GM has filed a patent for a new system capable of determining vehicle payload, trailer tongue weight, and ride height using underbody cameras. The patent application was assigned patent number US 2024/0190198 A1 with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and was published on June 13th, 2024. The patent was originally filed on December 8th, 2022, and lists several engineers as the inventors, including Steffen P. Lindenthal, Avesta Goodarzi, Utkarsh Saini, and Christopher Andrew Stanek.
The patent application describes a system that analyzes images from a series of underbody cameras, as well as additional sensor data to calculate vehicle payload, trailer tongue weight, and ride height. Determining these figures is an essential part of safe towing and vehicle operation.
The underbody camera system captures images of the vehicle’s frame relative to the ground. The images are then sent to a processor system for analysis in order to determine key parameters. Additional sensors could include systems to detect suspension displacement and other vehicle dynamics.
Through the picture analysis and vehicle data, the system described in the patent can then calculate the vehicle ride height by measuring the distance between the vehicle frame and the ground. Vehicle payload is determined by comparing the suspension displacement and the vehicle’s height when loaded versus unloaded, while trailer tongue weight is assessed by analyzing the effect of the trailer’s weight on the vehicle’s suspension and height.
The system can also perform a health check on the underbody cameras by comparing the current images with baseline images stored in memory. Additionally, the processor can control vehicle settings, such as adjusting the suspension settings based on the calculated payload, ride height, and tongue weight.
Ensuring adequate vehicle payload, trailer tongue weight, and ride height is an essential part of towing, and conceivably, this system could be helpful in autonomous applications as well.
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Comments
The next item should be a remote rear camera that is added to the towed trailer and accessible by a local WiFi connection to the cabin screen. This will allow the driver to see behind the trailer.
That already exists as Intellihaul 2.0
yea GM already has a trailer camera system in place. They have had it as an accessory item for several yrs
GM Bean Counters – “Why don’t we go ahead and make that $3 sensor a $5k package”
So how are they going to account for a weight distribution hitch system the when properly utilized distributes some weight between the trailer and tow vehicle? Do they require a totally different hitch system. What happens when you change shocks? And we all know how great the various included software programs have worked (not worked correctly). How does this new system know if the trailer added contents has been properly loaded to give 10% to 15% tongue weight? The only real way to know is to put the vehicle and trailer on a scale weigh each and the tongue weight and from that determine if each is within allowed values and the total combination weight is within allowed value.