicle platform that provides immersive user experiences. An example method includes obtaining, by a vehicle controller of a vehicle, a preference profile for a user; loading the preference profile by the vehicle controller; determining a shopping experience of the user occurring on a vehicle shopping platform within the vehicle; determining an ambience profile of a merchant identified in the shopping experience; and controlling, by the vehicle controller, an in-vehicle ambience within the vehicle based on the ambience profile and the preference profile.

An air-conditioning control system acquires settlement information on an electronic settlement performed by an occupant D of a vehicle using a mobile terminal via a car-navigation system from the mobile terminal having an electronic settlement function, and controls an air conditioner on the basis of the acquired settlement information. The settlement information includes a commodity purchased by the electronic settlement or a service having a value paid by the electronic settlement, as a settlement target.