Vehicle occupancy verification utilizing occupancy confirmation
View Patent ↗The present invention is a method and system to verify carpool occupancy compliance for access to High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes, High Occupancy or Toll (HOT) lanes, or other vehicle-occupancy contingent rewards. The present invention uses software and hardware devices with radio-frequency transmitter modules to permit “matchmaking” between suitable drivers and riders while using GPS coordinates to confirm passenger proximity to a driver. This driver-rider co-location is performed via push notification and server analysis of driver and rider GPS data. Alternatively, co-location is performed using a combination of GPS data analysis and photographic analysis. In an embodiment, biometric data analysis aids user validation. Occupancy compliance rewards can be communicated directly to an appropriate regulatory body.
1. A method of verifying passenger occupancy within a vehicle, comprising:
establishing communication between a server and one or more mobile devices;
determining a physical location for of each of said one or more mobile devices;
capturing a first unique set of biometric markers comprising any of a facial signature, audio, visual, and/or other biometric data for each passenger within said vehicle through the action of any of said one or more mobile devices;
creating a base pattern for each passenger incorporating said captured first unique set of biometric markers;
creating a candidate pattern for each passenger incorporating a second unique set of biometric markers at a validation location;
creating a probability of distinction identification from said first unique set of biometric markers for each passenger within said vehicle by comparing said base pattern against said candidate pattern;
verifying said one or more mobile devices are co-located within said vehicle where the co-location of the one or more mobile devices places said one or more mobile devices in proximity to one another within said vehicle;
analyzing said probability of distinction identification for each passenger against all passengers to verify distinct passengers within said vehicle and co-location of each passenger within said vehicle; and
said server delivering verification of occupancy communications to said mobile devices for display to one or more users and delivering verification of occupancy communications to one or more third-parties.
2. The method of claim 1 , where the proximity conforms to the value of being within a pre-determined distance of the driver of a motor vehicle where said pre-determined distance is a verification of co-location within a passenger compartment of said vehicle.
3. The method of claim 2 , where the determination of said proximity of said physical locations is made in part through identification through GPS or near field device-to-device communication between any of said mobile devices for the physical location of said one or more mobile devices as being within the passenger compartment of a vehicle.
4. The method of claim 1 , where the delivery of communications from said server to any of said mobile devices provides data communication from said server to a mobile device regarding permissions, rewards, special offers, or other communications from a Toll or other highway management entity.
5. The method of claim 1 where the determination of said proximity of said physical locations is made in part through analysis of a photographic image.
6. The method of claim 1 where communication to said one or more third-parties serves as communication with a road management entity and/or vehicle regulatory body such as a department of motor vehicles, department of transportation, or other identified authority.
7. The method of claim 1 where the one or more mobile devices include any device equipped with a processor and radio frequency (RF) transmitter module.
8. The method of claim 1 , where the set of differing biometric markers for each passenger within said vehicle comprises any of audio, visual, optical, and/or Infrared (IR) biometric data captured by at least one mobile device within said vehicle.
9. A system of verifying vehicle occupancy, comprising:
a server having a data processor in wireless communication with one or more smart devices;
a user interface;
said server operative to determine a physical location of said one or more mobile devices within a vehicle;
a mobile device located within said vehicle capturing a first unique set of biometric markers comprising any of a facial signature, audio, visual, and/or other biometric data for each passenger within said vehicle;
a data processor in said server creating a base pattern for each passenger incorporating said captured first unique set of biometric markers;
said data processor creating a candidate pattern for each passenger incorporating a second unique set of biometric markers at a validation location;
said data processor creating a probability of distinction identification from said first unique set of biometric markers for each passenger by comparing said base pattern against said candidate pattern;
the server operative to verify co-location of said one or more smart devices within a passenger compartment of said vehicle;
said data processor analyzing the probability of distinction identification for each passenger against all passengers to verify distinct passengers within said vehicle and co-location of each passenger within said vehicle; and
said server delivering verification of occupancy communications to a user interface display on any one of said mobile devices for display to one or more users and delivering verification of occupancy communications to one or more third-parties.
10. The system of claim 9 , where proximity conforms to a value of being within a pre-determined distance of the driver of a motor vehicle where said pre-determined distance is a verification of co-location within a passenger compartment of said vehicle.
11. The system of claim 10 , where the determination of said proximity of said physical locations is made in part through identification GPS coordinates or near field device-to-device communication between any of said mobile devices for the physical location of said one or more mobile devices as being within a pre-set physical boundary that corresponds to said vehicle.
12. The system of claim 9 , where the delivery of communications from a system server to any of said mobile devices provides data communication from the system server to a mobile device regarding permissions, rewards, special offers, or other communications from a Toll or other highway management entity.
13. The system of claim 9 , further comprising
a camera operative to deliver digital communications from one or more of said mobile devices to said server; and
the server further determining the vehicle occupancy by analyzing said digital communications.
14. The system of claim 9 , where communication to said third parties serves as communication with a road management entity and/or vehicle regulatory body such as a department of motor vehicles, department of transportation, or other identified authority.
15. The system of claim 9 where the one or more mobile devices include any device equipped with a processor and a radio frequency (RF) transmitter module.
16. The system of claim 9 , where the set of differing biometric markers for each passenger within said vehicle comprises any of audio, visual, optical, and/or Infrared (IR) biometric data captured by at least one mobile device within said vehicle.