Toyota has received a newly granted patent (USPTO #12337686) for a system that ties NFTs to real-world vehicles. The tech lets users “own” and interact with physical cars using AR or VR headsets—linking digital tokens to specific vehicles and enabling features like choreographed shows of moving vehicles triggered by NFT access. Invented by a Texas- and California-based team—Charan S. Lota (Frisco), David Tsai (Irvine), and Will Hargis (Celina)—the patent is assigned to Toyota Connected North America, based in Plano. [Composite illustration: Sources, USPTO Patent #12337686, Fig. 4; Anna Musatova/istockphoto; Quincy Preston/DI]
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. has received a newly granted patent for a "System and Method for RF-Based Robot Localization," invented by North Texas-based Boon Loong Ng, Indranil Sinharoy, Jianzhong Zhang, Songwei Li, and Yuming Zhu. The patent describes a method of using ultra-wideband signals, image data, and motion sensors to map a service area by tracking the movement of a handheld device—enabling robots to localize and operate within that space. [Image source: USPTO Patent #12285855, Fig. 3; Background, DI Studio]
This week, newly granted patents also include:
[Image: Muhammad Shabraiz/istockphoto]
This week, newly granted patents also include:
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc. has received a newly granted patent for an "Emotion-Aware Smart Refrigerator," invented by Ercan M. Dede and Muhamed K. Farooq. The patent describes a futuristic fridge that uses sensors to measure interest in food items—like tracking reactions to what's inside—and combines that with health goals, dietary needs, and preferences to suggest what to eat and how much. [Images: USPTO Patent #12167906, clockwise from top left: Fig. 4, Fig. 3A, Fig. 1A, Fig. 1B]
This week, newly granted patents also include: