Distracted driving prevention

• US 10,382,913 B2
• Filed: 01/02/2019
• Issued: 08/13/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 10/29/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Archer, Adam G., Badwal, Herman S., Bobbitt, Robin Y., Lee-Shanok, Christopher M., Retchless, Robert, Taylor, Christopher N.
• Primary Examiner(s): Magloire, Vladimir
• Assistant Examiner(s): Braswell, Donald H B
• Application Number:
  US16/238,174
• Publication Number:
  US 20190141490A1
• Time in Patent Office: 223 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/125 involving control of end-device applications over a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/027 using movement velocity, acceleration information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/16 Communication-related supplementary services, e.g. call-transfer or call-hold
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/30 Services specially adapted for particular environments, situations or purposes
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/40 for vehicles, e.g. vehicle-to-pedestrians [V2P]

Abstract

A method and system enabling an initiator based process for preventing distracted driving is provided. The method includes continuously retrieving by a mobile device from a plurality of sensing devices, sensor data. The sensor data is analyzed and based on the analysis it is determined that a user of the mobile device is currently operating a vehicle. A message is generated indicating that the user is currently operating the vehicle. The message is transmitted to and stored by a server.

Claims

1. A distracted driving prevention method comprising:

analyzing, by a computer processor of a mobile device, sensor data retrieved from a plurality of sensing devices;

periodically requesting, by said computer processor via an accelerometer and a gyroscope of said mobile device, a current location of a user;

first determining, by said processor based on results of comparing each said current location to prior detected locations of said user, a movement type, a direction, and a speed associated with said user within a vehicle;

periodically measuring, by said processor, an intensity of a signal strength of said mobile device with respect to a plurality of wireless access points;

second determining, by said processor based on results of said periodically measuring, multiple positions of said user within said vehicle;

third determining, by said computer processor based on results of said analyzing, said first determining, said second determining, and said third determining, that said user of said mobile device is currently operating said vehicle;

generating, by said computer processor in response to said first determining, said second determining, a message indicating that said user is currently operating said vehicle; and

transmitting, by said computer processor to a server for storage, said message.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said plurality of sensing devices are located in said vehicle or in said mobile device.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

additionally analyzing, by said computer processor, said sensor data;

additionally determining, by said computer processor based on results of said additionally analyzing, a status change indicating that said user is not currently operating said vehicle;

generating, by said computer processor in response to said additionally determining, an additional message indicating that said user is not currently operating said vehicle;

transmitting, by said computer processor to said server, said additional message; and

storing within said server, by said computer processor, said additional message.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said message additionally indicates that said user should not be contacted during said operating said vehicle.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said message additionally indicates that said mobile device comprises driver assisted technology and that said user may be contacted, via said mobile device, during said operating said vehicle.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said mobile device comprises a device selected from the group consisting of a cellular phone, a headset based cellular phone, and a text to speech based cellular phone.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting, by said mobile device to said server, communication data indicating each communication and associated time with respect to each cellular phone tower located on a route traveled during said operating said vehicle, wherein said communication data is used to determine disabled communications with respect to said mobile device.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said plurality of sensing devices comprise a device selected from the group consisting of a GPS sensor, a motion sensor, an audio sensor, an infrared sensor, and a gear detection sensor.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein said message is only visible to specified groups consisting of:

contacts of said user, all publicly available contact groups, specified inclusion contact groups, and specified exclusion groups.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing at least one support service for at least one of creating, integrating, hosting, maintaining, and deploying computer-readable code in the computing system, said code being executed by the computer processor to implement;

said analyzing, said determining, said generating, and said transmitting.

11. A computer program product, comprising a computer readable hardware storage device storing a computer readable program code, said computer readable program code comprising an algorithm that when executed by a computer processor of a mobile device implements a distracted driving prevention method, said method comprising:

analyzing, by said computer processor, sensor data retrieved from a plurality of sensing devices;

periodically requesting, by said computer processor via an accelerometer and a gyroscope of said mobile device, a current location of a user;

first determining, by said processor based on results of comparing each said current location to prior detected locations of said user, a movement type, a direction, and a speed associated with said user within a vehicle;

periodically measuring, by said processor, an intensity of a signal strength of said mobile device with respect to a plurality of wireless access points;

second determining, by said processor based on results of said periodically measuring, multiple positions of said user within said vehicle;

third determining, by said computer processor based on results of said analyzing, said first determining, said second determining, and said third determining, that said user of said mobile device is currently operating said vehicle;

generating, by said computer processor in response to said first determining, said second determining, a message indicating that said user is currently operating said vehicle; and

transmitting, by said computer processor to a server for storage, said message.

12. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein said plurality of sensing devices are located in said vehicle or in said mobile device.

13. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein said method further comprises:

additionally analyzing, by said computer processor, said sensor data;

additionally determining, by said computer processor based on results of said additionally analyzing, a status change indicating that said user is not currently operating said vehicle;

generating, by said computer processor in response to said additionally determining, an additional message indicating that said user is not currently operating said vehicle;

transmitting, by said computer processor to said server, said additional message; and

storing within said server, by said computer processor, said additional message.

14. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein said message additionally indicates that said user should not be contacted during said operating said vehicle.

15. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein said message additionally indicates that said mobile device comprises driver assisted technology and that said user may be contacted, via said mobile device, during said operating said vehicle.

16. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein said mobile device comprises a device selected from the group consisting of a cellular phone, a headset based cellular phone, and a text to speech based cellular phone.

17. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein said method further comprises:

transmitting, by said mobile device to said server, communication data indicating each communication and associated time with respect to each cellular phone tower located on a route traveled during said operating said vehicle, wherein said communication data is used to determine disabled communications with respect to said mobile device.

18. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein said plurality of sensing devices comprise a device selected from the group consisting of a GPS sensor, a motion sensor, an audio sensor, an infrared sensor, and a gear detection sensor.

19. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein said message is only visible to specified groups consisting of:

contacts of said user, all publically available contact groups, specified inclusion contact groups, and specified exclusion groups.

20. A mobile device comprising a computer processor coupled to a computer-readable memory unit, said memory unit comprising instructions that when executed by the computer processor implements a distracted driving prevention method comprising:

analyzing, by said computer processor, sensor data retrieved from a plurality of sensing devices;

periodically requesting, by said computer processor via an accelerometer and a gyroscope of said mobile device, a current location of a user;

first determining, by said processor based on results of comparing each said current location to prior detected locations of said user, a movement type, a direction, and a speed associated with said user within a vehicle;

periodically measuring, by said processor, an intensity of a signal strength of said mobile device with respect to a plurality of wireless access points;

second determining, by said processor based on results of said periodically measuring, multiple positions of said user within said vehicle;

third determining, by said computer processor based on results of said analyzing, said first determining, said second determining, and said third determining, that said user of said mobile device is currently operating said vehicle;

generating, by said computer processor in response to said first determining, said second determining, a message indicating that said user is currently operating said vehicle; and

transmitting, by said computer processor to a server for storage, said message.