Method and system for logging vehicle behavior
View Patent ↗Methods and systems for logging driving information associated with a vehicle when driven are disclosed. In one aspect, a mobile telecommunications device is provided that is adapted for installation to a vehicle and configured to log driving information associated with the vehicle when driven. The mobile device is arranged to register the start of a driving period during which the mobile device is installed to the vehicle and the vehicle is being driven by a driver. The mobile device is also arranged to process sensor data during the driving period to derive driving information associated with how the vehicle is driven. The mobile device is also arranged to store a selection of the driving information to a memory.
1. A mobile telecommunications device configured to log driving information associated with a vehicle, the mobile device comprising:
a sensor set comprising an image sensor, an audio sensor, an accelerometer, or a positioning module, or a combination thereof;
a user interface;
a processor; and
a memory;
the mobile device configured to:
determine, based on inputs received by the user interface and sensor data from the sensor set, a start of a driving period during which the mobile device is removably attached to the vehicle and the vehicle is in use;
process the sensor data from the sensor set during the driving period to derive driving information associated with how the vehicle is driven;
store a selection of the driving information to the memory, wherein the driving information is derived without data from vehicle sensors; and,
wherein the mobile communications device is controlled by a downloaded application to control the mobile device to register the start of the driving period in response to an initialization input generated automatically in response to the sensor data having predetermined values, wherein the initialization input is generated in response to sensor data reflecting a detected speed above a predetermined threshold.
2. A mobile telecommunications device according to claim 1 , wherein the mobile communications device is further configured to register the attachment of the mobile device to the vehicle and determine a match between a location of the mobile device and a location of the vehicle.
3. A mobile telecommunications device according to claim 1 , wherein the mobile communications device is controlled by a downloaded application to control the mobile device to down-sample sensor data from a first sampling rate to a second sampling and store the sensor data at said second sampling rate.
4. A mobile telecommunications device configured to log driving information associated with a vehicle, the mobile device comprising:
a sensor set comprising an image sensor, an audio sensor, an accelerometer, or a positioning module, or a combination thereof;
a user interface;
a processor; and
a memory;
the mobile device configured to:
determine, based on inputs received by the user interface and sensor data from the sensor set, a start of a driving period during which the mobile device is removably attached to the vehicle and the vehicle is in use;
process the sensor data from the sensor set during the driving period to derive driving information associated with how the vehicle is driven,
store a selection of the driving information to the memory, wherein the driving information is derived without data from vehicle sensors; and,
wherein the mobile communications device is controlled by a downloaded application to control the mobile device to process the sensor data from the sensor set during a plurality of driving periods to derive driving information associated with how the vehicle is driven during the driving periods, the sensor data being processed during a first set of driving periods defining a benchmark against which sensor data is compared during subsequent sets of driving periods.
5. A mobile telecommunications device according to claim 4 , wherein the mobile communications device is further configured to:
detect occurrence of a predetermined event by correlating the sensor data against at least one event indication model, the at least one event indication model comprising a set of predetermined data values that are compared against corresponding sensor data; and
modify the at least one event indication model in response to the benchmark.
6. A data-logging system for logging driving information received from a remote mobile telecommunications device, the data-logging system comprising a processor and memory, the data logging system comprising:
a database for storing a plurality of accounts, each account having a unique identifier and the database being arranged to store driving information associated with at least one of a vehicle and a driver;
a communications interface arranged to communicate with the remote mobile telecommunications device, and receive therefrom:
a unique identifier for association of the remote mobile telecommunications device with a corresponding one of the plurality of accounts;
driving information to be logged to that corresponding account, the driving information derived based on inputs received by a user interface of the remote mobile telecommunications device and sensor data from a sensor set of the remote mobile telecommunications device, the driving information derived without data from vehicle sensors; and,
wherein the driving information comprises at least one of a driving score and sensor data captured and processed by the remote mobile telecommunications device during a driving period during which the remote mobile telecommunications device is removably attached to the vehicle being driven by the driver, the data logging system being further arranged to process the driving information logged to a corresponding account to generate a driving score used to determine a risk profile for at least one of the vehicle and driver.
7. A data-logging system for logging driving information received from a remote mobile telecommunications device, the data-logging system comprising a processor and memory, the data logging system comprising:
a database for storing a plurality of accounts, each account having a unique identifier and the database being arranged to store driving information associated with at least one of a vehicle and a driver;
a communications interface arranged to communicate with the remote mobile telecommunications device, and receive therefrom:
a unique identifier for association of the remote mobile telecommunications device with a corresponding one of the plurality of accounts;
driving information to be logged to that corresponding account, the driving information derived based on inputs received by a user interface of the remote mobile telecommunications device and sensor data from a sensor set of the remote mobile telecommunications device, the driving information derived without data from vehicle sensors; and,
wherein the driving information comprises at least one of a driving score and sensor data captured and processed by the remote mobile telecommunications device during a driving period during which the remote mobile telecommunications device is removably attached to the vehicle being driven by the driver, the data logging system being further arranged to process the driving information logged to a corresponding account to generate a driving score used to determine a risk profile for at least one of the vehicle and driver; and,
wherein the driving score is used to define an insurance premium associated with the account and the data logging system is further arranged to communicate to the remote mobile telecommunication device an insurance offer generated in response to the driving information received from the remote mobile telecommunications device.