Risk behavior detection methods based on tracking handset movement within a moving vehicle

• US 9,672,568 B1
• Filed: 05/15/2014
• Issued: 06/06/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/13/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Allstate Insurance Company (Allstate Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Allstate Insurance Company (Allstate Corporation)
• Inventors: Slusar, Mark V., Kleinhenz, Joseph, Huls, Eric D.
• Primary Examiner(s): AMELUNXEN, BARBARA J
• Application Number:
  US14/277,940
• Time in Patent Office: 1,118 Days
• Field of Search: 705 4, 34053913, 3405721, 340435, 342 44, 701 314
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/227 Position in the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/09 Driving style or behaviour
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 11/02 using radio waves G01S19/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/00 Systems using the reflection or reradiation of radio waves, e.g. radar systems; Analogous systems using reflection or reradiation of waves whose nature or wavelength is irrelevant or unspecified
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/13 Receivers
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/14 specially adapted for specific applications
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/51 Relative positioning
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/52 Determining velocity
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2205/01 specially adapted for specific applications
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2205/09 for tracking people
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/02 using radio waves using satellite radio beacon systems for determining position G01S19/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0284 Relative positioning
• 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: G08G 1/0112 from the vehicle, e.g. floating car data [FCD]
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0129 for creating historical data or processing based on historical data
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/017 identifying vehicles G08G1/015, G08G1/054 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/163 involving continuous checking
• 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: H04W 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/027 : using movement velocity, acceleration information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 : Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/40 : for vehicles, e.g. vehicle-to-pedestrians [V2P]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/44 : for communication between vehicles and infrastructures, e.g. vehicle-to-cloud [V2C] or vehicle-to-home [V2H]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/48 : for in-vehicle communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 : Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication

Abstract

At least a method for determining risk behavior of a driver is described. While a vehicle is being driven, data is obtained related to the position and movement of a wireless communications device. The data may indicate the type of behavior exhibited by the driver while the vehicle is being driven.

Claims

1. A method of detecting a relative position of a wireless communication device inside a vehicle being driven by a drive, comprising:

determining a position of a wireless communication device relative to at least three localization devices over time based on said at least three localization devices processing a signal transmitted by a wireless communication device, wherein said at least three localization devices is attached to a vehicle, wherein said wireless communication device is used by a drive of said vehicle;

determining, by a computing device, one or more occurrences of one or more events based on said position using an algorithm employed by one or more servers;

determining, by the computing device, one or more probabilities of occurrence of said one or more occurrences of said one or more events using said algorithm, and

based on said one or more probabilities, categorizing, by the computing device, said driver into a risk category using said algorithm, wherein said position corresponds to a height of said driver seated in said vehicle and an event of said one or more events corresponds to said driver speaking while said wireless communication device is placed on an ear of said driver;

the method further comprising;

prior to the transmitting of said signal by said wireless communication device, calibrating said wireless communication device for said vehicle by pairing each of the at least three localization devices while said wireless communication device is positioned in a driver seat region of said vehicle;

processing, by said computing device, the signal transmitted by said wireless communication device;

determining, by said computing device over time, a triangulated position of said wireless communication device relative to the at least three localization devices based on the signal transmitted by said wireless communication device; and

determining, by said computing device, that proximity of said wireless communication device in the driver seat region of said vehicle indicates that said driver is operating said wireless communication device while driving said vehicle;

transmitting an alert to a visual display of said wireless communication device; and

transmitting a second alert to a second vehicle, which is a different vehicle than said vehicle.

2. An apparatus to detect a relative position of a wireless communication device inside a vehicle being driven by a driver, comprising:

at least three localization devices attached to the vehicle, wherein a first localization device comprising a RFID node attached to a first location in the vehicle, a second localization device comprising a RFID node attached to a second location in the vehicle, and a third localization device comprising a RFID node attached to a third location in the vehicle, wherein the first location, second location, and third location are each at different locations;

a wireless communication device transmitting a signal that is received by each of the at least three localization devices, wherein prior to the transmitting, the wireless communication device has been calibrated for the vehicle by;

pairing the first localization device to the wireless communication device while the wireless communication device is positioned in a driver seat region of the vehicle,

pairing the second localization device to the wireless communication device while the wireless communication device is positioned in the driver seat region of the vehicle, and

pairing the third localization device to the wireless communication device while the wireless communication device is positioned in the driver seat region of the vehicle;

a computer processor; and

a tangible computer memory storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the computer processor, cause the apparatus to perform steps comprising;

processing, by the computer processor, the signal transmitted by the wireless communication device;

determining, by the computer processor over time, a triangulated position of the wireless communication device relative to the at least three localization devices based on the signal transmitted by the wireless communication device;

determining, by the computer processor, that proximity of the wireless communication device in the driver seat region of the vehicle indicates that the driver is operating the wireless communication device while driving the vehicle;

transmitting an alert to a visual display of the wireless communication device; and

transmitting a second alert to a second vehicle, which is a different vehicle than the vehicle.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the position corresponds to a height of the driver seated in the vehicle and an event of one or more events corresponds to the driver speaking while the wireless communication device is placed on an ear of the driver, wherein the tangible computer memory further stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the computer processor, cause the apparatus to perform steps comprising:

determining, by the computer processor, one or more occurrences of the one or more events based on the position using an algorithm employed by one or more servers;

determining, by the computer processor, one or more probabilities of occurrence of the one or more occurrences of the one or more events using the algorithm, and

based on the one or more probabilities, categorizing, by the computer processor, the driver into a risk category using the algorithm.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein insurance premium discounts are provided to an insured of the vehicle if the risk category indicates that the driver is associated with a good risk.

5. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein an insurance premium of an insured is increased if the risk category indicates that the driver is associated with a bad risk.

6. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein alerts are transmitted to the wireless communication device if the position changes irregularly over time, and wherein the wireless communication device comprises an active RFID tag powered by a battery.

7. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the signal comprises a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) signal.

8. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the at least three localization devices comprises four localization devices that are symmetrically attached to the vehicle.

9. A method comprising:

determining, by a computer processor programmed with an algorithm, one or more probabilities of occurrences of one or more events based on a position of a wireless communication device relative to at least three localization devices comprising RFID nodes coupled to a vehicle;

based on the one or more probabilities, categorizing, by the computer processor, a driver into a risk category using the algorithm;

wherein the determining is based on the at least three localization devices processing a signal transmitted by the wireless communication device;

prior to the transmitting of the signal by the wireless communication device, calibrating the wireless communication device for the vehicle by pairing each of the at least three localization devices while the wireless communication device is positioned in a driver seat region of the vehicle;

triangulating, by the computer processor over time, a position of the wireless communication device relative to the at least three localization devices based on the signal transmitted by the wireless communication device;

determining, by the computer processor, based on the triangulating that the wireless communication device is in the driver seat region of the vehicle;

transmitting a visual alert to a display of the wireless communication device; and

transmitting a second alert to a second vehicle, which is a different vehicle than the vehicle.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein an insurance premium of an insured is increased if the risk category indicates that the driver is associated with a bad risk.

11. The method of claim 9 wherein the signal comprises a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) signal.

12. The method of claim 9 wherein the at least three localization devices comprises four localization devices that are symmetrically attached to the vehicle.