Patents  /  IP-003

US 12,511,598 B1

Humanoid AI for autonomous vehicle service centers

StatusGRANTED
Application number19/264,907
Filed2025-07-10
Granted2025-12-30
Claims20
Independent claims1 (system), 8 (method), 14 (CRM)
Term adjustment0 days
Assignee of recordAutoWrap Robotics LLC
Claim structure. Claim 8 reads "A computer-implemented method"; claim 14 reads "A non-transitory computer-readable medium".

The claims, in full

Transcribed from the granted patent, columns 17-20. This is the claim text and nothing else — no interpretation and no scope opinion.

Claim 1 · Independent · system

A computer-implemented artificial intelligence (AI) system for autonomously managing a vehicle service center using a fleet of humanoid robots, comprising: a centralized AI control module (102), a fleet sensing module (106), and a robotic actuation module (308) configured to:

a.receive and analyze multi-modal sensor data (304) and vehicle diagnostics (204), including specialized diagnostics for Electric Vehicles (EVs) and Software-Defined Vehicles (SDVs) from model year 2005 onwards;

b.identify vehicle issues and generate explainable AI (XAI)-based repair strategies (306a, 306b);

c.generate and dispatch a service plan (206) to humanoid robots (104) with dynamically assigned roles (306c);

d.adapt control commands (308) based on real-time environmental feedback (306e);

e.update and manage a digital twin of a vehicle (118) and service center (100);

f.constrain humanoid robot operation to user-defined geospatial boundaries (3061, 612);

g.provide customer updates (218) via humanoid robots (104) using emotion and sentiment recognition (306k) algorithms;

h.detect and respond to security threats (306j), including autonomously detecting and responding to malfunctions or offline states of individual humanoid robots within said fleet by re-allocating tasks and dispatching assisting robots for recovery or removal operations;

i.learn humanoid robotic behaviors using synthetic training data (306d) and reinforcement learning (306c); and

j.optimize asset utilization by dynamically managing external vehicle staging areas (606) and internal service bays (118) to maximize throughput and revenue generation from the service center property, including systematically identifying, triaging, and completing previously unfinished vehicle service projects.

Claim 2 · Depends on claim 1

The system of claim 1, wherein humanoid robot roles include: customer check-in (202), payment (218), diagnostics (204), physical repair (208), logistics (210), outdoor maintenance (212, 600), and security monitoring (306j).

Claim 3 · Depends on claim 1

The system of claim 1, wherein the humanoid robots (104) are equipped with multi-degree-of-freedom hands (502) containing force sensors (502a) and tactile sensors (502b) for fine manipulation and human-safe interaction, including handling high-voltage EV components with specialized safety protocols.

Claim 4 · Depends on claim 1

The system of claim 1, wherein humanoid robot control includes autonomous selection and operation of interchangeable end-effectors (510) from a centralized automated tool magazine (112), with said end-effectors capable of self-diagnosis for wear and calibration drift.

Claim 5 · Depends on claim 1

The system of claim 1, further comprising a user interface (108, 310) configured to: monitor humanoid robot operations, assign priority tasks, override behavior, review logs, and configure geospatial boundaries using augmented reality overlays.

Claim 6 · Depends on claim 1

The system of claim 1, wherein the AI control module (102) includes a cyber-physical security framework with: AES-256 encryption, role-based access control (RBAC), immutable audit logs, and blockchain-based supply chain integration.

Claim 7 · Depends on claim 1

The system of claim 1, wherein emotion and sentiment recognition is performed via natural language processing, facial micro-expression analysis, and vocal tone analysis.

Claim 8 · Independent · method · ordered steps

A computer-implemented method for autonomously operating a vehicle service center with humanoid robots, comprising:

a.receiving a customer request (202) and scanning a vehicle with multi-modal sensors (204), including specialized scans for Electric Vehicle (EV) battery health and thermal management;

b.generating a digital twin of a vehicle and service center facility;

c.identifying service issues using explainable AI (XAI) reasoning (204);

d.creating and dispatching a multi-task service plan (206) constrained by geospatial boundaries (612);

e.coordinating a humanoid robot fleet (104) to perform repair (208, 408), logistics (210, 410), and customer interaction tasks (202, 402), said coordination including autonomously detecting and responding to malfunctions or offline states of individual humanoid robots within the humanoid robot fleet by re-allocating tasks and dispatching assisting humanoid robots for recovery or removal operations;

f.generating adaptive control commands in real time using sensor feedback;

g.conducting quality control (214) and updating machine learning models;

h.providing customer updates (218) using emotion-aware humanoid interactions;

i.logging all operational data;

j.detecting and responding to security events autonomously;

k.autonomously managing and re-organizing external vehicle storage and staging areas (606) to enhance operational flow and maintain property aesthetics through upkeep of customer-facing areas; and

l.systematically identifying, triaging, and completing previously unfinished vehicle service projects.

Claim 9 · Depends on claim 8

The method of claim 8, wherein the humanoid robots (104) autonomously drive a vehicle into a service bay (118) or guide it onto an automated lift system, and can connect/disconnect EV charging cables and manage charge scheduling, including dynamic load balancing based on grid demand and electricity pricing.

Claim 10 · Depends on claim 8

The method of claim 8, wherein the humanoid robots (104) use semantic understanding to interpret and manipulate objects in the environment.

Claim 11 · Depends on claim 8

The method of claim 8, wherein the humanoid robots (104) perform real-time natural language conversations with customers (120), adapting tone and gestures based on detected sentiment.

Claim 12 · Depends on claim 8

The method of claim 8, wherein vehicle status updates (218) are visually displayed on humanoid robot interfaces (504d), including annotated diagnostic visuals and live progress bars.

Claim 13 · Depends on claim 8

The method of claim 8, further comprising automated key intake, storage, and retrieval via secure compartments (110).

Claim 14 · Independent · computer-readable medium

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause a system to:

a.receive service requests and sensor data, including data from connected vehicle streams via vehicle-to-x (V2X) communications for predictive maintenance;

b.identify vehicle faults and generate explainable AI (XAI)-based repair strategies, including for EV powertrains and high-voltage systems;

c.create and dispatch a task plan to humanoid robots with adaptive command generation;

d.monitor humanoid robot performance and environment feedback in real time, including detecting malfunctions or offline states of individual humanoid robots and initiating autonomous response protocols for task re-allocation and peer-to-peer assistance;

e.constrain all movement to user-defined geospatial boundaries;

f.manage emotion-aware customer interactions via humanoid agents;

g.update a digital twin of a vehicle and a service center for simulation, monitoring, and predictive maintenance;

h.log all operations and performance data; and

i.detect and respond to unauthorized access or anomalies, including cyber-physical attacks aimed at compromising humanoid robot actions or vehicle networks.

Claim 15 · Depends on claim 14

The computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein reinforcement learning is applied to humanoid robot training for dynamic physical manipulation in vehicle repair scenarios.

Claim 16 · Depends on claim 14

The computer-readable medium of claim 14, further comprising integration with a synthetic data engine (306d) that simulates diverse vehicles, components, lighting, and damage types for training, including EV-specific components and charging scenarios, and continually incorporates human overrides and corrections to improve autonomous decision-making.

Claim 17 · Depends on claim 14

The computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein user interaction history and customer preferences are used to adapt humanoid robot behavior in future sessions.

Claim 18 · Depends on claim 14

The computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein humanoid robot navigation (306g) includes obstacle detection and path planning using LiDAR, stereo vision, and semantic map overlays.

Claim 19 · Depends on claim 14

The computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein system logs are periodically hashed and stored on a blockchain to enable verifiable audit trails for compliance and trust.

Claim 20 · Depends on claim 14

The computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the instructions further cause the system to perform coordination of multi-humanoid robot collaboration (306c, 400), including joint manipulation tasks, human-robot cooperation, and augmented reality-assisted human oversight (108, 310, 428).

Verify against the grant PDF at USPTO, or on Google Patents.

What the software implements

Every claim element of this patent, with the honest state of the corresponding software. This is an engineering record: it associates features with claim elements and states no legal conclusion about coverage.

9
Implemented
6
Partial
1
Requires hardware
13
Not implemented
ClaimElement (engineering summary)StatusSource
1(a) multi-modal sensors + EV/SDV diagnostics, model year 2005 onwards Implemented software/patent_03/src/intake.py
1(b) explainable-AI repair strategies Implemented software/patent_03/src/xai.py
1(c) dispatch service plan, dynamically assigned roles Implemented software/patent_03/src/dispatch.py
1(d) adapt control commands from environmental feedback Implemented software/patent_03/src/dispatch.py
1(e) digital twin of vehicle AND service centre Implemented software/patent_03/src/twin.py
1(f) user-defined geospatial boundaries Implemented software/patent_03/src/geofence.py
1(g) customer updates using emotion and sentiment recognition Partial software/patent_03/src/customer.py
1(h) security threats; offline robots handled by reallocation Implemented software/patent_03/src/security.py
1(i) learn behaviours via synthetic data + reinforcement learning Not implemented (pending)
1(j) optimise staging/bays incl. unfinished project triage Implemented software/patent_03/src/utilisation.py
2 robot roles incl. check-in, payment, diagnostics, repair, security Not implemented (pending)
3 multi-DOF hands with force and tactile; high-voltage EV protocols Partial software/patent_03/src/dispatch.py
9 humanoids drive vehicle; EV charging; grid-price load balancing Partial software/patent_03/src/charging.py
13 automated key intake, storage, retrieval via secure compartments Implemented software/patent_03/src/custody.py
20 multi-humanoid collaboration; AR-assisted human oversight Not implemented (pending)
8 INDEPENDENT method claim - same subject matter as claim 1, method statutory class Partial software/patent_03/src/
14 INDEPENDENT non-transitory CRM claim - same subject matter, CRM statutory class Partial software/patent_03/src/
4 autonomous selection and operation of interchangeable end-effectors (510) from a centralized automated tool magazine (112), end-effectors capable of self-maintenance Not implemented (pending)
5 user interface (108, 310) to monitor robot operations, assign priority tasks, override behavior, review logs, and configure geospatial boundaries using augmented reality overlays Not implemented (pending)
6 cyber-physical security framework: AES-256 encryption, role-based access control, immutable audit logs, blockchain-based supply chain integration Not implemented (pending)
7 emotion and sentiment recognition via natural language processing, facial micro-expression analysis, and vocal tone analysis Not implemented (pending)
10 (method claim 8) semantic understanding to interpret and manipulate objects in the environment Not implemented (pending)
11 (method claim 8) real-time natural language conversations with customers, adapting tone and gestures to detected sentiment Not implemented (pending)
12 (method claim 8) vehicle status updates displayed on humanoid robot interfaces, incl. annotated diagnostic visuals and live progress bars Not implemented (pending)
15 (CRM claim 14) reinforcement learning for dynamic physical manipulation in vehicle repair scenarios Not implemented (pending)
16 (CRM claim 14) synthetic data engine simulating diverse vehicles, components, lighting and damage types, incl. EV-specific components Not implemented (pending)
17 (CRM claim 14) user interaction history and customer preferences adapt robot behavior in future sessions Not implemented (pending)
18 (CRM claim 14) navigation with obstacle detection and path planning using LiDAR, stereo vision and semantic map overlays Requires hardware (pending)
19 (CRM claim 14) system logs periodically hashed and stored on a blockchain for verifiable audit trails Partial software/patent_03/src/audit.py
The element column is a summary written by an engineer, not claim language. Where the claim text itself appears on this site it is shown separately and marked as transcribed. Whether any implementation reads on any claim is a legal determination that nothing here makes.