US-20260127918-A1 - AUTOMATIC VEHICLE GROSS WEIGHT & INSPECTION REPORTING

US20260127918A1US 20260127918 A1US20260127918 A1US 20260127918A1US-20260127918-A1

Abstract

A method of transmitting vehicle information, performed at least in part at a vehicle comprising one or more sensors, one or more processors, and memory is provided. The method includes storing vehicle information on the memory; detecting, by the one or more sensors, an optical code, the optical code having encoded information; decoding, by the one or more processors, the encoded information; identifying a remote computing system based on the decoded information; and transmitting a signal comprising the vehicle information from the vehicle to the identified remote computing system.

Inventors

Jonathan Michael Bonte

Assignees

STACK AV CO.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20241106

Claims (20)

1 . A method of transmitting vehicle information, the method performed at least in part at a vehicle comprising one or more sensors, one or more processors, and memory, the method comprising: storing vehicle information on the memory; detecting, by the one or more sensors, an optical code, the optical code comprising encoded information; decoding, by the one or more processors, the encoded information; identifying a remote computing system based on the decoded information; and transmitting a signal comprising the vehicle information from the vehicle to the identified remote computing system.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the vehicle information comprises one or more of vehicle weight information, vehicle height information, cargo information, or vehicle inspection information.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the vehicle information comprises vehicle weight information, and wherein the optical code is located on a side of a roadway or bridge.
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the vehicle information comprises vehicle height information, and wherein the optical code is located along a roadway that passes under an overpass.
5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the optical code is an ArUco, a QR code, a barcode, or a bit code.
6 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising establishing a communicative link between the vehicle and the identified remote computing system based on the optical code.
7 . The method of claim 6 , wherein the communicative link is a peer-to-peer link, a cellular connection, a Bluetooth connection, or a direct wireless communication protocol.
8 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising receiving, by the vehicle, in response to transmitting the signal comprising the vehicle information, a signal from the remote computing system comprising status information.
9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the vehicle information comprises vehicle weight information, and wherein the status information indicates that the vehicle weight exceeds a weight limitation.
10 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the vehicle information comprises cargo information, and wherein the status information indicates that the vehicle is carrying unpermitted cargo.
11 . A system for transmitting vehicle information, the system comprising: a vehicle comprising one or more sensors, one or more processors, and memory storing computer program code executable by the one or more processors to cause the vehicle to: store vehicle information on the memory; detect, by the one or more sensors, an optical code, the optical code comprising encoded information; decode, by the one or more processors, the encoded information; identify a remote computing system based on the decoded information; and transmit a signal comprising the vehicle information from the vehicle to the identified remote computing system.
12 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the vehicle information comprises vehicle weight information, and wherein the optical code is located on a side of a roadway or bridge.
13 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the vehicle information comprises vehicle height information, and wherein the optical code is located along a roadway that passes under an overpass.
14 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the optical code is an ArUco, a QR code, a barcode, or a bit code.
15 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the vehicle is further caused to establish a communicative link between the vehicle and the identified remote computing system based on the optical code.
16 . The system of claim 15 , wherein the communicative link is a peer-to-peer link, a cellular connection, a Bluetooth connection, or a direct wireless communication protocol.
17 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the vehicle is further caused to receive, in response to transmitting the signal comprising the vehicle information, a signal from the remote computing system comprising status information.
18 . The system of claim 17 , wherein the vehicle information comprises vehicle weight information, and wherein the status information indicates that the vehicle exceeds a weight limitation.
19 . The system of claim 17 , wherein the vehicle information comprises cargo information, and wherein the status information indicates that the vehicle is carrying unpermitted cargo.
20 . A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing one or more programs, the one or more programs comprising instructions, which, when executed by a vehicle comprising one or more sensors, one or more processors, and memory, cause the vehicle to: store vehicle information on the memory; detect, by the one or more sensors, an optical code, the optical code comprising encoded information; decode, by the one or more processors, the encoded information; identify a remote computing system based on the decoded information; and transmit a signal comprising the vehicle information from the vehicle to the identified remote computing system.

Description

FIELD This disclosure relates generally to systems and methods of transmitting vehicle information, and more specifically, to transmitting vehicle information based on optical codes that are detected by vehicle sensors. BACKGROUND Many trucks and commercial vehicles are required to stop at weigh stations in accordance with state and local regulations. Weigh stations are designed to prevent overweight vehicles from damaging roads and bridges. Additionally, state and/or local authorities may check freight and vehicle paperwork, tax compliance, and may perform vehicle inspections at weigh stations. As such, weigh stations are important for the safe operation of commercial vehicles. According to known weigh station methods, trucks and commercial vehicles are required to pull off the side of a road or exit off a highway to access weigh stations. Recently, improvements have been made to weigh station technology that allow some vehicles to bypass weigh stations altogether. These technologies involve the use of a transponder or other on-board accessories to transmit information to a participating weigh stations. However, not all weigh stations support the use of these technologies, posing an inconvenience for commercial drivers. These technologies also require that the weigh station be outfitted with receivers to support various types of transponders/on-board devices, which can be costly to implement and can slow down implementation by states and municipalities. SUMMARY As described above, known systems and methods of acquiring weight or safety information from trucks or commercial vehicles require vehicles to pull off a road and/or are costly and burdensome to implement into existing infrastructure. Accordingly, there is a need for improved systems and methods that allow for weight and safety information to be automatically, reliably, efficiently, and flexibly be transmitted from trucks and other commercial vehicles. Described herein are systems and methods that may address one or more of these needs. Described herein are systems and methods for automatically transmitting vehicle information to a weigh station or other location. The systems and methods described herein may be inexpensive to implement and may allow for drivers to comply with vehicle information sharing requirements without needing to pull off the road. Systems and methods for automatically transmitting vehicle information based on detected optical codes are disclosed herein. Information indicating a vehicle's inspection results, cargo, and/or the weight may be stored on memory of a vehicle's computing system. This information may have been previously measured at a prior weigh station and stored on the vehicle, or may be measured based (e.g., previously and/or in real time) by a weighing system or other sensor system built into the vehicle. One or more optical codes, such as QR codes, may be provided in proximity to the vehicle, for example on the roadside or in other locations in which the commercial vehicle may operate. The optical codes may be detectable by one or more optical sensors on the vehicle (e.g. one or more cameras). This sensor technology, in addition to the vehicle computing system, may already be present in most modern vehicles, especially autonomous or semi-autonomous commercial vehicles. For example, an autonomous vehicle may already be equipped with one or more cameras for used by its autonomous navigation systems, and these same one or more cameras may be used for optical code detection as described herein. Accordingly, the systems and methods described herein may advantageously require few modifications to existing vehicles for implementation, thus reducing the difficulties and costs associated with widespread implementation. The optical codes may be printed on any suitable medium (e.g., on signage) anywhere vehicle information is desired to be collected, such as on a side of a road and/or in front of an existing weigh station. Thus, the optical codes may be easily and inexpensively implemented into existing infrastructure as well. The optical codes may contain encoded information that identifies a remote computing system (e.g., identifies a network address for electronic communication with a computing system associated with a weigh station). One or more processors of the vehicle's computing system may decode the encoded information, which may allow it to identify the remote computing system that is associated with the weigh station. By decoding the identifying information in the optical code, a communicative link can be established between the vehicle's computing system and the remote computing system. This can allow for information to be exchanged between both computing systems through wireless and/or cellular signals, for example. In some examples, a vehicle may be configured to transmit vehicle information to a remote computing system automatically upon detecting an optical code. Therefore, vehicle information can be transmi