Patent Issued for Automated vehicle control and guidance based on real-time blind corner navigational analysis (USPTO 11946748): Allstate Insurance Company

2024 APR 23 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- From Alexandria, Virginia, NewsRx journalists report that a patent by the inventors Chintakindi, Sunil (Menlo Park, CA, US), Gibson, Timothy W. (Barrington, IL, US), Hayes, Howard (Glencoe, IL, US), Krunic, Veljko (Boulder, CO, US), Kumar, Surender (Palatine, IL, US), filed on January 25, 2021, was published online on April 2, 2024.

The patent’s assignee for patent number 11946748 is Allstate Insurance Company (Northbrook, Illinois, United States).

News editors obtained the following quote from the background information supplied by the inventors: “Being aware of hazardous driving conditions can aid in improving the likelihood of a safe driving experience. However, often drivers rely on navigational guidance systems that do not alert drivers of upcoming driving hazards. Although many vehicles include sensing devices to detect changing conditions, those devices may be best suited to evaluate current conditions rather than conditions associated with a road segment that a driver is approaching. Accordingly, it may be advantageous to detect upcoming potential dangers and provide adequate warnings to drivers.”

As a supplement to the background information on this patent, NewsRx correspondents also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent: “The following presents a simplified summary in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the disclosure. The summary is not an extensive overview of the disclosure. It is neither intended to identify key or critical elements of the disclosure nor to delineate the scope of the disclosure. The following summary merely presents some concepts of the disclosure in a simplified form as a prelude to the description below.

“Aspects of the disclosure relate to methods, computer-readable media, systems, and apparatuses for determining a blind corner navigational score based on real-time or near real-time navigational analysis using sensor data, digital image data, and a map database. In some arrangements, the system may be a blind corner navigation system that includes at least one processor; and at least one memory storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the blind corner navigation system to perform blind corner analysis.

“For example, in some arrangements, the system may receive predefined navigational data from a map database system, process the predefined navigational data to detect an upcoming blind corner, receive dynamic navigational data from a digital imaging device, process the dynamic navigational data to determine a blind corner navigational score, the blind corner navigational score indicating a likelihood that the upcoming blind corner is visible from a vantage point of a vehicle, determine whether the blind corner navigational score is above a first threshold, and responsive to a determination that the blind corner navigational score is above a first threshold, transmitting one or more of a warning signal or a vehicle control signal to the vehicle. In at least some arrangements, the digital imaging device may be mounted on the vehicle. The dynamic navigational data may include one or more digital images transmitted from the digital imaging device. In one instance, processing the dynamic navigational data to determine a blind corner navigational score may include performing image analysis on the one or more digital images. For example, the predefined navigational data may include information indicative of a location of a landmark, and performing image analysis may include comprises determining whether the landmark is visible within the one or more digital images.

“In at least some arrangements, transmitting the one or more of a warning signal or a vehicle control signal to the vehicle may include transmitting a first audio signal to the vehicle responsive to determining that the blind corner navigational score is above a second threshold and transmitting a first vehicle control signal to the vehicle responsive to determining that the blind corner navigational score is above a third threshold. The first vehicle control signal may be associated with a vehicle control event that is adjusted based on a response time of the vehicle. The first threshold may be dynamically modified based on weather conditions and/or a condition of a road on which the vehicle is currently located.

“Other features and advantages of the disclosure will be apparent from the additional description provided herein.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. A blind corner navigation system, comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the blind corner navigation system to: receive a preliminary route from a mobile device; receive image data from a digital imager device; receive navigational data from a map database system; process the preliminary route and the navigational data to identify one or more blind corners of the preliminary route; generate a blind corner navigational score for the preliminary route by processing the navigational data received from the map data base system and the image data received from the digital imager device, the blind corner navigational score representing a likelihood that the one or more blind corners are visible from a vantage point of a vehicle; compare the blind corner navigational score to a threshold; based on a result of the comparing and based on driver profile data associated with a driver, generate a warning signal; and transmit the warning signal to the mobile device.

“2. The blind corner navigation system of claim 1, wherein the driver profile data comprises a reaction time of the driver.

“3. The blind corner navigation system of claim 1, wherein the warning signal comprises an audible alarm.

“4. The blind corner navigation system of claim 1, wherein the warning signal comprises a tactile alarm.

“5. The blind corner navigation system of claim 1, wherein the processing the navigational data and the image data to determine the blind corner navigational score for the preliminary route comprises analyzing a level of curvature of each blind corner of the one or more blind corners.

“6. The blind corner navigation system of claim 5, wherein the processing the navigational data and the image data to determine the blind corner navigational score for the preliminary route further comprises assigning a score to each blind corner of the one or more blind corners based on a level of curvature of that blind corner.

“7. The blind corner navigation system of claim 6, wherein the processing the navigational data and the image data to determine the blind corner navigational score for the preliminary route further comprises summing the score assigned to each blind corner of the one or more blind corners.

“8. The blind corner navigation system of claim 1, wherein the threshold is initially determined based on a driving profile of a driver of a vehicle and is dynamically modified based on weather conditions.

“9. The blind corner navigation system of claim 1, wherein the threshold is determined by the driver.

“10. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to: receive a preliminary route from a mobile device; receive navigational data from a map database system; receive image data from a digital imager device; process the preliminary route and the navigational data to identify one or more blind corners of the preliminary route; blind corner navigational score for the preliminary route by processing the navigational data received from the map data base system and the image data received from the digital imager device, the blind corner navigational score representing a likelihood that the one or more blind corners are visible from a vantage point of a vehicle; compare the blind corner navigational score to a threshold; based on a result of the comparing and based on driver profile data associated with a driver, generate a warning signal; and transmit the warning signal to the mobile device.

“11. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 10, wherein the driver profile data comprises a reaction time of the driver.

“12. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 10, wherein the warning signal comprises an audible alarm.

“13. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 10, wherein the warning signal comprises a tactile alarm.

“14. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 10, wherein the threshold is determined by the driver.

“15. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 10, wherein the threshold is initially determined based on a driving profile of a driver of a vehicle and is dynamically modified based on weather conditions.

“16. A method comprising: receiving a preliminary route from a mobile device; receiving navigational data from a map database system; receiving image data from a digital imager device; processing the preliminary route and the navigational data to identify one or more blind corners of the preliminary route; a blind corner navigational score for the preliminary route by processing the navigational data received from the map data base system and the image data received from the digital imager device, the blind corner navigational score representing a likelihood that the one or more blind corners are visible from a vantage point of a vehicle; comparing the blind corner navigational score to a threshold; based on a result of the comparing and based on driver profile data associated with a driver, generating a warning signal; and transmitting the warning signal to the mobile device.

“17. The method of claim 16, wherein the driver profile data comprises a reaction time of the driver.

“18. The method of claim 16, wherein the warning signal comprises an audible alarm.

“19. The method of claim 16, wherein the warning signal comprises a tactile alarm.

“20. The method of claim 16, wherein the threshold is determined by the driver.”

For additional information on this patent, see: Chintakindi, Sunil. Automated vehicle control and guidance based on real-time blind corner navigational analysis. U.S. Patent Number 11946748, filed January 25, 2021, and published online on April 2, 2024. Patent URL (for desktop use only): https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/external.html?q=(11946748)&db=USPAT&type=ids

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