GM has filed a patent application for a system that could detect airborne COVID-19 and other coronavirus particles in a vehicle and sound an alarm to warn vehicle occupants of the presence of the virus.
This GM patent filing has been assigned application number US2022/0214480 A1 with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and was published on July 7th, 2022. It’s titled “airborne coronavirus detector and alerting system” and lists Michigan-based engineers Thomas A. Seder and Kai-Han Chang as the inventors.
This technology uses a plurality of glass members featuring a thin-film coating with receptors that can detect when it comes into contact with COVID-19 particles. An associated alarm would then sound to warn vehicle occupants of the airborne virus. The patent also acknowledges that “there exists a lingering need for systems and methods configured for quick detection of airborne viruses,” despite the existence of rapid COVID-19 testing methods.
While this technology would be of limited use in personal vehicles, it could be useful for autonomous vehicles like the Cruise Origin robotaxi. As the Cruise Origin will be used by a large number of different individuals on a daily basis and is completely unmanned, this system could alert Cruise operators that one of its autonomous vehicles has airborne COVID-19 detected in it, allowing them to remove the vehicle from circulation for cleaning.
GM has also filed patents for systems that could automatically detect when an AV has seatbelt damage or exterior body damage for a similar reason. As AVs like the Cruise Origin will be unmanned, these systems and similar technologies could potentially serve as a way for GM to remotely monitor the condition, cleanliness and overall safety of its AVs.
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Comments
Are we going a little over the top? The air and surfaces contain a plethora of bacteria and viruses, aka pathogens. The Covid virus strains are now part of the permanent virus family. Too bad that is was man fabricated. Goes to show you, do not fool with mother nature. Applied science can be a double edged sword.
play dangerous games, get dangerous results…
The robo taxi fiasco is losing 5 million a day. Hello?
Do not worry, with every new GMC you buy, you are now paying an extra $1,500 for OnStar… Mary will make up that % mil, easy
Daniel:
Robo Taxi losses, today, yes. In the future, no. The likes of Brandon and Newsom will ban urban vehicular traffic and mandate robo taxis exclusively on city streets, with delivery trucks exempt. Robo Taxis will be a huge basic part of urban city life just like apartment homes.
Looks like I won’t be setting foot in a big city anymore.
That’s a bunch or BS. Cruise will dominate the taxis business with no need for a driver. It’s computer will manage trips a lot more efficient than a human and will be able to do this ssaving gasoline.
The common cold IS a coronavirus… Nothing works better than looking after oneself. For example, I live in Canada, Canadians are overall vitamin D deficient because of the lack of sunshine for about half the year. Vitamin D helps keep the immune system in “tip-top” condition to fight whatever little nasty viruses and germs come our way. I had COVID when it first came out and gave it to my wife. We treated the symptoms and started taking Vitamins C, D, and Zinc and over two years later we both have not had even a sniffle.
People should take control of their own healthcare from a proactive point of view. This COVID filter/alert system is sent to fail from the start because it involves people who sit, touch, breathe, cough… GMC will never create the sterile enviroment.
Dee Hart:
Right On! Do toilet seats, fawcet and door handles, touchscreens have pathogen abatement measures? I think not.
The urban homeless population in Robo Taxi proving ground San Francisco are huge generators of pathogens by defacating in the streets and alleys.
Have you been to the Tenderloin District of San Francisco? Robo Taxi territory.
I was at a McDonald’s in Salt Lake City yesterday morning for coffee in an industrial section on the West side of downtown. The 300 West neighborhood. McDonald’s strives for cleanliness. The restroom area had a waiting line of homeless visitors using the facilities for washing and relief.
I could see the challenge that the McDonald’s owner and staff faced keeping the restrooms free of pathogens.
yup… I have pictures of people in filthy tent cities, urinating on the street, taking a crap on the curb, another taking a crap in a grocery store aisle, having sex between parked cars… all that in just Nancy Pelosi’s district. Mad Maxine Waters’ district is just as bad…
I just do not think that installing HEPA filters in bobo-cabs is the cure… Firing all these entitled Democrats that just take and do not give value to their residents would be a great start.
Too bad they cannot come up with criminal and vagrant detection systems. The rouge element will have a field day with these things.
gm wants to be your alarmist, hysteria promoting far-left leaning robotic transportation company. The future’s looking more and more like 1984 every day. Better watch out – Monkeypox lockdowns coming to an urban craphole near you!
Coming soon… For $500, GM will offer along with all their other add-ons, Monkeypox sanitizing
Disappearing 100% accurate comment further proof that the future’s looking more like 1984 every day…
Try being part of the solution, guys. Not part of the problem.