A heater/sensor assembly comprises a sensor assembly and a heater assembly. The sensor assembly comprises a first sheet of an electrically non-conducting material, a first wire attached to a first side of the first sheet, and a second wire arranged parallel to the first wire and attached to a second side of the first sheet that is opposite the first side. The heater assembly comprises a second sheet of the electrically non-conducting material arranged parallel to the first sheet; a third wire attached to a first side of the second sheet facing the second side of the first sheet; and a fourth wire arranged parallel to the third wire and attached to a second side of the second sheet that is opposite the first side of the second sheet. The third and fourth wires are arranged at an angle relative to the first and second wires.

An air control system is disclosed. The system may comprise a processing unit. The processing unit may be configured to receive a seat status, and adjust an air control device based on the received seat status.

A seating posture is stabilized for the shoulders of a passenger seated on a vehicle seat. A vehicle seat is provided with a seat back configured to support the seated person from the rear. A shoulder support portion of the seat back configured to support a corresponding one of the shoulders of the seated passenger includes an air cell configured to expand when air is supplied. When the air cell expands, one end portion of the shoulder support portion on the outside in the width direction of the vehicle seat moves more forward than the other end portion of the shoulder support portion on the inside in the width direction.

A vehicle seat sensor unit includes a seat occupancy sensor configured for wirelessly communicating with a control unit, at least one first seat detection sensor member and at least one second seat detection sensor member. The first seat detection sensor member is arrangeable in one out of a lower vehicle seat portion of a vehicle seat that is mountable in a vehicle in a removable manner, and a vehicle cabin floor, and the second seat detection sensor member is attachable to the other one of the lower vehicle seat portion and the vehicle cabin floor. The first seat detection sensor member and the second seat detection sensor member are configured to physically interact if mutually arranged within a specific distance. The physical interaction results in a detectable change of a status of at least one out of the first seat detection sensor member and the second seat detection sensor member.

Systems, apparatus and methods implemented in algorithms, hardware, software, firmware, logic, or circuitry may be configured to process data and sensory input to determine whether an object external to an autonomous vehicle (e.g., another vehicle, a pedestrian, road debris, a bicyclist, etc.) may be a potential collision threat to the autonomous vehicle. The autonomous vehicle may be configured to implement interior active safety systems to protect passengers of the autonomous vehicle during a collision with an object or during evasive maneuvers by the autonomous vehicle, for example. The interior active safety systems may be configured to provide passengers with notice of an impending collision and/or emergency maneuvers by the vehicle by tensioning seat belts prior to executing an evasive maneuver and/or prior to a predicted point of collision.

A seat assembly is provided with a seat cushion and a pivotal seat back. Sensors are connected to the seat cushion and/or the seat back to detect a seating position. An actuator is connected to the seat cushion and/or the seat back for adjustment. A controller is configured to receive data from the plurality sensors, compare the data to determine if the occupant is seated evenly, and adjust the actuator to balance the occupant posture seating position. The controller is in electrical communication with an inflation device to inflate a first air bladder assembly in a thoracic region of the seat back. A second air bladder assembly oriented in a lumbar region, a sacrum region, and/or a scapular region of the seat back is inflated after initiating inflation of the first air bladder assembly for sequential posture alignment.

A method of delivering haptic feedback to a vehicle occupant comprising: measuring capacitance with a capacitive sensor having a known natural capacitance oriented within a vehicle to provide a measured capacitance value; determining, as a function of the measured capacitance value, an intensity level of haptic feedback to be provided by a haptic feedback generator oriented within the vehicle; and generating haptic feedback at the intensity level to a vehicle occupant.

An integrated vehicle occupant safety system to alert an emergency responder at regular intervals is disclosed. The integrated vehicle occupant safety system comprises a sensor module placed at one or more predetermined positions inside a vehicle is configured to send a signal to a communication device via a wireless transmitter after a predefined time on detecting the occupant activity inside the vehicle. A smartphone module and an engine control module is configured to activate a vehicle ignition system after another predefined time via the signal transmitted by the sensor module on detecting the occupant activity inside the vehicle. A vehicle tracking system is configured to transmit a location of the vehicle to the emergency responder within the predefined time to rescue the occupant. A method of alerting an emergency responder using an integrated vehicle occupant safety system is disclosed.

A vehicle seat in accordance with the present disclosure includes a seat bottom and a seat back. The seat back is coupled to the seat bottom to move relative to the seat bottom. The seat bottom is coupled to a floor of a vehicle and configured to move relative to the seat back.

Systems, apparatus and methods may be configured to implement actively-controlled light emission from a robotic vehicle. A light emitter(s) of the robotic vehicle may be configurable to indicate a direction of travel of the robotic vehicle and/or display information (e.g., a greeting, a notice, a message, a graphic, passenger/customer/client content, vehicle livery, customized livery) using one or more colors of emitted light (e.g., orange for a first direction and purple for a second direction), one or more sequences of emitted light (e.g., a moving image/graphic), or positions of light emitter(s) on the robotic vehicle (e.g., symmetrically positioned light emitters). The robotic vehicle may not have a front or a back (e.g., a trunk/a hood) and may be configured to travel bi-directionally, in a first direction or a second direction (e.g., opposite the first direction), with the direction of travel being indicated by one or more of the light emitters.