A method for managing energy for a building includes connecting a power line of the building to a battery of a vehicle via a charger; responsive to occurrence of a power outage, supplying electric energy to the building from the battery and from an energy storage separate from the vehicle; and instructing the vehicle to recharge the battery and return to the building at a predefined time before stored energy of the energy storage falls below a predefined value.

The present teachings relate generally to a small remote vehicle having rotatable flippers and a weight of less than about 10 pounds and that can climb a conventional-sized stairs. The present teachings also relate to a small remote vehicle can be thrown or dropped fifteen feet onto a hard/inelastic surface without incurring structural damage that may impede its mission. The present teachings further relate to a small remote vehicle having a weight of less than about 10 pounds and a power source supporting missions of at least 6 hours.

The disclosure generally pertains to systems and methods for assisting a battery electric vehicle (BEV) execute a battery charging operation. In an example method, a processor of a battery charging advisory system in a BEV obtains information about a battery charging lot and evaluates the information to identify a battery charging station having a first charging cable that includes a first type of plug which is compatible for coupling to a charging port of the BEV. The processor may then identify a location of the charging port on the BEV and uses this information to determine an orientation of the BEV with respect to the battery charging station. The processor then provides an advisory for maneuvering the BEV into a position that allows coupling of the first charging cable of the battery charging station to the charging port of the BEV.

A vehicle control device includes a main control device, a sub-control device, and a temperature detection unit. The main control device includes a recognition unit that recognizes a peripheral situation of a vehicle, a driving control unit that controls steering and acceleration/deceleration of the vehicle independently from an operation of a driver, and a mode determination unit that determines a driving mode of the vehicle. The sub-control device is capable of controlling the vehicle in place of the main control device. The temperature detection unit detects a temperature of a second battery that is different from a first battery supplying power to the main control device and supplies power to the sub-control device. The mode determination unit changes the driving mode of the vehicle from the second driving mode to the first driving mode when a temperature of the second battery is lower than a predetermined temperature.

A power supply system includes a plurality of charging stations accommodatable under a ground surface. The power supply system comprises a determination unit that determines a power supply facility available for supplying power to a target vehicle, and a transmission unit that transmits, to the target vehicle, guidance information for guiding the target vehicle to the determined charging station by automatic driving. The target vehicle is guided to the available charging station by automatic driving. The user can reach the available charging station without searching for it.

The invention discloses a solar smart delivery signage trailer or cart (SS-DST) that may be attached to any autonomous or non-autonomous vehicle. The (SS-DST) function is an advertisement, food storage, food delivery, public wifi hotspot, and may be towed by any vehicle. The (SS-DST) has the option of providing a virtual delivery man video chat to customers via a screen, speakers, and microphone. The (SS-DST) has solar power capabilities used to power its equipment and can charge other electronic vehicles towing the innovative trailer. The (SS-DST) has the option of delivering advertisement via a roof installation signage display. All systems can be edited or monitored via wireless cellphone networks or wifi remote connections. The lockers are temperature regulated and can be monitored via a remote controller (VDM) from anywhere in the world.

In one embodiment, a system includes one or more processors and one or more computer-readable non-transitory storage media coupled to one or more of the processors. The one or more computer-readable non-transitory storage media include instructions operable when executed by one or more of the processors to cause the system to perform operations including receiving service-facility data associated with a service facility that includes one or more service regions for servicing autonomous vehicles. Each of the one or more service regions is configured to charge an autonomous vehicle. The service facility data includes location information indicating a location of each of the one or more service regions; and availability information indicating an availability of each of the one or more service regions. The operations also include receiving vehicle data associated with a number of autonomous vehicles. The vehicle data includes a charge level of a respective autonomous vehicle.

A wireless power supply system includes a mower that executes a mowing work while traveling autonomously, and a charging station that supplies power to the mower. The charging station includes a power supply coil, and the mower includes a power reception coil, a first detector that detects a magnetic field generated by the power supply coil, and a first traveling controller that causes the mower to travel toward the charging station, based on a detection result of the first detector.

An autonomous vehicle may determine that it has an amount of power remaining projected to be needed to reach a recharging point by autonomously traveling with predefined systems disabled. The vehicle may disable the predefined systems and travel towards the recharging point. Subsequent to the disabling, the autonomous vehicle may determine that it no longer has the amount of power remaining projected to be needed to reach the recharging point. The vehicle may then communicate with a server and request assistance. The vehicle may then travel to an instructed rendezvous point with a second autonomous vehicle, the rendezvous received from the server. The two vehicles may then communicate to allow the first vehicle to leverage a capability of the second autonomous vehicle, responsive to the first and second autonomous vehicles being within communication range, allowing the first vehicle to reach the recharging point via the leveraging.

A regenerative braking torque control system of an electric vehicle, includes a travel information setting section selects a regenerative braking level in response to a driver’s input and setting at least one driving mode among a plurality of driving modes, an in-vehicle information detector which detects in-vehicle information corresponding to a number and in-vehicle positions of occupants seated on vehicle seats, and a controller which allows driving to be performed according to the regenerative braking level selected by the travel information setting section, the controller transferring motor torque responsiveness according to the number and the in-vehicle positions of the occupants detected by the in-vehicle information detector to a motor controller for driving the vehicle by reflecting the motor torque responsiveness on regenerative braking torque.