Hardware and software mechanisms on autonomous vehicle for pedestrian safety
AssigneeNuro, Inc.
InventorsDavid Ferguson, Jiajun Zhu, Nick Vines, Russell Smith
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An autonomous robot vehicle includes a front side and an energy absorbing system. The front side includes a front bumper and a front face including a frame defining a cavity. The energy absorbing system includes an energy absorbing member mounted in the cavity of the frame, and an inflatable airbag. The energy absorbing member is configured to reduce impact on an object struck by the autonomous robot vehicle. The inflatable airbag is mounted on the front side of the autonomous robot vehicle such that when the inflatable airbag is deployed, the inflatable airbag is external to the autonomous robot vehicle.
Claims25
An autonomous robot vehicle comprising:
- a front side including a front bumper facing a first direction and a front face including a frame defining a first cavity and including a support member;
- and
- an energy absorbing system including:
- an energy absorbing member configured to absorb energy resulting from a collision with an object, the energy absorbing member supported in the first cavity by the support member, wherein the energy absorbing member faces the first direction and extends between a top portion of the front side and a top portion of a recess defining at least one second cavity having a first side facing the first direction that is covered by a lens;
- and
- an inflatable airbag mounted on the front side of the autonomous robot vehicle, wherein when the inflatable airbag is deployed, the inflatable airbag is external to the autonomous robot vehicle.
An energy absorbing system for a vehicle, comprising:
- an energy absorbing member configured to absorb energy resulting from a collision with an object, the energy absorbing member comprising a front face facing a first direction and being supported and retained by at least one support member of the vehicle, wherein the energy absorbing member extends between a top portion of a front side of the vehicle and a top portion of a recess defining at least one cavity of the vehicle having a first side facing the first direction that is covered by a lens;
- and
- an inflatable airbag external the vehicle, wherein the inflatable airbag comprises a plurality of chambers in which each chamber is capable of being inflated independent of the other chambers.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.