Patent Issued for Autonomous vehicle control systems with collision detection and response capabilities (USPTO 11521271): Allstate Insurance Company

2022 DEC 23 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- A patent by the inventors Gibson, Timothy W. (Barrington, IL, US), Gore, Caleb Brian Slaughter (Buffalo Grove, IL, US), Reif, Colton J. (Winfield, IL, US), Slusar, Mark V. (Chicago, IL, US), filed on February 6, 2017, was published online on December 6, 2022, according to news reporting originating from Alexandria, Virginia, by NewsRx correspondents.

Patent number 11521271 is assigned to Allstate Insurance Company (Northbrook, Illinois, United States).

The following quote was obtained by the news editors from the background information supplied by the inventors: “Aspects of the disclosure relate to vehicle control and guidance systems that may provide automated and/or remote control of one or more autonomous vehicles. In particular, one or more aspects of the disclosure relate to autonomous vehicle control systems with collision detection and response capabilities.

“Autonomous vehicles are becoming increasingly sophisticated as satellite navigation technologies, traffic and pedestrian sensor technologies, and guidance technologies continue to improve. Despite advances in various technologies, however, it may be difficult to control or otherwise direct autonomous vehicles. For example, different autonomous vehicles may have different capabilities, and in some instances, relatively large amounts of information may require decoding and/or other processing to make autonomous vehicles effective and/or useful.”

In addition to the background information obtained for this patent, NewsRx journalists also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent: “Aspects of the disclosure provide effective, efficient, scalable, and convenient technical solutions that address and overcome the technical problems associated with controlling autonomous vehicles, particularly in instances in which autonomous vehicles are controlled to respond to a detected collision.

“In accordance with one or more embodiments, an autonomous vehicle control system having at least one processor, a communication interface, one or more sensors, and memory may receive, from the one or more sensors, sensor data associated with an autonomous vehicle in which the autonomous vehicle control system is installed. The autonomous vehicle may have an automated self-driving capability, and the sensor data associated with the autonomous vehicle may be received in real-time from the one or more sensors during operation of the autonomous vehicle. Subsequently, the autonomous vehicle control system may analyze the sensor data associated with the autonomous vehicle in real-time as the sensor data associated with the autonomous vehicle is received from the one or more sensors during the operation of the autonomous vehicle.

“Based on analyzing the sensor data associated with the autonomous vehicle in real-time, the autonomous vehicle control system may detect an occurrence of a collision involving the autonomous vehicle. In response to detecting the occurrence of the collision involving the autonomous vehicle, the autonomous vehicle control system may generate claim information based on the sensor data associated with the autonomous vehicle and received from the one or more sensors during the operation of the autonomous vehicle. The autonomous vehicle control system may process the claim information based on at least one insurance profile maintained by the autonomous vehicle control system. Then, the autonomous vehicle control system may generate a claim notification based on processing the claim information based on the at least one insurance profile maintained by the autonomous vehicle control system. Subsequently, the autonomous vehicle control system may send, via the communication interface, to a vehicle management computer system, the claim notification generated by the autonomous vehicle control system based on processing the claim information based on the at least one insurance profile maintained by the autonomous vehicle control system.

“In some embodiments, prior to receiving the sensor data associated with the autonomous vehicle, the autonomous vehicle control system may receive, via the communication interface, from the vehicle management computer system, registration information provisioning the autonomous vehicle control system with the at least one insurance profile.

“In some embodiments, prior to receiving the sensor data associated with the autonomous vehicle, the autonomous vehicle control system may receive one or more driving commands. Subsequently, the autonomous vehicle control system may execute the one or more driving commands by controlling the operation of the autonomous vehicle using the automated self-driving capability of the autonomous vehicle.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. An autonomous vehicle control system comprising: at least one processor; a communication interface communicatively coupled to the at least one processor; and memory storing computer-readable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the autonomous vehicle control system to: receive, via the communication interface and from a vehicle management computer system, registration information provisioning the autonomous vehicle control system with at least one insurance profile; receive, from one or more sensors, sensor data associated with an autonomous vehicle in which the autonomous vehicle control system is installed, the autonomous vehicle having an automated self-driving capability, and the sensor data associated with the autonomous vehicle being received in real-time from the one or more sensors during operation of the autonomous vehicle; analyze the sensor data associated with the autonomous vehicle in real-time as the sensor data associated with the autonomous vehicle is received from the one or more sensors during the operation of the autonomous vehicle; based on analyzing the sensor data associated with the autonomous vehicle in real-time, detect an occurrence of a collision involving the autonomous vehicle; based on detecting the occurrence of the collision involving the autonomous vehicle, generate a local collision data request; send, via the communication interface, to one or more other vehicle control systems associated with one or more other vehicles, the local collision data request; receive, via the communication interface, from the one or more other vehicle control systems associated with the one or more other vehicles, local collision data captured by the one or more other vehicle control systems associated with the one or more other vehicles and associated with the collision involving the autonomous vehicle, wherein the local collision data received from the one or more other vehicle control systems associated with the one or more other vehicles comprises one or more pictures captured by the one or more other vehicle control systems associated with the one or more other vehicles and associated with the collision involving the autonomous vehicle; generate claim information based on the sensor data associated with the autonomous vehicle and received from the one or more sensors during the operation of the autonomous vehicle and based on the local collision data received from the one or more other vehicle control systems associated with the one or more other vehicles; process the claim information at a site of the collision based on the at least one insurance profile maintained by the autonomous vehicle control system, wherein processing the claim information based on the at least one insurance profile maintained by the autonomous vehicle control system comprises inserting the claim information into a policy adjustment calculator tool executed by the autonomous vehicle control system; generate a claim notification based on processing the claim information based on the at least one insurance profile maintained by the autonomous vehicle control system; and send, via the communication interface, to the vehicle management computer system, the claim notification generated by the autonomous vehicle control system based on processing the claim information based on the at least one insurance profile maintained by the autonomous vehicle control system; based on detecting the occurrence of the collision involving the autonomous vehicle, generate a collision notification including a request to update the at least one insurance profile; send, via the communication interface and to the vehicle management computer system, the collision notification; and receive, via the communication interface, in response to the request to update the at least one insurance profile, and from the vehicle management computer system, collision response information including an updated insurance profile for at least one of the autonomous vehicle or one or more passengers of the autonomous vehicle.

“2. The autonomous vehicle control system of claim 1, wherein the memory stores additional computer-readable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the autonomous vehicle control system to: prior to receiving the sensor data associated with the autonomous vehicle: receive one or more driving commands; and execute the one or more driving commands by controlling the operation of the autonomous vehicle using the automated self-driving capability of the autonomous vehicle.

“3. The autonomous vehicle control system of claim 1, wherein receiving the sensor data associated with the autonomous vehicle in which the autonomous vehicle control system is installed comprises receiving data indicative of a location of the autonomous vehicle in which the autonomous vehicle control system is installed, a speed of the autonomous vehicle in which the autonomous vehicle control system is installed, an amount of acceleration of the autonomous vehicle in which the autonomous vehicle control system is installed, and a direction of movement of the autonomous vehicle in which the autonomous vehicle control system is installed.

“4. The autonomous vehicle control system of claim 1, wherein the memory stores additional computer-readable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the autonomous vehicle control system to: in response to detecting the occurrence of the collision involving the autonomous vehicle, execute one or more emergency actions to control the operation of the autonomous vehicle.

“5. The autonomous vehicle control system of claim 1, wherein the memory stores additional computer-readable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the autonomous vehicle control system to: based on detecting the occurrence of the collision involving the autonomous vehicle, present a collision prompt; and receive collision input from one or more passengers of the autonomous vehicle in response to the collision prompt.

“6. The autonomous vehicle control system of claim 1, wherein generating the claim information based on the sensor data comprises generating fault detection information comprising an indication of fault for the collision involving the autonomous vehicle, the indication of fault being determined by the autonomous vehicle control system.

“7. The autonomous vehicle control system of claim 1, wherein generating the claim information based on the sensor data comprises generating causality information comprising an indication of causality for the collision involving the autonomous vehicle, the indication of causality being determined by the autonomous vehicle control system.

“8. The autonomous vehicle control system of claim 1, wherein processing the claim information based on the at least one insurance profile maintained by the autonomous vehicle control system comprises verifying coverage for the collision involving the autonomous vehicle based on the at least one insurance profile maintained by the autonomous vehicle control system.

“9. The autonomous vehicle control system of claim 1, wherein processing the claim information based on the at least one insurance profile maintained by the autonomous vehicle control system comprises prompting at least one passenger of the autonomous vehicle to submit the claim information for additional processing by an insurance claim processing computer system.

“10. The autonomous vehicle control system of claim 1, wherein the memory stores additional computer-readable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the autonomous vehicle control system to: receive, via the communication interface, from the vehicle management computer system, one or more collision response commands generated by the vehicle management computer system and directing the autonomous vehicle control system to move the autonomous vehicle in which the autonomous vehicle control system is installed to a specific location; and execute the one or more collision response commands received from the vehicle management computer system by controlling the autonomous vehicle to move the autonomous vehicle to the specific location.

“11. The autonomous vehicle control system of claim 10, wherein controlling the autonomous vehicle to move the autonomous vehicle to the specific location comprises controlling the autonomous vehicle to move the autonomous vehicle to a repair facility.

“12. The autonomous vehicle control system of claim 1, wherein the local collision data received from the one or more other vehicle control systems associated with the one or more other vehicles comprises video captured by the one or more other vehicle control systems associated with the one or more other vehicles and associated with the collision involving the autonomous vehicle.

“13. The autonomous vehicle control system of claim 1, wherein the local collision data received from the one or more other vehicle control systems associated with the one or more other vehicles comprises one or more insurance profiles of one or more other vehicles involved in the collision involving the autonomous vehicle.

“14. The autonomous vehicle control system of claim 1, wherein the local collision data received from the one or more other vehicle control systems associated with the one or more other vehicles comprises one or more insurance profiles of one or more persons involved in the collision involving the autonomous vehicle.”

There are additional claims. Please visit full patent to read further.

URL and more information on this patent, see: Gibson, Timothy W. Autonomous vehicle control systems with collision detection and response capabilities. U.S. Patent Number 11521271, filed February 6, 2017, and published online on December 6, 2022. Patent URL (for desktop use only): https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/external.html?q=(11521271)&db=USPAT&type=ids

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