IP Library Granted Patent US 10,802,477
Granted Patent B1
US 10,802,477 · App. 15/409,473 · Granted Oct 13, 2020

Virtual testing of autonomous environment control system

Inventors: Blake Konrardy (Bloomington, IL); Scott T. Christensen (Salem, OR); Gregory Hayward (Bloomington, IL); Scott Farris (Bloomington, IL)
Assignee: STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY
G05B23/0245G05B15/02
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 10,802,477
App. No.
15/409,473
Granted
Oct 13, 2020
Kind
B1
Abstract

Methods and systems for assessing, detecting, and responding to malfunctions involving components of autonomous vehicles and/or smart homes are described herein. Autonomous operation features and related components can be assessed using direct or indirect data regarding operation. Such assessment may be performed to determine the robustness of autonomous systems, including the use of virtual assessment of software components within a simulated environment. To this end, a server may retrieve one or more routines associated with autonomous operation. The server may also generate a set of test data associated with test conditions. The server may also execute an emulator that virtually simulates autonomous environment. The test data may be presented to the routines executing in the emulator to generate output data. The server may then analyze the output data to determine a quality metric.

Claims (45)

1. A computer-implemented method for evaluating smart home control software, comprising:

generating, by one or more processors, a set of test data for evaluating an autonomous operation feature of a plurality of autonomous operation features of a smart home operating system, the set of test data including simulated sensor data associated with test conditions;

executing, by the one or more processors, an emulator program using the simulated sensor data of the set of test data, wherein the emulator program is configured to mimic the smart home operating system running on a smart home controller of a smart home;

recording, in the memory, output generated by the emulator program in response to the simulated sensor data, wherein the output is associated with the simulated sensor data; and

generating, by the one or more processors, a quality metric for the autonomous operation feature based upon the recorded output generated in response to the simulated sensor data, wherein the quality metric indicates one or more risk levels associated with use of the autonomous operation feature of the plurality of autonomous operation features.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the simulated sensor data comprises one or more sequences of simulated sensor signals associated with one or more time durations of simulated smart home operation.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2 , wherein the emulator operates at a speed that is faster than a real-time speed at which the smart home operating system operates.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein generating the set of test data includes:

receiving, via a user interface, a selection of one or more indicators of the test conditions, and

retrieving, from the memory, the simulated sensor data to form the set of test data based upon the one or more indicators of the test conditions.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein:

the set of test data further includes simulated control data from one or more additional autonomous operation features;

the simulated control data is associated with the simulated sensor data; and

the simulated control data are used by the emulator program to mimic the smart home operating system.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the simulated sensor data.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein generating the quality metric includes:

comparing, by one or more processors, the recorded output against baseline output values associated with the set of test data;

determining, by one or more processors, one or more measures of differences between the recorded output and the baseline output values; and

determining, by one or more processors, the quality metric based upon the determined one or more measure of differences.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 7 , wherein the baseline output values are associated with another version of smart home control software for the autonomous operation feature.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 7 , wherein the determined differences include at least one indication of an improvement of the recorded output over the baseline output values.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the set of test data includes a plurality of subsets of test data, each subset associated with a combination of environmental conditions to be simulated for evaluation of the autonomous operation feature.

11. A computer system configured to evaluate smart home control software, comprising:

one or more processors; and

a non-transitory program memory coupled to the one or more processors and storing executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computer system to:

generate a set of test data for evaluating an autonomous operation feature of a plurality of autonomous operation features of a smart home operating system, the set of test data including simulated sensor data associated with test conditions;

execute an emulator program using the simulated sensor data of the set of test data, wherein the emulator program is configured to mimic the smart home operating system running on a smart home controller of a smart home;

record output generated by the emulator program in response to the simulated sensor data, wherein the output is associated with the simulated sensor data; and

generate a quality metric for the autonomous operation feature based upon the recorded output generated in response to the simulated sensor data, wherein the quality metric indicates one or more risk levels associated with use of the autonomous operation feature of the plurality of autonomous operation features.

12. The computer system of claim 11 , wherein the simulated sensor data comprises one or more sequences of simulated sensor signals associated with one or more time durations of simulated smart home operation.

13. The computer system of claim 12 , wherein the emulator operates at a speed that is faster than a real-time speed at which the smart home operating system operates.

14. The computer system of claim 11 , wherein to generate the set of test date, the instructions, when executed, further cause the computer system to:

receive, via a user interface, a selection of one or more indicators of the test conditions, and

retrieve, from the memory, the simulated sensor data to form the set of test data based upon the one or more indicators of the test conditions.

15. The computer system of claim 11 , wherein to generate the quality metric, the instructions, when executed, further cause the computer system to:

compare the recorded output against baseline output values associated with the set of test data;

determine one or more measures of differences between the recorded output and the baseline output values; and

determine the quality metric based upon the determined one or more measure of differences.

16. The computer system of claim 15 , wherein the baseline output values are associated with another version of smart home control software for the autonomous operation feature.

17. The computer system of claim 15 , wherein the determined differences include at least one indication of an improvement of the recorded output over the baseline output values.

18. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing processor executable instructions, that when executed cause one or more processors to:

generate a set of test data for evaluating an autonomous operation feature of a plurality of autonomous operation features of a smart home operating system, the set of test data including simulated sensor data associated with test conditions;

execute an emulator program using the simulated sensor data of the set of test data, wherein the emulator program is configured to mimic the smart home operating system running on a smart home controller of a smart home;

record output generated by the emulator program in response to the simulated sensor data, wherein the output is associated with the simulated sensor data; and

generate a quality metric for the autonomous operation feature based upon the recorded output generated in response to the simulated sensor data, wherein the quality metric indicates one or more risk levels associated with use of the autonomous operation feature of the plurality of autonomous operation features.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jan 24, 2017
From: KONRARDY, BLAKE; CHRISTENSEN, SCOTT T.; HAYWARD, GREGORY; FARRIS, SCOTT
To: STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY
Reel/Frame 041471/0673 →
Continuity (35)
Provisional Application 62434359 · Dec 14, 2016
Provisional Application 62434355 · Dec 14, 2016
Provisional Application 62434361 · Dec 14, 2016
Provisional Application 62434370 · Dec 14, 2016
Provisional Application 62434368 · Dec 14, 2016
Provisional Application 62434365 · Dec 14, 2016
Provisional Application 62430215 · Dec 5, 2016
Provisional Application 62428843 · Dec 1, 2016
Provisional Application 62424078 · Nov 18, 2016
Provisional Application 62424093 · Nov 18, 2016
Provisional Application 62419017 · Nov 8, 2016
Provisional Application 62418999 · Nov 8, 2016
Provisional Application 62419009 · Nov 8, 2016
Provisional Application 62418988 · Nov 8, 2016
Provisional Application 62419023 · Nov 8, 2016
Provisional Application 62419002 · Nov 8, 2016
Provisional Application 62415672 · Nov 1, 2016
Provisional Application 62415668 · Nov 1, 2016
Provisional Application 62415678 · Nov 1, 2016
Provisional Application 62415673 · Nov 1, 2016
Provisional Application 62406605 · Oct 11, 2016
Provisional Application 62406600 · Oct 11, 2016
Provisional Application 62406595 · Oct 11, 2016
Provisional Application 62406611 · Oct 11, 2016
Provisional Application 62381848 · Aug 31, 2016
Provisional Application 62380686 · Aug 29, 2016
Provisional Application 62376044 · Aug 17, 2016
Provisional Application 62373084 · Aug 10, 2016
Provisional Application 62351559 · Jun 17, 2016
Provisional Application 62349884 · Jun 14, 2016
Provisional Application 62312109 · Mar 23, 2016
Provisional Application 62303500 · Mar 4, 2016
Provisional Application 62302990 · Mar 3, 2016
Provisional Application 62287659 · Jan 27, 2016
Provisional Application 62286017 · Jan 22, 2016
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