Rideshare Server Mediates Vehicle Control for Passenger Devices
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle connectivity systems are inconvenient for ride-sharing scenarios, as they require passengers to pair their devices directly with the vehicle, which is non-trivial and confusing for users unfamiliar with the vehicle's make and model, limiting access to vehicle functionality.
Innovation Solution
A system that includes a ride-share server facilitating communication between a primary-connected device within the vehicle and a secondary-connected device, allowing the secondary device to control vehicle settings through the primary device without direct pairing, using a wide-area network to send requests for setting changes to the vehicle.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a passenger pairs their device directly with the vehicle using traditional Bluetooth pairing, then the passenger can control vehicle settings, but the process becomes non-trivial and confusing for users unfamiliar with the vehicle's make and model
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a server as an intermediary between the passenger's device and the vehicle. The server receives pairing requests from the vehicle, manages the pairing process, and facilitates connection without requiring the passenger to directly interact with vehicle-specific pairing procedures. This mediator approach simplifies the user experience by abstracting away the complexity of direct device-vehicle pairing.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the system requires direct device pairing with the vehicle, then vehicle functionality is accessible, but users who regularly switch vehicles face inconvenience
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary pairing actions by having the vehicle initiate the pairing process with the server before the passenger arrives. The server pre-establishes the connection framework and prepares the pairing environment, so when the passenger boards, the connection can be quickly established or automatically connected without requiring time-consuming manual pairing procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The server acts as a universal intermediary that can handle pairing requests from multiple different vehicles and multiple passenger devices. This universal platform allows users to switch between vehicles seamlessly, as the server manages the connections abstractedly without requiring re-pairing with each specific vehicle's system.
3Reliability
If the vehicle computing system displays a PIN for pairing, then security is maintained, but the process becomes more complex for users
Solution Approach 1:
The server serves as an intermediary that manages the PIN exchange process. Instead of the passenger directly interacting with the vehicle's displayed PIN, the server can facilitate the authentication process, potentially by transmitting the PIN securely to the passenger's device or by managing the verification process remotely, thereby maintaining security while simplifying the user interaction.
Data Source
AI summary
A ride-share server communicates with both a primary-connected device and a secondary-connected device over a wide-area network. The ride-share server is programmed to receive a request from the secondary-connected device to apply a setting change to a vehicle, and responsive to verifying the secondary-connected device is authorized to command the vehicle, send a second request to the primary-connected device to direct the primary-connected device to command the vehicle to implement the setting change. A secondary-connected device is in communication with a ride-share server over a wide-area network and programmed to send a request to the ride-share server to change a vehicle setting. A primary-connected device is in communication with a computing platform via a device link interface over a local-area connection and with the ride-share server over the wide-area network, and is programmed to request the computing platform to change the setting responsive to validation from the ride-share server.