Parcel delivery prediction-based theft detection

• US 10,593,173 B2
• Filed: 05/30/2018
• Issued: 03/17/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 05/31/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ring LLC (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Roth, Joshua, Siminoff, James
• Primary Examiner(s): McCormack, Thomas S
• Application Number:
  US15/992,702
• Publication Number:
  US 20180350214A1
• Time in Patent Office: 657 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0833 Tracking
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/20 in augmented reality scenes
• 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: G08B 13/19613 Recognition of a predetermined image pattern or behaviour pattern indicating theft or intrusion
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19628 of wide angled cameras and camera groups, e.g. omni-directional cameras, fish eye, single units having multiple cameras achieving a wide angle view
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19669 Event triggers storage or change of storage policy
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 15/00 Identifying, scaring or incapacitating burglars, thieves or intruders, e.g. by explosives
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/08 using communication transmission lines G08B13/19658, G08B21/0286, G08B25/016 take precedence

Abstract

Techniques are disclosed to detect and/or deter parcel theft based at least in part on predicted parcel delivery times. In various embodiments, a predicted delivery time at which a parcel is expected to be delivered to an associated delivery address is determined based at least in part on delivery schedule information. An audio/video recording and communication device installed at the delivery address is operated in a parcel protect mode in which the audio/video recording and communication device is configured to be used to detect one or both of delivery of the parcel to the delivery address and removal of the parcel from the delivery address.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

one or more processors; and

one or more data storage devices operatively coupled to the one or more processors, and storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to;

cause an audio/video recording and communication device (A/V device) installed at a delivery address to operate in a parcel protect mode beginning at a time determined at least in part based on a predicted parcel delivery time such that, when in the parcel protect mode, the A/V device is configured to capture images of one or both of delivery of a parcel to the delivery address and removal of the parcel from the delivery address,

the predicted parcel delivery time being based on delivery schedule information of the parcel received from a delivery service provider and identifying an estimated time when the parcel is expected to be delivered to the delivery address.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the A/V device captures one or both of audio and the images in response to detecting motion within a field of view of the A/V device.

3. The system of claim 2, the one or more data storage devices storing further instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the one or more processors to process the images to determine whether the images depict one or both of delivery of the parcel to and removal of the parcel from the field of view.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the A/V device includes a sensor configured to detect presence of the parcel at the delivery address when the A/V device is in the parcel protect mode.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the sensor includes one or more of the following:

a radio frequency (RF) tag reader;

a bar code, QR code, or other optical code reader; and

a GPS receiver.

6. The system of claim 4, the one or more data storage devices storing further instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the one or more processors to receive sensor information from the sensor, determine based at least in part on the sensor information that the parcel has been removed from the delivery address, and take responsive action based at least in part on the determination that the parcel has been removed from the delivery address.

7. The system of claim 1, the one or more data storage devices storing further instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the one or more processors to determine, based at least in part on the delivery schedule information, a video clip to be included in a set of video clips potentially associated with unauthorized removal of the parcel from the delivery address in response to indication that the parcel has been removed from the delivery address by an unauthorized person.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the delivery address comprises a first delivery address;

the parcel comprises a first parcel;

the predicted parcel delivery time comprises a first predicted delivery time;

the A/V device comprises a first A/V device; and

the one or more data storage devices storing further instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the one or more processors to determine, in response to indication that the first parcel has been removed from the first delivery address by an unauthorized person, and based at least in part on the delivery schedule information, a second delivery address associated with a second parcel expected to be delivered to the second delivery address at a second predicted delivery time subsequent to the first predicted delivery time, and take responsive action with respect to the second delivery address.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the responsive action includes one or more of:

notifying one or more of police, private security, and other public or private safety authorities;

sending an alert to a user associated with the second A/V device; and

causing a second A/V device installed at the second delivery address to be placed in a heightened security mode.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the estimated time is derived based on one or more of historical drive times along a delivery route;

historical traffic patterns along the delivery route; and

a delivery schedule.

11. The system of claim 1, the one or more data storage devices storing further instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the one or more processors to detect removal of the parcel from the delivery address and to take a responsive action in response to detecting the removal of the parcel from the delivery address.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the responsive action includes sending an alert to a user associated with one or both of the delivery address and the A/V device.

18. The system of claim 1, the predicted parcel delivery time being a plurality of predicted parcel delivery times, the time being a start time of the plurality of predicted parcel delivery times.

19. The system of claim 1, the predicted parcel delivery time being updated based on real-time information provided by a delivery service provider associated with the parcel, the real-time information including at least one of GPS data, a delay affecting a particular route, a driver being ahead of, or behind, an expected delivery schedule, and actual delivery times of other parcels along the same delivery route of the parcel.

20. The system of claim 1, the one or more data storage devices storing further instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the one or more processors to cause the A/V device to no longer operate in the parcel protect mode in response to an indication that the parcel was removed by an authorized person.

13. A method, comprising:

causing an audio/video recording and communication device (A/V device) installed at a delivery address to operate in a parcel protect mode such that, when in the parcel protect mode, the A/V device is configured to capture images of one or both of delivery of a parcel to the delivery address and removal of the parcel from the delivery address; and

causing the A/V device to no longer operate in the parcel protect mode in response to an indication that the parcel was removed by an authorized person.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the A/V device is configured to capture one or both of audio and the images from within a field of view of the A/V device in response to detecting motion within the field of view.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising processing video received from the A/V device to determine whether the images depict one or both of delivery of the parcel to and removal of the parcel from the field of view.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the parcel comprises a first parcel, the delivery address comprises a first delivery address, and further comprising:

determining, in response indication that the first parcel has been removed from the first delivery address by an unauthorized person and based at least in part on delivery schedule information, a second delivery address associated with a second parcel expected to be delivered to the second delivery address at a second predicted delivery time subsequent to a first predicted delivery time at which the first parcel is expected to be delivered to the first delivery address; and

taking responsive action with respect to the second delivery address.

17. A computer program product embodied in a non-transitory computer-readable medium and comprising computer instructions for:

causing an audio/video recording and communication device (A/V device) installed at a first delivery address to operate in a parcel protect mode, beginning at a time determined at least in part based on a first predicted parcel delivery time such that, when in the parcel protect mode, the A/V device is configured to capture images of one or both of delivery of a first parcel to the first delivery address and removal of the parcel from the delivery address,

in response to indication that the first parcel has been removed from the first delivery address by an unauthorized person;

(1) determining, based at least in part on delivery schedule information of a second parcel, a second delivery address associated with the second parcel expected to be delivered to the second delivery address at a second predicted parcel delivery time subsequent to the first predicted parcel delivery time, and (2) taking responsive action with respect to the second delivery address.