Methods and apparatus for vehicle operation analysis

1. An apparatus for vehicle operation analysis comprising:

at least one processor; and

memory including machine readable instructions that, when executed, cause the at least one processor to at least:

process image data obtained by a camera showing an environment including a) at least a portion of a vehicle and b) a traffic sign external to and in proximity to the vehicle and wherein processing the image data includes isolating features in the image data to identify the traffic sign in relation to the vehicle based on at least one of a shape, color, or content of the traffic sign;

identify a driver event using a pattern of objects including the traffic sign and the vehicle in the image data, the driver event involving the traffic sign and associated with a driver event rule specifying a reference vehicle operating behavior for the driver event, the reference vehicle operating behavior including observance of the traffic sign;

evaluate compliance with the driver event rule for the driver event by at least:

a) calculating a proximity of the traffic sign to the vehicle based on i) a distance between the vehicle and the traffic sign and ii) an operating state of the vehicle, the distance determined using a geographic location of the vehicle and a geometry between the vehicle and the traffic sign extracted from the image data;

b) comparing the proximity of the traffic sign and the operating state of the vehicle to determine an actual vehicle operating behavior; and

c) generating a score associated with operation of the vehicle by comparing the actual vehicle operating behavior with the reference vehicle operating behavior; and

output the score to quantify an evaluation of the actual vehicle operating behavior.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the apparatus includes a cloud-based server, and wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the at least one processor to exchange driver events among a plurality of mobile devices.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the at least one processor to implement an artificial neural network to process the image data with independent component analysis to identify the traffic sign in the image data.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the at least one processor to implement an artificial neural network to process the image data with cascade learning to identify the traffic sign in the image data.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the traffic sign is a stop sign.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the operating state includes a speed of the vehicle.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the at least one processor to evaluate compliance with the driver event rule using one or more driving metrics including at least one of: a) compliance with stop signs, b) compliance with traffic lights, c) compliance with speed limits, d) turn signal usage, e) cornering g-force, f) lane centering, or g) lead car proximity.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the at least one processor to generate a profile with the score, the score forming part of the profile including an overall score and one or more driving metric scores for at least one vehicle operator.

9. At least one tangible computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions which, when executed, analyze vehicle operation by causing at least one processor to at least:

process image data obtained by a camera showing an environment including a) at least a portion of a vehicle and b) a traffic sign external to and in proximity to the vehicle and wherein processing the image data includes isolating features in the image data to identify the traffic sign in relation to the vehicle based on at least one of a shape, color, or content of the traffic sign;

identify a driver event using a pattern of objects including the traffic sign and the vehicle in the image data, the driver event involving the traffic sign and associated with a driver event rule specifying a reference vehicle operating behavior for the driver event, the reference vehicle operating behavior including observance of the traffic sign;

evaluate compliance with the driver event rule for the driver event by at least:

a) calculating a proximity of the traffic sign to the vehicle based on i) a distance between the vehicle and the traffic sign and ii) an operating state of the vehicle, the distance determined using a geographic location of the vehicle and a geometry between the vehicle and the traffic sign extracted from the image data;

b) comparing the proximity of the traffic sign and the operating state of the vehicle to determine an actual vehicle operating behavior; and

c) generating a score associated with operation of the vehicle by comparing the actual vehicle operating behavior with the reference vehicle operating behavior; and

output the score to quantify an evaluation of the actual vehicle operating behavior.

10. The at least one tangible computer-readable storage medium of claim 9 , wherein the at least one tangible computer-readable storage medium is included in a cloud-based server, and wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the at least one processor to exchange driver events among a plurality of mobile devices.

11. The at least one tangible computer-readable storage medium of claim 9 , wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the at least one processor to implement an artificial neural network to process the image data with independent component analysis to identify the traffic sign in the image data.

12. The at least one tangible computer-readable storage medium of claim 9 , wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the at least one processor to implement an artificial neural network to process the image data with cascade learning to identify the traffic sign in the image data.

13. The at least one tangible computer-readable storage medium of claim 9 , wherein the traffic sign is a stop sign.

14. The at least one tangible computer-readable storage medium of claim 9 , wherein the operating state includes a speed of the vehicle.

15. The at least one tangible computer-readable storage medium of claim 9 , wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the at least one processor to evaluate compliance with the driver event rule using one or more driving metrics including at least one of: a) compliance with stop signs, b) compliance with traffic lights, c) compliance with speed limits, d) turn signal usage, e) cornering g-force, f) lane centering, or g) lead car proximity.

16. The at least one tangible computer-readable storage medium of claim 9 , wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the at least one processor to generate a profile with the score, the score forming part of the profile including an overall score and one or more driving metric scores for at least one vehicle operator.

17. A computer-implemented method of vehicle operation analysis, the method comprising:

processing, by executing an instruction using at least one processor, image data obtained by a camera showing an environment including a) at least a portion of a vehicle and b) a traffic sign external to and in proximity to the vehicle and wherein processing the image data includes isolating features in the image data to identify the traffic sign in relation to the vehicle based on at least one of a shape, color, or content of the traffic sign;

identifying, by executing an instruction using the at least one processor, a driver event using a pattern of objects including the traffic sign and the vehicle in the image data, the driver event involving the traffic sign and associated with a driver event rule specifying a reference vehicle operating behavior for the driver event, the reference vehicle operating behavior including observance of the traffic sign;

evaluating, by executing an instruction using the at least one processor, compliance with the driver event rule for the driver event by at least:

a) calculating a proximity of the traffic sign to the vehicle based on i) a distance between the vehicle and the traffic sign and ii) an operating state of the vehicle, the distance determined using a geographic location of the vehicle and a geometry between the vehicle and the traffic sign extracted from the image data;

b) comparing the proximity of the traffic sign and the operating state of the vehicle to determine an actual vehicle operating behavior; and

c) generating a score associated with operation of the vehicle by comparing the actual vehicle operating behavior with the reference vehicle operating behavior; and

outputting, by executing an instruction using the at least one processor, the score to quantify an evaluation of the actual vehicle operating behavior.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the at least one processor is included in a cloud-based server, and wherein the method further includes exchanging driver events among a plurality of mobile devices.

19. The method of claim 17 , further including implementing an artificial neural network to process the image data with at least one of independent component analysis or cascade learning to identify the traffic sign in the image data.

20. The method of claim 17 , wherein evaluating compliance with the driver event rule further includes evaluating compliance with the driver event rule using one or more driving metrics including at least one of: a) compliance with stop signs, b) compliance with traffic lights, c) compliance with speed limits, d) turn signal usage, e) cornering g-force, f) lane centering, or g) lead car proximity.