What the filing covers
Infrastructure markers that layer a signed visible code over a retroreflective pattern that a vehicle's LiDAR reads through the ink. The vehicle acts on a parking, curb or charging instruction only when both layers verify under one signature and align on one marker. I filed this because camera and LiDAR observations need to refer to the same authenticated marker. A signed visible code sits over a retroreflective pattern that LiDAR reads through the ink. Both layers must verify under one signature and align on one marker. The vehicle acts on the instruction only after that combined check.
Why it matters now
A camera and LiDAR can observe different aspects of a sign. The important question is whether those observations belong to the same trusted marker. Separate readings alone leave that relationship unresolved. Parking, curb and charging instructions need the layers to agree before the vehicle acts.
A real-world example
Imagine a vehicle approaching a marker with a parking instruction. Its camera reads the visible code, while LiDAR reads the retroreflective pattern through the ink. The checks need to connect those layers under one signature. They also need to align on the same marker.
I bring those conditions together because two observations are useful only in relation to the object being checked. A visible code on one object and a LiDAR pattern on another would leave the marker relationship unresolved. Verification and alignment connect the readings to the single instruction the vehicle is considering.
Now consider a charging instruction carried on that kind of marker. The vehicle's next action depends on the instruction, so the relationship between the layers matters before action. The combined check ties the visible information and the underlying pattern together rather than treating each as a separate reason to proceed.
Where it applies
This work applies to parking, curb and charging instructions. Park Graph is the associated platform. I focus on the two physical layers of the marker and the verification that links them.
For an operator considering such infrastructure, I would distinguish the content of the instruction from the evidence used to authenticate the marker carrying it. The visible code provides one layer. The LiDAR-readable retroreflective pattern provides the other. The signature and alignment requirements connect them.
The broader AVIM work concerns authenticated visual infrastructure. Space credentials concern authority to use a place. Counterfeit payment-code detection concerns signs that divert payments. This filing concentrates on the camera-and-LiDAR relationship within a single marker, before that marker governs the vehicle's parking, curb or charging action.
Used in: Park Graph
Status
U.S. provisional patent application, filed October 20, 2026; Status: Patent Pending; Sole inventor: Ross D. Blankenship; Assignee: Wins Parking LLC.
Provisional applications establish a priority date; they are not examined.