Real-time drive assistance system and method

• US 9,153,131 B2
• Filed: 12/23/2011
• Issued: 10/06/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/27/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Piaggio & C SPA (Immsi SPA)
• Original Assignee: Piaggio & C SPA (Immsi SPA)
• Inventors: Di Tanna, Onorino, Savaresi, Sergio Matteo, Manzoni, Vincenzo, Corti, Andrea, Santucci, Mario Donato
• Primary Examiner(s): ALAM, MIRZA F
• Application Number:
  US13/995,502
• Publication Number:
  US 20130321179A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,383 Days
• Field of Search: 340/990, 340/988, 340/574, 340/573.1, 340/540, 340/995.25, 340/936, 340/933, 340/575, 340/438, 701/210, 701/200, 701/117, 701/24, 701/213, 342/357.01, 342/357.9, 342/357.08
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 1/096716 where the received information does not generate an automatic action on the vehicle control
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096741 where the source of the transmitted information selects which information to transmit to each vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096775 where the origin of the information is a central station
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0969 having a display in the form of a map
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/164 Centralised systems, e.g. external to vehicles

Abstract

A real-time drive assistance system and method are provided. The system includes a centralized architecture capable of determining and preventing, in real time, potentially dangerous road situations, increasing road safety. The system is based on a communication network obtained through specific portable mobile communication devices exchanging information related to the state of a plurality of vehicles in motion along a road network. The method includes periodical acquisition and sending of the information to a centralized processing unit using the wireless communication system of each portable mobile communication device; processing of the information in order to verify the occurrence of potential dangerous situations for the drivers of each vehicle; and sending of warning or danger signals to one or more of the portable mobile communication devices that can alert the drivers of the vehicles.

Claims

1. Real-time drive assistance system comprising:

a single centralized processing unit able to receive a plurality of information related to a state of a plurality of vehicles in motion along a road network, and to detect road situations that are potentially dangerous for said vehicles, the centralized processing unit comprising in turn a web server connected to Internet, that receives and processes the information received by each vehicle, and a geographical database, provided with corresponding digital maps on which the vehicles are positioned according to the information communicated thereby;

a plurality of portable mobile communication devices present onboard the respective vehicles, each portable mobile communication device consisting of a smartphone configured for being able to access the Internet and provided with;

one or more processing unit,

one or more wireless communication systems,

a user identification card (“

SIM”

card),

an operating system that allows a high level programming,

one or more application programs capable of acquiring the information related to the state of the vehicles and exchanging said information with the web server,

one or more user communication interfaces for generating warnings that alert drivers of the vehicles based on the processing performed by the web server,

a localization device based upon a global satellite navigation system, able to detect the information related to a state of each vehicle and to periodically provide an absolute global geographic position of each vehicle,

wherein said web server is configured to search further vehicles on the road travelled by a first vehicle and if at least a further vehicle is found within a predefined distance from the first vehicle, said web server is configured to analyze a position and an advance direction of said further vehicle in order to provide to the first vehicle or both vehicles a notification concerning a risk of possible collision.

2. The real-time drive assistance system according to claim 1, characterized in that the localization device is a GPS antenna.

3. The real-time drive assistance system according to claim 1, characterized in that the localization device is embedded in the portable mobile communication device.

4. The real-time drive assistance system according to claim 1, characterized in that the localization device is made by an external antenna, connected with the portable mobile communication device by means of a proper communication protocol of the Bluetooth'"'"'9 or Wi-Fi type.

5. The real-time drive assistance system according to claim 1, comprising one or more fixed communication devices installed on fixed places along the road network, and operatively connected to the web server, said fixed communication devices signaling to the portable mobile communication devices of drivers of approaching vehicles a presence of said fixed places when they are potentially dangerous.

14. The real-time drive assistance system according to claim 1, wherein said one or more application programs are configured for acquiring the information related to the state of the vehicles at least once a second.

6. The real-time drive assistance method comprising the following steps:

periodical acquisition, by means of a plurality of portable mobile communication devices, of the information related to the state of a plurality of vehicles in motion along a road network;

sending of the information so obtained to a single centralized processing unit through a wireless communication system of each portable mobile communication device;

processing of the information by means of the centralized processing unit in order to verify an occurrence of potential dangerous situations for drivers of each vehicle;

sending, by the centralized processing unit and through the wireless communication system, of warning or danger signals to one or more of said portable mobile communication devices for generating warnings that alert the drivers of the vehicles; and

searching with said web server further vehicles on a road travelled by a first vehicle and if at least a further vehicle is found within a predefined distance from the first vehicle, analyzing a position and an advance direction of said further vehicle in order to provide to the first vehicle a notification concerning a possible risk in case of overtaking of the further vehicle by the first vehicle,

wherein the step of processing the information of the centralized processing unit comprises the following steps;

memorization of said information on a geographic database;

generation of a vector on a digital map, corresponding to a route travelled by each vehicle;

estimation, according to the information, of a future position of each vehicle after a predefined period of time;

analysis of the information related to each single vehicle and to the vehicles present within a predefined distance or radius from said single vehicle in order to verify the occurrence of potential dangerous situations for the drivers.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the step of periodical acquisition of the information related to a state of each vehicle is performed by the localization device based on the global satellite navigation system.

8. The method according to claim 6, wherein the warnings generated by the portable mobile communication devices have an a) intensity, b) tone, or c) duration variable according to seriousness of the danger or an approaching of said danger or both, or, d) any combination of a), b), and c).

9. The method according to claim 6, wherein information related to a state of each vehicle comprises at least data related to a speed and a geographic position of said vehicle.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the information related to the state of each vehicle further comprises data related to an acceleration of said vehicle.

11. The method according to claim 6, wherein the warnings generated by each portable mobile communication device are of an acoustic type.

12. The method according to claim 6, wherein the warnings generated by each portable mobile communication device are of a visual type.

13. The method according to claim 6, wherein the warnings generated by each portable mobile communication device are obtained by means of vibrations.

15. The method according to claim 6, wherein said periodical acquisition step is performed at least once a second.