FIELD

The present application generally relates to vehicle-to-vehicle communication and, more particularly, to systems and methods for communication and sharing amongst groups of vehicles.

BACKGROUND

Existing vehicles offer a relatively limited social experience during driving. As a result, vehicle drivers and passengers typically utilize a variety of mobile applications to stay connected to other friends and family, some of which could be driving or riding in other nearby vehicles as part of a caravan (e.g., off-roading). Different mobile applications could be used, for example, for each of maps/navigation, voice calls, video calls, obstacle reporting, music playback/sharing, and the like. Switching between these various mobile applications is a cumbersome process, and these mobile applications are also typically installed on separate mobile phones or tablet computers, which results in the vehicle drivers and passengers being somewhat disconnected from the actual vehicles and the overall driving experience. Some vehicle-specific features, such as images or video captured by exterior camera systems, may also not be easily sharable with others. In addition, communication amongst vehicles may be difficult or impossible in remote areas where conventional networks (e.g., cellular networks) are unavailable. Accordingly, while such vehicle communication systems work well for their intended purpose, there remains a need for improvement in the relevant art.

SUMMARY

According to one example aspect of the invention, a communication system for a vehicle is presented. In one exemplary implementation, the communication system comprises: a cellular network transceiver configured for communication via a cellular network, a low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite network transceiver configured for communication via an LEO satellite network, and a controller configured to: when the cellular network is available, control the cellular network transceiver to share information between the vehicle and one or more other vehicles of a group of vehicles via the cellular network, and when the cellular network is unavailable or in response to detecting a user input indicative of a switchover request, control the LEO satellite network transceiver to share information between the vehicle and the one or more other vehicles of the group of vehicles via the LEO satellite network and not via the cellular network.

In some implementations, the controller is further configured to detect the user input indicative of the switchover request, and only in response to detecting the user input, control the LEO satellite network transceiver to share information between the vehicle and the one or more other vehicles of the group of vehicles via the LEO satellite network and not via the cellular network.

In some implementations, the controller is further configured to detect a dropout condition of the cellular network, and only in response to detecting the dropout condition, control the LEO satellite network transceiver to share information between the vehicle and the one or more other vehicles of the group of vehicles via the LEO satellite network and not via the cellular network.

In some implementations, the controller is further configured to establish a leader mode where a particular vehicle of the group of vehicles opts-in to be a leader vehicle, wherein the information shared amongst the group of vehicles is leader information relative to the leader vehicle. In some implementations, the leader information comprises global positioning system (GPS) coordinate based information for each particular vehicle of the group of vehicles relative to the leader vehicle.

In some implementations, the controller is further configured to receive a pin annotation identifying a point-of-interest (POI) at a particular set of GPS coordinates, upload the pin annotation to a secure network via the cellular or LEO satellite networks, and sharing the pin annotation with the one or more other vehicles of the group of vehicles via the secure network.

In some implementations, the controller is further configured to receive at least one of a voice recording annotation and a camera recording annotation at a particular set of GPS coordinates, upload the at least one of the voice recording annotation and the camera recording annotation to a secure network via the cellular or LEO satellite networks, and sharing the at least one of the voice recording annotation and the camera recording annotation with the one or more other vehicles of the group of vehicles via the secure network.

In some implementations, the information shared amongst the group of vehicles via the LEO satellite network comprises at least one of voice recordings and camera recordings.

In some implementations, the controller is further configured to determine a current set of suspension settings of the vehicle, and in response to detecting that the vehicle is opted-in to share its current set of suspension settings: upload the current set of suspension settings for the vehicle to a secure network via the cellular or LEO satellite networks, and sharing the current set of suspension settings of the vehicle with the one or more other vehicles of the group of vehicles via the secure network.

In some implementations, the group of vehicles comprises ten or more vehicles.

According to another example aspect of the invention, a method of controlling communication amongst a group of vehicles is presented. In one exemplary implementation, the method comprises: determining, by a controller of a vehicle of the group of vehicles, whether a cellular network is unavailable or a user input indicative of a switchover request has been received, wherein the vehicle comprises both a cellular network transceiver configured to communicate via the cellular network and an LEO satellite network transceiver configured to communicate via an LEO satellite network, when the cellular network is available, controlling, by the controller, the cellular network transceiver to share information between the vehicle and one or more other vehicles of the group of vehicles via the cellular network, and when the cellular network is unavailable or in response to receiving the user input indicative of the switchover request, controlling, by the controller, the LEO satellite network transceiver to share information between the vehicle and the one or more other vehicles of the group of vehicles via the LEO satellite network and not via the cellular network.

In some implementations, the method further comprises: detecting, by the controller, the user input indicative of the switchover request, and only in response to detecting the user input, controlling, by the controller, the LEO satellite network transceiver to share information between the vehicle and the one or more other vehicles of the group of vehicles via the LEO satellite network and not via the cellular network.

In some implementations, the method further comprises: detecting, by the controller, a dropout condition of the cellular network, and only in response to detecting the dropout condition, controlling, by the controller, the LEO satellite network transceiver to share information between the vehicle and the one or more other vehicles of the group of vehicles via the LEO satellite network and not via the cellular network.

In some implementations, further comprising establishing, by the controller, a leader mode where a particular vehicle of the group of vehicles opts-in to be a leader vehicle, wherein the information shared amongst the group of vehicles is leader information relative to the leader vehicle. In some implementations, the leader information comprises global positioning system (GPS) coordinate based information for each particular vehicle of the group of vehicles relative to the leader vehicle.

In some implementations, the method further comprises receiving, by the controller, a pin annotation identifying a point-of-interest (POI) at a particular set of GPS coordinates, uploading, by the controller, the pin annotation to a secure network via the cellular or LEO satellite networks, and sharing, by the controller, the pin annotation with the one or more other vehicles of the group of vehicles via the secure network.

In some implementations, the method further comprises: receiving, by the controller, at least one of a voice recording annotation and a camera recording annotation at a particular set of GPS coordinates, uploading, by the controller, the at least one of the voice recording annotation and the camera recording annotation to a secure network via the cellular or LEO satellite networks, and sharing, by the controller, the at least one of the voice recording annotation and the camera recording annotation with the one or more other vehicles of the group of vehicles via the secure network.

In some implementations, the information shared amongst the group of vehicles via the LEO satellite network comprises at least one of voice recordings and camera recordings.

In some implementations, the method further comprises determining, by the controller, a current set of suspension settings of the vehicle, and in response to detecting that the vehicle is opted-in to share its current set of suspension settings: uploading, by the controller, the current set of suspension settings for the vehicle to a secure network via the cellular or LEO satellite networks, and sharing, by the controller, the current set of suspension settings of the vehicle with the one or more other vehicles of the group of vehicles via the secure network.

In some implementations, the group of vehicles comprises ten or more vehicles.

Further areas of applicability of the teachings of the present disclosure will become apparent from the detailed description, claims and the drawings provided hereinafter, wherein like reference numerals refer to like features throughout the several views of the drawings. It should be understood that the detailed description, including disclosed embodiments and drawings referenced therein, are merely exemplary in nature intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure, its application or uses. Thus, variations that do not depart from the gist of the present disclosure are intended to be within the scope of the present disclosure.

