Patent Application Titled “Systems And Methods To Quantify And Differentiate Individual Insurance Risk Actual Driving Behavior And Driving Environment” Published Online (USPTO 20220084131): Patent Application

2022 APR 04 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- According to news reporting originating from Washington, D.C., by NewsRx journalists, a patent application by the inventors Binion, Todd (Bloomington, IL, US); Rhoades, Andrea Lee (Kenney, IL, US), filed on November 23, 2021, was made available online on March 17, 2022.

No assignee for this patent application has been made.

Reporters obtained the following quote from the background information supplied by the inventors: “Insurance risk is generally not quantified or differentiated for an individual’s risk based on actual, real-time, driving behavior or a real-time driving environment.

“Generating insurance risk related data based on a real-time driving behavior and/or a real-time driving environment is desirable. Generating a warning or an advisory to notify the vehicle driver of her driving behavior is desirable. Furthermore, tracking the driving behavior of vehicle drivers and associated environment is desirable to perform insurance risk assessment.”

In addition to obtaining background information on this patent application, NewsRx editors also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent application: “A computer implemented method for generating data representative of an individual’s insurance risk based on driving information representative of actual operation of a vehicle may include receiving, at a processor of a computing device, in response to the processor executing a personal electronic device module, personal electronic device sensor data, wherein the personal electronic device sensor data is representative of the individual’s interaction with a personal electronic device. The method may also include receiving, at a processor of a computing device, in response to the processor executing a vehicle sensor module, vehicle sensor data, wherein the vehicle sensor data is representative of actual operation of a vehicle. The method may further include generating, using a processor of a computing device, in response to the processor executing an individual insurance risk module, individual insurance risk data based on the personal electronic device sensor data and the vehicle sensor data, wherein the individual insurance risk data is representative of an individual’s insurance risk.

“In another embodiment, computer system for generating data representative of an individual’s insurance risk based on driving information representative of actual operation of a vehicle may include a personal electronic device module, stored on a memory of a computing device, that, when executed by a processor of the computing device, causes the processor to receive personal electronic device sensor data, wherein the personal electronic device sensor data is representative of the individual’s interaction with a personal electronic device. The computer system may also include a vehicle sensor module, stored on a memory of a computing device, that, when executed by a processor of the computing device, causes the processor to receive vehicle sensor data, wherein the vehicle sensor data is representative of actual operation of a vehicle. The computer system may further include an individual insurance risk module, stored on a memory of a computing device, that, when executed by a processor of the computing device, causes the processor to generate individual insurance risk data based on the personal electronic device sensor data and the vehicle sensor data, wherein the individual insurance risk data is representative of an individual’s insurance risk.

“In a further embodiment, tangible, computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor of a computer system, cause the processor to generate data representative of an individual’s insurance risk based on driving information representative of actual operation of a vehicle may include a personal electronic device module that, when executed by a processor of the computing device, causes the processor to receive personal electronic device sensor data, wherein the personal electronic device sensor data is representative of the individual’s interaction with a personal electronic device. The computer-readable medium may also include a vehicle sensor module that, when executed by a processor of the computing device, causes the processor to receive vehicle sensor data, wherein the vehicle sensor data is representative of actual operation of a vehicle. The computer-readable medium may further include an individual insurance risk module that, when executed by a processor of the computing device, causes the processor to generate individual insurance risk data based on the personal electronic device sensor data and the vehicle sensor data, wherein the individual insurance risk data is representative of an individual’s insurance risk.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. A computer implemented method, comprising: receiving, at a processor of a computing device from a user of a client device via a user interface of the client device, a selection of what vehicle sensor data to collect, and a selection of what driver environment data to collect; receiving, at the processor of the computing device, vehicle sensor data from at least one vehicle sensor, based on the selection, by the user via the user interface display of the client device, of what vehicle sensor data to collect, wherein the vehicle sensor data is representative of actual operation of a vehicle; receiving, at the processor of the computing device, driver environment data from at least one sensor, representative of at least one of: a position of a driver-side seat, a position of a passenger-side seat, or a position of a steering wheel; generating, using the processor of the computing device, at least one of: driver warning data or driver advisory data based on the received driver environment data and the received vehicle sensor data; and transmitting, using the processor of the computing device, at least one of: the driver warning data or the driver advisory data, to the processor of the client device to be displayed to the driver via the user interface of the client device.

“2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: presenting, on a display of a computing device, an insurance risk display based on individual insurance risk data, wherein the insurance risk display is representative of an insurance risk of an individual.

“3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, at a processor of a computing device, driver input data, wherein the driver input data is representative of interaction of an individual with at least one of: a personal electronic device or the vehicle.

“4. The method of claim 2, further comprising: receiving, at a processor of a computing device from the client device, driver input data, wherein the individual insurance risk data is further based on the driver input data.

“5. The method of claim 1, wherein the environment sensor data is representative of an environment within which an individual is operating the vehicle.

“6. The method of claim 2, wherein the individual insurance risk data is further based on the environment sensor data.

“7. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, at a processor of a computing device from the client device, personal electronic device sensor data from at least one sensor of the client device including: an internal accelerometer sensor, a GPS sensor, a gyroscope sensor, a compass sensor, or a navigation system sensor.

“8. The method of claim 1, wherein the vehicle sensor data is received from at least one of: an internal vehicle computer, an external vehicle computer, a vehicle accelerometer, a radar sensor, a camera, a video device, a collision avoidance system, an active vehicle safety system, or a passive vehicle safety system.

“9. The method of claim 3, wherein the driver input data is representative of at least one of: driver physiology indicators and sensors, driver control, driver behavior, driver distraction or attention, driver cognitive load, driver eye movement/condition, mental state of a driver, driver reaction time, driver vision across multiple environments, driver medications, or driver sensory limitations and expertise.

“10. The method of claim 5, wherein the environment sensor data is representative of at least one of: vehicle location, time of day, temperature, road surface conditions, noise levels inside a vehicle cabin, traffic density, traffic density, dangerous intersections, curves and roads, Vehicle-to-Vehicle and Vehicle-to-Infrastructure information, or electronic toll booths.

“11. The method of claim 3, wherein the driver input data is representative of at least one of: driver and driving environment, following and closing distance, driver control, driver response to safety warning systems, driver overriding of safety systems, crash and emergency notification systems, or injury estimation systems.

“12. A computer system for determining a real-time operating environment of a vehicle driver, the system comprising: at least one computing device having a processor and a memory storing computer-readable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to: receive vehicle sensor data from at least one vehicle sensor, based on a selection, by a user via a user interface display of a client device, of what vehicle sensor data to collect, wherein the vehicle sensor data is representative of actual operation of a vehicle; receive driver environment data from at least one sensor, representative of at least one of: a position of a driver-side seat, a position of a passenger-side seat, or a position of a steering wheel; generate at least one of: driver warning data or driver advisory data based on the received driver environment data and the received vehicle sensor data; and transmit at least one of: the driver warning data or the driver advisory data, to the processor of the client device to be displayed to the driver via the user interface of the client device.

“13. The computer system of claim 12, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the processor to: generate an insurance risk display based on individual insurance risk data, wherein the insurance risk display is representative of an insurance risk of an individual.

“14. The computer system of claim 12, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the processor to: receive driver input data, wherein the driver input data is representative of interaction of an individual with at least one of: a personal electronic device or the vehicle.

“15. The computer system of claim 12, wherein the environment sensor data is representative of an environment within which an individual is operating the vehicle.

“16. A non-transitory, computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor of a computer system, cause the processor to: receive vehicle sensor data from at least one vehicle sensor, based on the selection, by a user via a user interface display of a client device, of what vehicle sensor data to collect, wherein the vehicle sensor data is representative of actual operation of the vehicle; receive driver environment data from at least one sensor, representative of at least one of: a position of a driver-side seat, a position of a passenger-side seat, or a position of a steering wheel; generate at least one of: driver warning data or driver advisory data based on the received driver environment data and the received vehicle sensor data; and transmit at least one of: the driver warning data or the driver advisory data, to the processor of the client device, to be displayed to the driver via the user interface of the client device.

“17. The computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the processor to: generate an insurance risk display based on individual insurance risk data, wherein the insurance risk display is representative of an insurance risk of an individual.

“18. The computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the processor to: receive driver input data, wherein the driver input data is representative of interaction of an individual with at least one of: a personal electronic device or the vehicle.

“19. The computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the environment sensor data is representative of an environment within which an individual is operating the vehicle.

“20. The computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the processor to: receive driver input data, wherein the driver input data is representative of at least one of: driver physiology indicators and sensors, driver control, driver behavior, driver distraction or attention, driver cognitive load, driver eye movement/condition, mental state of a driver, driver reaction time, driver vision across multiple environments, driver medications, or driver sensory limitations and expertise.”

For more information, see this patent application: Binion, Todd; Rhoades, Andrea Lee. Systems And Methods To Quantify And Differentiate Individual Insurance Risk Actual Driving Behavior And Driving Environment. Filed November 23, 2021 and posted March 17, 2022. Patent URL: https://appft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PG01&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=%2220220084131%22.PGNR.&OS=DN/20220084131&RS=DN/20220084131

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