LOCAL DECISION POLICIES ABOUT THE SHARING OF SENSED DATA THAT ENHANCE PRIVACY AND LOWER COMMUNICATION COSTS FOR SERVICES THAT AGGREGATE DATA FROM PERSONAL DEVICES

• US 20090326791A1
• Filed: 06/27/2008
• Published: 12/31/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/27/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Canan, Jonathan David, Horvitz, Eric J., Kimchi, Gur
• Granted Patent: US 8,315,786 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/119
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3438 Rendez-vous, i.e. searching a destination where several users can meet, and the routes to this destination for these users; Ride sharing, i.e. searching a route such that at least two users can share a vehicle for at least part of the route
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3461 Preferred or disfavoured areas, e.g. dangerous zones, toll or emission zones, intersections, manoeuvre types, segments such as motorways, toll roads, ferries
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3492 employing speed data or traffic data, e.g. real-time or historical traffic control systems for road vehicles involving transmission of navigation instructions to the vehicle G08G1/0968
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/00 Traffic control systems for road vehicles arrangement of road signs or traffic signals E01F9/00 ; automatic vehicle control B62D
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0104 Measuring and analyzing of parameters relative to traffic conditions
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0112 from the vehicle, e.g. floating car data [FCD]
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0141 for traffic information dissemination
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/052 with provision for determining speed or overspeed speed measuring in general G01P
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0965 responding to signals from another vehicle, e.g. emergency vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0968 Systems involving transmission of navigation instructions to the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/20 Monitoring the location of vehicles belonging to a group, e.g. fleet of vehicles, countable or determined number of vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/22 Platooning, i.e. convoy of communicating vehicles

Abstract

Velocity information can be beneficial to various entities including other vehicles and a central traffic monitoring and routing system. Vehicles with sensors can serve as velocity probes to update speeds that are shared via a more global service. However, individuals may be reluctant to provide location and velocity information given privacy preferences. Local policies about sharing personal data are described that can be harnessed to enhance privacy while minimizing communication costs. The local data-sharing policies allow devices to monitor their own speeds and locations and to employ models and analyses that determine the value of sharing flow information with a larger service in accordance with privacy preferences, and to make local decisions as to when to respond to broadcasted queries for specific information, while minimizing the redundancy of signals from multiple vehicles.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a resolution component that determines if travel information should be transmitted to an auxiliary entity; and

a contact component that enables emission of the travel information if it is determined that the travel information should be emitted.

2. The system of claim 1, the travel information is location and velocity information of a vehicle that associates with the resolution component and the contact component.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising

a range component that obtains a distance from a personal landmark, if a vehicle associated with the resolution component is within a standard distance from the personal landmark then it is automatically determined that the travel information should not be transmitted;

and

an identification component that designates a location as a personal landmark through measurement of an amount of time a user, a vehicle associated with the resolution component and contact component, an entity that retains the resolution component and contact component, or a combination thereof spends at a location.

4. The system of claim 1, further comprising a choice component that selects at least one instance when the travel information should be transmitted, the resolution component determines if the travel information should be transmitted as a function of the selection and the travel information is location and velocity information of a vehicle that associates with the resolution component and the contact component and at least one instance is selected when velocity of the vehicle is above, at, or below a threshold.

5. The system of claim 1, further comprising a choice component that selects at least one instance when the travel information should be transmitted, the resolution component determines if the travel information should be transmitted as a function of the selection and the travel information is velocity information, location information, and direction of travel of a vehicle that associates with the resolution component and the contact component and at least one instance is selected as a function of the current velocity and the anticipated velocity derived from either posted speeds, an expected speed for the road segment that is transmitted from a central service or shared amongst vehicles autonomously in an ad-hoc fashion, a stored table of velocities, or use of a predictive traffic model.

6. The system of claim 5, travel information is velocity information, location information, and direction of travel and velocity information is selected based on difference of current velocity and anticipated velocity derived from posted speeds, an expected speed for the road segment that is transmitted from a central service or shared amongst vehicles autonomously in an ad-hoc fashion, a stored table of velocities, use of a predictive traffic model, or a combination thereof.

7. The system of claim 5, travel information is velocity information, location information, direction of travel, and historical variance of road speeds of a region overall or based on the current or related context is employed in the determination to share velocity information.

8. The system of claim 5, travel information is velocity information, location information, direction of travel, and a measure of expected value of information or expected value of information weighted by usage of a segment is used in the determination to share velocity information.

9. The system of claim 1, further comprising a transmission component that emits the travel information to the auxiliary entity when emission is enabled, the transmission component transfers a suppression notice to at least one supplemental vehicle, the resolution component and contact component associate with a primary vehicle.

10. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a transmission component that emits the travel information to the auxiliary entity when emission is enabled; and

a transaction component that performs a reward function in relation to emission of the travel information, the reward function includes transfer of money to an account associated with a user, transfer of a pathway toll credit, transfer of points that can be used to obtain a product or service, or a combination thereof.

11. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a transmission component that emits the travel information to the auxiliary entity when emission is enabled;

a track component that measures a number of instances the transmission component emits the travel information; and

a relationship component that determines if the number of instances is at or above a threshold that enables a vehicle associated with the resolution component and contact component to gain membership in a travel group, membership in the travel group enables the vehicle to gather travel information that concerns at least one other vehicle of the travel group or other services.

12. The system of claim 1, the determination is based upon a balance among a policy to regulate velocity information, a need of an entity that requests the travel information, and at least one contextual factor.

13. The system of claim 1, further comprising an obtainment component that collects a request to transmit the travel information, the travel information is emitted at a random time after collection of the request within a specified tolerance.

14. A method, comprising:

determining an appropriate time to request to collect velocity information from at least one vehicle; and

transferring an instruction to at least one vehicle that velocity information should be sent at a determined appropriate time.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

identifying a previous instance of collecting information; and

determining if information collected in the previous instance is of an appropriate freshness level.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

selecting the at least one vehicle upon which the instruction is transferred; and

collecting velocity information that relocates from the at least one vehicle that is transferred the instruction.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising classifying an area upon which velocity information should be collected, the selected vehicle is located upon the classified area.

18. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

transferring the instruction to a group of more than one vehicle;

obtaining a response from one vehicle of the group of more than one vehicle; and

transmitting a suppression order to at least one member of the group of more than one vehicle, the suppression order requests that velocity information not be sent.

19. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

scanning for a vehicle that matches a location range and directional range; and

halting scanning upon discovering a matching vehicle, discovery occurs upon a response from the matching vehicle.

20. A system, comprising:

means for identifying that velocity information of a vehicle should be transmitted to an auxiliary entity through comparison of a sensed velocity against a threshold;

means for determining if the vehicle is within a specified range of a personal landmark;

means for checking if there is an instruction from a supplemental vehicle that velocity information should not be transmitted; and

means for enabling the velocity information to be transferred if the vehicle is not within the specified range and there is not an instruction from a supplemental vehicle.