Apparatus and method for using connected vehicles as an advertisement platform

Abstract

By way of example, a connected vehicle in the form of an electric vehicle is disclosed that the electric vehicle includes an advertisement system, which is configured to: detect presence of people near the connected vehicle via one or more proximity sensors; and reproduce, in response to the detection of presence of people, one or more advertisements via external displays and/or external speakers of the connected vehicle. Further, the connected vehicle may include an advertisement identification unit coupled to the advertisement system and configured to recognize and identify one or more visual contents of an advertisement reproduced on an external display of another vehicle or a billboard display nearby.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A connected vehicle comprising an electric vehicle including:
 an advertisement system, wherein the advertisement system of the electric vehicle is configured to:   detect presence of people near the connected vehicle via one or more proximity sensors; and   reproduce, in response to the detection of presence of people, one or more advertisements via external displays and/or external speakers of the connected vehicle.   
     
     
         2 . The connected vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein the advertisement system of the electric vehicle is further configured to:
 reproduce one or more audio advertisements via the external speakers of the connected vehicle in such a way that the one or more audio advertisements reproduced provide to the people an alert message of the presence of the connected vehicle, for safety of the people outside the connected vehicle.   
     
     
         3 . The connected vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein the electric vehicle is further configured to include an auxiliary battery for operation of the advertisement system such that the one or more advertisements are reproduced by the advertisement system when the electric vehicle is off but the presence of people near the electric vehicle is detected. 
     
     
         4 . The connected vehicle of  claim 3 , wherein the advertisement system of the electric vehicle is further configured to automatically reproduce the one or more advertisements using the auxiliary battery, when the presence of people near the electric vehicle is detected. 
     
     
         5 . The connected vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein the external speakers of the connected vehicle comprise one or more vibration speakers. 
     
     
         6 . The connected vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein the electric vehicle is further configured to include: an autonomous driving unit and an advertisement identification unit coupled to the autonomous identification unit, wherein the advertisement identification unit is configured to recognize and identify one or more visual contents of an advertisement reproduced on an external display of another vehicle or a billboard display nearby. 
     
     
         7 . The connected vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein the advertisement identification unit is further configured to recognize the one or more visual contents of the advertisement reproduced on the external displays, based in part on a number of pixels in the external display of another vehicle or the billboard display nearby. 
     
     
         8 . The connected vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein the advertisement identification unit is further configured to recognize the one or more visual contents of the advertisement based in part on a marker inserted in the one or more visual contents of the advertisement, to inform the advertisement identification unit that the one or more visual contents are designed for reproduction on the external display. 
     
     
         9 . The connected vehicle of  claim 8 , wherein the marker comprises an image frame of advertisement, a quick response (QR) code, an identification symbol or number, or the like. 
     
     
         10 . An autonomous vehicle, comprising:
 an autonomous driving unit;   an advertisement system coupled to the autonomous driving unit and configured to reproduce one or more advertisements on the autonomous vehicle; and   an advertisement identification unit coupled to the advertisement system, wherein the advertisement identification unit is configured to recognize and identify one or more visual contents of an advertisement reproduced on an external display of another vehicle or a billboard display nearby.   
     
     
         11 . The autonomous vehicle of  claim 10 , wherein the advertisement identification unit is further configured to recognize and identify the one or more visual contents of the advertisement reproduced on the external display, based in part on a number of pixels in the external display. 
     
     
         12 . The autonomous vehicle of  claim 10 , wherein the advertisement identification unit is further configured to recognize the one or more visual contents of the advertisement based in part on a marker inserted in the one or more visual contents of the advertisement, to inform the advertisement identification unit that the one or more visual contents are advertisements designed for reproduction on the external display. 
     
     
         13 . The autonomous vehicle of  claim 12 , wherein the marker comprises an image frame of advertisement, a quick response (QR) code, an identification symbol or number, or the like. 
     
     
         14 . A method for reproducing one or more advertisements using a connected vehicle, the method comprising:
 detecting presence of people near the connected vehicle via one or more proximity sensors disposed in the connected vehicle; and   reproducing, in response to the detection of the presence of people, an advertisement via an external display and/or an external speaker of the connected vehicle.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the connected vehicle comprises an electric vehicle. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein reproducing, in response to the detection, an advertisement via an external display and/or an external speaker of the connected vehicle comprises: reproducing one or more audio advertisements via the external speaker of the connected vehicle in such a way that the one or more audio advertisements provide the people with an alert message of the presence of the connected vehicle, for safety of the people outside the connected vehicle. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising providing an auxiliary battery for operation of an advertisement system of the connected vehicle such that the advertisement is reproduced by the advertisement system when a main power of the connected vehicle is off and the one or more proximity sensors detect the presence of people near the connected vehicle. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising automatically reproducing the advertisement using the auxiliary battery in a continuous manner for a period of time when the main power of the connected vehicle is off and the one or more proximity sensors detect the presence of people near the connected vehicle. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the advertisement is reproduced through one or more vibration speakers disposed in the connected vehicle. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising recognizing one or more visual contents of an advertisement reproduced on an external display of another connected vehicle or a billboard display nearby, based in part on: a number of pixels in the external display of another connected vehicle or a marker disposed in the one or more visual contents of the advertisement reproduced on the external display of another connected vehicle or the billboard display.