Applied Information has announced that the US Patent and Trademark Office has granted it with a patent covering key aspects of its TravelSafely connected vehicle (CV) smartphone app. The innovative app can alert drivers and vulnerable road users about potentially dangerous situations.
US Patent 11,069,234 is entitled Systems, Methods, and Devices for Communication Between Traffic Controller Systems and Mobile Transmitters and Receivers. It provides for smartphones with the TravelSafely app, and other in-vehicle computers, to communicate with properly equipped traffic control devices to deliver traveler information and safety messages. These include red-light running and speeding in active school zones. The patent also provides for the communication of safety messages between smartphones with TravelSafely enabling pedestrians and cyclists to be warned of a potentially dangerous encounter with a vehicle.
“With almost 300 million smartphones in use in the USA today, the TravelSafely smartphone app is a quick and efficient way to bring the safety benefits of connected vehicle technology to motorists and vulnerable road users today,” says Bryan Mulligan, president of Applied Information. “As more cars become equipped with cellular service, the opportunity to improve safety on the roadways becomes even greater.”
The patent also covers the unique ability to determine which lane a vehicle occupies and how that relates to the traffic signal’s phase, for example knowing if the vehicle is in a turning lane and providing a ‘Get Ready for Green’ message for that lane. Additionally, the app calculates the trajectory and velocity of the vehicle in relation to the traffic signal to warn of potential red light running.
