Detecting, identifying, reporting and discouraging unsafe device use within a vehicle or other transport
A system, method and computer readable medium comprised of in-vehicle passive monitoring and information management system elements which together detect, identify, report and discourage unsafe wireless device use by the operator of a vehicle. An in-vehicle monitoring device determines the vehicle's operational state and location, identifies wireless device transmitter emissions within the vehicle and communicates to a remote information management system in real-time using a wireless network, or after-the-fact, using a locally-installed software version of the information management system. The information management system collects information retrieved from in-vehicle devices and correlates this information with other database information to provide users with timely alerts, tracking, and records of unsafe wireless device use.
1. A method, comprising:
tuning a scanner receiver to a frequency;
detecting whether at least one signal is transmitted at the frequency;
activating a processing module to record the at least one signal and at least one vehicle operating condition;
estimating a signal timing interval and a center frequency; and
determining whether the at least one signal matches a pre-stored signal of a signal detection record based on the timing interval and the center frequency.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the frequency is used by at least one in-vehicle wireless communication device.
3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
re-tuning the scanner receiver to a next frequency of a frequency scan list that is different from the frequency if no signal is being transmitted at the frequency, the frequency scan list being based on a current geographical area location of the vehicle; and
detecting at least one signal being transmitted at the next frequency.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein recording the at least one vehicle operating condition comprises recording a vehicle speed received from an on-board diagnostics version 2.0 (OBDII) interface of the vehicle and a vehicle location and time the data was recorded.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein recording at least one signal further comprises recording a signal type, a signal protocol, and an on or off status of multiple signal transmissions associated with the at least one signal, and wherein if the recorded at least one signal is determined to be off for a pre-set time duration then re-tuning the scanner receiver to a next frequency of a frequency scan list that is different from the frequency.
6. The method of claim 1 :
wherein estimating the signal timing interval and the center frequency is based on the recorded at least one signal: and
wherein determining whether the at least one signal matches a pre-stored signal of a signal detection record further comprises identifying a statistical match based on a difference between the timing interval and the center frequency of the at least one signal and the timing interval and center frequency of the pre-stored signal of the signal detection record.
7. The method of claim 6 , wherein determining a statistical match further comprises linking at least one signal identifier of the at least one recorded signal to at least one signal identifier of the additionally recorded signal to indicate that the at least one recorded signal and the at least one additionally recorded signal are detected from a same in-vehicle wireless communication device.
8. An apparatus, comprising:
a memory;
a scanner receiver configured to be tuned to a frequency;
a detector configured to detect whether at least one signal is transmitted at the frequency; and
a processor configured to:
activate a processing module to record the at least one signal and at least one vehicle operating condition,
estimate a signal timing interval and a center frequency, and
determine whether the at least one signal matches a pre-stored signal of a signal detection record based on the timing interval and the center frequency.
9. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the frequency is used by at least one in-vehicle wireless communication device.
10. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the scanner receiver is re-tuned to a next frequency of a frequency scan list that is different from the frequency if no signal is being transmitted at the frequency, the frequency scan list being based on a current geographical area location of the vehicle, and wherein the detector is configured to detect at least one signal being transmitted at the next frequency.
11. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the at least one vehicle operating condition is recorded to include a vehicle speed received from an on-board diagnostics version 2.0 (OBDII) interface of the vehicle and a vehicle location and time the data was recorded.
12. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the at least one signal is recorded to include a signal type, a signal protocol, and an on or off status of multiple signal transmissions associated with the at least one signal, and wherein if the recorded at least one signal is determined to be off for a pre-set time duration then re-tuning the scanner receiver to a next frequency of a frequency scan list that is different from the frequency.
13. The apparatus of claim 8 :
wherein the signal timing interval and the center frequency is estimated based on the recorded at least one signal; and
wherein the at least one signal is determined to match a pre-stored signal of a signal detection record by identifying a statistical match based on a difference between the timing interval and the center frequency of the at least one signal and the timing interval and center frequency of the pre-stored signal of the signal detection record.
14. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein a statistical match is determined by linking at least one signal identifier of the at least one recorded signal to at least one signal identifier of the additionally recorded signal to indicate that the at least one recorded signal and the at least one additionally recorded signal are detected from a same in-vehicle wireless communication device.
15. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium configured to store instructions that when executed cause a processor to perform:
tuning a scanner receiver to a frequency;
detecting whether at least one signal is transmitted at the frequency;
activating a processing module to record the at least one signal and at least one vehicle operating condition;
estimating a signal timing interval and a center frequency; and
determining whether the at least one signal matches a pre-stored signal of a signal detection record based on the timing interval and the center frequency.
16. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the frequency is used by at least one in-vehicle wireless communication device.
17. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the processor is further configured to perform:
re-tuning the scanner receiver to a next frequency of a frequency scan list that is different from the frequency if no signal is being transmitted at the frequency, the frequency scan list being based on a current geographical area location of the vehicle; and
detecting at least one signal being transmitted at the next frequency.
18. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein recording the at least one vehicle operating condition comprises recording a vehicle speed received from an on-board diagnostics version 2.0 (OBDII) interface of the vehicle and a vehicle location and time the data was recorded.
19. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein recording at least one signal further comprises recording a signal type, a signal protocol, and an on or off status of multiple signal transmissions associated with the at least one signal, and wherein if the recorded at least one signal is determined to be off for a pre-set time duration then re-tuning the scanner receiver to a next frequency of a frequency scan list that is different from the frequency.
20. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15 :
wherein estimating the signal timing interval and the center frequency is based on the recorded at least one signal; and
wherein determining whether the at least one signal matches a pre-stored signal of a signal detection record further comprises identifying a statistical match based on a difference between the timing interval and the center frequency of the at least one signal and the timing interval and center frequency of the pre-stored signal of the signal detection record.