Capturing driving risk based on vehicle state and automatic detection of a state of a location

• US 10,166,934 B2
• Filed: 12/23/2015
• Issued: 01/01/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 11/28/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lytx, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Lytx, Inc.
• Inventors: Nemat-Nasser, Syrus C., Williams, Christopher S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Michael
• Application Number:
  US14/998,043
• Publication Number:
  US 20160137142A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,105 Days
• Field of Search: 348148
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 11/04 Mounting of cameras operative during drive; Arrangement of controls thereof relative to the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/17 Emergency applications
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/23 Testing, monitoring, correcting or calibrating of receiver elements
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/44 Event detection
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/52 Surveillance or monitoring of activities, e.g. for recognising suspicious objects recognising microscopic objects G06V20/69
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/58 Recognition of moving objects or obstacles, e.g. vehicles or pedestrians; Recognition of traffic objects, e.g. traffic signs, traffic lights or roads
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/10 Indexing; Addressing; Timing or synchronising; Measuring tape travel
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/60 Control of cameras or camera modules
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/62 Control of parameters via user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/77 between a recording apparatus and a television camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/772 the recording apparatus and the television camera being placed in the same enclosure
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/18 Closed-circuit television [CCTV] systems, i.e. systems in which the video signal is not broadcast
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/188 Capturing isolated or intermittent images triggered by the occurrence of a predetermined event, e.g. an object reaching a predetermined position signal generation from motion picture films H04N5/253
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8042 involving data reduction
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8205 involving the multiplexing of an additional signal and the colour video signal

Abstract

A system for capturing an event comprises a processor and a memory. The processor was configured to a) determine that a vehicle is approaching a location of interest; b) capture an image of the location; c) analyze the image to determine a state of the location; and d) modify an event criterion based at least in part on the state of the location. The memory is coupled to the processor and is configured to provide the processor with instructions.

Claims

1. A system for capturing an event, comprising:

an interface to receive a vehicle location based at least in part on a GPS data;

a processor to;

determine that a vehicle is approaching a location of interest based at least in part on the vehicle location;

determine an estimated image capture time for the location of interest, wherein determining the estimated image capture time is based at least in part on a driver profile;

capture an image of the location of interest at the estimated capture time;

determine a state of the location of interest; and

detect an event based at least in part on the state of the location of interest.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the location of interest comprises an intersection.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further to determine a vehicle position for image capture.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein capturing the image of the location of interest comprises identifying a video frame.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein capturing the image of the location of interest comprises copying an image from a raw image buffer to an event memory.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein determining the state of the location of interest comprises determining that a street sign is present.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein determining the state of the location of interest comprises determining a state of a traffic light.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein determining the state of the location of interest comprises determining a presence of a pedestrian.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein determining the state of the location of interest comprises determining a presence of a vehicle.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the state of the location of interest is determined to be one of a set of one or more possible states.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein each state of the one or more possible states is associated with one or more event criterion modifications.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further to modify an event criterion by modifying a threshold.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein modifying the event criterion comprises activating an alternate event definition.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further to record the event.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein recording the event comprises recording video.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein recording the event comprises recording sensor data.

17. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further to store the event.

18. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further to transmit the event.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the event is transmitted at one of the following times:

immediately, at a later time, upon a user request, when the vehicle arrives at a home station.

20. A method for capturing an event, comprising:

receiving a vehicle location based at least in part on a GPS data;

determining, using a processor, that a vehicle is approaching a location of interest based in the at least in part on the vehicle location;

determining an estimated image capture time for the location of interest, wherein determining the estimated image capture time is based at least in part on a driver profile;

capturing an image of the location of interest at the estimated capture time;

determining a state of the location of interest; and

detecting an event based at least in part on the state of the location of interest.

21. A computer program product for capturing an event, the computer program product being embodied in a non-transitory computer readable storage medium and comprising computer instructions for:

receiving a vehicle location based at least in part on a GPS data;

determining that a vehicle is approaching a location of interest based at least in part on the vehicle location;

determining an estimated image capture time for the location of interest, wherein determining the estimated image capture time is based at least in part on a driver profile;

capturing an image of the location of interest at the estimated capture time;

determining a state of the location of interest; and

detecting an event based at least in part on the state of the location of interest.