Patent Issued for Managing self-driving behavior of autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle based upon actual driving behavior of driver (USPTO 11400945): State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company

2022 AUG 18 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- From Alexandria, Virginia, NewsRx journalists report that a patent by the inventors Fields, Brian M. (Normal, IL, US), Harr, Joseph P. (Bloomington, IL, US), Myers, Jeremy (Normal, IL, US), filed on May 8, 2020, was published online on August 2, 2022.

The patent’s assignee for patent number 11400945 is State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (Bloomington, Illinois, United States).

News editors obtained the following quote from the background information supplied by the inventors: “The present disclosure generally relates to systems and methods for controlling self-driving vehicles, and, more particularly, to systems and methods for measuring the actual driving behaviors of drivers and then managing the self-driving behaviors of self-driving vehicles to, within limits, mimic the measured actual driving behaviors BACKGROUND

“Autonomous vehicles may become more prevalent in the future. However, autonomous vehicles may be typically programmed to operate or drive in real world conditions in a style that is substantially different than that of an individual driver. Thus, the driving style of an autonomous vehicle may be upsetting or uncomfortable to numerous drivers that are used to driving themselves. This may, in turn, lower an average driver’s confidence or interest in riding as a passenger in an autonomous vehicle.”

As a supplement to the background information on this patent, NewsRx correspondents also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent: “The present embodiments may relate to, inter alia, a system and method configured to objectively measure a driver’s actual driving behaviors in a manual driving mode to determine their preferred driving style, and then cause a self-driving vehicle to operate itself, within limits, in accordance with a substantially similar driving style when in a self-driving mode, thereby providing a more familiar and comfortable driving experience for the driver.

“In one aspect, a system may be provided for managing the self-driving behavior of the self-driving vehicle. The system may broadly comprise a communication element configured to receive and transmit signals via a network, a memory element configured to store information, and a processing element configured to perform the following steps or actions. Data may be collected regarding the actual driving behavior of the driver in the manual driving mode, pre-existing data may be accessed regarding the actual driving behavior of the driver in the manual driving mode, and the collected data may be combined. A custom control may be created based upon the combined collected and accessed pre-existing data, and the custom control may be applied to manage the self-driving behavior of the self-driving vehicle in a self-driving mode. Additional data may continue to be collected regarding the actual driving behavior of the driver in the manual driving mode, and the custom control may be adjusted based upon the collected additional data. The system and the steps or actions it performs may include additional, fewer, or alternative components or steps or actions, including those discussed elsewhere herein.

“In another aspect, a computer-implemented method may be provided for managing the self-driving behavior of the self-driving vehicle. The computer-implemented method may broadly comprise the following steps or actions. Data may be collected regarding the actual driving behavior of the driver in the manual driving mode, pre-existing data may be accessed regarding the actual driving behavior of the driver in the manual driving mode, and the collected data and the accessed pre-existing data may be combined. A custom control may be created based upon the combined data, and the custom control may be applied to manage the self-driving behavior of the self-driving vehicle in the self-driving mode. Additional data may continue to be collected regarding the actual driving behavior of the driver in the manual driving mode, and the custom control may be adjusted based upon the collected additional data. The computer-implemented method may include additional, fewer, or alternative steps or actions, including those discussed elsewhere herein.

“In another aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium with an executable program stored thereon may be provided for managing the self-driving behavior of the self-driving vehicle. The program may broadly instruct the processing element of the system to perform the following steps or actions. Data may be collected regarding the actual driving behavior of the driver in the manual driving mode, pre-existing data may be accessed regarding the actual driving behavior of the driver in the manual driving mode, and the collected data and the accessed pre-existing data may be combined. A custom control may be created based upon the combined data, and the custom control may be applied to manage the self-driving behavior of the self-driving vehicle in the self-driving mode. Additional data may continue to be collected regarding the actual driving behavior of the driver in the manual driving mode, and the custom control may be adjusted based upon the collected additional data. The program stored on the non-transitory computer-readable medium may include additional, fewer, or alternative instructions, including those discussed elsewhere herein.

“Each of the aforementioned aspects may further include any one or more of the following additional or alternative features. The actual driving behavior may be acceleration, deceleration, lane-changing, speed of cornering, and speed management. Collecting data may involve using one or more sensors to measure the actual driving behavior. The collected data may include a location and a time at which the measured actual driving behavior occurred. Anomalous data may be deleted from the combined data. The custom control may be a performance threshold for the self-driving behavior. Creating and applying the custom control may include not allowing the custom control to exceed a limit. The limit may be based upon such information as driving conditions, driving circumstances, driving laws, parental preferences, employer preferences, and vehicle owner preferences. The steps or actions may further include collecting driving behavior data of a plurality of drivers driving through a particular area and/or at a particular time, determining a safe operating range for driving through the particular area and/or at the particular time based upon the collected driving behavior data of the plurality of drivers, and basing the limit on the determined safe operating range.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. A system for managing a self-driving behavior of a self-driving vehicle, the system comprising: a communication element configured to receive and transmit signals via a network; a memory element configured to store information; and a processing element electronically coupled to the communication element and the memory element and configured to perform the following: collecting telematics data regarding an actual driving behavior of a driver in a manual driving mode; creating a custom control based upon the collected telematics data, the custom control including not exceeding a limit that is determined by collecting driving behavior data of a plurality of drivers; determining a safe operating range for driving based upon the collected driving behavior data, and basing the limit on the determined safe operating range; and applying the custom control to manage the self-driving behavior of the self-driving vehicle in a self-driving mode.

“2. The system as set forth in claim 1, wherein collecting telematics data involves using one or more sensors to measure the actual driving behavior.

“3. The system as set forth in claim 2, wherein the collected telematics data includes a location and a time at which the measured actual driving behavior occurred.

“4. The system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the custom control is a performance threshold for the self-driving driving behavior.

“5. The system as set forth in claim 1, further including deleting anomalous data from the collected telematics data.

“6. The system as set forth in claim 1, further including: collecting driving behavior data of a plurality of drivers driving through a particular area; determining a safe operating range for driving through the particular area based upon the collected driving behavior data of the plurality of drivers; and basing the limit on the determined safe operating range.

“7. The system as set forth in claim 1, further including: collecting driving behavior data of a plurality of drivers driving through a particular area at a particular time; determining a safe operating range for driving through the particular area at the particular time based upon the collected driving behavior data of the plurality of drivers; and basing the limit on the determined safe operating range.

“8. The system as set forth in claim 1, wherein applying the custom control includes: identifying a change in the actual driving behavior of the driver in the manual driving mode associated with a particular location; and adjusting the custom control to reflect the change in the actual driving behavior of the driver when the self-driving vehicle is operating in the self-driving mode at the particular location.

“9. The system as set forth in claim 1, wherein applying the custom control includes: identifying a change in the actual driving behavior of the driver in the manual driving mode associated with a particular location and a particular time; and adjusting the custom control to reflect the change in the actual driving behavior of the driver when the self-driving vehicle is operating in the self-driving mode at the particular location at the particular time.

“10. The system as set forth in claim 1, further including allowing the driver to transfer the custom control from the self-driving vehicle to a second self-driving vehicle.

“11. The system as set forth in claim 1, further including: creating a plurality of custom controls for a plurality of different drivers of the self-driving vehicle, with each custom control being associated with each different driver; identifying a particular driver using the self-driving vehicle from the plurality of different drivers; and applying a particular custom control associated with the identified particular driver from the plurality of custom controls.

“12. The system as set forth in claim 1, further including adjusting an insurance rate based upon the custom control for the self-driving vehicle.

“13. The system as set forth in claim 12, further including: allowing the driver to manually adjust the custom control; basing the insurance rate on the manually adjusted custom control and an amount of time spent in the self-driving mode.

“14. A computer system for managing a self-driving behavior of a self-driving vehicle, the system comprising: a communication element configured to receive and transmit signals via a network; a memory element configured to store information; and a processing element electronically coupled to the communication element and the memory element and configured to perform the following: collecting telematics data regarding an actual driving behavior of a driver in a manual driving mode, wherein collecting telematics data involves using one or more sensors to measure the actual driving behavior; creating a custom control based upon the collected telematics data, wherein the custom control is not allowed to exceed a limit that is determined by collecting driving behavior data of a plurality of drivers; determining a safe operating range for driving based upon the collected driving behavior data, and basing the limit on the determined safe operating range, and storing the custom control in the memory element; and applying the custom control to manage the self-driving behavior of the self-driving vehicle in a self-driving mode.

“15. A computer system for managing a self-driving behavior of a self-driving vehicle, the computer system comprising: a communication element configured to receive and transmit signals via a network; a memory element configured to store information; and a processing element electronically coupled to the communication element and the memory element and configured to perform the following: collecting telematics data regarding an actual driving behavior of a driver in a manual driving mode; creating a custom control based upon the collected telematics data, wherein the custom control is not allowed to exceed a limit that is determined by collecting driving behavior data or a plurality of drivers; determining a safe operating range for driving based upon the collected driving behavior data, and basing the limit on the determined safe operating range, and storing the custom control in the memory element; and applying the custom control to manage the self-driving behavior of the self-driving vehicle in a self-driving mode.

“16. The computer system of claim 15, wherein the processing element is further configured to base an insurance rate for the self-driving vehicle upon the custom control.”

For additional information on this patent, see: Fields, Brian M. Managing self-driving behavior of autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle based upon actual driving behavior of driver. U.S. Patent Number 11400945, filed May 8, 2020, and published online on August 2, 2022. Patent URL: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=11400945.PN.&OS=PN/11400945RS=PN/11400945

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