US-20260127917-A1 - SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR INSPECTING A VEHICLE

Abstract

A method includes the generation of an inspection-related checklist based on one or more functions of a vehicle, the receipt of one or more commands to perform a vehicle function of the one or more vehicle functions, the performance of the vehicle function wherein one or more additional vehicles is configured to perform an inspection of the vehicle function while the vehicle is performing the vehicle function, and the transmission of an alert in response to the vehicle not passing the inspection.

Inventors

• Stuart C. Salter
• Krishna Bandi
• Mario Anthony Santillo
• Brendan Diamond
• Vyas Darshan Shenoy
• Ryan O'Gorman

Assignees

• FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC

Dates

Publication Date

20260507

Application Date

20241101

Claims (20)

1. 1 . A method comprising: generating, by a vehicle, an inspection-related checklist based on one or more vehicle functions of the vehicle; receiving, from one or more additional vehicles, one or more commands to perform a vehicle function of the one or more vehicle functions on the inspection-related checklist; performing, by the vehicle, the vehicle function in response to the receipt of the one or more commands, wherein the one or more additional vehicles is configured to perform an inspection of the vehicle function while the vehicle is performing the vehicle function; and transmitting, by the vehicle, an alert in response to not passing the inspection.
2. 2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the receipt of the one or more commands is further based on a pose of the vehicle being within a field of view of the one or more additional vehicles, and wherein the field of view of the one or more additional vehicles is associated with the vehicle function.
3. 3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the inspection of the vehicle function is a visual inspection performed by an exterior sensor suite of the one or more additional vehicles.
4. 4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the exterior sensor suite is permanently integrated within a body of the one or more additional vehicles or temporarily affixed to the body of the one or more additional vehicles.
5. 5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein a different vehicle function of the one or more vehicle functions is performed in different geofenced locations in which the vehicle is positioned.
6. 6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the transmission of the alert causes the one or more additional vehicles to perform an additional inspection of the vehicle function, and wherein: one or more diagnostic actions are performed on the vehicle to cause the vehicle to pass the additional inspection.
7. 7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more additional vehicles is further configured to perform an inspection of a vehicle feature, a vehicle quality, or a combination thereof.
8. 8 . A system comprising: a vehicle configured to: generate an inspection-related checklist based on one or more vehicle functions of the vehicle, receive one or more commands to perform a vehicle function of the one or more vehicle functions on the inspection-related checklist, perform the vehicle function in response to the receipt of the one or more commands, and transmit an alert in response to not passing an inspection of the vehicle function; and one or more additional vehicles configured to: transmit the one or more commands to perform the vehicle function, and perform the inspection of the vehicle function while the vehicle is performing the vehicle function.
9. 9 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the receipt of the one or more commands is further based on a pose of the vehicle being within a field of view of the one or more additional vehicles, and wherein the field of view of the one or more additional vehicles is associated with the vehicle function.
10. 10 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the inspection of the vehicle function is a visual inspection performed by an exterior sensor suite of the one or more additional vehicles.
11. 11 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the exterior sensor suite is permanently integrated within a body of the one or more additional vehicles or temporarily affixed to the body of the one or more additional vehicles.
12. 12 . The system of claim 8 , wherein a different vehicle function of the one or more vehicle functions is performed in different geofenced locations in which the vehicle is positioned.
13. 13 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the one or more additional vehicles is further configured to: identify one or more impaired components of the vehicle in response to the vehicle performing the vehicle function.
14. 14 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the transmission of the alert causes the one or more additional vehicles to perform an additional inspection of the vehicle function, and wherein: one or more diagnostic actions are performed on the vehicle to cause the vehicle to pass the additional inspection.
15. 15 . One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing processor-executable instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to: generate, by a vehicle, an inspection-related checklist based on one or more vehicle functions of the vehicle; receive, from one or more additional vehicles, one or more commands to perform a vehicle function of the one or more vehicle functions on the inspection-related checklist; perform, by the vehicle, the vehicle function in response to the receipt of the one or more commands, wherein the one or more additional vehicles is configured to perform an inspection of the vehicle function while the vehicle is performing the vehicle function; and transmit, by the vehicle, an alert in response to not passing the inspection.
16. 16 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15 , wherein the receipt of the one or more commands is further based on a pose of the vehicle being within a field of view of the one or more additional vehicles, and wherein the field of view of the one or more additional vehicles is associated with the vehicle function.
17. 17 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 16 , wherein the inspection of the vehicle function is a visual inspection performed by an exterior sensor suite of the one or more additional vehicles.
18. 18 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 17 , wherein the exterior sensor suite is permanently integrated within a body of the one or more additional vehicles or temporarily affixed to the body of the one or more additional vehicles.
19. 19 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15 , wherein a different vehicle function of the one or more vehicle functions is performed in different geofenced locations in which the vehicle is positioned.
20. 20 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15 , wherein the transmission of the alert causes the one or more additional vehicles to perform an additional inspection of the vehicle function, and wherein: one or more diagnostic actions are performed on the vehicle to cause the vehicle to pass the additional inspection.

Description

FIELD The present disclosure relates to inspecting a vehicle. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to inspecting the vehicle with one or more surrounding vehicles related to a position of the vehicle. BACKGROUND The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art. As manufacturing facilities grow in size, additional infrastructure elements are required to maintain marshaling across a marshaling environment related to the manufacturing facility. Despite adequate infrastructure-provided coverage of the marshaling environment, accuracy associated with an automated inspection of a marshaled vehicle can present one or more issues, such as insufficient angles and lighting. As a result, human operators are tasked with performing the inspection of the marshaled vehicle, but only at certain intervals during an assembly process. Such limited inspection(s) of the marshaled vehicle can present issues to the assembly process. The present disclosure addresses these and other issues related to inspecting a vehicle. SUMMARY This section provides a general summary of the disclosure and is not a comprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of its features. The present disclosure provides a method comprising: generating, by a vehicle, an inspection-related checklist based on one or more vehicle functions of the vehicle; receiving, from one or more additional vehicles, one or more commands to perform a vehicle function of the one or more vehicle functions on the inspection-related checklist; performing, by the vehicle, the vehicle function in response to the receipt of the one or more commands, wherein the one or more additional vehicles is configured to perform an inspection of the vehicle function while the vehicle is performing the vehicle function; and transmitting, by the vehicle, an alert in response to not passing the inspection; wherein the receipt of the one or more commands is further based on a pose of the vehicle being within a field of view of the one or more additional vehicles, and wherein the field of view of the one or more additional vehicles is associated with the vehicle function; wherein the inspection of the vehicle function is a visual inspection performed by an exterior sensor suite of the one or more additional vehicles; wherein the exterior sensor suite is permanently integrated within a body of the one or more additional vehicles or temporarily affixed to the body of the one or more additional vehicles; wherein a different vehicle function of the one or more vehicle functions is performed in different geofenced locations in which the vehicle is positioned; wherein the transmission of the alert causes the one or more additional vehicles to perform an additional inspection of the vehicle function, and wherein: one or more diagnostic actions are performed on the vehicle to cause the vehicle to pass the additional inspection; and wherein the one or more additional vehicles is further configured to perform an inspection of a vehicle feature, a vehicle quality, or a combination thereof. The present disclosure provides a system comprising: a vehicle configured to: generate an inspection-related checklist based on one or more vehicle functions of the vehicle, receive one or more commands to perform a vehicle function of the one or more vehicle functions on the inspection-related checklist, perform the vehicle function in response to the receipt of the one or more commands, and transmit an alert in response to not passing an inspection of the vehicle function; and one or more additional vehicles configured to: transmit the one or more commands to perform the vehicle function, and perform the inspection of the vehicle function while the vehicle is performing the vehicle function; wherein the receipt of the one or more commands is further based on a pose of the vehicle being within a field of view of the one or more additional vehicles, and wherein the field of view of the one or more additional vehicles is associated with the vehicle function; wherein the inspection of the vehicle function is a visual inspection performed by an exterior sensor suite of the one or more additional vehicles; wherein the exterior sensor suite is permanently integrated within a body of the one or more additional vehicles or temporarily affixed to the body of the one or more additional vehicles; wherein a different vehicle function of the one or more vehicle functions is performed in different geofenced locations in which the vehicle is positioned; wherein the one or more additional vehicles is further configured to: identify one or more impaired components of the vehicle in response to the vehicle performing the vehicle function; and wherein the transmission of the alert causes the one or more additional vehicles to perform an additional inspection of the vehicle function, and wherein: one or more diagnostic actions are performed o