Predictive vehicle operating assistance

Abstract

Described herein are various systems and processes for predictive operating assistance of vehicles. The systems and techniques described herein may be applicable to vehicles such as vehicles operated by a driver, semi-autonomous vehicles, and/or autonomous vehicles. The assistance techniques described herein may be predictive. That is, the techniques allow for the prediction of non-optimal or dangerous operating conditions before the vehicle control is compromised. Accordingly, a warning may be provided and/or operation of the vehicle may be changed based on the predictive assistance determinations. In certain embodiments, the techniques described herein may provide warnings to a driver, may detect faults within the vehicle, may aid in route planning, may detect obstacles proximate to the vehicle, and/or may aid in the operation of the vehicle.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A vehicle comprising:
 a body;   an interior disposed within the body and comprising a user interface;   a communications module;   a vehicle output module; and   a controller, communicatively coupled to the user interface, the communications module, and the vehicle output module, wherein the controller is configured to:
 receive, via the communications module, communications data from an electronic device associated with a pedestrian; 
 determine that the communications data is received from the electronic device associated with the pedestrian; 
 determine a presence of the pedestrian proximate to the vehicle; and 
 output a pedestrian alert with the user interface. 
   
     
     
         2 . The vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to:
 cause the vehicle output module to provide a warning based on the determining the presence of the pedestrian proximate to the vehicle.   
     
     
         3 . The vehicle of  claim 2 , wherein the warning is a visual warning. 
     
     
         4 . The vehicle of  claim 2 , wherein the warning is an audible warning. 
     
     
         5 . The vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to:
 communicate presence data to the electronic device.   
     
     
         6 . The vehicle of  claim 5 , wherein the presence data is configured to cause the electronic device to provide a warning of a presence of the vehicle. 
     
     
         7 . The vehicle of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a global positioning system (GPS) sensor, communicatively coupled to the controller, wherein the controller is further configured to:
 receive, via the GPS sensor, GPS data; 
 determine, based on the GPS data, a location of the vehicle; 
 communicate, via the communications module, location data to a server, wherein the location data is configured to allow the server to determine associated third party electronic devices that are proximate to the vehicle; 
 receive, via the communication module, data indicating the presence of the pedestrian proximate to the vehicle; and 
 providing, with the vehicle output module, a warning based on the determining the presence of the pedestrian proximate to the vehicle from the received data indicating the presence of the pedestrian. 
   
     
     
         8 . The vehicle of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 an electric powertrain.   
     
     
         9 . A vehicle comprising:
 a body;   an interior disposed within the body and comprising a user interface;   a global positioning system (GPS) sensor;   a communications module;   a vehicle output module; and   a controller, communicatively coupled to the user interface, the communications module, the GPS sensor, and the vehicle output module, wherein the controller is configured to:
 receive, via the GPS sensor, GPS data; 
 determine, based on the GPS data, a location of the vehicle; 
 communicate, via the communications module, location data to a server, wherein the location data is configured to allow the server to determine electronic devices that are proximate to the vehicle; 
 receive, via the communication module, data indicating a presence of a pedestrian proximate to the vehicle; 
 determine the presence of the pedestrian proximate to the vehicle; and 
 output a pedestrian alert with the user interface. 
   
     
     
         10 . The vehicle of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 a vehicle sensor, communicatively coupled to the controller, wherein the controller is further configured to:
 receive sensor data from the vehicle sensor, wherein the presence of the pedestrian is determined based further on the sensor data. 
   
     
     
         11 . The vehicle of  claim 10 , wherein the vehicle sensor is one or more of a radar, lidar, and/or camera system. 
     
     
         12 . The vehicle of  claim 9 , wherein the controller is further configured to:
 cause the vehicle output module to provide a warning based on the determining the presence of the pedestrian proximate to the vehicle.   
     
     
         13 . The vehicle of  claim 12 , wherein the warning is a visual warning. 
     
     
         14 . The vehicle of  claim 12 , wherein the warning is an audible warning. 
     
     
         15 . The vehicle of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 an electric powertrain.   
     
     
         16 . A non-transitory machine readable medium, the non-transitory machine readable medium configured to cause a vehicle controller to perform operations comprising:
 receiving, via a communications module of the vehicle, communications data from an electronic device associated with a pedestrian;   determining that the communications data is received from the electronic device associated with the pedestrian;   determining a presence of the pedestrian proximate to the vehicle; and   outputting a pedestrian alert with a user interface of the vehicle.   
     
     
         17 . The non-transitory machine readable medium of  claim 16 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 causing a vehicle output module to provide a warning based on the determining the presence of the pedestrian proximate to the vehicle.   
     
     
         18 . The non-transitory machine readable medium of  claim 17 , wherein the warning is a visual warning. 
     
     
         19 . The non-transitory machine readable medium of  claim 17 , wherein the warning is an audible warning. 
     
     
         20 . The non-transitory machine readable medium of  claim 16 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 communicating presence data to the electronic device, wherein the presence data is configured to cause the electronic device to provide a warning of a presence of the vehicle.