Patent ID: 11935305
Assignee: FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
Field: Transport (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC G  B | IPC B  G

Claim 0:
1. An autonomous vehicle comprising:
a vehicle body having a B-pillar on a side of the vehicle;
an applique mounted to the vehicle body over the B-pillar and including a power supply coupled to an exterior of the vehicle body, a microphone, a speaker, a touch interface, and a display facing away from an interior of the autonomous vehicle in order to communicate with a passenger positioned external to and spaced from the autonomous vehicle such that the autonomous vehicle functions as an autonomous taxi, wherein the power supply is disposed between the exterior of the vehicle body and the display; and
a controller coupled to the applique and programmed to:
output messages to the passenger using the display and speaker;
receive inputs from the passenger using the microphone and touch interface; and
unlock one or more doors of the autonomous vehicle and output a visible and/or audible prompt to the passenger to enter the vehicle.