US Patent Issued to VERGENCE AUTOMATION on April 7 for "System for optical determination of coefficient of friction for a surface" (Minnesota Inventor)

ALEXANDRIA, Va., April 7 -- United States Patent no. 12,597,141, issued on April 7, was assigned to VERGENCE AUTOMATION INC. (Chaska, Minn.).

"System for optical determination of coefficient of friction for a surface" was invented by James E. Retterath (Excelsior, Minn.).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Friction plays a vital role in keeping vehicles on the road, as adequate surface friction is necessary for a driver or control system to control/maneuver a vehicle safely, in both longitudinal and lateral directions. Providing adequate friction for safe driving is a key input for highway geometric design, as it is used in determining the adequacy of minimum stopping sight distance, minimum horizo...