[AutonomousVehicles] Apple Car may use exterior screens to signal other drivers

[Cornelius Butler]

Hi Fellow Committee Members,
Apple is working on a vehicle with self driving features.
Here is some news on how the vehicle will be able to communicate with other
drivers.

I'm providing article link and article text:

Article Link:
https://appleinsider.com/articles/21/08/31/apple-car-may-use-exterior-screens-to-signal-other-drivers

Article Text:

Apple Car may use exterior screens to signal other drivers

Malcolm Owen's AvatarMalcolm Owen | Aug 31, 2021

An Apple Car could provide detailed warnings of its actions to other
drivers by using LED screens all over the vehicle to tell other drivers
what the self-driving system is doing.

Apple's long-rumored vehicle is anticipated to include some form of
self-driving technology, given that Apple has been testing it for years on
public roads. While Apple's testing seems to be centered on reading the
road and responding to conditions, there are other features of driving that
inbound systems have to deal with.

One of the problems is indicating to other drivers what the vehicle will do
next. Unlike seeing the silhouette of the driver ahead to get a small clue
for where they are about to go, or other smaller driving actions, there may
not be the same opportunity for contextual clues if a driver has to
encounter a driver-less vehicle.

In a patent granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Tuesday
titled "Exterior Lighting and Warning System," Apple proposes that it could
be more explicit in what a self-driving system can tell other road users.
Instead of the usual array of simple indicator lights, Apple instead
believes it can do the same job using more complex lighting systems.

In short, Apple's system involves the creation of displays that are placed
on and around the vehicle, potentially as an all-encompassing strip of
lights. This long display could show a variety of information to other road
users, not just that brakes are applied or that they wish to travel left or
right.

This can include more detailed braking information, the relative speed of
the car to another following behind, countdown timers for actions, and
other messages. They can be text, but also could consist of graphics and
video.

For drivers parking the vehicle, the displays could show a goodbye message,
or welcome the user on arrival to the vehicle itself.

Originally filed on October 24, 2018, the patent lists its inventors as
Clarisse Mazuit, Arthur Y. Zhang, Albert J. Golko, Bivin J. Varghese,
Christopher P. Child, Collin J. Palmer, Daniel E. Potter, and Thaddeus
Stefanov-Wagner.

The latest patent is a follow-on from a previous patent of the same name,
granted on October 30, 2018 with the same inventors. While that initial
patent covered the idea of exterior-facing indicator signs, the new patent
largely deals with technologies used to create the signs.

For example, one version involves the displays consisting of LEDs placed on
a transparent substrate. When mounted on the body or the rear window, it
will allow the display to be seen through, and to become visible only when
the LEDs are lit.

Alternative ways of doing the same thing include light sources emitting
light into a light guide, or the use of a mirror to reflect light out of
the vehicle itself.

Apple files numerous patent applications on a weekly basis, but while the
existence of a patent indicates areas of interest for Apple's research and
development efforts, they don't guarantee the idea will appear in a future
product or service.

This is far from the only light-centric patent Apple has relating to the
Apple Car, and is among a large number pertaining to car designs.

For the outside of the vehicle, Apple's February 2020 patent for "System
and method for light and image projection" offers a headlight that
highlights part of the road that a driver should pay attention to, such as
road signs or obstacles.

Inside the car, a privacy-based variable lighting system could combine
narrow light band use with window filters that block specific light bands,
allowing occupants to see each other, but prevents those outside the
vehicle from seeing the illumination.

Apple has also mused about adding lighting systems in seats, to tell
passengers how to use seat controls, and to instruct them to buckle up.
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