Patent Publication Number: US-10315557-B2

Title: Truck safety zone using a vehicle gateway

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/286,520 filed on Oct. 5, 2016 and entitled “Truck Safety Zone Using a Vehicle Gateway,” which is incorporated by reference herein. This application is related by subject matter to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/286,435 filed on Oct. 5, 2016 and entitled, “Trailer Identification, Inspection, and Verification Using a Vehicle Gateway,” to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/286,476 filed on Oct. 5, 2016 and entitled, “Cargo Geofencing using a Vehicle Gateway,” to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/286,499 filed on Oct. 5, 2016 and entitled, “Trailer Loading using a Vehicle Gateway,” to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/286,526 filed on Oct. 5, 2016 and entitled, “Vehicle Firmware Update using a Vehicle Gateway,” and to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/286,534 filed on Oct. 5, 2016 and entitled, “Determining a Driver Condition using a Vehicle Gateway.” 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     The instant disclosure relates to electronic devices. More specifically, portions of this disclosure relate to integration of electronic devices in the operation of vehicles. 
     BACKGROUND 
     As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems. 
     Information handling systems have garnered ubiquitous use in certain fields, such as financial transactions, data storage, and the like. This is due, in part, to the ability of information handling systems to handle large numbers of tasks with significantly fewer errors than other techniques. Information handling systems can be designed or programmed specifically to perform certain functions, and thus take advantage of further speed advantages from this customization. However, there are certain industries and fields that have historically not modernized to take advantage of the capabilities of information handling systems, or to not fully take advantage of such systems by having specially-designed components. One such industry is the trucking industry. Tractor trailers are responsible for a significant amount of merchandise movement throughout the country and continent, and typically also a part of every merchandise&#39;s journey. The population is continuously growing, and also the demand for merchandise. Thus, the trucking industry is also continuously growing. The number of tractor trailers on the road and the number of deliveries by each tractor trailer are continuing to increase. Yet, there has been little modernization of the trucking industry. 
     However, lack of modernization and implementation of information handling systems has caused many problems with operation of a fleet of tractor trailers. As one example, there is little to no monitoring of truck driver health, such as enforcement of sleep requirements or monitoring of other health issues, which can result in unsafe driving and collisions involving tractor trailers. As another example, fuel efficiency is critical to profit margins of the tractor trailers, and yet there is little or no monitoring of engine operating conditions. As yet another example, the distribution of freight within a tractor trailer can impact operational efficiency and driving stability, and yet there is no optimization of freight arrangements within the tractor trailer. As a further example, the only monitoring of tractor trailers is through GPS devices with limited functionality. Thus drivers often pick up the wrong trailer in a shipping yard, which leads to lost or misdirected merchandise and lost profit. 
     SUMMARY 
     Electronic components may be integrated in objects used by the trucking industry, such as truck, trailer, cargo, and loading bay. These objects may then communicate with each other and/or with a gateway device to transmit or receive data or commands. The communications between devices may include relay of information from the objects to a remote server through the Internet. Either the gateway device or the remote server may use the relayed information to verify certain information or provide instruction to vehicle operators to improve efficiency and accuracy of the trucking industry. For example, by verifying trailers assigned to trucks have been picked up by the correct trucks, a reduction in misdirected or lost merchandise is obtained. As another example, by ensuring inspection checklists are completed, costly malfunctions may be avoided and profit margins increased. As a further example, by monitoring the health of the user, the user may feel more secure and happy with their job and thus drivers may be retained longer. 
     A vehicle gateway, or just “gateway,” may be configured to attach to the truck, such as by securing to the truck frame or securing to an interior of the truck cab. The gateway may receive power from the vehicle power system and/or an independent power supply, such as a battery or solar cell. Although vehicle gateways are described as part of a vehicle, the gateways may be used in areas outside of the vehicle such as in loading bays, parking areas, or the like. The gateway may couple to one or more input devices to receive sensor data. The gateway may also be configured, for some of the input devices, to transmit commands to alter operation of certain components onboard or off-board the vehicle. For example, one input device may be a communications radio, such as a Wi-Fi radio, Bluetooth radio, cellular communication radio, or other short-range or long-range communication radio. Through the communications radio the gateway may receive sensor data, for example, from sensors located throughout the trailer or nearby the trailer (e.g., in range of the communications radio). For example, the sensors may be attached to the trailer. In another example, the sensors may be in nearby containers and/or in nearby vehicles. As another example, an input device may be an interface for connecting to an engine computer, such as an OBDII port. The gateway may process raw data received from the electronic components, store the raw or processed data, and/or relay the raw or processed data to a remote server. 
     The integration of electronic components in the trucking industry makes available new applications for these electronic components and improves operations and efficiency in the trucking industry. For example, beacon devices, or just “beacons,” may be integrated with trailers and a vehicle gateway may activate the beacon to determine the trailer identification and verify the correct trailer is being picked up by the vehicle. The beacons may include a memory circuit with stored information and a communications circuit for communicating the stored information to a gateway. As another example, the vehicle gateway may communicate with biometric systems, including mobile devices such as smart watches and mobile phones, to collect information regarding driver behaviors, such as sleep patterns, to assess a condition of the driver. As a further example, electronic sensors may be integrated throughout a tractor trailer and communicate with the vehicle gateway to monitor and/or optimize loading of cargo into the tractor trailer. As yet another example, beacons may be attached to cargo containers and the beacons linked with contents of the cargo such that a vehicle gateway may determine conflicts that may exist between different cargo contents that may create a hazardous condition. As another example, vehicle gateways may communicate with other vehicle gateways to determine and/or optimize formation of vehicle platoons and provide information that ensures safety of nearby vehicles. As a further example, a vehicle gateway may monitor driving conditions and/or a planned truck route to determine when a different engine firmware may provide better fuel efficiency or other benefits and then update the engine firmware with an appropriate firmware. 
     The vehicle gateway may operate as a data collection device and/or a data processing device. As described throughout, the gateway may receive data from input devices that communicate with beacons, sensors, mobile devices, or other components. This data may be forwarded through, for example, cellular communications systems to cloud-based server that process the data. A driver or other user may then access a dashboard presenting the information and/or alerts based on the information through a web-based interface. Further, the driver or other user may issue commands to the vehicle gateway that are relayed to components in communications with the gateway. The commands may include, for example, remotely updating an engine firmware, changing a vehicle route, establishing new stops on the route, providing messages to a driver, or placing operating restrictions on the vehicle. Cloud-based servers may also automate certain functions by performing monitoring of the received data and sending commands to the gateway when certain conditions are satisfied. Although the gateway may communicate with cloud-based server, the gateway may also independently perform some or all of these functions. For example, a driver or user may access the gateway through a mobile device or nearby computer to access data stored on the gateway. Further, the gateway may process the data and analyze the data to determine if certain conditions are satisfied and take action, such as by transmitting alerts to the driver or another user. 
     According to embodiments, an information handling system may include at least one input device configured to couple to an engine computer of a vehicle, a projection device attached to the vehicle, and a vehicle gateway configured to attach to a vehicle and coupled to the at least one input device. The vehicle gateway may be configured to perform steps for determining and communicating safety margins around the vehicle and other vehicles. For example, the vehicle gateway may be configured to perform steps for receiving vehicle operating information from the engine computer through the at least one input device, determining a no-entry zone around a portion of the vehicle based, at least in part, on the vehicle operating information, and controlling the projection device to project an image indicating the no-entry zone to nearby vehicles. For example, the vehicle gateway may receive a speed of the vehicle and determine a no-entry zone ahead of the truck to provide sufficient braking distance. In certain embodiments, the safety margin may be calculated for a plurality of vehicles in a vehicle platoon to provide sufficient braking distance for all vehicles in the platoon. 
     The foregoing has outlined rather broadly certain features and technical advantages of embodiments of the present invention in order that the detailed description that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages will be described hereinafter that form the subject of the claims of the invention. It should be appreciated by those having ordinary skill in the art that the conception and specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same or similar purposes. It should also be realized by those having ordinary skill in the art that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. Additional features will be better understood from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, that each of the figures is provided for the purpose of illustration and description only and is not intended to limit the present invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       For a more complete understanding of the disclosed system and methods, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a vehicle illustrating an installed gateway for communicating with electronic components in or around the vehicle according to one embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a vehicle illustrating an installed gateway for communicating with sensors in and around a tractor trailer attached to the vehicle according to one embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a vehicle illustrating an installed gateway for communicating with electronic components in and around the vehicle and in and around a loading bay according to one embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a vehicle illustrating an installed gateway for communicating with electronic components in cargo and around a loading bay or other nearby vehicles according to one embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 5  is a block diagram illustrating communications paths around a vehicle gateway for communicating with electronic components according to one embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 6  is an overhead view illustrating a vehicle gateway controlling projection of a safety zone around a vehicle according to one embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 7  is a flow chart illustrating an example method for a vehicle gateway to determine safety margins according to one embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 8  is an overhead illustration of a vehicle gateway controlling projection of a safety zone around a vehicle platoon according to one embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 9  is a flow chart illustrating an example method for a vehicle gateway to determine safety margins for a vehicle platoon according to one embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 10  is a flow chart illustrating a method of alerting users to a no-entry zone according to one embodiment of the disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems. 
     Information handling systems may be adapted to provide services to vehicles, to fleets of vehicles, and/or to drivers of vehicles. Such information handling systems may be particularly useful in the trucking industry, where historically little modernization has occurred. Some hardware and software components for such information handling systems are described in further detail below. One such hardware component is a vehicle gateway that is configured to attached to a vehicle, such as a tractor pulling a trailer. The vehicle gateway may communicate with electronic components in and around the vehicle through wired and wireless communications paths. The gateway may also execute software components for processing the data, triggering alerts, making recommendations, and/or adjusting operation of the vehicle. 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a vehicle illustrating an installed gateway for communicating with electronic components in or around the vehicle according to one embodiment of the disclosure. A vehicle  100  may be a truck with tractor trailer, as shown, or another kind of vehicle, such as a car or sport-utility vehicle (SUV), or another transportation device, such as a cargo boat or aircraft. A gateway  102  may be configured to attach to and attached to the vehicle  100 , such as by a screw, bolt, Velcro, adhesive, or other fixing means that affixes the gateway  102  to a component of the vehicle  100 , such as a frame or an interior of a cab of the vehicle  100 . In some embodiments, the gateway  102  may be a separate component inside the vehicle  100 . In some embodiments, the gateway  102  may be integrated with another component attached to the vehicle  100 , such as an in-dash display or radio. The gateway  102  may be connected to power or communications systems of the vehicle  100 . For example, the gateway  102  may be powered from a 12 Volt direct-current (DC) bus operated by a battery in the vehicle  100 . Additionally or alternatively, the gateway  102  may include a back-up or other separated power system to operate the gateway  102  when the vehicle  100  is turned off or when the vehicle  100  malfunctions. 
     The gateway  102  may communicate with electronic components in and around the vehicle  100  through input devices coupled to the gateway  102 . For example, a driver may have a mobile phone  112 , a smart watch  114 , and/or other electronic devices, such as a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a television, a radio, a GPS device, etc. These mobile devices  112  and  114  may communicate with the gateway  102  through an input device such as, for example, a Bluetooth radio, a Wi-Fi radio, a near field communications (NFC) radio, or other short-range communications radio. As another example, an engine of the vehicle  100  may have an engine computer  122 . The gateway  102  may include an input device configured to communicate with the engine computer  122 , such as an ODBII port. The gateway  102  may be further coupled to other electronic devices, such as a road-facing camera  124  and/or an eye-tracking system  126 , by either wireless or wired connections similar to that described in the examples above. The eye-tracking system  126  may be used to monitor eye movement of a driver, which can provide information regarding, for example, the driver&#39;s alertness. 
       FIG. 1  shows one configuration of wireless devices that includes user mobile devices  112  and  114 , the engine computer  122 , the camera  124 , and the tracking system  126 . However, any combination of electronic devices may be used in combination with the vehicle gateway  102  of embodiments. For example, although  FIG. 1  illustrates electronic devices in and around the truck cab, electronic devices may be anywhere in communications range. For example, devices may be in an attached or nearby truck trailer, as shown in  FIG. 2 , wherein a nearby truck trailer may be a truck trailer within short-range communications range of the vehicle  100 . Communications with nearby beacons and gateways may allow, for example, a gateway to identify locations of missing or stolen trailers or cargo when passing within short-range communications range. Further, the vehicle gateway  102  may communicate with stationary gateways and electronic devices, such as beacons, sensors, devices, and gateways in a loading bay as shown in  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4 . The gateway  102  may also communicate with gateways on other vehicles. For example, a plurality of gateways installed on a plurality of vehicles may communicate with each other to form a mesh network allowing one of the gateways to communicate through other gateways when its long-range communications radio is not functioning correctly. 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a vehicle illustrating an installed gateway for communicating with sensors in and around a tractor trailer attached to the vehicle according to one embodiment of the disclosure. The gateway  102  may be coupled to or integrated with an input device, such as a low-power RF radio for wireless communications, to communicate with electronic devices  212 A,  212 B, and  212 C attached to a tractor trailer  200 . The devices  212 A-C may be, for example, sensors (e.g., GPS receivers) or cameras. The devices  212 A-C may report loading of the cargo in the trailer or air pressure in tires of the trailer. The same input device may also be used to communicate with electronic devices  214 A-C inside the tractor trailer. The devices  214 A-C may be beacons attached to cargo that provide information about cargo carried by the tractor trailer or cameras mounted in the interior of the trailer. Example uses of devices attached to the frame and inside the trailer are provided below. The gateway  102  may collect information from the devices  212 A-C and  214 A-C. The information may be processed by the gateway  102  and used, for example, to assist in arranging cargo in the trailer and in verifying loading of correct cargo in the trailer. 
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a vehicle illustrating an installed gateway for communicating with electronic components in and around the vehicle and in and around a loading bay according to one embodiment of the disclosure. The gateway  102  may communicate with electronic devices outside the vehicle, such as in a loading bay, to facilitate management of cargo in the trailer. For example, cargo pallets  312 A,  312 B, and  312 C inside of the trailer  200  may each have an attached electronic device  314 A,  314 B, and  314 C, respectively, such as a beacon. The beacons  314 A-C may transmit cargo identification information that includes an identifier for the attached cargo pallet. The beacon  314 A-C may also transmit other information, such as contents of the cargo pallet. In some embodiments, the beacons  314 A-C may be active devices that are continuously transmitting data. In other embodiments, the beacons  314 A-C may be passive devices that only transmit information when interrogated, similar to RFID tags. Additional cargo pallets  322 A,  322 B, and  322 C may be located inside the loading bay, with attached beacons  324 A,  324 B, and  324 C, respectively. The beacons  324 A-C may communicate with the gateway  102  directly. The beacons  324 A-C may also communicate with a second gateway  330  inside the loading bay, which may relay information to the gateway  102 . Additional electronic devices, inside or outside the trailer  200 , may provide further information, such as to verify correct loading of cargo. For example, cameras  332  may capture images or video of the loading of cargo pallets  312 A-C and/or  322 A-C to provide visual confirmation to verify information from the beacons  322 A-C and  324 A-C. For example, a gateway  102  may determine if an approximate size of the pallet  312 A matches a size of the cargo contents indicated by beacon  322 A. 
       FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a vehicle illustrating an installed gateway for communicating with electronic components in cargo and around a loading bay or other nearby vehicles according to one embodiment of the disclosure. When a vehicle is moving, some electronic devices may enter and exit communications range of the gateway  102 . For example, as a tractor trailer drives through a set of loading bays, the gateway  102  may establish communication with each of the electronic devices  414 A,  414 B, and  414 C associated with loading bays  412 A,  412 B, and  412 C, respectively. The gateway  102  may communicate with the electronic devices  414 A-C to determine a correct loading bay. The gateway  102  may also communicate with the electronic devices  414 A-C to determine if any of the loading bays  412 A-C contain cargo that could be potentially hazardous if in close proximity to cargo carried in the trailer. As another example, a vehicle may drive through the loading bays with a gateway  102  to inventory the cargo in the loading bays  412 A-C. This would allow for periodic updating of the location of cargo and the ability to find misplaced cargo by driving a vehicle through the loading bay. Alternatively or additionally, the tractor trailers may scan for missing cargo as they drive through the loading bay to pick up or drop-off cargo. 
     As described in the examples above, many combinations of electronic devices such as shown in  FIG. 1 ,  FIG. 2 ,  FIG. 3 , and  FIG. 4  may be configured to operate with a vehicle gateway. An illustration of communications between the electronic devices is described in  FIG. 5  without reference to any particular application.  FIG. 5  is a block diagram illustrating communications paths around a vehicle gateway for communicating with electronic components according to one embodiment of the disclosure. A gateway  510  may be coupled to and/or include various input devices to accommodate communication with a variety of devices in different configurations. The gateway  510  may be programmed, such as through firmware or software, to perform a number of different functions involving the various electronic devices. Although certain trucking examples are described in  FIG. 1 ,  FIG. 2 ,  FIG. 3 ,  FIG. 4 , and the examples below, the gateway  510  may be configured to perform many other functions. For example, rather than using the gateway  510  on a truck for cargo management, the gateway  510  may be installed in a passenger vehicle and used to assist a driver on a cross-country trip. Further, the gateway  510  need not be limited to land vehicles, but may also be used in other configurations, such as on boats and aircraft for tracking cargo. 
     The gateway  510  may be coupled to and/or include input devices for communicating with local electronic devices that are in or near the vehicle. For example, the gateway  510  may be configured with wireless or wired communication input devices to receive data from vehicle sensors  512 , an engine computer  514 , cameras  516 , and/or mobile devices  518 . The input devices configured to communicate with the devices  512 ,  514 ,  516 , and/or  518  may include wired communications interfaces, such as Ethernet, OBDII, serial, or parallel interfaces, and/or wireless communications interfaces, such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, ZigBee, RFID, or NFC. 
     The gateway  510  may also be coupled to input devices, such as modem devices, for communicating with electronic devices away from the vehicle. For example, the gateway  510  may be coupled to a long-range communications modem  520  for communicating over a network  522 , such as the Internet, with remote servers  524 . The remote servers  524  may offer storage and/or processing capabilities that enhance the function of the gateway  510 . As another example, the gateway  510  may be coupled to and/or include a short-range communications modem  530  for communicating with a second gateway  532 . The second gateway  532  may be attached to a second vehicle and be configured to communicate with electronic devices  534  in or near the second vehicle. The gateway  510  may have access to raw data from the electronic devices  534  and/or receive processed data from the second gateway  532 . 
     The vehicle gateway may be used to improve safety of vehicular travel, either for the vehicle attached to the vehicle gateway or nearby vehicles. For example, the vehicle gateway may use information regarding the vehicle to determine safety margins for operating the vehicle or safety margins for nearby vehicles. Tractor trailer trucks in particular are often involved in near-misses or collisions involving passenger vehicles because the drivers in passenger vehicles do not take into account challenges involved in operating a tractor trailer. For example, tractor trailers require additional braking distance and thus often maintain a larger distance from other vehicles. However, a passenger car may often change lanes in front of a tractor trailer that leaves the tractor trailer insufficient braking distance and may lead to a collision. Safety margins, such as braking distance, are further increased when multiple tractor trailers are driving together, such as in a vehicle platoon. With a vehicle platoon, a lead tractor trailer often leaves a still further increased braking distance from nearby vehicles to allow for stopping of several tractor trailers. A vehicle gateway may compute safety margins, such as braking distance, and convey that information to nearby vehicles, such as through wireless transmissions or image projection. Further, the vehicle gateway may communicate with other vehicle gateways on nearby vehicles, such as other tractor trailers in a vehicle platoon, to determine when larger safety margins are required. 
     One example embodiment using a vehicle gateway for maintaining a sufficient braking distance is illustrated in  FIG. 6 . Although examples will be presented regarding maintaining distance between trucks and projecting images ahead of the truck, the invention may be applied to other safety situations. For example, trucks with large turning margins may have safety regions on the sides of the truck determined and projected for nearby vehicles. As another example, trucks may have large blind spots not visible in the truck mirrors, and safety regions for these blind spots may be determined and projected for nearby vehicles. Thus, although some examples describe a safety zone ahead of a vehicle, a no-entry zone ahead of a vehicle, and a projected image ahead of a vehicle, the vehicle may be configured to allow for determination of safety zones, no-entry zones, and projected images around any side of the vehicle. 
       FIG. 6  is an overhead view illustrating a vehicle gateway controlling projection of a safety zone ahead of a vehicle according to one embodiment of the disclosure. The projection from a vehicle  610  may be a visible projection and/or an invisible projection. For example, a visible projection may be emitted by a device on the vehicle  610  to display a visible region to be seen by other drivers or imaging systems on other vehicles. As another example, an invisible projection may be emitted by a wireless communications system on the vehicle  610  for reception by nearby vehicles. 
     The vehicle  610  may have a vehicle gateway  616  coupled to sensors, such as an engine computer  614 . The engine computer  614  may provide operating information regarding the engine, however other sensors may provide information regarding road conditions, type of road surface, condition of tires, condition of driver, terrain topography, etc. The vehicle gateway  616  may receive information, such as the speed of the vehicle  610 , and calculate safety margins for operating the vehicle, such as a safe braking distance. The calculated safety margins may also be based on known characteristics of the vehicle  610 , such as may be preprogrammed into the vehicle gateway  616  or may be retrieved from a local or remote database. Further, the calculated safety margins may also be based on other conditions, such as weather information retrieved from other sensors on the vehicle or from a remote weather server. The vehicle gateway  616  may determine a no-entry zone around at least a portion of the vehicle  610  based, at least in part on first vehicle information (e.g., vehicle speed received from an engine computer) and second vehicle information (e.g., road conditions received from an Internet connection to a weather sensor or received from a camera or other sensor on the vehicle  610 ). 
     After a safety margin is calculated, the safety margin may be communicated to other vehicles. For example, a projector device  612 , under control of the vehicle gateway  616 , may display a no-entry zone  618  in front of the vehicle  610  to inform driver of vehicle  610  of a safe distance in front of the vehicle  610 . The projector device  612  may include a light source that can be configured to project a particular image in particular colors at a determined distance from the vehicle  610 . One such configuration may include a light emitting diode (LED) source with a scanner assembly configured to draw a pattern using the LED source. The LED source may also be configured to project different colors to convey different messages. The projected image may include text understandable by a human driver. The projected image may also or alternatively include a code or other representation that may be interpreted by a radar system  622  installed on the vehicle  620 . The projected image may also or alternatively include particular colors to quickly convey information. For example, the color of the projected image may change or the image may blink when a nearby vehicle enters the no-entry zone indicated by the projected image. As another example communication method, the vehicle gateway  616  may transmit information to a vehicle gateway (not shown) on the vehicle  620 . 
     One example operation of the vehicle gateway is shown in the flow chart of  FIG. 7 .  FIG. 7  is a flow chart illustrating an example method for a vehicle gateway to determine safety margins according to one embodiment of the disclosure. A method  700  begins at block  702  with receiving, by the vehicle gateway, vehicle operating information from an engine computer. At block  704 , the vehicle gateway determines a no-entry zone around a portion of the vehicle based on the vehicle operating information. At block  706 , the vehicle gateway controls a projection device to project an image indicating the no-entry zone to nearby vehicles. Alternatively or additionally to block  706 , the vehicle gateway may transmit information regarding the no-entry zone to other nearby vehicles, which may be received by electronic devices in these vehicles. The steps of blocks  702 ,  704 , and  706  may be repeated during operation of the vehicle at certain intervals or in a real-time or near real-time fashion such that the projected no-entry zone is updated as operating conditions change. 
     When drivers form vehicle platoons, determined safety margins, such as the size of the no-entry zone, may be adjusted based on information from multiple vehicles.  FIG. 8  is an overhead illustration of a vehicle gateway controlling projection of a safety zone around a vehicle platoon according to one embodiment of the disclosure. A second vehicle  810  with vehicle gateway  812  may follow the vehicle  610  to form a vehicle platoon. When platooning, the vehicles  610  and  810  may drive closer together to obtain improved fuel efficiency, such as by reducing drag on the vehicle  810 . In such a condition, the vehicle  610  should maintain a larger no-entry zone to accommodate a longer braking distance for the vehicle platoon. The vehicle gateway  616  may communicate wirelessly with the vehicle gateway  812  to receive information indicating that the vehicle  810  is nearby or is platooning with the vehicle  610 . The vehicle gateway  616  may use this information to compute an appropriate no-entry zone  618  for projection by the projection device  612 . 
     One example operation of the vehicle gateway is shown in the flow chart of  FIG. 9 .  FIG. 9  is a flow chart illustrating an example method for a vehicle gateway to determine safety margins for a vehicle platoon according to one embodiment of the disclosure. A method  900  begins at block  902  with receiving, by the vehicle gateway, vehicle operating information from an engine computer and/or other sources. At block  904 , the vehicle gateway may receive second vehicle information from a second vehicle gateway of a second vehicle. For example, the second vehicle information may be received through a communications input device coupled to, and optionally included in, the vehicle gateway  616 . At block  906 , the vehicle gateway determines a no-entry zone around at least a portion of the vehicle based on the vehicle operating information and the second vehicle information. At block  908 , the vehicle gateway controls a projection device to project an image indicating the no-entry zone to nearby vehicles. Alternatively or additionally to block  908 , the vehicle gateway may transmit information regarding the no-entry zone to other nearby electronic devices. The steps of blocks  702 ,  704 , and  706  may be repeated during operation of the vehicle at certain intervals or in a real-time or near real-time fashion such that the projected no-entry zone is updated as operating conditions change. 
     Further, the vehicle gateway may transmit information to the second vehicle gateway of the second gateway. For example, the vehicle gateway may determine that another vehicle has encroached the no-entry zone and that the second vehicle, or other vehicles of the platoon, should increase distances between the vehicles to provide additional braking distance. As another example, the vehicle gateway may determine that the vehicle encroaching the no-entry zone has left and that the vehicle platoon may again be formed by closing the distance between vehicles. Transmitted information to the second vehicle gateway may also or alternatively include information such as vehicle type, load, vehicle speed, and safe distance of the first vehicle  610 . Like information may be transmitted from the second gateway  816  to the first gateway  616   
     Information transmitted by the vehicle gateway and/or projected under control of the vehicle gateway may be used by other vehicles on the road. Electronic equipment within the other vehicles may receive the information and provide warnings to drivers. One example operation is described with reference to  FIG. 10 .  FIG. 10  is a flow chart illustrating a method of alerting users to a no-entry zone according to one embodiment of the disclosure. A method  1000  may begin at block  1002  with receiving nearby vehicle information from a nearby vehicle through an input device such as a camera or a communications radio. For example, the vehicle may have a driver assistance system with a camera that sees projected nearby vehicle information. As another example, the vehicle may have a vehicle gateway that wirelessly receives the nearby vehicle information from a vehicle gateway on the nearby vehicle. At block  1004 , position information is received indicating a relative position of the vehicle with respect to the nearby vehicle. For example, block  1004  may include receiving information from a radar system, a camera system, or a positioning system on the vehicle that can determine a distance between the vehicle and the nearby vehicle. At block  1006 , a no-entry zone is determined for the nearby vehicle based on the received nearby vehicle information. At block  1008 , a user may be alerted when the vehicle enters the determined no-entry zone based on the received position information. For example, a warning may be displayed to a user in a heads-up display (HUD), the dashboard, or a blind spot monitoring system. 
     The schematic flow chart diagrams of  FIGS. 7, 9, and 10  are generally set forth as a logical flow chart diagram. As such, the depicted order and labeled steps are indicative of aspects of the disclosed method. Other steps and methods may be conceived that are equivalent in function, logic, or effect to one or more steps, or portions thereof, of the illustrated method. Additionally, the format and symbols employed are provided to explain the logical steps of the method and are understood not to limit the scope of the method. Although various arrow types and line types may be employed in the flow chart diagram, they are understood not to limit the scope of the corresponding method. Indeed, some arrows or other connectors may be used to indicate only the logical flow of the method. For instance, an arrow may indicate a waiting or monitoring period of unspecified duration between enumerated steps of the depicted method. Additionally, the order in which a particular method occurs may or may not strictly adhere to the order of the corresponding steps shown. 
     The operations described above as performed by a gateway, beacon, or electronic device may be performed by any circuit configured to perform the described operations. Such a circuit may be an integrated circuit (IC) constructed on a semiconductor substrate and include logic circuitry, such as transistors configured as logic gates, and memory circuitry, such as transistors and capacitors configured as dynamic random access memory (DRAM), electronically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), or other memory devices. The logic circuitry may be configured through hard-wire connections or through programming by instructions contained in firmware. Further, the logic circuitry may be configured as a general purpose processor capable of executing instructions contained in software. If implemented in firmware and/or software, functions described above may be stored as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Examples include non-transitory computer-readable media encoded with a data structure and computer-readable media encoded with a computer program. Computer-readable media includes physical computer storage media. A storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically-erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Disk and disc includes compact discs (CD), laser discs, optical discs, digital versatile discs (DVD), floppy disks and Blu-ray discs. Generally, disks reproduce data magnetically, and discs reproduce data optically. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media. 
     In addition to storage on computer readable medium, instructions and/or data may be provided as signals on transmission media included in a communication apparatus. For example, a communication apparatus may include a transceiver having signals indicative of instructions and data. The instructions and data are configured to cause one or more processors to implement the functions outlined in the claims. 
     Although the present disclosure and certain representative advantages have been described in detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims. Moreover, the scope of the present application is not intended to be limited to the particular embodiments of the process, machine, manufacture, composition of matter, means, methods and steps described in the specification. For example, although processors are described as components in gateways, beacons, mobile devices, or electronic devices, aspects of the invention may be implemented on different kinds of processors, such as graphics processing units (GPUs), central processing units (CPUs), and digital signal processors (DSPs). As another example, although processing of certain kinds of data may be described in example embodiments, other kinds or types of data may be processed through the methods and devices described above. As one of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate from the present disclosure, processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps, presently existing or later to be developed that perform substantially the same function or achieve substantially the same result as the corresponding embodiments described herein may be utilized. Accordingly, the appended claims are intended to include within their scope such processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps.