Nuro Inc’s patent portfolio has 71 patents that belong to 21 patent families. These 21 patents are divided into 3 different technology categories which we have discussed below. You can get a complete overview of Nuro’s patents here: Patent Portfolio of Self Delivery Vehicle Startup Nuro
Nuro Patents: Self Driving Delivery Vehicle (16 patent families)
The patents here talk about managing a fleet of autonomous vehicles, using vehicles for transactions, new safety features for vehicles, and the like.
US10732629B2, for example, talks about using delivery vehicles for peer-to-peer transactions. When the customer places a delivery order, the customer money is deducted and placed in escrow.
The autonomous vehicle then goes to the destination for delivery. Once the customer has been identified by the vehicle, it is checked whether the customer has accepted or rejected the delivery.
This is done by checking the difference in the weight of the module carrying the delivery item. Once the customer has accepted the order, the escrowed funds are released to the seller’s account.
Another patent US10369976B1 discusses a safety feature that helps in decelerating an autonomous vehicle in case of an emergency. The system consists of a powered driver attached to the axle with an anchor fixed at another end of the driver.
The driver can propel the anchor into the road surface so that vehicle is decelerated and any kind of accident can be prevented.
Nuro Patents: LiDAR (4 Patent Families)
Nuro’s LiDAR patents are on calibrating LiDAR systems, and blind-spot detection in autonomous vehicles using short-range LiDARs.
US20190018109A1, for example, provides a method for image size compensation in LiDAR systems. A LiDAR system essentially has a transmission and collection lens which should have the same optical performance in order to avoid any kind of discrepancies.
However, slight differences arise in optical properties of lenses due to manufacturing processes which causes image size mismatch in lenses. As a result, extra adjustments have to be made in lenses.
The patent solves this problem by providing an optical system with positional adjustments of lenses which allows compensation for slight focal differences.
Nuro Patents: Design (1 Patent Family)
One of the striking features of Nuro’s vehicle has been its design which is covered by USD853888S1. The vehicle has compartments and can carry 12 grocery bags.
