METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ASSESSING THE TRIP PERFORMANCE OF A DRIVER

• US 20180354525A1
• Filed: 12/15/2016
• Published: 12/13/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/15/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Greater Than AB, Co.
• Original Assignee: Greater Than SA
• Inventors: LINDELOF, Anders
• Granted Patent: US 10,421,461 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/09 Driving style or behaviour
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0639 Performance analysis of employees; Performance analysis of enterprise or organisation operations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/08 Insurance
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0808 Diagnosing performance data testing of vehicles G01M17/00; testing of electrical installation on vehicles G01R31/005

Abstract

Method for automatically assessing performance of a driver (110) of a vehicle (100) for a particular trip, wherein current driving data sets, comprising basic driving data are repeatedly read from the vehicle, which method comprises the steps a) collecting previous-trip driving data sets, comprising instantaneous vehicle energy consumption, for different previous trips, different drivers and different vehicles; b) classifying said previous-trip driving data sets into collections corresponding to vehicle classes; c) classifying the current vehicle (100) into a current class; and d) calculating a performance parameter for the current trip based upon respective performance parameters for previous-trip driving data sets in said current collection; wherein the basic parameter set comprises vehicle velocity and engine rotation speed and/or motor load and energy consumption, and wherein the class-defining parameters comprise characteristic engine rotation speed per vehicle velocity and/or characteristic energy consumption per motor load. The invention also relates to a system.

Claims

1. Method for automatically assessing performance of a driver of a current vehicle for a particular current trip, wherein updated current-trip driving data sets are repeatedly read from the vehicle, which current-trip driving data sets each comprises data from at least a predetermined set of basic driving data parameters, wherein new such current-trip driving data sets are read from the vehicle at consecutive observation time points separated by at the most a predetermined observation time period, wherein the method comprises the steps of

a) collecting previous-trip driving data sets, observed at a plurality of different observation time points, for a plurality of different previous trips made by a plurality of different drivers and a plurality of different vehicles, which previous-trip driving data sets each comprises parameter values for at least a certain predetermined set of qualified driving data parameters in turn comprising the said basic parameter set and in particular instantaneous vehicle energy consumption;

b) classifying said previous-trip driving data sets into a set of collections, wherein each of said collections only comprises previous-trip driving data sets for a particular class of vehicles, wherein all previous-trip driving data sets of one and the same vehicle are classified into one and the same collection, based upon a basic class conformity measure between driving data sets for the vehicle in question and a set of class-defining parameters;

c) classifying the current vehicle into a particular current class based upon said basic class conformity measure; and

d) calculating an energy consumption-based trip performance parameter value for the current trip based upon respective energy consumption-based performance parameter values for previous-trip driving data sets in said current collection;

wherein

the said basic parameter set comprises instantaneous vehicle velocity and instantaneous engine rotation speed and/or the basic parameter set comprises instantaneous motor load and instantaneous energy consumption, and wherein the said class-defining parameters comprise, for each class of vehicles, a characteristic engine rotation speed for a particular vehicle velocity and/or a characteristic energy consumption for a particular motor load.

2. Method according to claim 1, wherein the said class-defining parameters comprise, for each class of vehicles, a respective characteristic engine rotation speed for a plurality of vehicle velocities and/or a respective characteristic energy consumption for a plurality of motor loads.

3. Method according to claim 1, wherein the said class-defining parameters for a certain class are automatically and dynamically updated in response to the collecting of previous-trip driving data sets, so that the said characteristic engine rotation speed for a particular vehicle velocity in question is updated in response to the collecting of a set of instantaneous vehicle speed and instantaneous engine velocity data values for a particular vehicle which has been classified into the certain class, and/or so that the said characteristic energy consumption for a particular motor load in question is updated in response to the collecting of a set of instantaneous motor load and instantaneous energy consumption data values for said particular vehicle.

4. Method according to claim 1, wherein, in case a vehicle is found to be further away from each of said classes than a predetermined threshold distance, as measured by the said basic class conformity measure, an additional class is created, the class-defining parameters of which are calculated based upon the previous-trip driving data sets observed for the vehicle in question.

5. Method according to claim 1, wherein the said class-defining parameters do not comprise information regarding vehicle gear used.

6. Method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises the steps of grouping said previous-trip driving data sets into basic historic groups of such sets, said grouping being based upon a basic driving data set similarity measure, wherein each such basic historic group belongs to a particular one of said collections;

for each of said current-trip driving data sets, mapping the current-trip driving data set in question to at the most one particular of said basic historic groups belonging to the collection corresponding to the class to which the current vehicle was classified, based upon a basic group conformity measure between a driving data set and a basic historic group;

and calculating the said energy consumption-based trip performance parameter value for the current trip based upon a respective energy consumption-based group performance parameter value for each of the said mapped basic historic groups.

7. Method according to claim 1, wherein one main class has class-defining parameters that so broadly define the main class so that all vehicles are classified to the main class.

8. Method according to claim 1, wherein said predetermined observation time period is at the most 10 seconds, preferably at the most 5 seconds, more preferably at the most 2 seconds.

9. Method according to claim 1, wherein parameter values of said basic parameter set are automatically recorded by the vehicle and either communicated to a portable electronic device arranged at the vehicle, which portable electronic device communicates, via a wireless link, said parameter values to a central server, or communicated, via a wireless link, directly from the vehicle to said central server.

10. Method according to claim 1, wherein the said trip performance parameter value is calculated by and communicated, via a wireless link, from a central server to the vehicle, such as to a portable electronic device (130) arranged at the vehicle, and presented to the driver.

11. Method according claim 10, wherein a value of the trip performance parameter is calculated repeatedly, preferably at least every 10 minutes, more preferably at least every 2 minutes, more preferably at least every 30 seconds, during the current trip, wherein the current trip is considered to be the current trip up to the moment at which the value of the trip performance parameter is calculated and for the purposes of calculating the trip performance parameter value in question, and wherein the currently calculated such value is communicated to the vehicle and presented to the driver upon calculation.

12. Method according to claim 1, wherein each of said previous-trip driving data sets is observed at a respective one of said plurality of different observation time points, and wherein the said parameter values of the previous-trip driving data sets are each read either as a respective instantaneous value or a respective average value read across a certain respective time period of at the most 5 seconds of length.

13. System for automatically assessing performance of a driver of a current vehicle for a particular current trip, which system is arranged to repeatedly read updated current-trip driving data sets from the vehicle, which current-trip driving data sets each comprises data from at least a predetermined set of basic driving data parameters, wherein the system is arranged to read new such current-trip driving data sets from the vehicle at consecutive observation time points separated by at the most a predetermined observation time period, wherein the system comprises a server arranged to collect previous-trip driving data sets, observed at a plurality of different observation time points, for a plurality of different previous trips made by a plurality of different drivers and a plurality of different vehicles, which previous-trip driving data sets each comprises parameter values for at least a certain predetermined set of qualified driving data parameters in turn comprising the said basic parameter set and in particular instantaneous vehicle energy consumption, wherein the server is arranged to classify said previous-trip driving data sets into a set of collections, wherein each of said collections only comprises previous-trip driving data sets for a particular class of vehicles, wherein all previous-trip driving data sets of one and the same vehicle are classified into one and the same collection, based upon a basic class conformity measure between driving data sets for the vehicle in question and a set of class-defining parameters, wherein the server is arranged to classify the current vehicle into a particular current class based upon said basic class conformity measure, wherein in that the server is arranged to calculate an energy consumption-based trip performance parameter value for the current trip based upon respective energy consumption-based performance parameter values for previous-trip driving data sets in said current collection, wherein the said basic parameter set comprises instantaneous vehicle velocity and instantaneous engine rotation speed and/or the basic parameter set comprises instantaneous motor load and instantaneous energy consumption, and wherein the said class-defining parameters comprise, for each class of vehicles, a characteristic engine rotation speed for a particular vehicle velocity and/or a characteristic energy consumption for a particular motor load.

14. System according to claim 13, wherein the system is arranged to observe each of said previous-trip driving data sets is at a respective one of said plurality of different observation time points, and wherein the system is arranged to read the said parameter values of the previous-trip driving data sets either as a respective instantaneous value or a respective average value read across a certain respective time period of at the most 5 seconds of length.