Smartwatch blackbox
Techniques are provided for alerting drivers of hazardous driving conditions using the sensing capabilities of wearable mobile technology. In one aspect, a method for alerting drivers of hazardous driving conditions includes the steps of: collecting real-time data from a driver of a vehicle, wherein the data is collected via a mobile device worn by the driver; determining whether the real-time data indicates that a hazardous driving condition exists; providing feedback to the driver if the real-time data indicates that a hazardous driving condition exists, and continuing to collect data from the driver in real-time if the real-time data indicates that a hazardous driving condition does not exist. The real-time data may also be collected and used to learn characteristics of the driver. These characteristics can be compared with the data being collected to help determine, in real-time, whether the driving behavior is normal and whether a hazardous driving condition exists.
1. A method for alerting drivers of hazardous driving conditions, the method comprising the steps of:
collecting real-time data from a driver of a vehicle, wherein the data is collected via a mobile device worn by the driver;
determining whether the real-time data indicates that a hazardous driving condition exists;
providing feedback to the driver if the real-time data indicates that the hazardous driving condition exists; and
continuing to collect data from the driver in real-time if the real-time data indicates that the hazardous driving condition does not exist,
wherein the method further comprising the steps of:
detecting vibrations in the vehicle using the real-time data;
determining whether the vibrations in the vehicle are above a given frequency and duration;
detecting ambient sound in the vehicle using the real-time data if the vibrations in the vehicle are above the given frequency and duration;
continuing to collect data from the driver in real-time if the vibrations in the vehicle are not above the given frequency and duration;
determining whether the ambient sound in the vehicle is above a given level;
providing the feedback to the driver if the ambient sound in the vehicle is above the given level; and
continuing to collect data from the driver in real-time if the ambient sound in the vehicle is not above the given level.
2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of:
using the real-time data to learn characteristics of the driver.
3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising the step of:
comparing the real-time data to the characteristics of the driver to determine whether the real-time data indicates that the hazardous driving condition exists.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the feedback is provided to the driver via the mobile device worn by the driver.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the feedback is provided as an audible alert message to the driver.
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the audible alert message is provided to the driver via the mobile device worn by the driver.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the feedback is provided as an audible alert message to the driver via an audio system of the vehicle.
8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of:
selecting the feedback provided to the driver based on a variety of predetermined scenarios.
9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the variety of predetermined scenarios are selected via a look-up table format.
10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of:
tracking feedback provided to the driver.
11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the real-time data collected from the user comprises physiological data for the user selected from the group consisting of: skin electrical characteristics, blood oxygen levels, heart rate, pulse, and combinations thereof.
12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the real-time data collected from the user comprises trajectory data for the user selected from the group consisting of: movement, speed, direction, orientation, location, and combinations thereof.
13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the real-time data collected from the user comprises environmental data selected from the group consisting of: air pressure, temperature, wind velocity, and combinations thereof.
14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the mobile device worn by the user comprises at least one contact sensor.
15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the at least one contact sensor is selected from the group consisting of: an electrodermal activity (EDA) sensor, a pulse oximeter sensor, a heart rate sensor, and combinations thereof.
16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the mobile device worn by the user comprises at least one sensor selected from the group consisting of: a gyroscope sensor, a global positioning system (GPS) sensor, and combinations thereof.
17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the mobile device worn by the user comprises at least one sensor selected from the group consisting of: a barometer, an air temperature sensor, a wind speed sensor, and combinations thereof.
18. The method of claim 1 , wherein the mobile device worn by the user comprises a smartwatch.
19. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of:
using data fusion of the real-time data collected from the driver to determine whether the real-time data indicates that the hazardous driving condition exists.