Real-time driver observation and scoring for driver's education

• US 9,342,993 B1
• Filed: 10/10/2014
• Issued: 05/17/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (State Farm)
• Original Assignee: State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (State Farm)
• Inventors: Fields, Brian Mark, He, Jibo, Nepomuceno, John A., Roberson, Steve, Plummer, Bryan Allen, Houdek, Kurtis C., Jain, Neeraj
• Primary Examiner(s): Utama, Robert J
• Application Number:
  US14/511,750
• Time in Patent Office: 585 Days
• Field of Search: 434/66
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/18 for vehicle drivers or machine operators
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/0064 using a remote, e.g. cordless, transmitter or receiver unit, e.g. remote keypad or mobile phone
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/0075 Automatic parameter input, automatic initialising or calibrating means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/10 Historical data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/09 Driving style or behaviour
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3676 Overview of the route on the road map
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0104 Measuring and analyzing of parameters relative to traffic conditions
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 19/14 Traffic procedures, e.g. traffic regulations
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 19/16 Control of vehicles or other craft simulators G09B9/02
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 19/167 Control of land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 29/106 using electronic means
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 5/00 Electrically-operated educational appliances working with questions and answers G09B7/00; simulators G09B9/00; advertising or displaying in general G09F
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 5/125 the stations being mobile
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 9/02 for teaching control of vehicles or other craft
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 9/04 for teaching control of land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 9/042 providing simulation in a real vehicle G09B9/052, G09B9/058 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 9/052 characterised by provision for recording or measuring trainee's performance devices for psychotechnics, e.g. for vehicle drivers A61B5/16, A61B5/18

Abstract

A method includes, during a driving session in which a student driver operates a vehicle, gathering driving skill data indicative of at least one of behavior of the student driver, acceleration of the vehicle, braking of the vehicle, or steering of the vehicle, and gathering comments from a driving instructor about the driving session. The method also includes generating a driving session report corresponding to the driving session. The driving session report includes at least one score based on the driving skill data, and the comments from the driving instructor about the driving session. Still further, the method includes causing the driving session report to be displayed on a display device.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

during a driving session in which a student driver operates a vehicle;

gathering, from one or more sensors in a mobile device, driving skill data indicative of at least one of behavior of the student driver, acceleration of the vehicle, braking of the vehicle, or steering of the vehicle, wherein the one or more sensors in the mobile device include at least one of the following;

an accelerometer array or a geopositioning device, and

gathering, from a user interface, comments from a driving instructor regarding vehicle operation at one or more geographic locations along a route traveled by the vehicle during the driving session, wherein the comments are associated with the one or more geographic locations and the one or more geographic locations are determined based upon data gathered from the one or more sensors;

generating a driving session report corresponding to the driving session by an application specifically configuring a computing device to generate the driving session report, wherein the driving session report includes;

at least one score based on the gathered driving skill data, and

the gathered comments from the driving instructor about the driving session; and

causing, by the application specifically configuring the computing device, the driving session report to be displayed on a display device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the driving session report corresponding to the driving session includes:

calculating a plurality of scores, each of the plurality of scores corresponding to a respective one of gaze location, scanning frequency, lane deviation, lane centering, time to collision, braking, acceleration, or steering of the student driver during the two or more driving sessions, and

combining the plurality of scores to generate a composite score representative of a performance of the student driver during the driving session,

wherein the at least one score included in the driving session report includes at least one of the plurality of scores and the composite score.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein gathering the driving skill data includes gathering a plurality of gaze location logs, each of the plurality of gaze location logs indicating a duration of a gaze of the student driver in a particular direction.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein gathering the driving skill data includes gathering acceleration data from an array of accelerometers.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the comments from the driving instructor about the driving session gathered during the driving session are first comments, the method further comprising, after a conclusion of the driving session, gathering second comments from the driving instructor about the driving session.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the driving session report includes:

the at least one score based on the driving skill data,

the first comments from the driving instructor about the driving session, and

the second comments from the driving instructor about the driving session.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the comments from the driving instructor about the driving session are textual comments.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the comments from the driving instructor about the driving session are audible comments.

9. A system comprising:

a user interface;

one or more sensors configured to generate driving skill data indicative of at least one of behavior of a student driver, acceleration of a vehicle, braking of the vehicle, or steering of the vehicle, including at least one of the following;

an accelerometer array or a geopositioning device;

a non-transitory memory storing computer-readable instructions; and

one or more processors specially configured by the computer-readable instructions such that, when executed by the one or more processors, the computer-readable instructions cause the one or more processors to;

during a driving session in which a student driver operates a vehicle;

gather, from the one or more sensors, the driving skill data indicative of at least one of behavior of the student driver, acceleration of the vehicle, braking of the vehicle, or steering of the vehicle, and

gather, via the user interface, comments from a driving instructor regarding vehicle operation at one or more geographic locations along a route traveled by the vehicle during the driving session, wherein the comments are associated with the one or more geographic locations and the one or more geographic locations are determined based upon data gathered from the one or more sensors,

generate a driving session report corresponding to the driving session, wherein the driving session report includes;

at least one score based on the driving skill data, and

the comments from the driving instructor about the driving session, and cause the driving session report to be displayed on the user interface.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein, when gathered, each of the comments from the driving instructor are associated with a particular location of the vehicle during the driving session.

11. The system of claim 10,

wherein generating the driving session report includes generating a map, wherein the map includes representations of each of the comments from the driving instructor at the particular locations corresponding to each of the comments from the driving instructor, and

wherein causing the driving session report to be displayed on the user interface includes causing the map to be displayed on the user interface.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the computer-readable instructions further cause the one or more processors to detect one or more driving events during the driving session based on the driving skill data, wherein each of the one or more driving events is associated with a particular location of the vehicle during the driving session.

13. The system of claim 12,

wherein generating the driving session report includes generating a map, wherein the map includes representations of each of the one or more driving events at the particular locations corresponding to each of the one or more driving events, and

wherein causing the driving session report to be displayed on the user interface includes causing the map to be displayed on the user interface.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein generating the driving session report corresponding to the driving session includes generating a textual recitation of the one or more driving events along with a textual representation of the particular locations corresponding to each of the one or more driving events, and causing the driving session report to be displayed on the user interface includes displaying the textual recitation.

15. The system of claim 9, wherein the one or more sensors include an accelerometer.

16. The system of claim 9, wherein the one or more sensors include a camera.

17. The system of claim 9, wherein the one or more sensors include an accelerometer and a camera.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the at least one score includes an acceleration, braking, or steering score based on first portions of the driving skill data generated by the accelerometer and a gaze location, scanning frequency, lane deviation, lane centering, or time to collision score based on second portions of the driving skill data generated by the camera.

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

during a driving session in which a student driver operates a vehicle;

gather, from one or more sensors, the driving skill data indicative of at least one of behavior of the student driver, acceleration of the vehicle, braking of the vehicle, or steering of the vehicle, wherein the one or more sensors in the mobile device include at least one of the following;

an accelerometer array or a geopositioning device, and

gather, via the user interface, comments from a driving instructor regarding vehicle operation at one or more geographic locations along a route traveled by the vehicle during the driving session, wherein the comments are associated with the one or more geographic locations and the one or more geographic locations are determined based upon data gathered from the one or more sensors;

generate a driving session report corresponding to the driving session, wherein the driving session report includes;

at least one score based on the gathered driving skill data, and

the gathered comments from the driving instructor about the driving session; and

cause the driving session report to be displayed on the user interface.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein generating the driving session report includes calculating the at least one score, wherein calculating the at least one score includes:

based on the driving skill data, detecting one or more events occurring during the driving session, and

for each of the one or more events, deducting a point value from a pre-defined number to generate the at least one score.