Qualcomm Patent for Vehicular Platoon Wireless Communication

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has granted patent US12587320B2 to QUALCOMM Incorporated for a novel distance-based NACK (Negative Acknowledgement) procedure designed for wireless communications within vehicular platoons. The patent details methods and systems where a user equipment (UE), such as a vehicle, receives an indication of a formation change within its associated platoon. Based on this change, the UE determines whether it will operate as a primary vehicle or a secondary vehicle and adopts a corresponding distance-based feedback procedure.

This patent grant, while not imposing immediate regulatory obligations on other entities, establishes intellectual property rights for QUALCOMM in the area of vehicular communication protocols. Companies developing or deploying vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication systems, particularly those involving platooning or coordinated movements, should be aware of this patent. Future product development or licensing agreements may need to consider this granted patent to avoid infringement. The filing date was July 21, 2021, and the patent is effective March 24, 2026.