Method and apparatus for enhanced rental check-out/check-in
AssigneeFord Global Technologies, LLC
InventorsPietro Buttolo, Annette Lynn Huebner, Jayanthi Rao, Stuart C. Salter
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system includes a processor configured to detect user proximity to a rental vehicle. The processor is also configured to instruct a user to photograph an identified portion of a vehicle. The processor is further configured to receive an image captured using a mobile device, including the processor, responsive to the instruction. Also, the processor is configured to determine if a predefined threshold correspondence between the captured image and a predefined image is met and transmit confirmation to the vehicle, responsive to the predefined threshold correspondence.
Claims20
A system comprising:
- a processor configured to:
- detect user proximity to a rental vehicle;
- receive an image of the rental vehicle, captured using a mobile device, including the processor, responsive to an instruction to photograph an identified vehicle-portion;
- determine if a predefined threshold correspondence between characteristics of the captured image and characteristics of a predefined image is met;
- and
- transmit confirmation to the vehicle, responsive to the predefined threshold correspondence being met.
A system comprising:
- a processor configured to:
- detect a user device proximate to a vehicle;
- communicate with the user device to send instructions for photographing a vehicle portion;
- receive an image, captured responsive to the instructions, from the user device;
- and
- enable vehicle activation responsive to a verification that the received image shares a predefined threshold correspondence, based on a characteristic of the received image, to a predefined image of the vehicle portion.
A computer-implemented method comprising:
- enabling utilization of a digital key to start a vehicle, responsive to a determination that a vehicle lighting illumination pattern is present in a video capture received from a user device, the illumination pattern actuated by a vehicle in response to sending instructions, from the vehicle to the user device, to video-capture the illumination pattern.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.