Method and system for blind spot identification and warning utilizing portable and wearable devices

• US 7,908,060 B2
• Filed: 07/31/2007
• Issued: 03/15/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Kelley, Edward E., West, Frances, Basson, Sara H., Kanevsky, Dimitri
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran; Khoi
• Assistant Examiner(s): Sample; Jonathan L
• Application Number:
  US11/830,990
• Publication Number:
  US 20090037104A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,323 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 701/45
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/0075 Automatic parameter input, automatic initialising or calibrating means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/143 Alarm means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/00 Input parameters relating to objects
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/50 of positioning data, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System] data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/55 using telemetry
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/08 Active safety systems predicting or avoiding probable or impending collision or attempting to minimise its consequences
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/16 Tactile feedback to the driver, e.g. vibration or force feedback to the driver on the steering wheel or the accelerator pedal
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/20 Instruments for performing navigational calculations G01C21/24, G01C21/26 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/166 for active traffic, e.g. moving vehicles, pedestrians, bikes

Abstract

A method for detecting and alerting a user of objects in their blind spots, includes: tracking movement and relative position of a user to one or more objects; determining a blind spot of the user; determining when at least one of the one or more objects occupies the blind spot of the user; and transmitting a signal to a user mobile device to perform an alarm operation when at least one of the one or more objects occupies the blind spot of the user.

Claims

1. A method for detecting and alerting a user in a first vehicle of moving into a blind spot following a second vehicle, the method comprising:

tracking movement and relative position of the first vehicle to the second preceding vehicle;

determining, with a monitoring device in the first vehicle, a blind spot of the second vehicle;

determining when the first vehicle occupies the blind spot of the second vehicle; and

transmitting a signal to a user mobile device of the user in the first vehicle to perform an alarm operation when the first vehicle enters into the blind spot of second vehicle;

wherein a monitoring system in the second vehicle transmits data to the first vehicle; and

wherein the transmitted data is utilized by the monitoring device in the first vehicle to determine the blind spot of the second vehicle.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the tracking and relative position of the first vehicle to the second vehicle is conducted with at least one of the following:

a global position satellite (GPS) system, and cameras.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining of the one or more objects blind spots is pre-calculated with mathematical models.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the mobile devices comprise at least one of the following:

cell phones, wristwatches, portable computing devices, canes, and walking aids.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the alarm operation comprises one or more audible sounds.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the alarm operation comprises one or more tactile vibratory signals.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the sequence and placement of the vibratory signals on the mobile device indicate the location of the object with the blind spot.