Methods and systems for providing alerts to a driver of a vehicle via condition detection and wireless communications

• US 10,850,664 B2
• Filed: 12/02/2019
• Issued: 12/01/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 03/18/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Uber Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Uber Technologies, Inc.
• Inventors: Lopez-Hinojosa, Brennan T., Lopez, Kermit D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lau, Hoi C
• Application Number:
  US16/700,832
• Publication Number:
  US 20200156540A1
• Time in Patent Office: 365 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 9/00 Reinforcements or ply arrangement of pneumatic tyres inserts having reinforcing means B60C5/08; bead structure, e.g. turnup or overlap construction, B60C15/00
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 9/00 Arrangement or adaptation of signal devices not provided for in one of main groups B60Q1/00 - B60Q7/00 , e.g. haptic signalling
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/14 Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/09623 Systems involving the acquisition of information from passive traffic signs by means mounted on the vehicle G08G1/0967 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0967 Systems involving transmission of highway information, e.g. weather, speed limits transmission of navigation instructions to the vehicle G08G1/0968
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/09675 where a selection from the received information takes place in the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096783 where the origin of the information is a roadside individual element
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/40 for vehicles, e.g. vehicle-to-pedestrians [V2P]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/48 for in-vehicle communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/90 Services for handling of emergency or hazardous situations, e.g. earthquake and tsunami warning systems [ETWS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 Connection setup

Abstract

A monitoring system can monitor, using one or more sensors, conditions external to a vehicle. The system detects one or more external conditions. Based, at least in part, on the external conditions, the system can transmit a signal corresponding to an alert to an output device.

Claims

1. A monitoring system for a vehicle, comprising:

one or more sensors;

one or more processors; and

a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the monitoring system to;

monitor, using the one or more sensors, audio information external to the vehicle;

based on the audio information, detect a noise anomaly external to the vehicle; and

based, at least in part, on the noise anomaly external to the vehicle, transmit an alert signal to an output device;

wherein the executed instructions cause the monitoring system to monitor the audio information by executing a cluster analysis model, and wherein detecting the audio anomaly comprises detecting a micro cluster in the audio information that corresponds to an outlier or deviation from one or more audio patterns.

2. The monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the output device corresponds to an audio system of the vehicle, and wherein the alert signal corresponds to an audio alert outputted from the audio system.

3. The monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the output device corresponds to a display of the vehicle, and wherein the alert signal corresponds to a visual alert presented on the display.

4. The monitoring system of claim 1, further comprising:

a network communication interface to communicate, over one or more wireless networks, with a computing device of a driver of the vehicle;

wherein the output device corresponds to the computing device of the driver of the vehicle.

5. The monitoring system of claim 4, wherein the computing device of the driver comprises a smartphone or tablet computer.

6. The monitoring system of claim 4, wherein the alert signal corresponds to at least one of an audible alert from one or more speakers of the computing device or a text message alert displayed on the computing device.

7. The monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the executed instructions cause the monitoring system to monitor the audio information by dynamically comparing the audio information to a data set representing normal traffic noise.

8. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a monitoring system, cause the monitoring system to:

monitor, using one or more sensors, audio information external to a vehicle;

based on the audio information, detect a noise anomaly external to the vehicle; and

based, at least in part, on the noise anomaly external to the vehicle, transmit an alert signal to an output device;

wherein the executed instructions cause the one or more processors to monitor the audio information by executing a cluster analysis model, and wherein detecting the audio anomaly comprises detecting a micro cluster in the audio information that corresponds to an outlier or deviation from one or more audio patterns.

9. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8, wherein the output device corresponds to an audio system of the vehicle, and wherein the alert signal corresponds to an audio alert outputted from the audio system.

10. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8, wherein the output device corresponds to a display of the vehicle, and wherein the alert signal corresponds to a visual alert presented on the display.

11. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8, wherein the executed instructions further cause the monitoring system to:

communicate, over one or more wireless networks, with a computing device of a driver of the vehicle;

wherein the output device corresponds to the computing device of the driver of the vehicle.

12. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein the computing device of the driver comprises a smartphone or tablet computer.

13. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein the alert signal corresponds to at least one of an audible alert from one or more speakers of the computing device or a text message alert displayed on the computing device.

14. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8, wherein the executed instructions cause the monitoring system to monitor the audio information by dynamically comparing the audio information to a data set representing normal traffic noise.

15. A computer-implemented method of providing alerts, the method being performed by one or more processors of a monitoring system and comprising:

monitoring, using one or more sensors, audio information external to a vehicle;

based on the audio information, detecting a noise anomaly external to the vehicle; and

based, at least in part, on the noise anomaly external to the vehicle, transmitting an alert signal to an output device;

wherein the one or more processors monitor the audio information by executing a cluster analysis model, and wherein detecting the audio anomaly comprises detecting a micro cluster in the audio information that corresponds to an outlier or deviation from one or more audio patterns.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the output device corresponds to an audio system of the vehicle, and wherein the alert signal corresponds to an audio alert outputted from the audio system.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the output device corresponds to a display of the vehicle, and wherein the alert signal corresponds to a visual alert presented on the display.

18. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

communicating, over one or more wireless networks, with a computing device of a driver of the vehicle;

wherein the output device corresponds to the computing device of the driver of the vehicle.