WEARABLE DEVICE AND SYSTEM FOR MONITORING PHYSICAL BEHAVIOR OF A VEHICLE OPERATOR

• US 20160128619A1
• Filed: 11/04/2015
• Published: 05/12/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 11/06/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Maven Machines, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Maven Machines, Inc.
• Inventors: Gorenstein, Marc V., Geller, Avishai, Swerdlow, Samuel J.
• Granted Patent: US 9,763,614 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/11 Measuring movement of the entire body or parts thereof, e.g. head or hand tremor, mobility of a limb for measuring pulse A61B5/02 ;A61B5/1038 takes precedence; motion detection to correct for motion artifacts in physiological signals A61B5/721
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/163 by tracking eye movement, gaze, or pupil change
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/18 for vehicle drivers or machine operators
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6803 Head-worn items, e.g. helmets, masks, headphones or goggles
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7282 Event detection, e.g. detecting unique waveforms indicative of a medical condition A61B5/4094, A61B5/4818, A61B5/349, A61B5/0823 take precedence
• 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: B60R 1/04 mounted inside vehicle B60R1/025, B60R1/08 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/06 indicating a condition of sleep, e.g. anti-dozing alarms
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/24 Reminder alarms, e.g. anti-loss alarms

Abstract

A system uses a wearable electronic device to monitoring behavior of an operator of a vehicle. The wearable device is worn on the head of the operator of the vehicle and includes one or more motion sensors. A processor of the wearable device or of a proximate portable electronic device receives data from the one or more motion sensors and detects a pattern of motion based on the data. The system then may determine a physiological state or physical behavior of the driver based on the detected patterns or motion. Detected physiological states may include head bobs associated with sleepiness. Detected physical behaviors may include dangerous behaviors such as phone usage, prolonged gazes, sudden lane changes, or hard braking or steering.

Claims

1. A system for monitoring behavior of an operator of a vehicle, comprising:

a wearable electronic device configured to be worn on the head of an operator of the vehicle, wherein the wearable electronic device comprises a motion sensor;

a processor; and

a computer-readable medium containing programming instructions that, when executed, will cause the processor to;

receive a set of data from the motion sensor,

analyze the set of data to detect a pattern of motion,

access a data set corresponding to a plurality of patterns of motion, and

use the data set to analyze the detected pattern of motion and determine a physiological state of the operator of the vehicle based on the detected pattern of motion.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions are configured to cause the processor to, when determining a physiological state of the operator of the vehicle, determine that the physiological state comprises drowsiness if the detected pattern of motion is a head bobbing motion.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the instructions to determine that the physiological state comprises drowsiness if the detected pattern of motion is a head bobbing motion comprise instructions to:

analyze the set of data from the motion sensor to determine jerk and jounce associated with movement of the head of the operator;

determine, based on the jerk, that the head dropped forward and then pulled back upward; and

determine, based on the jounce, that a rate of change of acceleration occurred while the head dropped forward and then pulled back upward such that the determined rate of change of acceleration corresponds to a head bob.

4. The system of claim 1, further comprising a portable electronic device having a receiver, and wherein:

the wearable electronic device further comprises a transmitter configured to transmit the set of data to the receiver of the portable electronic device; and

the processor and the computer-readable medium are included within the portable electronic device.

5. The system of claim 4, further comprising:

a data storage facility; and

a computer-readable medium containing programming instructions that, when executed, will instruct the processor to;

store the determined physiological state in the data storage facility as part of a profile for the vehicle operator,

analyze the physiological state with previously-stored physiological states for the vehicle operator to generate a score for the vehicle operator, and

output the score.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions to use the data set to analyze the detected pattern of motion and determine a physiological state of the operator of the vehicle based on the detected pattern of motion comprise instructions to:

determine whether the detected pattern of motion corresponds to a prolonged forward gaze, a prolonged side gaze, a swaying motion, or a head bob and is repeated during a time period;

if so, determine that the physiological state of the operator is fatigued.

7. The system of claim 1, further comprising programming instructions that, when executed, will cause the processor to:

determine a plurality of physiological states of the operator of the vehicle during a time period;

assign a score to each of the plurality of physiological states of the operator of the vehicle;

calculate an overall score for the operator of the vehicle; and

use the overall score to determine a quality of the operator of the vehicle.

8. A method for monitoring behavior of an operator of a vehicle, comprising, by a processor:

receiving, from a motion sensor of a wearable electronic device, a set of data associated with movement of the head of an operator of the vehicle wearing the wearable electronic device;

analyzing the set of data to detect a pattern of motion;

accessing a data set corresponding to a plurality of patterns of motion; and

using the data set to analyze the detected pattern of motion and determining a physiological state of the operator of the vehicle based on the detected pattern of motion.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein determining a physiological state of the operator of the vehicle comprises determining that the physiological state comprises drowsiness if the detected pattern of motion is a head bobbing motion by:

analyzing the set of data from the motion sensor to determine jerk and jounce associated with movement of the head of the operator;

determining, based on the jerk, that the head dropped forward and then pulled back upward; and

determining, based on the jounce, that a rate of change of acceleration occurred while the head dropped forward and then pulled back upward such that the determined rate of change of acceleration corresponds to a head bob.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein using the data set to analyze the detected pattern of motion and determining a physiological state of the operator of the vehicle based on the detected pattern of motion comprises:

determining whether the detected pattern of motion corresponds to a prolonged forward gaze, a prolonged side gaze, a swaying motion, or a head bob and is repeated during a time period;

if so, determining that the physiological state of the operator is fatigued.

11. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

storing the determined physiological state in a data storage facility as part of a profile for the vehicle operator; and

by a first processor associated with the data storage facility;

analyzing the physiological state with previously-stored physiological states for the vehicle operator to generate a score for the vehicle operator; and

outputting the score.

12. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

determining a plurality of physiological states of the operator of the vehicle during a time period;

assigning a score to each of the plurality of physiological states of the operator of the vehicle;

calculating an overall score for the operator of the vehicle; and

using the overall score to determine a quality of the operator of the vehicle.

13. A system for monitoring behavior of an operator of a vehicle, comprising:

a wearable electronic device configured to be worn on the head of an operator of the vehicle, wherein the wearable electronic device comprises a motion sensor;

a processor; and

a computer-readable medium containing programming instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to;

receive a first set of data from the motion sensor,

analyze the first set of data to detect a pattern of motion,

access a data set corresponding to a plurality of patterns of motion,

use the data set to analyze the detected pattern of motion and determine a physical behavior of the operator of the vehicle based on the detected pattern of motion, and

generate an alert if the determined physical behavior corresponds to a dangerous operator behavior.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the instructions to generate an alert if the determined physical behavior corresponds to a dangerous operator behavior comprise instructions to:

determine whether the detected pattern of motion corresponds to a prolonged forward gaze, a prolonged size gaze, a phone usage event, a hard braking event, a sudden lane change, or a hard steering event.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein:

the instructions to analyze the first set of data to detect a pattern of motion comprise instructions to detect a head rotational motion of the operator of the vehicle by;

determining a forward-facing direction position as a position corresponding to the most common orientation of the wearable device,

determining, based on the first set of data from the motion sensor, angular displacement of the operator'"'"'s head, and

determining whether the angular displacement corresponds to a side gaze, or a forward gaze,

the instructions to determine the physical behavior comprise instructions to determine whether the operator exhibited a forward gaze or a side gaze for an extended period of time.

16. The system of claim 13, wherein:

the instructions to analyze the first set of data to detect at least one pattern of motion comprise instructions to detect a head rotational motion of the operator of the vehicle by;

determining a forward-facing direction position as a position corresponding to the most common orientation of the wearable device,

determining, based on the first set of data from the motion sensor, angular displacement of the operator'"'"'s head, and

determining whether the angular displacement corresponds to a phone usage event, wherein the phone usage event remained constant for at least a threshold period of time, and

the instructions to determine the physical behavior comprise instructions to determine that the operator exhibited dangerous operator behavior if the system detected a phone usage event for at least a threshold period of time.

17. The system of claim 13, further comprising a reference device that is attached to the vehicle and that includes:

a transmitter, and

a reference device motion sensor that is configured to collect a second set of data corresponding to motion of the vehicle.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the instructions are further configured to cause the processor to:

receive the second set of data from the transmitter; and

determine that the physical behavior corresponds to a hard braking event if;

the first set of data indicates that the motion sensor of the wearable electronic device is experiencing a negative acceleration above a threshold value,

at the same time, the second set of data also indicates that the motion sensor of the reference device is experiencing a negative acceleration above a threshold value.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the instructions are further configured to cause the processor to:

receive the second set of data from the transmitter; and

determine that the physical behavior corresponds to a sudden lane change event if;

the first set of data indicates that the motion sensor of the wearable electronic device is experiencing a rate of change in a z-plane exceeding a threshold value within a threshold time,

at the same time, the second set of data also indicates that the motion sensor of the reference device is experiencing is experiencing a rate of change in the z-plane exceeding the threshold value within the threshold time.

20. The system of claim 17, wherein the instructions are further configured to cause the processor to:

receive the second set of data from the transmitter,

analyzing a derivative of the first set of data and the second set of data, and

determining that the physical behavior corresponds to a hard steering event if the derivative has a value that exceeds a threshold.

21. The system of claim 13, wherein the wearable electronic device also comprises a housing, and the first processor and the computer-readable medium are included within the housing.

22. The system of claim 13, further comprising a portable electronic device having a receiver, and wherein:

the wearable electronic device comprises a transmitter configured to transmit the first set of data to the receiver of the portable electronic device; and

the processor and the computer-readable medium are included within the portable electronic device.

23. A method for monitoring behavior of an operator of a vehicle, comprising, by a processor:

receiving, from a motion sensor of a wearable electronic device, a first set of data associated with movement of the head of an operator of the vehicle wearing the wearable electronic device;

analyzing the first set of data to detect a pattern of motion;

accessing a data set corresponding to a plurality of patterns of motion;

using the data set to analyze the detected pattern of motion and determining a physical behavior of the operator of the vehicle based on the detected pattern of motion; and

generating an alert if the determined physical behavior corresponds to a dangerous operator behavior.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein generating an alert if the determined physical behavior corresponds to a dangerous operator behavior comprises determining whether the detected pattern of motion corresponds to a prolonged forward gaze, a prolonged size gaze, a phone usage event, a hard braking event, a sudden lane change, or a hard steering event.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein analyzing the first set of data to detect a pattern of motion comprises:

detecting a head rotational motion of the operator of the vehicle by;

determining a forward-facing direction position as a position corresponding to the most common orientation of the wearable device,

determining, based on the first set of data from the motion sensor, angular displacement of the operator'"'"'s head, and

determining whether the angular displacement corresponds to a side gaze, or a forward gaze; and

determining the physical behavior comprises determining whether the operator exhibited a forward gaze or a side gaze for an extended period of time.

26. The method of claim 23, wherein analyzing the first set of data to detect a pattern of motion comprises:

detecting a head rotational motion of the operator of the vehicle by;

determining a forward-facing direction position as a position corresponding to the most common orientation of the wearable device,

determining, based on the first set of data from the motion sensor, angular displacement of the operator'"'"'s head, and

determining whether the angular displacement corresponds to a phone usage event, wherein the phone usage event remained constant for at least a threshold period of time; and

determining the physical behavior comprises determining that the operator exhibited dangerous operator behavior if the system detected a phone usage event for at least a threshold period of time.

27. The method of claim 23, further comprising collecting a second set of data corresponding to motion of the vehicle using a reference device motion sensor of a reference device that is attached to the vehicle.

28. The method of claim 27, further comprising:

receiving, at the processor, the second set of data from a transmitter of the reference device; and

determining that the physical behavior corresponds to a hard braking event if;

the first set of data indicates that the motion sensor of the wearable electronic device is experiencing a negative acceleration above a threshold value,

at the same time, the second set of data also indicates that the reference motion sensor is experiencing a negative acceleration above a threshold value.

29. The method of claim 27, further comprising:

receiving, at the processor, the second set of data from a transmitter of the reference device; and

determining that the physical behavior corresponds to a sudden lane change event if;

the first set of data indicates that the motion sensor of the wearable electronic device is experiencing a rate of change in a z-plane exceeding a threshold value within a threshold time,

at the same time, the second set of data also indicates that the reference motion sensor is experiencing is experiencing a rate of change in the z-plane exceeding the threshold value within the threshold time.

30. The method of claim 27, further comprising, by the processor:

receiving the second set of data from a transmitter of the reference device,

analyzing a derivative of the first set of data and the second set of data, and

determining that the physical behavior corresponds to a hard steering event if the derivative has a value that exceeds a threshold.