Patent ID: 8600831

Claim:
A method, comprising: maintaining, by a data center comprising one or more network devices, an expert knowledgebase that stores historical sensor data obtained from sensors disposed in a plurality of automobiles and historical repair data associated with the plurality of automobiles; receiving, at the data center, first sensor data associated with automobile maintenance sensors from an automobile maintenance system of a first automobile via a first network comprising a wireless satellite network or a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN); storing the first sensor data in the historical sensor data of the expert knowledgebase; analyzing, by one of the one or more network devices using an expert system, the first sensor data based on the historical sensor and repair data stored in the expert knowledgebase to identify one or more maintenance problems or one or more automobile defects, associated with the first automobile, that correspond to certain patterns in the historical sensor or the repair data; sending, from the data center via a second network, the identified one or more maintenance problems or one or more automobile defects associated with the first automobile to service stations near a location of the first automobile or a location of a person associated with the first automobile for scheduling maintenance or repair of the one or more maintenance problems or automobile defects; receiving service bids, via the second network, from one or more of the service stations for performing the maintenance or repair of the one or more maintenance problems or automobile defects; providing an alert, via the first network, to the automobile maintenance system of the one or more maintenance problems or automobile defects, including a description of the one or more maintenance problems or automobile defects and a list of bids from the one or more service stations; receiving, from the automobile maintenance system via the first network, selection of a service station of the one or more service stations for performing maintenance or repair; and notifying the selected service station that the first automobile will be arriving for service including an identification of the one or more maintenance problems or automobile defects, and parts required for performing the maintenance or repair of the one or more maintenance problems or automobile defects.