A vehicle theft-prevention apparatus can include a body, a computing device, sensors, and a speaker. The body can include a first and second portion and a light emitting portion. The first portion can move relative to the second portion. The second portion can include perforations to facilitate sound transmission from the speaker. The light emitting portion can be positioned between the first portion and the second portion. The light emitting portion can be configured to emit light based on a signal from the computing device. A lens can include a concentric structure protruding from the body. The lens can cover the sensor.

Methods and systems autonomously parking and retrieving vehicles are disclosed. Available parking spaces or parking facilities may be identified, and the vehicle may be navigated to an available space from a drop-off location without passengers. Special-purpose sensors, GPS data, or wireless signal triangulation may be used to identify vehicles and available parking spots. Upon a user request or a prediction of upcoming user demand, the vehicle may be retrieved autonomously from a parking space. Other vehicles may be autonomously moved to facilitate parking or retrieval.

A sensing device can include an accelerometer, a transceiver, and a computing device in communication with the accelerometer and transceiver. The computing device can transmit a first set of signals at a first power level to a remote device. The computing device can determine, via the accelerometer, a movement of the sensing device. The computing device can increase a power level for transmission from the first power level to a second power level in response to the movement. The computing device can transmit future signals at the second power level to the remote device.

Methods and systems for assessing, detecting, and responding to malfunctions involving components of autonomous vehicles and/or smart homes are described herein. Autonomous operation features and related components can be assessed using direct or indirect data regarding operation. Vehicle collision and/or smart home incident monitoring, damage detection, and responses are also described, with particular focus on the particular challenges associated with incident response for unoccupied vehicles and/or smart homes. Operating data associated with the autonomous vehicle and/or smart home may be received. Within the operating, an unusual condition indicative of a likelihood of incident may be detected. Based on the unusual condition, it may be determined that the incident occurred. Accordingly, a response to the incident may be determined. The response may be implemented by the autonomous vehicle and/or smart home.

A vehicle theft recording system, including a first exterior camera disposed on at least a portion of a front portion of a vehicle to record at least one first visual data of a surrounding area in a front of the vehicle thereon, a second exterior camera disposed on at least a portion of a rear portion of the vehicle opposite with respect to the front portion of the vehicle to record at least one second visual data of a surrounding area in a rear of the vehicle thereon, a first mirror camera disposed on at least a portion of a first mirror of the vehicle to record at least one third visual data of a surrounding area on a first side of the vehicle thereon, a second mirror camera disposed on at least a portion of a second mirror of the vehicle opposite with respect to the first side of the vehicle to record at least one fourth visual data of a surrounding area on a second side of the vehicle thereon, an interior camera disposed on at least a portion of a dashboard of the vehicle to record at least one fifth visual data of a surrounding area within an interior of the vehicle thereon, and an alert unit disposed within at least a portion of the vehicle to respond to an alert based on a presence of at least one unauthorized user within and around the vehicle.

While a vehicle is in a minimal power state, a first sensor is activated based on a location of the vehicle within a monitored area. The vehicle is transitioned to an on state based on detecting an object via data from the first sensor. Then the vehicle is operated to block an exit from the monitored area based on identifying the object as an unauthorized object.

A self-declaring electronic license plate (e-plate) system for a vehicle is disclosed. This self-declaring e-plate system includes: an input device; a radio frequency identification (RFID) reader coupled to the input device; and an RFID-enabled license plate. In some embodiments, the input device is configured to receive vehicle occupancy information and triggers the RFID reader to write the received vehicle occupancy information to the RFID-enabled license plate in response to receiving the vehicle occupancy information. The RFID reader is configured to write at least a portion of the received vehicle occupancy information to the RFID-enabled license plate. The RFID-enabled license plate is configured to provide at least a portion of the received vehicle occupancy information to an electronic toll collection (ETC) reader. In some embodiments, the received vehicle occupancy information includes a current number of occupants self-declared by a user, such as a driver or a passenger inside the vehicle.

The invention relates to an authentication system (10) for a vehicle (100), in particular a motor vehicle (100), for storing an ID-transmitter (80) in the vehicle (100) with an outer housing (11) in which the ID-transmitter (80) can be stored. In this case it is provided that an electronic security unit is provided to monitor at least the secure storage of the ID-transmitter (80) within the outer housing (11).

The present disclosure relates to apparatus and methods for locking and/or unlocking a vehicle based on a location of a mobile device associated with the vehicle. In one embodiment a processor in a vehicle analyzes a position of a mobile device relative to the vehicle and allows the vehicle to be unlocked when the mobile device is determined to be approaching the vehicle.

Aspects of the disclosure relate to enabling roadside assistance to a vehicle that requires assistance having an autonomous driving mode. For instance, a technician may be assigned to the vehicle that requires assistance. A signal corresponding to user input at a remote computing device requesting a change to a state of the vehicle may be received. The signal may be based on details of the assigned technician. Based on the validation, an instruction may be sent to the vehicle to change the state of the vehicle.