For various political, commercial and humanitarian reasons there is a desire to detect intrusion of stowaways into lorries and other freight vehicles. Many traditional intrusion detectors operate on the bases of detecting an increase in carbon dioxide within a space as indicator of presence of a human. A problem arises when the freight vehicle is carrying perishable goods such as fruits and vegetables which give off CO.sub.2 as they perish which makes it difficult to reliably attribute the cause of an elevation in CO.sub.2 concentration.

An embodiment of the invention overcomes this problem by detecting a sudden decrease in CO.sub.2 concentration within the freight vehicle from a concentration that is much elevated from a background atmospheric concentration of around 400 ppm. This sudden decrease can be attributed to opening of a door of a trailer allowing the escape of CO.sub.2 that has built up as the freight perishes.

For various political, commercial and humanitarian reasons there is a desire to detect intrusion of stowaways into lorries and other freight vehicles. Many traditional intrusion detectors operate on the bases of detecting an increase in carbon dioxide within a space as indicator of presence of a human. A problem arises when the freight vehicle is carrying perishable goods such as fruits and vegetables which give off CO.sub.2 as they perish which makes it difficult to reliably attribute the cause of an elevation in CO.sub.2 concentration.

An embodiment of the invention overcomes this problem by detecting a sudden decrease in CO.sub.2 concentration within the freight vehicle from a concentration that is much elevated from a background atmospheric concentration of around 400 ppm. This sudden decrease can be attributed to opening of a door of a trailer allowing the escape of CO.sub.2 that has built up as the freight perishes.

This disclosure is generally directed to systems and methods for eliminating false activation of components of a vehicle when the vehicle is parked in a garage. Example components can be a door lock, a door latch, a door activation servomotor, or a light. In an example method, a vehicle entry authorization system of a vehicle operates a sensor system to obtain dimensional information of an interior portion of the garage. The vehicle entry authorization system may then detect a presence of a mobile device (such as a smartphone, smart device, or a vehicle key fob) and determines the location of the mobile device based on the dimensional information. If the mobile device is located outside the garage, the vehicle entry authorization system refrains from activating a component of the vehicle. However, if the mobile device is located inside the garage, the vehicle entry authorization system activates the component.

This disclosure is generally directed to systems and methods for eliminating false activation of components of a vehicle when the vehicle is parked in a garage. Example components can be a door lock, a door latch, a door activation servomotor, or a light. In an example method, a vehicle entry authorization system of a vehicle operates a sensor system to obtain dimensional information of an interior portion of the garage. The vehicle entry authorization system may then detect a presence of a mobile device (such as a smartphone, smart device, or a vehicle key fob) and determines the location of the mobile device based on the dimensional information. If the mobile device is located outside the garage, the vehicle entry authorization system refrains from activating a component of the vehicle. However, if the mobile device is located inside the garage, the vehicle entry authorization system activates the component.

A system for a vehicle includes a rear gate assembly of the vehicle that includes a closure panel operable to pivot vehicle-downward from a closed position to an open position. The system also includes a support feature coupled to the closure panel and operable to move relative to the closure panel between a retracted position and a deployed position. In the open position of the closure panel, the position of the support feature in the deployed position is further vehicle-downward than the position of the support feature in the retracted position. The system also includes a sensing system of the vehicle that detects a living being proximate to the rear gate assembly. The system further includes a controller that authenticates an identity and determines a position of the living being based on data received from the sensing system and prompts movement of the support feature from the retracted position to the deployed position based on the authenticated identity and determined position of the living being.

A system for a vehicle includes a rear gate assembly of the vehicle that includes a closure panel operable to pivot vehicle-downward from a closed position to an open position. The system also includes a support feature coupled to the closure panel and operable to move relative to the closure panel between a retracted position and a deployed position. In the open position of the closure panel, the position of the support feature in the deployed position is further vehicle-downward than the position of the support feature in the retracted position. The system also includes a sensing system of the vehicle that detects a living being proximate to the rear gate assembly. The system further includes a controller that authenticates an identity and determines a position of the living being based on data received from the sensing system and prompts movement of the support feature from the retracted position to the deployed position based on the authenticated identity and determined position of the living being.

The disclosed embodiments generally provide visual and/or audio cues to a user to guide the user to a vehicle pickup-drop-off (PuDo) location, such as an autonomous vehicle (AV) PuDo. The user’s current location is determined based on information from the user’s mobile device. A path is determined from the user’s current location to the designated PuDo location, and instructions (e.g., turn-by-turn directions) to reach the designated PuDo are displayed on the user’s mobile device, for example, using an augmented reality (AR) interface on their mobile device that is updated in real-time. Disclosed embodiments also allow vehicles to authenticate the identity of a user before allowing entry of the user into the vehicle based on a sequence of hand gestures performed by the user that are detected by exterior sensors (e.g., camera, LiDAR) of the vehicle.

The disclosed embodiments generally provide visual and/or audio cues to a user to guide the user to a vehicle pickup-drop-off (PuDo) location, such as an autonomous vehicle (AV) PuDo. The user’s current location is determined based on information from the user’s mobile device. A path is determined from the user’s current location to the designated PuDo location, and instructions (e.g., turn-by-turn directions) to reach the designated PuDo are displayed on the user’s mobile device, for example, using an augmented reality (AR) interface on their mobile device that is updated in real-time. Disclosed embodiments also allow vehicles to authenticate the identity of a user before allowing entry of the user into the vehicle based on a sequence of hand gestures performed by the user that are detected by exterior sensors (e.g., camera, LiDAR) of the vehicle.

Methods and systems for autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicle control, routing, and automatic feature adjustment are disclosed. Sensors associated with autonomous operation features may be utilized to search an area for missing persons, stolen vehicles, or similar persons or items of interest. Sensor data associated with the features may be automatically collected and analyzed to passively search for missing persons or vehicles without vehicle operator involvement. Search criteria may be determined by a remote server and communicated to a plurality of vehicles within a search area. In response to which, sensor data may be collected and analyzed by the vehicles. When sensor data generated by a vehicle matches the search criteria, the vehicle may communicate the information to the remote server.

The present invention provides a travel control apparatus (20) including an in-vehicle image acquisition unit (21) that acquires an in-vehicle image generated by a camera for capturing an inside of a vehicle compartment of a reserved vehicle, an in-vehicle sensing unit (22) that senses that a reserving person is present within a vehicle compartment of the reserved vehicle, based on the in-vehicle image, and a permission output unit (23) that outputs, when it is sensed that the reserving person is present within a vehicle compartment of the reserved vehicle, travel permission of the reserved vehicle.