Patent Publication Number: US-11647164-B2

Title: Methods and systems for camera sharing between autonomous driving and in-vehicle infotainment electronic control units

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     The present disclosure is generally directed to vehicle systems, in particular, toward vehicle imaging and processing systems. 
     In recent years, transportation methods have changed substantially. This change is due in part to a concern over the limited availability of natural resources, a proliferation in personal technology, and a societal shift to adopt more environmentally friendly transportation solutions. These considerations have encouraged the development of a number of new flexible-fuel vehicles, hybrid-electric vehicles, and electric vehicles. 
     While these vehicles appear to be new, they are generally implemented as a number of traditional subsystems that are merely tied to an alternative power source. In fact, the design and construction of the vehicles is limited to standard frame sizes, shapes, materials, and transportation concepts. Among other things, these limitations fail to take advantage of the benefits of new technology, power sources, and support infrastructure. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    shows a vehicle in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  2    shows a plan view of the vehicle in accordance with at least some embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  3 A  is a block diagram of an embodiment of a communication environment of the vehicle in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  3 B  is a block diagram of an embodiment of interior sensors within the vehicle in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  3 C  is a block diagram of an embodiment of a navigation system of the vehicle in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  4    shows an embodiment of the instrument panel of the vehicle according to one embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  5    is a block diagram of an embodiment of a communications subsystem of the vehicle; 
         FIG.  6    is a block diagram of a computing environment associated with the embodiments presented herein; 
         FIG.  7    is a block diagram of a computing device associated with one or more components described herein; 
         FIG.  8    is a block diagram of an imaging processing system in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure; and 
         FIG.  9    is a flow diagram of a method for sharing cameras between autonomous driving and in-vehicle infotainment controllers in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in connection with a vehicle, and in some embodiments, an electric vehicle, rechargeable electric vehicle, and/or hybrid-electric vehicle and associated systems. 
       FIG.  1    shows a perspective view of a vehicle  100  in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. The electric vehicle  100  comprises a vehicle front  110 , vehicle aft or rear  120 , vehicle roof  130 , at least one vehicle side  160 , a vehicle undercarriage  140 , and a vehicle interior  150 . In any event, the vehicle  100  may include a frame  104  and one or more body panels  108  mounted or affixed thereto. The vehicle  100  may include one or more interior components (e.g., components inside an interior space  150 , or user space, of a vehicle  100 , etc.), exterior components (e.g., components outside of the interior space  150 , or user space, of a vehicle  100 , etc.), drive systems, controls systems, structural components, etc. 
     Although shown in the form of a car, it should be appreciated that the vehicle  100  described herein may include any conveyance or model of a conveyance, where the conveyance was designed for the purpose of moving one or more tangible objects, such as people, animals, cargo, and the like. The term “vehicle” does not require that a conveyance moves or is capable of movement. Typical vehicles may include but are in no way limited to cars, trucks, motorcycles, busses, automobiles, trains, railed conveyances, boats, ships, marine conveyances, submarine conveyances, airplanes, space craft, flying machines, human-powered conveyances, and the like. 
     In some embodiments, the vehicle  100  may include a number of sensors, devices, and/or systems that are capable of assisting in driving operations, e.g., autonomous or semi-autonomous control. Examples of the various sensors and systems may include, but are in no way limited to, one or more of cameras (e.g., independent, stereo, combined image, etc.), infrared (IR) sensors, radio frequency (RF) sensors, ultrasonic sensors (e.g., transducers, transceivers, etc.), RADAR sensors (e.g., object-detection sensors and/or systems), LIDAR (Light Imaging, Detection, And Ranging) systems, odometry sensors and/or devices (e.g., encoders, etc.), orientation sensors (e.g., accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometer, etc.), navigation sensors and systems (e.g., GPS, etc.), and other ranging, imaging, and/or object-detecting sensors. The sensors may be disposed in an interior space  150  of the vehicle  100  and/or on an outside of the vehicle  100 . In some embodiments, the sensors and systems may be disposed in one or more portions of a vehicle  100  (e.g., the frame  104 , a body panel, a compartment, etc.). 
     The vehicle sensors and systems may be selected and/or configured to suit a level of operation associated with the vehicle  100 . Among other things, the number of sensors used in a system may be altered to increase or decrease information available to a vehicle control system (e.g., affecting control capabilities of the vehicle  100 ). Additionally or alternatively, the sensors and systems may be part of one or more advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) associated with a vehicle  100 . In any event, the sensors and systems may be used to provide driving assistance at any level of operation (e.g., from fully-manual to fully-autonomous operations, etc.) as described herein. 
     The various levels of vehicle control and/or operation can be described as corresponding to a level of autonomy associated with a vehicle  100  for vehicle driving operations. For instance, at Level 0, or fully-manual driving operations, a driver (e.g., a human driver) may be responsible for all the driving control operations (e.g., steering, accelerating, braking, etc.) associated with the vehicle. Level 0 may be referred to as a “No Automation” level. At Level 1, the vehicle may be responsible for a limited number of the driving operations associated with the vehicle, while the driver is still responsible for most driving control operations. An example of a Level 1 vehicle may include a vehicle in which the throttle control and/or braking operations may be controlled by the vehicle (e.g., cruise control operations, etc.). Level 1 may be referred to as a “Driver Assistance” level. At Level 2, the vehicle may collect information (e.g., via one or more driving assistance systems, sensors, etc.) about an environment of the vehicle (e.g., surrounding area, roadway, traffic, ambient conditions, etc.) and use the collected information to control driving operations (e.g., steering, accelerating, braking, etc.) associated with the vehicle. In a Level 2 autonomous vehicle, the driver may be required to perform other aspects of driving operations not controlled by the vehicle. Level 2 may be referred to as a “Partial Automation” level. It should be appreciated that Levels 0-2 all involve the driver monitoring the driving operations of the vehicle. 
     At Level 3, the driver may be separated from controlling all the driving operations of the vehicle except when the vehicle makes a request for the operator to act or intervene in controlling one or more driving operations. In other words, the driver may be separated from controlling the vehicle unless the driver is required to take over for the vehicle. Level 3 may be referred to as a “Conditional Automation” level. At Level 4, the driver may be separated from controlling all the driving operations of the vehicle and the vehicle may control driving operations even when a user fails to respond to a request to intervene. Level 4 may be referred to as a “High Automation” level. At Level 5, the vehicle can control all the driving operations associated with the vehicle in all driving modes. The vehicle in Level 5 may continually monitor traffic, vehicular, roadway, and/or environmental conditions while driving the vehicle. In Level 5, there is no human driver interaction required in any driving mode. Accordingly, Level 5 may be referred to as a “Full Automation” level. It should be appreciated that in Levels 3-5 the vehicle, and/or one or more automated driving systems associated with the vehicle, monitors the driving operations of the vehicle and the driving environment. 
     As shown in  FIG.  1   , the vehicle  100  may, for example, include at least one of a ranging and imaging system  112  (e.g., LIDAR, etc.), an imaging sensor  116 A,  116 F,  116 L- 116 P (e.g., camera, IR, etc.), a radio object-detection and ranging system sensors  116 B (e.g., RADAR, RF, etc.), ultrasonic sensors  116 C, and/or other object-detection sensors  116 D,  116 E. In some embodiments, the LIDAR system  112  and/or sensors may be mounted on a roof  130  of the vehicle  100 . In one embodiment, the RADAR sensors  116 B may be disposed at least at a front  110 , aft  120 , or side  160  of the vehicle  100 . Among other things, the RADAR sensors may be used to monitor and/or detect a position of other vehicles, pedestrians, and/or other objects near, or proximal to, the vehicle  100 . While shown associated with one or more areas of a vehicle  100 , it should be appreciated that any of the sensors and systems  116 A- 116 P,  112  illustrated in  FIGS.  1    and  2  may be disposed in, on, and/or about the vehicle  100  in any position, area, and/or zone of the vehicle  100 . 
     Referring now to  FIG.  2   , a plan view of a vehicle  100  will be described in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. In particular,  FIG.  2    shows a vehicle sensing environment  200  at least partially defined by the sensors and systems  116 A- 116 P,  112  disposed in, on, and/or about the vehicle  100 . Each sensor  116 A- 116 P may include an operational detection range R and operational detection angle. The operational detection range R may define the effective detection limit, or distance, of the sensor  116 A- 116 P. In some cases, this effective detection limit may be defined as a distance from a portion of the sensor  116 A- 116 P (e.g., a lens, sensing surface, etc.) to a point in space offset from the sensor  116 A- 116 P. The effective detection limit may define a distance, beyond which, the sensing capabilities of the sensor  116 A- 116 P deteriorate, fail to work, or are unreliable. In some embodiments, the effective detection limit may define a distance, within which, the sensing capabilities of the sensor  116 A- 116 P are able to provide accurate and/or reliable detection information. The operational detection angle may define at least one angle of a span, or between horizontal and/or vertical limits, of a sensor  116 A- 116 P. As can be appreciated, the operational detection limit and the operational detection angle of a sensor  116 A- 116 P together may define the effective detection zone  216 A-D (e.g., the effective detection area, and/or volume, etc.) of a sensor  116 A- 116 P. 
     In some embodiments, the vehicle  100  may include a ranging and imaging system  112  such as LIDAR, or the like. The ranging and imaging system  112  may be configured to detect visual information in an environment surrounding the vehicle  100 . The visual information detected in the environment surrounding the ranging and imaging system  112  may be processed (e.g., via one or more sensor and/or system processors, etc.) to generate a complete 360-degree view of an environment  200  around the vehicle. The ranging and imaging system  112  may be configured to generate changing 360-degree views of the environment  200  in real-time, for instance, as the vehicle  100  drives. In some cases, the ranging and imaging system  112  may have an effective detection limit  204  that is some distance from the center of the vehicle  100  outward over 360 degrees. The effective detection limit  204  of the ranging and imaging system  112  defines a view zone  208  (e.g., an area and/or volume, etc.) surrounding the vehicle  100 . Any object falling outside of the view zone  208  is in the undetected zone  212  and would not be detected by the ranging and imaging system  112  of the vehicle  100 . 
     Sensor data and information may be collected by one or more sensors or systems  116 A- 116 P,  112  of the vehicle  100  monitoring the vehicle sensing environment  200 . This information may be processed (e.g., via a processor, computer-vision system, etc.) to determine targets (e.g., objects, signs, people, markings, roadways, conditions, etc.) inside one or more detection zones  208 ,  216 A-D associated with the vehicle sensing environment  200 . In some cases, information from multiple sensors  116 A- 116 P may be processed to form composite sensor detection information. For example, a first sensor  116 A and a second sensor  116 F may correspond to a first camera  116 A and a second camera  116 F aimed in a forward traveling direction of the vehicle  100 . In this example, images collected by the cameras  116 A,  116 F may be combined to form stereo image information. This composite information may increase the capabilities of a single sensor in the one or more sensors  116 A- 116 P by, for example, adding the ability to determine depth associated with targets in the one or more detection zones  208 ,  216 A-D. Similar image data may be collected by rear view cameras (e.g., sensors  116 G,  116 H) aimed in a rearward traveling direction vehicle  100 . 
     In some embodiments, multiple sensors  116 A- 116 P may be effectively joined to increase a sensing zone and provide increased sensing coverage. For instance, multiple RADAR sensors  116 B disposed on the front  110  of the vehicle may be joined to provide a zone  216 B of coverage that spans across an entirety of the front  110  of the vehicle. In some cases, the multiple RADAR sensors  116 B may cover a detection zone  216 B that includes one or more other sensor detection zones  216 A. These overlapping detection zones may provide redundant sensing, enhanced sensing, and/or provide greater detail in sensing within a particular portion (e.g., zone  216 A) of a larger zone (e.g., zone  216 B). Additionally or alternatively, the sensors  116 A- 116 P of the vehicle  100  may be arranged to create a complete coverage, via one or more sensing zones  208 ,  216 A-D around the vehicle  100 . In some areas, the sensing zones  216 C of two or more sensors  116 D,  116 E may intersect at an overlap zone  220 . In some areas, the angle and/or detection limit of two or more sensing zones  216 C,  216 D (e.g., of two or more sensors  116 E,  116 J,  116 K, etc.) may meet at a virtual intersection point  224 . 
     In one embodiment, the vehicle  100  may comprise one or more cameras  116 L- 116 P that are each configured to collect image data from an environment around the vehicle  100  (e.g., outside of the interior space  150 ). One or more of the cameras  116 L- 116 P may collect image data from an environment within the effective detection limit  204  (e.g., in the view zone  208 ). The vehicle  100  may comprise a front camera sensor  116 L, a rear camera sensor  116 P, a first side camera sensor  116 N, a second side camera sensor  116 O, and/or a center camera sensor  116 M. In some embodiments, the center camera sensor  116 M may be disposed in the interior space  150  of the vehicle  100 . The center camera sensor  116 M may be configured to collect image data from the environment outside of the interior space  150  without collecting image data from the interior space  150  of the vehicle  100 . One or more of the cameras  116 L- 116 P may be configured to collect image data in any detection zone  216 A- 216 D described above. 
     The vehicle  100  may include a number of sensors  116 E,  116 G,  116 H,  116 J,  116 K,  116 P disposed proximal to the rear  120  of the vehicle  100 . These sensors can include, but are in no way limited to, an imaging sensor, camera, IR, a radio object-detection and ranging sensors, RADAR, RF, ultrasonic sensors, and/or other object-detection sensors. Among other things, these sensors  116 E,  116 G,  116 H,  116 J,  116 K,  116 P may detect targets near or approaching the rear of the vehicle  100 . For example, another vehicle approaching the rear  120  of the vehicle  100  may be detected by one or more of the ranging and imaging system (e.g., LIDAR)  112 , rear-view cameras  116 G,  116 H,  116 P and/or rear facing RADAR sensors  116 J,  116 K. As described above, the images from the rear-view cameras  116 G,  116 H,  116 P may be processed to generate a stereo view (e.g., providing depth associated with an object or environment, etc.) for targets visible to two or more of the cameras  116 G,  116 H,  116 P. As another example, the vehicle  100  may be driving and one or more of the ranging and imaging system  112 , front-facing cameras  116 A,  116 F,  116 L front-facing RADAR sensors  116 B, and/or ultrasonic sensors  116 C may detect targets in front of the vehicle  100 . This approach may provide critical sensor information to a vehicle control system in at least one of the autonomous driving levels described above. For instance, when the vehicle  100  is driving autonomously (e.g., Level 3, Level 4, or Level 5) and detects other vehicles stopped in a travel path, the sensor detection information may be sent to the vehicle control system of the vehicle  100  to control a driving operation (e.g., braking, decelerating, etc.) associated with the vehicle  100  (in this example, slowing the vehicle  100  as to avoid colliding with the stopped other vehicles). As yet another example, the vehicle  100  may be operating and one or more of the ranging and imaging system  112 , and/or the side-facing sensors  116 D,  116 E,  116 N,  1160  (e.g., RADAR, ultrasonic, camera, combinations thereof, and/or other type of sensor), may detect targets at a side of the vehicle  100 . It should be appreciated that any of the sensors  116 A- 116 P may detect a target that is both at a side  160  and a front  110  of the vehicle  100  (e.g., disposed at a diagonal angle to a centerline of the vehicle  100  running from the front  110  of the vehicle  100  to the rear  120  of the vehicle). Additionally or alternatively, any of the sensors  116 A- 116 P may detect a target that is both, or simultaneously, at a side  160  and a rear  120  of the vehicle  100  (e.g., disposed at a diagonal angle to the centerline of the vehicle  100 ). 
       FIGS.  3 A- 3 C  are block diagrams of an embodiment of a communication environment  300  of the vehicle  100  in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. The communication system  300  may include one or more vehicle driving vehicle sensors and systems  304 , sensor processors  340 , sensor data memory  344 , vehicle control system  348 , communications subsystem  350 , control data  364 , computing devices  368 , display devices  372 , and other components  374  that may be associated with a vehicle  100 . These associated components may be electrically and/or communicatively coupled to one another via at least one bus  360 . In some embodiments, the one or more associated components may send and/or receive signals across a communication network  352  to at least one of a navigation source  356 A, a control source  356 B, or some other entity  356 N. 
     In accordance with at least some embodiments of the present disclosure, the communication network  352  may comprise any type of known communication medium or collection of communication media and may use any type of protocols, such as SIP, TCP/IP, SNA, IPX, AppleTalk, and the like, to transport messages between endpoints. The communication network  352  may include wired and/or wireless communication technologies. The Internet is an example of the communication network  352  that constitutes an Internet Protocol (IP) network consisting of many computers, computing networks, and other communication devices located all over the world, which are connected through many telephone systems and other means. Other examples of the communication network  352  include, without limitation, a standard Plain Old Telephone System (POTS), an Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN), the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), a Local Area Network (LAN), such as an Ethernet network, a Token-Ring network and/or the like, a Wide Area Network (WAN), a virtual network, including without limitation a virtual private network (“VPN”); the Internet, an intranet, an extranet, a cellular network, an infra-red network; a wireless network (e.g., a network operating under any of the IEEE 802.9 suite of protocols, the Bluetooth® protocol known in the art, and/or any other wireless protocol), and any other type of packet-switched or circuit-switched network known in the art and/or any combination of these and/or other networks. In addition, it can be appreciated that the communication network  352  need not be limited to any one network type, and instead may be comprised of a number of different networks and/or network types. The communication network  352  may comprise a number of different communication media such as coaxial cable, copper cable/wire, fiber-optic cable, antennas for transmitting/receiving wireless messages, and combinations thereof. 
     The driving vehicle sensors and systems  304  may include at least one navigation  308  (e.g., global positioning system (GPS), etc.), orientation  312 , odometry  316 , LIDAR  320 , RADAR  324 , ultrasonic  328 , camera  332 , infrared (IR)  336 , and/or other sensor or system  338 . These driving vehicle sensors and systems  304  may be similar, if not identical, to the sensors and systems  116 A- 116 P,  112  described in conjunction with  FIGS.  1  and  2   . 
     The navigation sensor  308  may include one or more sensors having receivers and antennas that are configured to utilize a satellite-based navigation system including a network of navigation satellites capable of providing geolocation and time information to at least one component of the vehicle  100 . Examples of the navigation sensor  308  as described herein may include, but are not limited to, at least one of Garmin® GLO™ family of GPS and GLONASS combination sensors, Garmin® GPS 15×™ family of sensors, Garmin® GPS 16×™ family of sensors with high-sensitivity receiver and antenna, Garmin® GPS 18×OEM family of high-sensitivity GPS sensors, Dewetron DEWE-VGPS series of GPS sensors, GlobalSat 1-Hz series of GPS sensors, other industry-equivalent navigation sensors and/or systems, and may perform navigational and/or geolocation functions using any known or future-developed standard and/or architecture. 
     The orientation sensor  312  may include one or more sensors configured to determine an orientation of the vehicle  100  relative to at least one reference point. In some embodiments, the orientation sensor  312  may include at least one pressure transducer, stress/strain gauge, accelerometer, gyroscope, and/or geomagnetic sensor. Examples of the navigation sensor  308  as described herein may include, but are not limited to, at least one of Bosch Sensortec BMX 160 series low-power absolute orientation sensors, Bosch Sensortec BMX055 9-axis sensors, Bosch Sensortec BMI055 6-axis inertial sensors, Bosch Sensortec BMI160 6-axis inertial sensors, Bosch Sensortec BMF055 9-axis inertial sensors (accelerometer, gyroscope, and magnetometer) with integrated Cortex M0+ microcontroller, Bosch Sensortec BMP280 absolute barometric pressure sensors, Infineon TLV493D-A1B6 3D magnetic sensors, Infineon TLI493D-W1B6 3D magnetic sensors, Infineon TL family of 3D magnetic sensors, Murata Electronics SCC2000 series combined gyro sensor and accelerometer, Murata Electronics SCC1300 series combined gyro sensor and accelerometer, other industry-equivalent orientation sensors and/or systems, which may perform orientation detection and/or determination functions using any known or future-developed standard and/or architecture. 
     The odometry sensor and/or system  316  may include one or more components that is configured to determine a change in position of the vehicle  100  over time. In some embodiments, the odometry system  316  may utilize data from one or more other sensors and/or systems  304  in determining a position (e.g., distance, location, etc.) of the vehicle  100  relative to a previously measured position for the vehicle  100 . Additionally or alternatively, the odometry sensors  316  may include one or more encoders, Hall speed sensors, and/or other measurement sensors/devices configured to measure a wheel speed, rotation, and/or number of revolutions made over time. Examples of the odometry sensor/system  316  as described herein may include, but are not limited to, at least one of Infineon TLE4924/26/27/28C high-performance speed sensors, Infineon TL4941plusC(B) single chip differential Hall wheel-speed sensors, Infineon TL5041plusC Giant Magnetoresistance (GMR) effect sensors, Infineon TL family of magnetic sensors, EPC Model 25SP Accu-CoderPro™ incremental shaft encoders, EPC Model 30M compact incremental encoders with advanced magnetic sensing and signal processing technology, EPC Model 925 absolute shaft encoders, EPC Model 958 absolute shaft encoders, EPC Model MA36S/MA63S/SA36S absolute shaft encoders, Dynapar™ F18 commutating optical encoder, Dynapar™ HS35R family of phased array encoder sensors, other industry-equivalent odometry sensors and/or systems, and may perform change in position detection and/or determination functions using any known or future-developed standard and/or architecture. 
     The LIDAR sensor/system  320  may include one or more components configured to measure distances to targets using laser illumination. In some embodiments, the LIDAR sensor/system  320  may provide 3D imaging data of an environment around the vehicle  100 . The imaging data may be processed to generate a full 360-degree view of the environment around the vehicle  100 . The LIDAR sensor/system  320  may include a laser light generator configured to generate a plurality of target illumination laser beams (e.g., laser light channels). In some embodiments, this plurality of laser beams may be aimed at, or directed to, a rotating reflective surface (e.g., a mirror) and guided outwardly from the LIDAR sensor/system  320  into a measurement environment. The rotating reflective surface may be configured to continually rotate 360 degrees about an axis, such that the plurality of laser beams is directed in a full 360-degree range around the vehicle  100 . A photodiode receiver of the LIDAR sensor/system  320  may detect when light from the plurality of laser beams emitted into the measurement environment returns (e.g., reflected echo) to the LIDAR sensor/system  320 . The LIDAR sensor/system  320  may calculate, based on a time associated with the emission of light to the detected return of light, a distance from the vehicle  100  to the illuminated target. In some embodiments, the LIDAR sensor/system  320  may generate over 2.0 million points per second and have an effective operational range of at least 100 meters. Examples of the LIDAR sensor/system  320  as described herein may include, but are not limited to, at least one of Velodyne® LiDAR™ HDL-64E 64-channel LIDAR sensors, Velodyne® LiDAR™ HDL-32E 32-channel LIDAR sensors, Velodyne® LiDAR™ PUCK™ VLP-16 16-channel LIDAR sensors, Leica Geosystems Pegasus:Two mobile sensor platform, Garmin® LIDAR-Lite v3 measurement sensor, Quanergy M8 LiDAR sensors, Quanergy S3 solid state LiDAR sensor, LeddarTech® LeddarVU compact solid state fixed-beam LIDAR sensors, other industry-equivalent LIDAR sensors and/or systems, and may perform illuminated target and/or obstacle detection in an environment around the vehicle  100  using any known or future-developed standard and/or architecture. 
     The RADAR sensors  324  may include one or more radio components that are configured to detect objects/targets in an environment of the vehicle  100 . In some embodiments, the RADAR sensors  324  may determine a distance, position, and/or movement vector (e.g., angle, speed, etc.) associated with a target over time. The RADAR sensors  324  may include a transmitter configured to generate and emit electromagnetic waves (e.g., radio, microwaves, etc.) and a receiver configured to detect returned electromagnetic waves. In some embodiments, the RADAR sensors  324  may include at least one processor configured to interpret the returned electromagnetic waves and determine locational properties of targets. Examples of the RADAR sensors  324  as described herein may include, but are not limited to, at least one of Infineon RASIC™ RTN7735PL transmitter and RRN7745PL/46PL receiver sensors, Autoliv ASP Vehicle RADAR sensors, Delphi L2C0051TR 77 GHz ESR Electronically Scanning Radar sensors, Fujitsu Ten Ltd. Automotive Compact 77 GHz 3D Electronic Scan Millimeter Wave Radar sensors, other industry-equivalent RADAR sensors and/or systems, and may perform radio target and/or obstacle detection in an environment around the vehicle  100  using any known or future-developed standard and/or architecture. 
     The ultrasonic sensors  328  may include one or more components that are configured to detect objects/targets in an environment of the vehicle  100 . In some embodiments, the ultrasonic sensors  328  may determine a distance, position, and/or movement vector (e.g., angle, speed, etc.) associated with a target over time. The ultrasonic sensors  328  may include an ultrasonic transmitter and receiver, or transceiver, configured to generate and emit ultrasound waves and interpret returned echoes of those waves. In some embodiments, the ultrasonic sensors  328  may include at least one processor configured to interpret the returned ultrasonic waves and determine locational properties of targets. Examples of the ultrasonic sensors  328  as described herein may include, but are not limited to, at least one of Texas Instruments TIDA-00151 automotive ultrasonic sensor interface IC sensors, MaxBotix® MB8450 ultrasonic proximity sensor, MaxBotix® ParkSonar™-EZ ultrasonic proximity sensors, Murata Electronics MA40H1S-R open-structure ultrasonic sensors, Murata Electronics MA40S4R/S open-structure ultrasonic sensors, Murata Electronics MA58MF14-7N waterproof ultrasonic sensors, other industry-equivalent ultrasonic sensors and/or systems, and may perform ultrasonic target and/or obstacle detection in an environment around the vehicle  100  using any known or future-developed standard and/or architecture. 
     The camera sensors  332  may include one or more components configured to detect image information associated with an environment of the vehicle  100 . In some embodiments, the camera sensors  332  may include a lens, filter, image sensor, and/or a digital image processer. It is an aspect of the present disclosure that multiple camera sensors  332  may be used together to generate stereo images providing depth measurements. Examples of the camera sensors  332  as described herein may include, but are not limited to, at least one of ON Semiconductor® AR0820AT CMOS digital image sensors, ON Semiconductor® MT9V024 Global Shutter VGA GS CMOS image sensors, Teledyne DALSA Falcon2 camera sensors, CMOSIS CMV50000 high-speed CMOS image sensors, other industry-equivalent camera sensors and/or systems, and may perform visual target and/or obstacle detection in an environment around the vehicle  100  using any known or future-developed standard and/or architecture. 
     The infrared (IR) sensors  336  may include one or more components configured to detect image information associated with an environment of the vehicle  100 . The IR sensors  336  may be configured to detect targets in low-light, dark, or poorly-lit environments. The IR sensors  336  may include an IR light emitting element (e.g., IR light emitting diode (LED), etc.) and an IR photodiode. In some embodiments, the IR photodiode may be configured to detect returned IR light at or about the same wavelength to that emitted by the IR light emitting element. In some embodiments, the IR sensors  336  may include at least one processor configured to interpret the returned IR light and determine locational properties of targets. The IR sensors  336  may be configured to detect and/or measure a temperature associated with a target (e.g., an object, pedestrian, other vehicle, etc.). Examples of IR sensors  336  as described herein may include, but are not limited to, at least one of Opto Diode lead-salt IR array sensors, Opto Diode OD-850 Near-IR LED sensors, Opto Diode SA/SHA727 steady state IR emitters and IR detectors, FLIR® LS microbolometer sensors, FLIR® TacFLIR 380-HD InSb MWIR FPA and HD MWIR thermal sensors, FLIR® VOx 640×480 pixel detector sensors, Delphi IR sensors, other industry-equivalent IR sensors and/or systems, and may perform IR visual target and/or obstacle detection in an environment around the vehicle  100  using any known or future-developed standard and/or architecture. 
     The vehicle  100  can also include one or more interior sensors  337 . Interior sensors  337  can measure characteristics of the inside environment of the vehicle  100 . The interior sensors  337  may be as described in conjunction with  FIG.  3 B . 
     A navigation system  302  can include any hardware and/or software used to navigate the vehicle either manually or autonomously. The navigation system  302  may be as described in conjunction with  FIG.  3 C . 
     In some embodiments, the driving vehicle sensors and systems  304  may include other sensors  338  and/or combinations of the sensors  306 - 337  described above. Additionally or alternatively, one or more of the sensors  306 - 337  described above may include one or more processors configured to process and/or interpret signals detected by the one or more sensors  306 - 337 . In some embodiments, the processing of at least some sensor information provided by the vehicle sensors and systems  304  may be processed by at least one sensor processor  340 . Raw and/or processed sensor data may be stored in a sensor data memory  344  storage medium. In some embodiments, the sensor data memory  344  may store instructions used by the sensor processor  340  for processing sensor information provided by the sensors and systems  304 . In any event, the sensor data memory  344  may be a disk drive, optical storage device, solid-state storage device such as a random access memory (“RAM”) and/or a read-only memory (“ROM”), which can be programmable, flash-updateable, and/or the like. 
     The vehicle control system  348  may receive processed sensor information from the sensor processor  340  and determine to control an aspect of the vehicle  100 . Controlling an aspect of the vehicle  100  may include presenting information via one or more display devices  372  associated with the vehicle, sending commands to one or more computing devices  368  associated with the vehicle, and/or controlling a driving operation of the vehicle. In some embodiments, the vehicle control system  348  may correspond to one or more computing systems that control driving operations of the vehicle  100  in accordance with the Levels of driving autonomy described above. In one embodiment, the vehicle control system  348  may operate a speed of the vehicle  100  by controlling an output signal to the accelerator and/or braking system of the vehicle. In this example, the vehicle control system  348  may receive sensor data describing an environment surrounding the vehicle  100  and, based on the sensor data received, determine to adjust the acceleration, power output, and/or braking of the vehicle  100 . The vehicle control system  348  may additionally control steering and/or other driving functions of the vehicle  100 . 
     The vehicle control system  348  may communicate, in real-time, with the driving sensors and systems  304  forming a feedback loop. In particular, upon receiving sensor information describing a condition of targets in the environment surrounding the vehicle  100 , the vehicle control system  348  may autonomously make changes to a driving operation of the vehicle  100 . The vehicle control system  348  may then receive subsequent sensor information describing any change to the condition of the targets detected in the environment as a result of the changes made to the driving operation. This continual cycle of observation (e.g., via the sensors, etc.) and action (e.g., selected control or non-control of vehicle operations, etc.) allows the vehicle  100  to operate autonomously in the environment. 
     In some embodiments, the one or more components of the vehicle  100  (e.g., the driving vehicle sensors  304 , vehicle control system  348 , display devices  372 , etc.) may communicate across the communication network  352  to one or more entities  356 A-N via a communications subsystem  350  of the vehicle  100 . Embodiments of the communications subsystem  350  are described in greater detail in conjunction with  FIG.  5   . For instance, the navigation sensors  308  may receive global positioning, location, and/or navigational information from a navigation source  356 A. In some embodiments, the navigation source  356 A may be a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) similar, if not identical, to NAVSTAR GPS, GLONASS, EU Galileo, and/or the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) to name a few. 
     In some embodiments, the vehicle control system  348  may receive control information from one or more control sources  356 B. The control source  356  may provide vehicle control information including autonomous driving control commands, vehicle operation override control commands, and the like. The control source  356  may correspond to an autonomous vehicle control system, a traffic control system, an administrative control entity, and/or some other controlling server. It is an aspect of the present disclosure that the vehicle control system  348  and/or other components of the vehicle  100  may exchange communications with the control source  356  across the communication network  352  and via the communications subsystem  350 . 
     Information associated with controlling driving operations of the vehicle  100  may be stored in a control data memory  364  storage medium. The control data memory  364  may store instructions used by the vehicle control system  348  for controlling driving operations of the vehicle  100 , historical control information, autonomous driving control rules, and the like. In some embodiments, the control data memory  364  may be a disk drive, optical storage device, solid-state storage device such as a random access memory (“RAM”) and/or a read-only memory (“ROM”), which can be programmable, flash-updateable, and/or the like. 
     In addition to the mechanical components described herein, the vehicle  100  may include a number of user interface devices. The user interface devices receive and translate human input into a mechanical movement or electrical signal or stimulus. The human input may be one or more of motion (e.g., body movement, body part movement, in two-dimensional or three-dimensional space, etc.), voice, touch, and/or physical interaction with the components of the vehicle  100 . In some embodiments, the human input may be configured to control one or more functions of the vehicle  100  and/or systems of the vehicle  100  described herein. User interfaces may include, but are in no way limited to, at least one graphical user interface of a display device, steering wheel or mechanism, transmission lever or button (e.g., including park, neutral, reverse, and/or drive positions, etc.), throttle control pedal or mechanism, brake control pedal or mechanism, power control switch, communications equipment, etc. 
       FIG.  3 B  shows a block diagram of an embodiment of interior sensors  337  for a vehicle  100 . The interior sensors  337  may be arranged into one or more groups, based at least partially on the function of the interior sensors  337 . For example, the interior space of a vehicle  100  may include environmental sensors, user interface sensor(s), and/or safety sensors. Additionally or alternatively, there may be sensors associated with various devices inside the vehicle (e.g., smart phones, tablets, mobile computers, wearables, etc.) 
     Environmental sensors may comprise sensors configured to collect data relating to the internal environment of a vehicle  100 . Examples of environmental sensors may include one or more of, but are not limited to: oxygen/air sensors  301 , temperature sensors  303 , humidity sensors  305 , light/photo sensors  307 , and more. The oxygen/air sensors  301  may be configured to detect a quality or characteristic of the air in the interior space  108  of the vehicle  100  (e.g., ratios and/or types of gasses comprising the air inside the vehicle  100 , dangerous gas levels, safe gas levels, etc.). Temperature sensors  303  may be configured to detect temperature readings of one or more objects, users  216 , and/or areas of a vehicle  100 . Humidity sensors  305  may detect an amount of water vapor present in the air inside the vehicle  100 . The light/photo sensors  307  can detect an amount of light present in the vehicle  100 . Further, the light/photo sensors  307  may be configured to detect various levels of light intensity associated with light in the vehicle  100 . 
     User interface sensors may comprise sensors configured to collect data relating to one or more users (e.g., a driver and/or passenger(s)) in a vehicle  100 . As can be appreciated, the user interface sensors may include sensors that are configured to collect data from users  216  in one or more areas of the vehicle  100 . Examples of user interface sensors may include one or more of, but are not limited to: infrared sensors  309 , motion sensors  311 , weight sensors  313 , wireless network sensors  315 , biometric sensors  317 , camera (or image) sensors  319 , audio sensors  321 , and more. 
     Infrared sensors  309  may be used to measure IR light irradiating from at least one surface, user, or other object in the vehicle  100 . Among other things, the Infrared sensors  309  may be used to measure temperatures, form images (especially in low light conditions), identify users  216 , and even detect motion in the vehicle  100 . 
     The motion sensors  311  may detect motion and/or movement of objects inside the vehicle  100 . Optionally, the motion sensors  311  may be used alone or in combination to detect movement. For example, a user may be operating a vehicle  100  (e.g., while driving, etc.) when a passenger in the rear of the vehicle  100  unbuckles a safety belt and proceeds to move about the vehicle  10 . In this example, the movement of the passenger could be detected by the motion sensors  311 . In response to detecting the movement and/or the direction associated with the movement, the passenger may be prevented from interfacing with and/or accessing at least some of the vehicle control features. As can be appreciated, the user may be alerted of the movement/motion such that the user can act to prevent the passenger from interfering with the vehicle controls. Optionally, the number of motion sensors in a vehicle may be increased to increase an accuracy associated with motion detected in the vehicle  100 . 
     Weight sensors  313  may be employed to collect data relating to objects and/or users in various areas of the vehicle  100 . In some cases, the weight sensors  313  may be included in the seats and/or floor of a vehicle  100 . Optionally, the vehicle  100  may include a wireless network sensor  315 . This sensor  315  may be configured to detect one or more wireless network(s) inside the vehicle  100 . Examples of wireless networks may include, but are not limited to, wireless communications utilizing Bluetooth®, Wi-Fi™, ZigBee, IEEE 802.11, and other wireless technology standards. For example, a mobile hotspot may be detected inside the vehicle  100  via the wireless network sensor  315 . In this case, the vehicle  100  may determine to utilize and/or share the mobile hotspot detected via/with one or more other devices associated with the vehicle  100 . 
     Biometric sensors  317  may be employed to identify and/or record characteristics associated with a user. It is anticipated that biometric sensors  317  can include at least one of image sensors, IR sensors, fingerprint readers, weight sensors, load cells, force transducers, heart rate monitors, blood pressure monitors, and the like as provided herein. 
     The camera sensors  319  may record still images, video, and/or combinations thereof. Camera sensors  319  may be used alone or in combination to identify objects, users, and/or other features, inside the vehicle  100 . Two or more camera sensors  319  may be used in combination to form, among other things, stereo and/or three-dimensional (3D) images. The stereo images can be recorded and/or used to determine depth associated with objects and/or users in a vehicle  100 . Further, the camera sensors  319  used in combination may determine the complex geometry associated with identifying characteristics of a user. For example, the camera sensors  319  may be used to determine dimensions between various features of a user&#39;s face (e.g., the depth/distance from a user&#39;s nose to a user&#39;s cheeks, a linear distance between the center of a user&#39;s eyes, and more). These dimensions may be used to verify, record, and even modify characteristics that serve to identify a user. The camera sensors  319  may also be used to determine movement associated with objects and/or users within the vehicle  100 . It should be appreciated that the number of image sensors used in a vehicle  100  may be increased to provide greater dimensional accuracy and/or views of a detected image in the vehicle  100 . 
     The audio sensors  321  may be configured to receive audio input from a user of the vehicle  100 . The audio input from a user may correspond to voice commands, conversations detected in the vehicle  100 , phone calls made in the vehicle  100 , and/or other audible expressions made in the vehicle  100 . Audio sensors  321  may include, but are not limited to, microphones and other types of acoustic-to-electric transducers or sensors. Optionally, the interior audio sensors  321  may be configured to receive and convert sound waves into an equivalent analog or digital signal. The interior audio sensors  321  may serve to determine one or more locations associated with various sounds in the vehicle  100 . The location of the sounds may be determined based on a comparison of volume levels, intensity, and the like, between sounds detected by two or more interior audio sensors  321 . For instance, a first audio sensors  321  may be located in a first area of the vehicle  100  and a second audio sensors  321  may be located in a second area of the vehicle  100 . If a sound is detected at a first volume level by the first audio sensors  321  A and a second, higher, volume level by the second audio sensors  321  in the second area of the vehicle  100 , the sound may be determined to be closer to the second area of the vehicle  100 . As can be appreciated, the number of sound receivers used in a vehicle  100  may be increased (e.g., more than two, etc.) to increase measurement accuracy surrounding sound detection and location, or source, of the sound (e.g., via triangulation, etc.). 
     The safety sensors may comprise sensors configured to collect data relating to the safety of a user and/or one or more components of a vehicle  100 . Examples of safety sensors may include one or more of, but are not limited to: force sensors  325 , mechanical motion sensors  327 , orientation sensors  329 , restraint sensors  331 , and more. 
     The force sensors  325  may include one or more sensors inside the vehicle  100  configured to detect a force observed in the vehicle  100 . One example of a force sensor  325  may include a force transducer that converts measured forces (e.g., force, weight, pressure, etc.) into output signals. Mechanical motion sensors  327  may correspond to encoders, accelerometers, damped masses, and the like. Optionally, the mechanical motion sensors  327  may be adapted to measure the force of gravity (i.e., G-force) as observed inside the vehicle  100 . Measuring the G-force observed inside a vehicle  100  can provide valuable information related to a vehicle&#39;s acceleration, deceleration, collisions, and/or forces that may have been suffered by one or more users in the vehicle  100 . Orientation sensors  329  can include accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetic sensors, and the like that are configured to detect an orientation associated with the vehicle  100 . 
     The restraint sensors  331  may correspond to sensors associated with one or more restraint devices and/or systems in a vehicle  100 . Seatbelts and airbags are examples of restraint devices and/or systems. As can be appreciated, the restraint devices and/or systems may be associated with one or more sensors that are configured to detect a state of the device/system. The state may include extension, engagement, retraction, disengagement, deployment, and/or other electrical or mechanical conditions associated with the device/system. 
     The associated device sensors  323  can include any sensors that are associated with a device in the vehicle  100 . As previously stated, typical devices may include smart phones, tablets, laptops, mobile computers, and the like. It is anticipated that the various sensors associated with these devices can be employed by the vehicle control system  348 . For example, a typical smart phone can include, an image sensor, an IR sensor, audio sensor, gyroscope, accelerometer, wireless network sensor, fingerprint reader, and more. It is an aspect of the present disclosure that one or more of these associated device sensors  323  may be used by one or more subsystems of the vehicle  100 . 
       FIG.  3 C  illustrates a GPS/Navigation subsystem(s)  302 . The navigation subsystem(s)  302  can be any present or future-built navigation system that may use location data, for example, from the Global Positioning System (GPS), to provide navigation information or control the vehicle  100 . The navigation subsystem(s)  302  can include several components, such as, one or more of, but not limited to: a GPS Antenna/receiver  331 , a location module  333 , a maps database  335 , etc. Generally, the several components or modules  331 - 335  may be hardware, software, firmware, computer readable media, or combinations thereof. 
     A GPS Antenna/receiver  331  can be any antenna, GPS puck, and/or receiver capable of receiving signals from a GPS satellite or other navigation system. The signals may be demodulated, converted, interpreted, etc. by the GPS Antenna/receiver  331  and provided to the location module  333 . Thus, the GPS Antenna/receiver  331  may convert the time signals from the GPS system and provide a location (e.g., coordinates on a map) to the location module  333 . Alternatively, the location module  333  can interpret the time signals into coordinates or other location information. 
     The location module  333  can be the controller of the satellite navigation system designed for use in the vehicle  100 . The location module  333  can acquire position data, as from the GPS Antenna/receiver  331 , to locate the user or vehicle  100  on a road in the unit&#39;s map database  335 . Using the road database  335 , the location module  333  can give directions to other locations along roads also in the database  335 . When a GPS signal is not available, the location module  333  may apply dead reckoning to estimate distance data from sensors  304  including one or more of, but not limited to, a speed sensor attached to the drive train of the vehicle  100 , a gyroscope, an accelerometer, etc. Additionally or alternatively, the location module  333  may use known locations of Wi-Fi hotspots, cell tower data, etc. to determine the position of the vehicle  100 , such as by using time difference of arrival (TDOA) and/or frequency difference of arrival (FDOA) techniques. 
     The maps database  335  can include any hardware and/or software to store information about maps, geographical information system (GIS) information, location information, etc. The maps database  335  can include any data definition or other structure to store the information. Generally, the maps database  335  can include a road database that may include one or more vector maps of areas of interest. Street names, street numbers, house numbers, and other information can be encoded as geographic coordinates so that the user can find some desired destination by street address. Points of interest (waypoints) can also be stored with their geographic coordinates. For example, a point of interest may include speed cameras, fuel stations, public parking, and “parked here” (or “you parked here”) information. The maps database  335  may also include road or street characteristics, for example, speed limits, location of stop lights/stop signs, lane divisions, school locations, etc. The map database contents can be produced or updated by a server connected through a wireless system in communication with the Internet, even as the vehicle  100  is driven along existing streets, yielding an up-to-date map. 
     The vehicle control system  348 , when operating in L4 or L5 and based on sensor information from the external and interior vehicle sensors, can control the driving behavior of the vehicle in response to the current vehicle location, sensed object information, sensed vehicle occupant information, vehicle-related information, exterior environmental information, and navigation information from the maps database  335 . 
     The sensed object information refers to sensed information regarding objects external to the vehicle. Examples include animate objects such as animals and attributes thereof (e.g., animal type, current spatial location, current activity, etc.), and pedestrians and attributes thereof (e.g., identity, age, sex, current spatial location, current activity, etc.), and the like and inanimate objects and attributes thereof such as other vehicles (e.g., current vehicle state or activity (parked or in motion or level of automation currently employed), occupant or operator identity, vehicle type (truck, car, etc.), vehicle spatial location, etc.), curbs (topography and spatial location), potholes (size and spatial location), lane division markers (type or color and spatial locations), signage (type or color and spatial locations such as speed limit signs, yield signs, stop signs, and other restrictive or warning signs), traffic signals (e.g., red, yellow, blue, green, etc.), buildings (spatial locations), walls (height and spatial locations), barricades (height and spatial location), and the like. 
     The sensed occupant information refers to sensed information regarding occupants internal to the vehicle. Examples include the number and identities of occupants and attributes thereof (e.g., seating position, age, sex, gaze direction, biometric information, authentication information, preferences, historic behavior patterns (such as current or historical user driving behavior, historical user route, destination, and waypoint preferences), nationality, ethnicity and race, language preferences (e.g., Spanish, English, Chinese, etc.), current occupant role (e.g., operator or passenger), occupant priority ranking (e.g., vehicle owner is given a higher ranking than a child occupant), electronic calendar information (e.g., Outlook™), and medical information and history, etc. 
     The vehicle-related information refers to sensed information regarding the selected vehicle. Examples include vehicle manufacturer, type, model, year of manufacture, current geographic location, current vehicle state or activity (parked or in motion or level of automation currently employed), vehicle specifications and capabilities, currently sensed operational parameters for the vehicle, and other information. 
     The exterior environmental information refers to sensed information regarding the external environment of the selected vehicle. Examples include road type (pavement, gravel, brick, etc.), road condition (e.g., wet, dry, icy, snowy, etc.), weather condition (e.g., outside temperature, pressure, humidity, wind speed and direction, etc.), ambient light conditions (e.g., time-of-day), degree of development of vehicle surroundings (e.g., urban or rural), and the like. 
     In a typical implementation, the automated vehicle control system  348 , based on feedback from certain sensors, specifically the LIDAR and radar sensors positioned around the circumference of the vehicle, constructs a three-dimensional map in spatial proximity to the vehicle that enables the automated vehicle control system  348  to identify and spatially locate animate and inanimate objects. Other sensors, such as inertial measurement units, gyroscopes, wheel encoders, sonar sensors, motion sensors to perform odometry calculations with respect to nearby moving exterior objects, and exterior facing cameras (e.g., to perform computer vision processing) can provide further contextual information for generation of a more accurate three-dimensional map. The navigation information is combined with the three-dimensional map to provide short, intermediate and long range course tracking and route selection. The vehicle control system  348  processes real-world information as well as GPS data, and driving speed to determine accurately the precise position of each vehicle, down to a few centimeters all while making corrections for nearby animate and inanimate objects. 
     The vehicle control system  348  can process in substantial real time the aggregate mapping information and models (or predicts) behavior of occupants of the current vehicle and other nearby animate or inanimate objects and, based on the aggregate mapping information and modeled behavior, issues appropriate commands regarding vehicle operation. While some commands are hard-coded into the vehicle, such as stopping at red lights and stop signs, other responses are learned and recorded by profile updates based on previous driving experiences. Examples of learned behavior include a slow-moving or stopped vehicle or emergency vehicle in a right lane suggests a higher probability that the car following it will attempt to pass, a pot hole, rock, or other foreign object in the roadway equates to a higher probability that a driver will swerve to avoid it, and traffic congestion in one lane means that other drivers moving in the same direction will have a higher probability of passing in an adjacent lane or by driving on the shoulder. 
       FIG.  4    shows one embodiment of the instrument panel  400  of the vehicle  100 . The instrument panel  400  of vehicle  100  comprises a steering wheel  410 , a vehicle operational display  420  (e.g., configured to present and/or display driving data such as speed, measured air resistance, vehicle information, entertainment information, etc.), one or more auxiliary displays  424  (e.g., configured to present and/or display information segregated from the operational display  420 , entertainment applications, movies, music, etc.), a heads-up display  434  (e.g., configured to display any information previously described including, but in no way limited to, guidance information such as route to destination, or obstacle warning information to warn of a potential collision, or some or all primary vehicle operational data such as speed, resistance, etc.), a power management display  428  (e.g., configured to display data corresponding to electric power levels of vehicle  100 , reserve power, charging status, etc.), and an input device  432  (e.g., a controller, touchscreen, or other interface device configured to interface with one or more displays in the instrument panel or components of the vehicle  100 . The input device  432  may be configured as a joystick, mouse, touchpad, tablet, 3D gesture capture device, etc.). In some embodiments, the input device  432  may be used to manually maneuver a portion of the vehicle  100  into a charging position (e.g., moving a charging plate to a desired separation distance, etc.). 
     While one or more of displays of instrument panel  400  may be touch-screen displays, it should be appreciated that the vehicle operational display may be a display incapable of receiving touch input. For instance, the operational display  420  that spans across an interior space centerline  404  and across both a first zone  408 A and a second zone  408 B may be isolated from receiving input from touch, especially from a passenger. In some cases, a display that provides vehicle operation or critical systems information and interface may be restricted from receiving touch input and/or be configured as a non-touch display. This type of configuration can prevent dangerous mistakes in providing touch input where such input may cause an accident or unwanted control. 
     In some embodiments, one or more displays of the instrument panel  400  may be mobile devices and/or applications residing on a mobile device such as a smart phone. Additionally or alternatively, any of the information described herein may be presented to one or more portions  420 A-N of the operational display  420  or other display  424 ,  428 ,  434 . In one embodiment, one or more displays of the instrument panel  400  may be physically separated or detached from the instrument panel  400 . In some cases, a detachable display may remain tethered to the instrument panel. 
     The portions  420 A-N of the operational display  420  may be dynamically reconfigured and/or resized to suit any display of information as described. Additionally or alternatively, the number of portions  420 A-N used to visually present information via the operational display  420  may be dynamically increased or decreased as required, and are not limited to the configurations shown. 
       FIG.  5    illustrates a hardware diagram of communications componentry that can be optionally associated with the vehicle  100  in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. 
     The communications componentry can include one or more wired or wireless devices such as a transceiver(s) and/or modem that allows communications not only between the various systems disclosed herein but also with other devices, such as devices on a network, and/or on a distributed network such as the Internet and/or in the cloud and/or with other vehicle(s). 
     The communications subsystem  350  can also include inter- and intra-vehicle communications capabilities such as hotspot and/or access point connectivity for any one or more of the vehicle occupants and/or vehicle-to-vehicle communications. 
     Additionally, and while not specifically illustrated, the communications subsystem  350  can include one or more communications links (that can be wired or wireless) and/or communications busses (managed by the bus manager  574 ), including one or more of CAN bus, OBD-II, ARCINC 429, Byteflight, CAN (Controller Area Network), D2B (Domestic Digital Bus), FlexRay, DC-BUS, IDB-1394, IEBus, I2C, ISO 9141-1/-2, J1708, J1587, J1850, J1939, ISO 11783, Keyword Protocol 2000, LIN (Local Interconnect Network), MOST (Media Oriented Systems Transport), Multifunction Vehicle Bus, SMARTwireX, SPI, VAN (Vehicle Area Network), and the like or in general any communications protocol and/or standard(s). 
     The various protocols and communications can be communicated one or more of wirelessly and/or over transmission media such as single wire, twisted pair, fiber optic, IEEE 1394, MIL-STD-1553, MIL-STD-1773, power-line communication, or the like. (All of the above standards and protocols are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety). 
     As discussed, the communications subsystem  350  enables communications between any of the inter-vehicle systems and subsystems as well as communications with non-collocated resources, such as those reachable over a network such as the Internet. 
     The communications subsystem  350 , in addition to well-known componentry (which has been omitted for clarity), includes interconnected elements including one or more of: one or more antennas  504 , an interleaver/deinterleaver  508 , an analog front end (AFE)  512 , memory/storage/cache  516 , controller/microprocessor  520 , MAC circuitry  522 , modulator/demodulator  524 , encoder/decoder  528 , a plurality of connectivity managers  534 ,  558 ,  562 ,  566 , GPU  540 , accelerator  544 , a multiplexer/demultiplexer  552 , transmitter  570 , receiver  572  and additional wireless radio components such as a Wi-Fi PHY/Bluetooth® module  580 , a Wi-Fi/BT MAC module  584 , additional transmitter(s)  588  and additional receiver(s)  592 . The various elements in the device  350  are connected by one or more links/busses  5  (not shown, again for sake of clarity). 
     The device  350  can have one more antennas  504 , for use in wireless communications such as multi-input multi-output (MIMO) communications, multi-user multi-input multi-output (MU-MIMO) communications Bluetooth®, LTE, 4G, 5G, Near-Field Communication (NFC), etc., and in general for any type of wireless communications. The antenna(s)  504  can include, but are not limited to one or more of directional antennas, omnidirectional antennas, monopoles, patch antennas, loop antennas, microstrip antennas, dipoles, and any other antenna(s) suitable for communication transmission/reception. In an exemplary embodiment, transmission/reception using MIMO may require particular antenna spacing. In another exemplary embodiment, MIMO transmission/reception can enable spatial diversity allowing for different channel characteristics at each of the antennas. In yet another embodiment, MIMO transmission/reception can be used to distribute resources to multiple users for example within the vehicle  100  and/or in another vehicle. 
     Antenna(s)  504  generally interact with the Analog Front End (AFE)  512 , which is needed to enable the correct processing of the received modulated signal and signal conditioning for a transmitted signal. The AFE  512  can be functionally located between the antenna and a digital baseband system in order to convert the analog signal into a digital signal for processing and vice-versa. 
     The subsystem  350  can also include a controller/microprocessor  520  and a memory/storage/cache  516 . The subsystem  350  can interact with the memory/storage/cache  516  which may store information and operations necessary for configuring and transmitting or receiving the information described herein. The memory/storage/cache  516  may also be used in connection with the execution of application programming or instructions by the controller/microprocessor  520 , and for temporary or long term storage of program instructions and/or data. As examples, the memory/storage/cache  520  may comprise a computer-readable device, RAM, ROM, DRAM, SDRAM, and/or other storage device(s) and media. 
     The controller/microprocessor  520  may comprise a general purpose programmable processor or controller for executing application programming or instructions related to the subsystem  350 . Furthermore, the controller/microprocessor  520  can perform operations for configuring and transmitting/receiving information as described herein. The controller/microprocessor  520  may include multiple processor cores, and/or implement multiple virtual processors. Optionally, the controller/microprocessor  520  may include multiple physical processors. By way of example, the controller/microprocessor  520  may comprise a specially configured Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) or other integrated circuit, a digital signal processor(s), a controller, a hardwired electronic or logic circuit, a programmable logic device or gate array, a special purpose computer, or the like. 
     The subsystem  350  can further include a transmitter(s)  570 ,  588  and receiver(s)  572 ,  592  which can transmit and receive signals, respectively, to and from other devices, subsystems and/or other destinations using the one or more antennas  504  and/or links/busses. Included in the subsystem  350  circuitry is the medium access control or MAC Circuitry  522 . MAC circuitry  522  provides for controlling access to the wireless medium. In an exemplary embodiment, the MAC circuitry  522  may be arranged to contend for the wireless medium and configure frames or packets for communicating over the wired/wireless medium. 
     The subsystem  350  can also optionally contain a security module (not shown). This security module can contain information regarding but not limited to, security parameters required to connect the device to one or more other devices or other available network(s), and can include WEP or WPA/WPA-2 (optionally+AES and/or TKIP) security access keys, network keys, etc. The WEP security access key is a security password used by Wi-Fi networks. Knowledge of this code can enable a wireless device to exchange information with an access point and/or another device. The information exchange can occur through encoded messages with the WEP access code often being chosen by the network administrator. WPA is an added security standard that is also used in conjunction with network connectivity with stronger encryption than WEP. 
     In some embodiments, the communications subsystem  350  also includes a GPU  540 , an accelerator  544 , a Wi-Fi/BT/BLE (Bluetooth® Low-Energy) PHY module  580  and a Wi-Fi/BT/BLE MAC module  584  and optional wireless transmitter  588  and optional wireless receiver  592 . In some embodiments, the GPU  540  may be a graphics processing unit, or visual processing unit, comprising at least one circuit and/or chip that manipulates and changes memory to accelerate the creation of images in a frame buffer for output to at least one display device. The GPU  540  may include one or more of a display device connection port, printed circuit board (PCB), a GPU chip, a metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET), memory (e.g., single data rate random-access memory (SDRAM), double data rate random-access memory (DDR) RAM, etc., and/or combinations thereof), a secondary processing chip (e.g., handling video out capabilities, processing, and/or other functions in addition to the GPU chip, etc.), a capacitor, heatsink, temperature control or cooling fan, motherboard connection, shielding, and the like. 
     The various connectivity managers  534 ,  558 ,  562 ,  566  manage and/or coordinate communications between the subsystem  350  and one or more of the systems disclosed herein and one or more other devices/systems. The connectivity managers  534 ,  558 ,  562 ,  566  include a charging connectivity manager  534 , a vehicle database connectivity manager  558 , a remote operating system connectivity manager  562 , and a sensor connectivity manager  566 . 
     The charging connectivity manager  534  can coordinate not only the physical connectivity between the vehicle  100  and a charging device/vehicle, but can also communicate with one or more of a power management controller, one or more third parties and optionally a billing system(s). As an example, the vehicle  100  can establish communications with the charging device/vehicle to one or more of coordinate interconnectivity between the two (e.g., by spatially aligning the charging receptacle on the vehicle with the charger on the charging vehicle) and optionally share navigation information. Once charging is complete, the amount of charge provided can be tracked and optionally forwarded to, for example, a third party for billing. In addition to being able to manage connectivity for the exchange of power, the charging connectivity manager  534  can also communicate information, such as billing information to the charging vehicle and/or a third party. This billing information could be, for example, the owner of the vehicle, the driver/occupant(s) of the vehicle, company information, or in general any information usable to charge the appropriate entity for the power received. 
     The vehicle database connectivity manager  558  allows the subsystem to receive and/or share information stored in the vehicle database. This information can be shared with other vehicle components/subsystems and/or other entities, such as third parties and/or charging systems. The information can also be shared with one or more vehicle occupant devices, such as an app (application) on a mobile device the driver uses to track information about the vehicle  100  and/or a dealer or service/maintenance provider. In general, any information stored in the vehicle database can optionally be shared with any one or more other devices optionally subject to any privacy or confidentially restrictions. 
     The remote operating system connectivity manager  562  facilitates communications between the vehicle  100  and any one or more autonomous vehicle systems. These communications can include one or more of navigation information, vehicle information, other vehicle information, weather information, occupant information, or in general any information related to the remote operation of the vehicle  100 . 
     The sensor connectivity manager  566  facilitates communications between any one or more of the vehicle sensors (e.g., the driving vehicle sensors and systems  304 , etc.) and any one or more of the other vehicle systems. The sensor connectivity manager  566  can also facilitate communications between any one or more of the sensors and/or vehicle systems and any other destination, such as a service company, app, or in general to any destination where sensor data is needed. 
     In accordance with one exemplary embodiment, any of the communications discussed herein can be communicated via the conductor(s) used for charging. One exemplary protocol usable for these communications is Power-line communication (PLC). PLC is a communication protocol that uses electrical wiring to simultaneously carry both data, and Alternating Current (AC) electric power transmission or electric power distribution. It is also known as power-line carrier, power-line digital subscriber line (PDSL), mains communication, power-line telecommunications, or power-line networking (PLN). For DC environments in vehicles PLC can be used in conjunction with CAN bus, LIN-bus over power line (DC-LIN) and DC-BUS. 
     The communications subsystem can also optionally manage one or more identifiers, such as an IP (Internet Protocol) address(es), associated with the vehicle and one or other system or subsystems or components and/or devices therein. These identifiers can be used in conjunction with any one or more of the connectivity managers as discussed herein. 
       FIG.  6    illustrates a block diagram of a computing environment  600  that may function as the servers, user computers, or other systems provided and described herein. The computing environment  600  includes one or more user computers, or computing devices, such as a vehicle computing device  604 , a communication device  608 , and/or more  612 . The computing devices  604 ,  608 ,  612  may include general purpose personal computers (including, merely by way of example, personal computers, and/or laptop computers running various versions of Microsoft Corp.&#39;s Windows® and/or Apple Corp.&#39;s Macintosh® operating systems) and/or workstation computers running any of a variety of commercially-available UNIX® or UNIX-like operating systems. These computing devices  604 ,  608 ,  612  may also have any of a variety of applications, including for example, database client and/or server applications, and web browser applications. Alternatively, the computing devices  604 ,  608 ,  612  may be any other electronic device, such as a thin-client computer, Internet-enabled mobile telephone, and/or personal digital assistant, capable of communicating via a network  352  and/or displaying and navigating web pages or other types of electronic documents or information. Although the exemplary computing environment  600  is shown with two computing devices, any number of user computers or computing devices may be supported. 
     The computing environment  600  may also include one or more servers  614 ,  616 . In this example, server  614  is shown as a web server and server  616  is shown as an application server. The web server  614 , which may be used to process requests for web pages or other electronic documents from computing devices  604 ,  608 ,  612 . The web server  614  can be running an operating system including any of those discussed above, as well as any commercially-available server operating systems. The web server  614  can also run a variety of server applications, including SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) servers, HTTP(s) servers, FTP servers, CGI servers, database servers, Java® servers, and the like. In some instances, the web server  614  may publish operations available operations as one or more web services. 
     The computing environment  600  may also include one or more file and or/application servers  616 , which can, in addition to an operating system, include one or more applications accessible by a client running on one or more of the computing devices  604 ,  608 ,  612 . The server(s)  616  and/or  614  may be one or more general purpose computers capable of executing programs or scripts in response to the computing devices  604 ,  608 ,  612 . As one example, the server  616 ,  614  may execute one or more web applications. The web application may be implemented as one or more scripts or programs written in any programming language, such as Java®, C, C#®, or C++, and/or any scripting language, such as Perl, Python, or TCL, as well as combinations of any programming/scripting languages. The application server(s)  616  may also include database servers, including without limitation those commercially available from Oracle®, Microsoft®, Sybase®, IBM® and the like, which can process requests from database clients running on a computing device  604 ,  608 ,  612 . 
     The web pages created by the server  614  and/or  616  may be forwarded to a computing device  604 ,  608 ,  612  via a web (file) server  614 ,  616 . Similarly, the web server  614  may be able to receive web page requests, web services invocations, and/or input data from a computing device  604 ,  608 ,  612  (e.g., a user computer, etc.) and can forward the web page requests and/or input data to the web (application) server  616 . In further embodiments, the server  616  may function as a file server. Although for ease of description,  FIG.  6    illustrates a separate web server  614  and file/application server  616 , those skilled in the art will recognize that the functions described with respect to servers  614 ,  616  may be performed by a single server and/or a plurality of specialized servers, depending on implementation-specific needs and parameters. The computer systems  604 ,  608 ,  612 , web (file) server  614  and/or web (application) server  616  may function as the system, devices, or components described in  FIGS.  1 - 6   . 
     The computing environment  600  may also include a database  618 . The database  618  may reside in a variety of locations. By way of example, database  618  may reside on a storage medium local to (and/or resident in) one or more of the computers  604 ,  608 ,  612 ,  614 ,  616 . Alternatively, it may be remote from any or all of the computers  604 ,  608 ,  612 ,  614 ,  616 , and in communication (e.g., via the network  352 ) with one or more of these. The database  618  may reside in a storage-area network (“SAN”) familiar to those skilled in the art. Similarly, any necessary files for performing the functions attributed to the computers  604 ,  608 ,  612 ,  614 ,  616  may be stored locally on the respective computer and/or remotely, as appropriate. The database  618  may be a relational database, such as Oracle 20i®, that is adapted to store, update, and retrieve data in response to SQL-formatted commands. 
       FIG.  7    illustrates one embodiment of a computer system  700  upon which the servers, user computers, computing devices, or other systems or components described above may be deployed or executed. The computer system  700  is shown comprising hardware elements that may be electrically coupled via a bus  704 . The hardware elements may include one or more central processing units (CPUs)  708 ; one or more input devices  712  (e.g., a mouse, a keyboard, etc.); and one or more output devices  716  (e.g., a display device, a printer, etc.). The computer system  700  may also include one or more storage devices  720 . By way of example, storage device(s)  720  may be disk drives, optical storage devices, solid-state storage devices such as a random access memory (“RAM”) and/or a read-only memory (“ROM”), which can be programmable, flash-updateable and/or the like. 
     The computer system  700  may additionally include a computer-readable storage media reader  724 ; a communications system  728  (e.g., a modem, a network card (wireless or wired), an infra-red communication device, etc.); and working memory  736 , which may include RAM and ROM devices as described above. The computer system  700  may also include a processing acceleration unit  732 , which can include a DSP, a special-purpose processor, and/or the like. 
     The computer-readable storage media reader  724  can further be connected to a computer-readable storage medium, together (and, optionally, in combination with storage device(s)  720 ) comprehensively representing remote, local, fixed, and/or removable storage devices plus storage media for temporarily and/or more permanently containing computer-readable information. The communications system  728  may permit data to be exchanged with a network and/or any other computer described above with respect to the computer environments described herein. Moreover, as disclosed herein, the term “storage medium” may represent one or more devices for storing data, including read only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic RAM, core memory, magnetic disk storage mediums, optical storage mediums, flash memory devices and/or other machine readable mediums for storing information. 
     The computer system  700  may also comprise software elements, shown as being currently located within a working memory  736 , including an operating system  740  and/or other code  744 . It should be appreciated that alternate embodiments of a computer system  700  may have numerous variations from that described above. For example, customized hardware might also be used and/or particular elements might be implemented in hardware, software (including portable software, such as applets), or both. Further, connection to other computing devices such as network input/output devices may be employed. 
     Examples of the processors  340 ,  708  as described herein may include, but are not limited to, at least one of Qualcomm® Snapdragon® 800 and 801, Qualcomm® Snapdragon® 620 and 615 with 4G LTE Integration and 64-bit computing, Apple® A7 processor with 64-bit architecture, Apple® M7 motion coprocessors, Samsung® Exynos® series, the Intel® Core™ family of processors, the Intel® Xeon® family of processors, the Intel® Atom™ family of processors, the Intel Itanium® family of processors, Intel® Core® i5-4670K and i7-4770K 22 nm Haswell, Intel® Core® i5-3570K 22 nm Ivy Bridge, the AMD® FX™ family of processors, AMD® FX-4300, FX-6300, and FX-8350 32 nm Vishera, AMD® Kaveri processors, Texas Instruments® Jacinto C6000™ automotive infotainment processors, Texas Instruments® OMAP™ automotive-grade mobile processors, ARM® Cortex™-M processors, ARM® Cortex-A and ARM926EJ-S™ processors, other industry-equivalent processors, and may perform computational functions using any known or future-developed standard, instruction set, libraries, and/or architecture. 
     In conventional autonomous vehicles, a vehicle may employ a first set of cameras for an autonomous driving (“AD”) system and a different second set of cameras for in-vehicle infotainment (“IVI”) functions. As can be appreciated, this traditional approach results in a number of duplicate systems that require additional cabling, mechanical space, and add increased complexity to a vehicle and associated systems. 
     It is with respect to the above issues and other problems that the embodiments presented herein were contemplated. It is an object the present disclosure to provide methods and systems that receive image data from a common set of cameras at an AD electronic control unit (“ECU”), use this data at a processor of the AD ECU and forward the data to an IVI ECU for further processing and use by a digital cockpit or other infotainment system. The system may comprise one or more cameras which each contain an image sensor and a serializer. These cameras may be fed to the AD ECU which may have deserializers that in turn feed the AD System-on-Chip (“SoC”), or processor, and the IVI Image Signal Processor (“ISP”). In one embodiment, the IVI ISP could be located on the IVI ECU, in the IVI SoC, or in the cameras themselves. The IVI ISP may send the processed sensor data to another serializer which sends the video to a deserializer on the IVI ECU, which in turn provides the shared sensor data to the IVI SoC. In some embodiments, a single IVI ISP may be used to processes two camera feeds, so ISPs could potentially be combined in any manner. 
     In one embodiment, the ISP may be outside of the camera to provide raw sensor data to the AD SoC. This approach may comprise a specific set of serializer, deserializer steps in each ECU with the ISPs inserted and related connectivity. The cameras may be switched between AD and IVI control and the cameras may be switched between a low-power mode (e.g., when the vehicle  100  is parked, etc.) and a high-power mode (e.g., when the vehicle  100  is unparked and/or AD mode is engaged, etc.). In some embodiments, the necessary embedded data from the sensor may be forwarded to both ISPs in order to enable the necessary processing and correction (e.g., image anomaly detection, etc.). 
     Referring now to  FIG.  8   , a block diagram of an imaging processing system  800  is shown in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. The image processing system  800  may comprise a plurality of cameras  804 A- 804 N that are disposed at different locations on a body of a vehicle  100 , each camera of the plurality of cameras  804 A- 804 N may be configured to collect image data from an environment around the vehicle (e.g., within an effective detection limit  204  of the plurality of cameras  804 A- 804 N). In some embodiments, the plurality of cameras  804 A- 804 N may correspond to any one or more of the sensors, systems, and cameras  116 A- 116 P,  112 ,  332  of the vehicle  100  as described above. 
     The image processing system  800  may comprise an AD ECU  814  and an IVI ECU  838 . In some embodiments, the AD ECU  814  may correspond to the vehicle control system  348  described in conjunction with  FIGS.  3 A- 3 C  above. The AD ECU  814  may correspond to an electronic control module or other controller comprising a memory, a processor, one or more inputs/outputs, and hardware and software that is required to perform AD functions for the vehicle  100 . As shown in  FIG.  8   , the AD ECU  814  may comprise a microcontroller unit  824  and an AD SoC  828 . The microcontroller unit  824  may correspond to a processor of the AD ECU  814  that handles functionality of the AD ECU  814  when the AD SoC  828  is inactive, set to a low-power mode, or turned off. In some embodiments, the microcontroller unit  824  may correspond to a backup processor for the AD SoC  828 . The AD SoC  828  may correspond to an AD processor of the AD ECU  814  that handles AD functionality for the vehicle  100  under normal operating conditions (e.g., when AD is engaged, when the AD SoC  828  is activated, and/or when AD functionality is required, etc.). The AD SoC  828  may correspond to an integrated circuit that includes at least one of a CPU, a GPU, memory, input/output, and/or the like. The AD SoC  828  may be part of a dedicated integrated circuit reserved for AD functionality and processing. 
     The IVI ECU  838  may correspond to a separate control unit, or module, that is dedicated to providing infotainment-based functionality, interactions, and experiences. In some embodiments, the IVI ECU  838  may provide data that is rendered by the instrument panel  400  of the vehicle  100 . The IVI ECU  838  may be separate and apart from the AD ECU  814 . In one embodiment, separating the IVI functionality from the AD functionality results in increased safety, redundancy, and longevity of each ECU. The IVI ECU  838  may comprise an IVI SoC  844 . The IVI SoC  844  may correspond to an IVI processor of the IVI ECU  838  that handles infotainment (e.g., informative and entertainment) functionality for the vehicle  100 . The IVI SoC  844  may correspond to an integrated circuit that includes at least one of a CPU, a GPU, memory, input/output, and/or the like. The IVI SoC  844  may be part of a dedicated integrated circuit that is reserved for infotainment functionality including processing, notifying, and rendering. 
     Each of the plurality of cameras  804 A- 804 N may comprise an image sensor  808 A- 808 N and a serializer  812 A- 812 N. The image sensors  808 A- 808 N may correspond to the image sensors described in conjunction with the camera sensors  332  above. The serializers  812 A- 812 N may interconnect with and control the image sensors  808 A- 808 N. In some embodiments, serializers  812 A- 812 N may comprise a high-speed data channel (e.g., for forwarding image data collected by the image sensors  808 A- 808 N) and a low-latency control channel (e.g., for controlling the image sensors  808 A- 808 N). This high-speed data channel and low-latency control channel may be provided over a single cable (e.g., coaxial cable, shielded-twisted-pair cable, differential pair, etc.). The serializers  812 A- 812 N may comprise at least one receiver, encoder/formatter, serializer, cable driver, controller, clock, and/or the like. Examples of the serializers described herein may include, without limitation, Maxim Integrated™ model MAX96717/17F serializers, Maxim Integrated™ model MAX9295E dual serializers, Texas Instruments model DS90UB935-Q1 automotive-rated serializer, and/or the like. Among other things, the serializers  812 A- 812 N may convert the image data received from the image sensors  804 A- 804 N into a format that can be efficiently transmitted over a high-speed data channel or the communication path  815 . 
     The communication path  815  may correspond to a wired interconnection between the serializers  812 A- 812 N and the AD ECU  814 . For instance, the communication path  815  may correspond to a coaxial cable, a shielded-twisted-pair cable, differential pair, or other communications cable. As shown in  FIG.  8   , the communication path  815  may correspond to a wired connection from the first serializer  812 A to the first deserializer  816 A. Each camera of the plurality of cameras  804 A- 804 N may be interconnected by a respective communication path  815 . In some embodiments, one or more of the serializers  812 A- 812 N and/or deserializers  816 A- 816 N may be combined at either end of the communication path  815 . Additionally or alternatively, more than one video stream may be send across a single serializer  812 A- 812 N. 
     In some embodiments, the communication paths  815  may be connected to respective deserializers  816 A- 816 N of the AD ECU  814 . Similar to the serializers  812 A- 812 N, the deserializers  816 A- 816 N may comprise a high-speed data channel and a low-latency control channel. The deserializers  816 A- 816 N may comprise at least one receiver, encoder/formatter, serializer, cable driver, controller, clock, and/or the like. Examples of the deserializers described herein may include, but are in no way limited to, Maxim Integrated™ model MAX96712 quad deserializers, Texas Instruments model DS90UB914A-Q1 automotive-rated deserializers, and/or the like. Among other things, the deserializers  816 A- 816 N may receive the serialized image data from the serializers  812 A- 812 N and convert the serialized image data into deserialized sensor data. 
     It is an aspect of the present disclosure that the image data from the plurality of cameras  804 A- 804 N may be received by the AD ECU  814  before any other component of the vehicle  100  receives the image data. In one embodiment, the communication path  815  may correspond to a direct and uninterrupted wired connection between the plurality of cameras  804 A- 804 N and the AD ECU  814 . 
     After the image data is deserialized into the sensor data, the sensor data is sent to the AD SoC  828  along the first path  818 A. The first path  818 A may correspond to a wired connection between the first deserializer  816 A and the AD SoC  828 . This wired connection may correspond to electrical traces, cabling, and/or the like. In addition to sending the sensor data to the AD SoC  828 , the first deserializer  816 A may send the sensor data to the IVI ECU  838  along the second path  818 B. Similar to the first path  818 A, the second path  818 B may correspond to a wired connection between the first deserializer  816 A and the IVI ECU  838 . The sensor data sent along the first path  818 A may the same as the sensor data sent along the second path  818 B. 
     In some embodiments, the sensor data sent along the second path  818 B may be first processed by a first IVI ISP  832 A. The IVI ISPs  832 A- 832 N of the image processing system  800  may correspond to a signal processor that may process the sensor data for image sharpening, noise reduction, making color and/or brightness adjustments, and/or otherwise formatting the sensor data for the IVI ECU  838 . The IVI ISPs  832 A- 832 N may be a part of the AD ECU  814 . Additionally or alternatively, the IVI ISPs  832 A- 832 N may be a part of the IVI ECU  838 . In some embodiments, one or more of the signal processing components  856  may be separated from the AD ECU  814  and be a part of the IVI ECU  838 . 
     Although shown having a single IVI ISP  832 A- 832 N associated with each camera of the plurality of cameras  804 A- 804 N, it is an aspect of the present disclosure that a single IVI ISP  832 A- 832 N may provide the signal processing for one or more cameras in the plurality of cameras  804 A- 804 N. 
     When the IVI ISPs  832 A- 832 N are part of the AD ECU  814 , the image processed sensor data may be provided to a respective IVI serializer  836 A- 836 N before sending, or transmitting, to the IVI ECU  838 . The IVI serializers  836 A- 836 N may be the same, and/or perform substantially the same functionality, as the serializers  812 A- 812 N described above. The serialized processed sensor data may then be sent from the AD ECU  814  (e.g., by way of the IVI serializers  836 A- 836 N) to respective IVI deserializers  840 A- 840 N of the IVI ECU  838 . The deserializers  840 A- 840 N may be the same, and/or perform substantially the same functionality, as the deserializers  816 A- 816 N described above. For example, deserializers  840 A- 840 N may correspond to Maxim Integrated™ model MAX96712 quad deserializers, Texas Instruments model DS90UB914A-Q1 automotive-rated deserializers, and/or the like. Each of the deserializers  840 A- 840 N may be interconnected to the IVI SoC  844 . 
     Although described in conjunction with the first camera  804 A, it should be appreciated that the image data from each camera in the plurality of cameras  804 A- 804 N may be received by the AD ECU  814  via other respective communication paths in a similar, if not identical, manner as described. 
     In some embodiments, the IVI ECU  838  may comprise at least one communication back channel  848 ,  852  with the AD ECU  814 . For instance, the IVI SoC  844  may determine image anomalies (e.g., image issues, image corrections, camera problems, etc.) based on the sensor data received and communicate with one or more of the AD SoC  828  and the microcontroller unit  824  to report the issue and, in some cases, take corrective action. Corrective action may comprise the AD ECU  814  selecting other cameras of the plurality of cameras  804 A- 804 N to use for AD functions, shutting down AD systems, controlling the vehicle  100 , preventing specific AD modes from engaging, and/or the like. In one embodiment, corrective action may include resetting the communication link to one or more of the cameras  804 A- 804 N. As another example, corrective action may include power cycling the one or more of the cameras  804 A- 804 N. In one embodiment, the IVI SoC  844  may communicate, via the first channel  848 , image correction information based on the sensor data received to the AD SoC  828 . In some embodiments, the IVI SoC  844  may communicate, via the second channel  852 , image correction information to the microcontroller unit  824  (e.g., the microcontroller) of the AD ECU  814  when the first channel  848  is determined to be inactive. The first channel  848  may be inactive when the AD SoC  828  is inactive, the vehicle  100  is in park, and/or AD functions are turned off, etc. 
     At least one benefit of sending the image data to the AD ECU  814  before sending the image data to any other component of the vehicle  100  (e.g., the IVI ECU  838 , etc.) includes, without limitation, ensuring that the image data is unmolested, unaltered, and not delayed in any way. This provides enhanced safety of the image processing system  800 , the AD functionality, and functionality of the vehicle  100 . 
       FIG.  9    is a flow diagram of a method  900  for sharing cameras  804 A- 804 N between AD and IVI ECUs  814 ,  838  in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. While a general order for the steps of the method  900  is shown in  FIG.  9   , the method  900  can include more or fewer steps or can arrange the order of the steps differently than those shown in  FIG.  9   . Generally, the method  900  starts with a start operation  904  and ends with an end operation  944 . The method  900  can be executed as a set of computer-executable instructions executed by a computer system (e.g., sensor processors  340 , vehicle control system  348 , computing devices  368 , computer system  700 , AD ECU  814 , IVI ECU  838 , etc.) and encoded or stored on a computer readable medium (e.g., control data  364 , working memory  736 , etc.). Hereinafter, the method  900  shall be explained with reference to the systems, components, assemblies, devices, environments, etc. described in conjunction with  FIGS.  1 - 8   . 
     The method  900  may begin at step  904  and proceed by receiving image data from one or more of the plurality of cameras  804 A- 804 N of the vehicle  100  (step  908 ). The plurality of cameras  804 A- 804 N may correspond to one or more of the sensors, systems, and cameras  116 A- 116 P,  112 ,  332  described above. The image data may correspond to images from an environment that is external to the vehicle  100  and within the effective detection limit  204  of the sensors, systems, and cameras  116 A- 116 P,  112 ,  332 . The image data may be serialized at the plurality of cameras  804 A- 804 N by an associated serializer  812 A- 812 N. The serialization of the image data may allow the data to be sent across wired connections and communication paths  815  more efficiently than if not serialized. 
     Next, the method  900  proceeds by sending the image data to the AD ECU  814  (step  912 ). More specifically, the method  900  may proceed by sending the image data across a communication path  815  (e.g., a wired/cabled connection) to a deserializer  816 A- 816 N of the AD ECU  814 . The communication path  815  may correspond to a direct (e.g., uninterrupted) communication path between the plurality of cameras  804 A- 804 N and the AD ECU  814 . 
     Upon receiving the image data, the deserializer  816 A- 816 N may deserialize the image data into sensor data (step  916 ). Two separate communication paths  818 A,  818 B may be connected to the deserializer  816 A- 816 N. The first path  818 A may run from the first deserializer  816 A to the AD SoC  828  and the second path  818 B may run from the first deserializer  816 A toward the IVI ECU  838 . In one embodiment, the second path  818 B may comprise a communication cable that exits the AD ECU  814  and enters the IVI ECU  838 . In any event, the method  900  continues by sending the deserialized sensor data to the AD SoC  828  over the first path  818 A (step  920 ) and by sending the deserialized sensor data to the IVI ECU  838  over the second path  818 B (step  924 ). Steps  920  and  924  may occur at the same time or sequentially, where step  920  occurs before step  924 . 
     In some embodiments, sending the deserialized sensor data to the IVI ECU  838  may comprise sending the deserialized sensor data to an IVI ISP  832 A- 832 N before reaching the IVI SoC  844  of the IVI ECU  838 . The IVI ISPs  832 A- 832 N may be a part of the AD ECU  814 . Additionally or alternatively, the IVI ISPs  832 A- 832 N may be a part of the IVI ECU  838 . In some embodiments, the IVI ISPs  832 A- 832 N may be a part of the plurality of cameras  804 A- 804 N. When the IVI ISP  832 A- 832 N is part of the AD ECU  814 , the processed sensor data may need to be serialized (e.g., by an IVI serializer  836 A- 836 N, etc.) prior to sending the processed sensor data to the IVI ECU  838 . As can be appreciated, in this example the IVI ECU  838  may comprise one or more IVI deserializers  840 A- 840 N that receive the processed sensor data and deserializes the processed sensor data before forwarding the processed sensor data on to the IVI SoC  844 . 
     The method  900  may continue by determining whether the image data collected by the plurality of cameras  804 A- 804 N comprises one or more image anomalies (step  928 ). In some embodiments, this determination may be made by the AD SoC  828  comparing the sensor data received to predetermined quality thresholds and metrics that may be stored in a memory of the AD ECU  814 . In one embodiment, this determination may be made by the IVI SoC  844  comparing the sensor data received to predetermined quality thresholds and metrics that may be stored in a memory of the IVI ECU  838 . The determination may be made independently by each of the AD SoC  828  and the IVI ECU  838 , as described above. In any event, when the sensor data received fails to meet, or fall within, the predetermined quality thresholds and/or metrics, an image anomaly may be determined to exist. Image anomalies may include, but is in no way limited to, image issues, image corrections required, camera problems identified, etc. If no image anomaly is determined to exist based on the sensor data received, the method  900  may end at step  944 . 
     In the event that the image data comprises an image anomaly, the method  900  may proceed by determining whether the AD SoC  828  and/or the first channel  848  is active (step  932 ). When an initial communication is sent via the first channel and a response is received from the AD SoC  828  indicating activity, the AD SoC  828  may be determined to be active. On the other hand, when an initial communication is sent via the first channel  848  and no response is received from the AD SoC  828 , the AD SoC  828  may be determined to be inactive. In one embodiment, the initial communication may be sent to the AD SoC  828  via the first channel  848  and a response may be received over the first channel  848  that the AD SoC  828  is inactive. 
     When the AD SoC  828  and/or the first channel  848  is determined to be active, the method  900  may proceed by sending information about the image data and/or anomaly to the AD SoC  828  and/or the microcontroller unit  824  of the AD ECU  814  via the first channel  848  (step  936 ). In some embodiments, and depending on a severity of the image anomaly, the AD SoC  828  of the AD ECU  814  and/or the microcontroller unit  824  may determine to take corrective action, such as selecting other cameras of the plurality of cameras  804 A- 804 N to use for AD functions, shutting down AD systems, controlling the vehicle  100 , preventing specific AD modes from engaging, and/or the like. The method  900  may end  944  or return to step  908  and continue to reiterate. 
     When the AD SoC  828  is determined to be inactive, the method  900  may proceed by the IVI SoC  844  sending information about the image data and/or the image anomaly to the microcontroller unit  824  of the AD ECU  814  via the second channel  852  (step  940 ). In some embodiments, the AD SoC  828  may be set to an inactive state (e.g., when the vehicle  100  is parked, out of AD mode, etc.) to conserve energy. In this case, the IVI ECU  838  may communicate with the AD ECU  814  via the second channel  852 . In some embodiments, and depending on a severity of the image anomaly, the microcontroller unit  824  may determine to take corrective action, such as selecting other cameras of the plurality of cameras  804 A- 804 N to use for AD functions, shutting down AD systems, controlling the vehicle  100 , preventing specific AD modes from engaging, and/or the like. The method  900  may end  944  or return to step  908  and continue to reiterate. 
     Any of the steps, functions, and operations discussed herein can be performed continuously and automatically. 
     The exemplary systems and methods of this disclosure have been described in relation to vehicle systems and electric vehicles. However, to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the present disclosure, the preceding description omits a number of known structures and devices. This omission is not to be construed as a limitation of the scope of the claimed disclosure. Specific details are set forth to provide an understanding of the present disclosure. It should, however, be appreciated that the present disclosure may be practiced in a variety of ways beyond the specific detail set forth herein. 
     Furthermore, while the exemplary embodiments illustrated herein show the various components of the system collocated, certain components of the system can be located remotely, at distant portions of a distributed network, such as a LAN and/or the Internet, or within a dedicated system. Thus, it should be appreciated, that the components of the system can be combined into one or more devices, such as a server, communication device, or collocated on a particular node of a distributed network, such as an analog and/or digital telecommunications network, a packet-switched network, or a circuit-switched network. It will be appreciated from the preceding description, and for reasons of computational efficiency, that the components of the system can be arranged at any location within a distributed network of components without affecting the operation of the system. 
     Furthermore, it should be appreciated that the various links connecting the elements can be wired or wireless links, or any combination thereof, or any other known or later developed element(s) that is capable of supplying and/or communicating data to and from the connected elements. These wired or wireless links can also be secure links and may be capable of communicating encrypted information. Transmission media used as links, for example, can be any suitable carrier for electrical signals, including coaxial cables, copper wire, and fiber optics, and may take the form of acoustic or light waves, such as those generated during radio-wave and infra-red data communications. 
     While the flowcharts have been discussed and illustrated in relation to a particular sequence of events, it should be appreciated that changes, additions, and omissions to this sequence can occur without materially affecting the operation of the disclosed embodiments, configuration, and aspects. 
     A number of variations and modifications of the disclosure can be used. It would be possible to provide for some features of the disclosure without providing others. 
     In yet another embodiment, the systems and methods of this disclosure can be implemented in conjunction with a special purpose computer, a programmed microprocessor or microcontroller and peripheral integrated circuit element(s), an ASIC or other integrated circuit, a digital signal processor, a hard-wired electronic or logic circuit such as discrete element circuit, a programmable logic device or gate array such as PLD, PLA, FPGA, PAL, special purpose computer, any comparable means, or the like. In general, any device(s) or means capable of implementing the methodology illustrated herein can be used to implement the various aspects of this disclosure. Exemplary hardware that can be used for the present disclosure includes computers, handheld devices, telephones (e.g., cellular, Internet enabled, digital, analog, hybrids, and others), and other hardware known in the art. Some of these devices include processors (e.g., a single or multiple microprocessors), memory, nonvolatile storage, input devices, and output devices. Furthermore, alternative software implementations including, but not limited to, distributed processing or component/object distributed processing, parallel processing, or virtual machine processing can also be constructed to implement the methods described herein. 
     In yet another embodiment, the disclosed methods may be readily implemented in conjunction with software using object or object-oriented software development environments that provide portable source code that can be used on a variety of computer or workstation platforms. Alternatively, the disclosed system may be implemented partially or fully in hardware using standard logic circuits or VLSI design. Whether software or hardware is used to implement the systems in accordance with this disclosure is dependent on the speed and/or efficiency requirements of the system, the particular function, and the particular software or hardware systems or microprocessor or microcomputer systems being utilized. 
     In yet another embodiment, the disclosed methods may be partially implemented in software that can be stored on a storage medium, executed on programmed general-purpose computer with the cooperation of a controller and memory, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, or the like. In these instances, the systems and methods of this disclosure can be implemented as a program embedded on a personal computer such as an applet, JAVA® or CGI script, as a resource residing on a server or computer workstation, as a routine embedded in a dedicated measurement system, system component, or the like. The system can also be implemented by physically incorporating the system and/or method into a software and/or hardware system. 
     Although the present disclosure describes components and functions implemented in the embodiments with reference to particular standards and protocols, the disclosure is not limited to such standards and protocols. Other similar standards and protocols not mentioned herein are in existence and are considered to be included in the present disclosure. Moreover, the standards and protocols mentioned herein and other similar standards and protocols not mentioned herein are periodically superseded by faster or more effective equivalents having essentially the same functions. Such replacement standards and protocols having the same functions are considered equivalents included in the present disclosure. 
     The present disclosure, in various embodiments, configurations, and aspects, includes components, methods, processes, systems and/or apparatus substantially as depicted and described herein, including various embodiments, subcombinations, and subsets thereof. Those of skill in the art will understand how to make and use the systems and methods disclosed herein after understanding the present disclosure. The present disclosure, in various embodiments, configurations, and aspects, includes providing devices and processes in the absence of items not depicted and/or described herein or in various embodiments, configurations, or aspects hereof, including in the absence of such items as may have been used in previous devices or processes, e.g., for improving performance, achieving ease, and/or reducing cost of implementation. 
     The foregoing discussion of the disclosure has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. The foregoing is not intended to limit the disclosure to the form or forms disclosed herein. In the foregoing Detailed Description for example, various features of the disclosure are grouped together in one or more embodiments, configurations, or aspects for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. The features of the embodiments, configurations, or aspects of the disclosure may be combined in alternate embodiments, configurations, or aspects other than those discussed above. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed disclosure requires more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive aspects lie in less than all features of a single foregoing disclosed embodiment, configuration, or aspect. Thus, the following claims are hereby incorporated into this Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate preferred embodiment of the disclosure. 
     Moreover, though the description of the disclosure has included description of one or more embodiments, configurations, or aspects and certain variations and modifications, other variations, combinations, and modifications are within the scope of the disclosure, e.g., as may be within the skill and knowledge of those in the art, after understanding the present disclosure. It is intended to obtain rights, which include alternative embodiments, configurations, or aspects to the extent permitted, including alternate, interchangeable and/or equivalent structures, functions, ranges, or steps to those claimed, whether or not such alternate, interchangeable and/or equivalent structures, functions, ranges, or steps are disclosed herein, and without intending to publicly dedicate any patentable subject matter. 
     Embodiments include an image processing system, comprising: a plurality of cameras disposed at different locations on a body of a vehicle, each camera of the plurality of cameras configured to collect image data from an environment around the vehicle; an autonomous drive (“AD”) electronic control unit (“ECU”) comprising an AD processor; an in-vehicle infotainment (“IVI”) ECU comprising an IVI processor; and a communication path running from a first camera of the plurality of cameras to the AD ECU, wherein the AD ECU splits the communication path into a first path that is interconnected to the AD processor of the AD ECU and a second path exiting the AD ECU and that is interconnected to the IVI ECU, and wherein image data collected by the first camera is sent along the communication path to the AD ECU before being sent to the IVI ECU. 
     Aspects of the above system include wherein the AD ECU splits the communication path into the first path and the second path at a first deserializer of the AD ECU, wherein the image data collected by the first camera is deserialized into sensor data that is sent along the first path to the AD processor and along the second path to the IVI ECU. Aspects of the above system include wherein the sensor data that is sent along the second path to the IVI ECU passes in order through an IVI image signal processor, a serializer, and then a second deserializer before reaching the IVI processor of the IVI ECU. Aspects of the above system include wherein the IVI ECU comprises the IVI image signal processor. Aspects of the above system include wherein the AD ECU comprises the IVI image signal processor and the serializer. Aspects of the above system include wherein the IVI ECU comprises the second deserializer. Aspects of the above system include wherein the sensor data that is sent along the first path to the AD processor and along the second path to the IVI ECU are identical deserialized data. Aspects of the above system include wherein the IVI ECU communicates image correction information to the AD ECU along a first channel between the IVI processor and the AD processor. Aspects of the above system include wherein the IVI ECU communicates image correction information to a microcontroller of the AD ECU along a second channel when the first channel is determined to be inactive. 
     Embodiments include a method, comprising: receiving, via a plurality of cameras disposed at different locations on a body of a vehicle, image data from an environment around the vehicle; sending, via a communication path running from a first camera of the plurality of cameras to an autonomous drive (“AD”) electronic control unit (“ECU”), image data collected by the first camera to the AD ECU; deserializing, via a deserializer of the AD ECU, the image data collected by the first camera into sensor data; sending, via a first path, the sensor data to an AD processor of the AD ECU; and sending, via a second path, the sensor data to an in-vehicle infotainment (“IVI”) ECU, wherein the second path is different from the first path, and wherein the IVI ECU is separate and apart from the AD ECU. 
     Aspects of the above method include wherein prior to reaching an IVI processor of the IVI ECU, the sensor data is sent to an IVI image signal processor. Aspects of the above method include wherein the IVI image signal processor is part of the AD ECU. Aspects of the above method include wherein the sensor data exiting the IVI image signal processor is serialized into serialized sensor data by a serializer of the AD ECU, and wherein prior to reaching the IVI processor of the IVI ECU, the serialized sensor data is deserialized by a serializer of the IVI ECU. Aspects of the above method further comprise: determining, by the IVI processor based on the sensor data received, that the image data collected by the first camera comprises an image anomaly; and sending, via a first channel between the IVI processor and the AD processor, image data information about the image anomaly. Aspects of the above method further comprise: determining, by the IVI processor, that the first channel is inactive; and sending, via a second channel between the IVI processor and a microcontroller of the AD ECU, the image data information about the image anomaly. 
     Embodiments include a vehicle, comprising: a plurality of cameras disposed at different locations on a body of a vehicle, each camera of the plurality of cameras configured to collect image data from an environment external to the vehicle; an autonomous drive (“AD”) electronic control unit (“ECU”); an in-vehicle infotainment (“IVI”) ECU that is separate and apart from the AD ECU; and a wired communication connection running from a first camera of the plurality of cameras to the AD ECU; a deserializer that receives image data collected by the first camera along the wired communication connection and deserializes the image data collected by the first camera into sensor data; a first wired communication path disposed between the deserializer and a processor of the AD ECU; a second wired communication path running from the deserializer toward the IVI ECU, wherein the sensor data is sent along the first wired communication path from the deserializer to the processor of the AD ECU and sent along the second wired communication path from the deserializer toward the IVI ECU. 
     Aspects of the above vehicle include wherein the sensor data that is sent along the second wired communication path passes in order through an IVI image signal processor, a serializer, and then a second deserializer before reaching a processor of the IVI ECU. Aspects of the above vehicle include wherein the IVI ECU comprises the IVI image signal processor. Aspects of the above vehicle include wherein the AD ECU comprises the IVI image signal processor and the serializer, and wherein the IVI ECU comprises the second deserializer. Aspects of the above vehicle include wherein the sensor data that is sent along the first wired communication path and along the second wired communication path are identical deserialized data. 
     Any one or more of the aspects/embodiments as substantially disclosed herein. 
     Any one or more of the aspects/embodiments as substantially disclosed herein optionally in combination with any one or more other aspects/embodiments as substantially disclosed herein. 
     One or more means adapted to perform any one or more of the above aspects/embodiments as substantially disclosed herein. 
     The phrases “at least one,” “one or more,” “or,” and “and/or” are open-ended expressions that are both conjunctive and disjunctive in operation. For example, each of the expressions “at least one of A, B and C,” “at least one of A, B, or C,” “one or more of A, B, and C,” “one or more of A, B, or C,” “A, B, and/or C,” and “A, B, or C” means A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, or A, B and C together. 
     The term “a” or “an” entity refers to one or more of that entity. As such, the terms “a” (or “an”), “one or more,” and “at least one” can be used interchangeably herein. It is also to be noted that the terms “comprising,” “including,” and “having” can be used interchangeably. 
     The term “automatic” and variations thereof, as used herein, refers to any process or operation, which is typically continuous or semi-continuous, done without material human input when the process or operation is performed. However, a process or operation can be automatic, even though performance of the process or operation uses material or immaterial human input, if the input is received before performance of the process or operation. Human input is deemed to be material if such input influences how the process or operation will be performed. Human input that consents to the performance of the process or operation is not deemed to be “material.” 
     Aspects of the present disclosure may take the form of an embodiment that is entirely hardware, an embodiment that is entirely software (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may all generally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module,” or “system.” Any combination of one or more computer-readable medium(s) may be utilized. The computer-readable medium may be a computer-readable signal medium or a computer-readable storage medium. 
     A computer-readable storage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer-readable storage medium would include the following: an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. In the context of this document, a computer-readable storage medium may be any tangible medium that can contain or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. 
     A computer-readable signal medium may include a propagated data signal with computer-readable program code embodied therein, for example, in baseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may take any of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to, electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. A computer-readable signal medium may be any computer-readable medium that is not a computer-readable storage medium and that can communicate, propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. Program code embodied on a computer-readable medium may be transmitted using any appropriate medium, including, but not limited to, wireless, wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination of the foregoing. 
     The terms “determine,” “calculate,” “compute,” and variations thereof, as used herein, are used interchangeably and include any type of methodology, process, mathematical operation or technique. 
     The term “electric vehicle” (EV), also referred to herein as an electric drive vehicle, may use one or more electric motors or traction motors for propulsion. An electric vehicle may be powered through a collector system by electricity from off-vehicle sources, or may be self-contained with a battery or generator to convert fuel to electricity. An electric vehicle generally includes a rechargeable electricity storage system (RESS) (also called Full Electric Vehicles (FEV)). Power storage methods may include: chemical energy stored on the vehicle in on-board batteries (e.g., battery electric vehicle or BEV), on board kinetic energy storage (e.g., flywheels), and/or static energy (e.g., by on-board double-layer capacitors). Batteries, electric double-layer capacitors, and flywheel energy storage may be forms of rechargeable on-board electrical storage. 
     The term “hybrid electric vehicle” refers to a vehicle that may combine a conventional (usually fossil fuel-powered) powertrain with some form of electric propulsion. Most hybrid electric vehicles combine a conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) propulsion system with an electric propulsion system (hybrid vehicle drivetrain). In parallel hybrids, the ICE and the electric motor are both connected to the mechanical transmission and can simultaneously transmit power to drive the wheels, usually through a conventional transmission. In series hybrids, only the electric motor drives the drivetrain, and a smaller ICE works as a generator to power the electric motor or to recharge the batteries. Power-split hybrids combine series and parallel characteristics. A full hybrid, sometimes also called a strong hybrid, is a vehicle that can run on just the engine, just the batteries, or a combination of both. A mid hybrid is a vehicle that cannot be driven solely on its electric motor, because the electric motor does not have enough power to propel the vehicle on its own. 
     The term “rechargeable electric vehicle” or “REV” refers to a vehicle with on board rechargeable energy storage, including electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles.