IP Library Granted Patent US 12705975
Granted Patent B2
US 12705975 · App. 18/787,629 · Granted Aug 11, 2026

Systems and methods for onboarding an automated vehicle

Inventors: Krishna Bandi (Novi, MI); Sathyanarayana Chary Palakonda (Northville, MI); Mario Anthony Santillo (Canton, MI); Meghna Menon (Ypsilanti, MI); Karthikeya Singirikonda (Farmington Hills, MI)
Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
G08G1/0141G08G1/0116G08G1/017H04L63/0428
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12705975
App. No.
18/787,629
Granted
Aug 11, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

A method includes the receipt of one or more vehicle marshaling messages, the transmission of an infrastructure-initiated certification key associated with the vehicle, the receipt of a vehicle-initiated certification key based on one or more nodes of the vehicle verifying the infrastructure-initiated certification key, the verification that the vehicle-initiated certification key corresponds to an identify of the vehicle, and the generation of a virtual bounding box indicative of a current location of the vehicle.

Claims (56)

1 . A method comprising:

receiving, in response to a broadcasted onboarding command, one or more vehicle marshaling messages based on a vehicle located within a distance-related threshold from an infrastructure system;

transmitting, to one or more transmission points, an infrastructure-initiated certification key associated with the vehicle;

receiving, from the one or more transmission points, a vehicle-initiated certification key based on one or more nodes of the vehicle verifying the infrastructure-initiated certification key;

verifying that the vehicle-initiated certification key corresponds to an identity of the vehicle; and

generating, in response to verifying that the vehicle-initiated certification key corresponds to the identity of the vehicle, a virtual bounding box indicative of a current location of the vehicle, wherein the virtual bounding box is generated based on a ranging location derived from a message exchange between the one or more transmission points and the one or more nodes of the vehicle.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more vehicle marshaling messages are received from the vehicle and includes at least a vehicle identification number associated with the vehicle.

3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the infrastructure-initiated certification key includes a first timestamp, the vehicle identification number, an original equipment manufacturer rolling identifier, or a combination thereof.

4 . The method of claim 2 , further comprising:

generating a second infrastructure-initiated certification key based on a second timestamp, the vehicle identification number, an original equipment manufacturer rolling identifier, or a combination thereof.

5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

transmitting, to the one or more transmission points, a transmission point count message, a transmission point identification message, or a combination thereof.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein a transmission point, of the one or more transmission points, associated with a location of the vehicle is configured to transmit the infrastructure-initiated certification key to the one or more nodes of the vehicle, and wherein the transmission point is further configured to receive the vehicle-initiated certification key from the one or more nodes of the vehicle.

7 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

causing the vehicle to enter a marshaling state based on successfully identifying the current location of the vehicle within a time-related threshold and using the virtual bounding box or successfully decoding the verification of the vehicle-initiated certification key; or

causing the vehicle to enter a pre-onboarding state based on one or more communication errors, wherein the one or more communication errors include:

unsuccessfully identifying the current location of the vehicle within the time-related threshold; or

unsuccessfully decoding the verification of the vehicle-initiated certification key.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the verification of the vehicle-initiated certification key further comprises:

performing a stitching analysis of the vehicle-initiated certification key and the infrastructure-initiated certification key based on a derived secret key approach analysis.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the generation of the virtual bounding box is based on a ranging code pattern generated from a secret key, and wherein the secret key is decoded using the vehicle-initiated certification key and the infrastructure-initiated certification key.

10 . A method comprising:

receiving, in response to being located within a distance-related threshold from an infrastructure system, a broadcasted onboarding command at a vehicle;

transmitting, based on receipt of the broadcasted onboarding command, one or more vehicle marshaling messages to the infrastructure system from the vehicle;

verifying an infrastructure-initiated certification key received from a transmission point of a plurality of transmission points, wherein the transmission point is associated with a location of the vehicle; and

transmitting, in response to verifying the infrastructure-initiated certification key, a vehicle-initiated certification key to the plurality of transmission points, wherein the transmission of the vehicle-initiated certification key causes a virtual bounding box indicative of a current location of the vehicle to be generated by the infrastructure system, wherein the virtual bounding box is generated based on a ranging location derived from a message exchange between the plurality of transmission points and one or more nodes of the vehicle.

11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the one or more vehicle marshaling messages include at least a vehicle identification number associated with the vehicle.

12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the vehicle-initiated certification key includes a first timestamp, the vehicle identification number, an original equipment manufacturer rolling identifier, or a combination thereof.

13 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising:

generating a second vehicle-initiated certification key based on a second timestamp, the vehicle identification number, an original equipment manufacturer rolling identifier, or a combination thereof.

14 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising:

entering a marshaling state based on the infrastructure system successfully identifying the current location of the vehicle within a time-related threshold and using the virtual bounding box or successfully decoding the verification of a vehicle-initiated certification key; or

entering a pre-onboarding state based on one or more communication errors, wherein the one or more communication errors include:

the infrastructure system unsuccessfully identifying the current location of the vehicle within the time-related threshold;

the infrastructure system unsuccessfully decoding the verification of the vehicle-initiated certification key; or

the vehicle unsuccessfully decoding the verification of the infrastructure-initiated certification key.

15 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising:

transmitting, via one or more nodes of the vehicle, to the plurality of transmission points, a vehicular node count message, a vehicular identification message, one or more node identifiers, a ranging rate code bit, a ranging rate sync bit, or a combination thereof.

16 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the verification of the infrastructure-initiated certification key further comprises:

performing a stitching analysis of the vehicle-initiated certification key and the infrastructure-initiated certification key based on a derived secret key approach analysis.

17 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the generation of the virtual bounding box is based on a ranging code pattern generated from a secret key, and wherein the secret key is decoded using the vehicle-initiated certification key and the infrastructure-initiated certification key.

18 . A system comprising:

an infrastructure system configured to:

receive, in response to a broadcasted onboarding command, one or more vehicle marshaling messages based on a vehicle located within a distance-related threshold from an infrastructure system,

transmit, to a plurality of transmission points, an infrastructure-initiated certification key associated with the vehicle,

receive, from the one or more transmission points, a vehicle-initiated certification key,

verify that the vehicle-initiated certification key corresponds to an identity of the vehicle, and

generate, in response to verifying that the vehicle-initiated certification key corresponds to the identity of the vehicle, a virtual bounding box indicative of a current location of the vehicle, wherein the virtual bounding box is generated based on a ranging location derived from a message exchange between the plurality of transmission points and one or more nodes of the vehicle; and

the vehicle configured to:

receive, in response to being located within the distance-related threshold from the infrastructure system, the broadcasted onboarding command,

transmit, based on receipt of the broadcasted onboarding command, the one or more vehicle marshaling messages to the infrastructure system,

verify the infrastructure-initiated certification key received from a transmission point of the plurality of transmission points, wherein the transmission point is associated with the location of the vehicle, and

transmit, in response to verifying the infrastructure-initiated certification key, the vehicle-initiated certification key to the plurality of transmission points.

19 . The system of claim 18 , wherein the generation of the virtual bounding box is based on a ranging code pattern generated from a secret key, and wherein the secret key is decoded using the vehicle-initiated certification key and the infrastructure-initiated certification key.

20 . The system of claim 18 , wherein the vehicle configured to verify the vehicle-initiated certification key is further configured to:

perform a stitching analysis of the vehicle-initiated certification key and the infrastructure-initiated certification key based on a derived secret key approach analysis.