Vehicle Operation Based On Activity Tracking

• US 20160107646A1
• Filed: 10/17/2014
• Published: 04/21/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/17/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Inventors: Kristinsson, Johannes Geir, Kolisetty, Aiswarya, Wisniewski, Joseph
• Granted Patent: US 10,343,682 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2560/0214 of power generation or supply
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2560/0242 adapted to measure environmental factors, e.g. temperature, pollution
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/0219 Inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers, gyroscopes, tilt switches
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0022 Monitoring a patient using a global network, e.g. telephone networks, internet
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0205 Simultaneously evaluating both cardiovascular conditions and different types of body conditions, e.g. heart and respiratory condition
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02055 Simultaneously evaluating both cardiovascular condition and temperature
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/021 Measuring pressure in heart or blood vessels A61B5/0205 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/024 Detecting, measuring or recording pulse rate or heart rate A61B5/0205, A61B5/021 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02438 with portable devices, e.g. worn by the patient
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1112 Global tracking of patients, e.g. by using GPS
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1118 Determining activity level
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/18 for vehicle drivers or machine operators
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/222 combined with detection or measurement of physiological parameters, e.g. heart rate
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4809 Sleep detection, i.e. determining whether a subject is asleep or not
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4815 Sleep quality
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/681 Wristwatch-type devices
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6838 Clamps or clips
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/743 Displaying an image simultaneously with additional graphical information, e.g. symbols, charts, function plots
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7455 characterised by tactile indication, e.g. vibration or electrical stimulation
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/746 Alarms related to a physiological condition, e.g. details of setting alarm thresholds or avoiding false alarms alarms per se G08B
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/143 : Alarm means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/22 : Psychological state; Stress level or workload
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/221 : Physiology, e.g. weight, heartbeat, health or special needs
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/80 : Spatial relation or speed relative to objects
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/16 : Control of distance between vehicles, e.g. keeping a distance to preceding vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/14 : Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/16 : Tactile feedback to the driver, e.g. vibration or force feedback to the driver on the steering wheel or the accelerator pedal
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3423 : Multimodal routing, i.e. combining two or more modes of transportation, where the modes can be any of, e.g. driving, walking, cycling, public transport
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3629 : Guidance using speech or audio output, e.g. text-to-speech text to speech systems per se G10L13/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3641 : Personalized guidance, e.g. limited guidance on previously travelled routes
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3685 : the POI's being parking facilities
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 : for remote operation

Abstract

A vehicle includes a vehicle computing system (VCS) and an adaptive cruise control module, a lane departure warning (LDW) module, a navigation system, or an alert mechanism (e.g., audible, visual or tactile). The VCS communicates with an activity tracking device worn by a vehicle driver. The activity tracking device detects and records biometric characteristics of the driver, and is capable of exchanging data with the VCS. The VCS generates at least one output signal based on data from the activity tracking device. An adaptive cruise control module may increase the distance between the vehicle and a tracking vehicle based on the signal. A navigation system may generate a recommended parking location based on a difference between step goals and current steps detected by the activity tracking device.

Claims

1. A vehicle comprising:

an adaptive cruise control module configured to maintain a distance between the vehicle and a tracking vehicle; and

at least one processor configured to communicate with a personal activity tracking device capable of detecting at least one biometric characteristic of a driver of the vehicle and control the adaptive cruise control module to increase the distance based on the at least one biometric characteristic.

2. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the at least one biometric characteristic is a number of hours the driver slept during a predetermined period of time.

3. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the at least one biometric characteristic includes a current heart rate and an average heart rate of the driver.

4. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the at least one biometric characteristic includes a comparison to a sleep quality index rating.

5. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to increase the distance based on an altitude of the vehicle.

6. A vehicle comprising:

a lane detection module configured to generate an alert based on a distance between the vehicle and a lane boundary the vehicle is traveling in; and

at least one processor configured to communicate with a personal activity tracking device capable of detecting at least one biometric characteristic of a driver of the vehicle and control the lane detection module to increase the distance based on the at least one biometric characteristic.

7. The vehicle of claim 6, wherein the at least one biometric characteristic is a number of hours the driver slept during a predetermined period of time.

8. The vehicle of claim 6, wherein the at least one biometric characteristic includes a current heart rate and an average heart rate of the driver.

9. The vehicle of claim 6, wherein the at least one biometric characteristic includes a comparison to a sleep quality index rating.

10. The vehicle of claim 6, wherein the at least one processor is configured to communicate with the activity tracking device via a mobile phone.

11. The vehicle of claim 6, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to increase the distance based on an altitude of the vehicle.

12. A vehicle navigation system comprising:

at least one processor configured to communicate with an activity tracking device and output a recommended parking location based on a number of expected steps between the recommended parking location and a destination, and a difference between a desired number of steps and a current number of steps received from the activity tracking device.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the at least one processor if further configured to output the recommended parking location based on a current time, a desired time to arrive at the destination, and an expected walk time from the recommended parking location to the destination.

14. A vehicle comprising:

at least one processor configured to communicate with an activity tracking device, and generate an audio message indicative of a recommended route in response to data from the activity tracking device representative of a current heart rate of a driver of the vehicle.

15. The vehicle of claim 14, wherein the at least one processor is configured to communicate with the activity tracking device via a mobile phone.