Patent Issued for Technology For Generating Alternate Navigation Directions For Vehicles (USPTO 10,415,985)

2019 SEP 30 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- From Alexandria, Virginia, NewsRx journalists report that a patent by the inventors Chan, Aaron Scott (Bloomington, IL); Sanchez, Kenneth J. (San Francisco, CA), filed on December 10, 2018, was published online on September 30, 2019.

The patent’s assignee for patent number 10,415,985 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: “Generally, vehicle operators may experience certain emotions while operating vehicles. In particular, certain driving conditions or hazards (e.g., road congestion, construction, bad weather, etc.) can cause vehicle operators to become frustrated or similar emotions. Frustration may negatively impact the decision making of vehicle operators, which may put the vehicle operator, additional vehicle occupants, and the occupants of other vehicles in close proximity at risk of an accident, injury, or death.

“In some situations, a group or cluster of vehicle operators may collectively be frustrated as a result of a specific condition. For example, a group of vehicle operators may be traveling behind one or two other vehicles which are traveling under a posted speed limit, where any vehicles traveling behind or approaching the frustrated cluster may find themselves frustrated if they reach the frustrated cluster. Accordingly, there is an opportunity for systems and methods that automatically detect when vehicles may be approaching clusters of frustrated vehicle operators, and automatically facilitate functionalities to direct the vehicles away from the frustrated clusters.”

As a supplement to the background information on this patent, NewsRx correspondents also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent: “In one aspect, a computer-implemented method in an electronic device for dynamically modifying a route is provided. The method may include receiving, from a first electronic device associated with a first vehicle located at a first location, a first set of image data depicting a first operator of the first vehicle; receiving, from a second electronic device associated with a second vehicle located at a second location, a second set of image data depicting a second operator of the second vehicle, the second location within a threshold distance from the first location; analyzing, by a computer processor, the first set of image data and the second set of image data; determining, based on the analyzing, that each of the first operator and the second operator is frustrated; identifying a third vehicle located at a third location behind the first location and the second location; generating, based on the third location, an alternate route to avoid the first location and the second location; and transmitting, via a network connection, the alternate route to a third electronic device associated with the third vehicle.

“In another aspect, a system in an electronic device for dynamically modifying a route is provided. The system may include a memory configured to store non-transitory computer executable instructions, and a processor configured to interface with the memory. The processor may be configured to execute the non-transitory computer executable instructions to cause the processor to receive, from a first electronic device associated with a first vehicle located at a first location, a first set of image data depicting a first operator of the first vehicle; receive, from a second electronic device associated with a second vehicle located at a second location, a second set of image data depicting a second operator of the second vehicle, the second location within a threshold distance from the first location; analyze, by a computer processor, the first set of image data and the second set of image data; determine, based on the analyzing, that each of the first operator and the second operator is frustrated; identify a third vehicle located at a third location behind the first location and the second location; generate, based on the third location, an alternate route to avoid the first location and the second location; and transmit, via a network connection, the alternate route to a third electronic device associated with the third vehicle.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“What is claimed:

“1. A computer-implemented method in an electronic device for dynamically modifying a route, the method comprising: receiving, from a first electronic device associated with a first vehicle, first information indicating (i) a first location of the first vehicle, and (ii) a particular emotional state being experienced by a first operator of the first vehicle; receiving, from a second electronic device associated with a second vehicle, second information indicating (i) a second location of the second vehicle, and (ii) the particular emotional state being experienced by a second operator of the second vehicle; identifying a third vehicle located at a third location behind the first location and the second location; generating, based on the third location, an alternate route to avoid the first location and the second location; and transmitting, via a network connection, the alternate route to a third electronic device associated with the third vehicle.

“2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the first information comprises a first set of image data and the second information comprises a second set of image data, the method further comprising: comparing the first set of image data and the second set of image data to a set of baseline image data indicating a set of emotions; identifying, based on the comparing, characteristics indicative of one or more emotions from the first set of image data and the second set of image data; and determining, based on the characteristics indicative of the one or more emotions, a percentage likelihood that each of the first operator and the second operator is in the particular emotional state.

“3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: generating a log including the first location and the second location.

“4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein identifying the third vehicle located at the third location behind the first location and the second location comprises: calculating a distance between the third location and at least one of the first location and the second location; and determining that the distance is less than a predetermined threshold.

“5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein identifying the third vehicle located at the third location behind the first location and the second location comprises: accessing (i) a first set of movement information associated with operation of the first vehicle, (ii) a second set of movement information associated with operation of the second vehicle, and (iii) a third set of movement information associated with operation of the third vehicle; and determining, based on the first set of movement information, the second set of movement information, and the third set of movement information, that the third vehicle is located at the third location behind the first location and the second location.

“6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: transmitting, to the third electronic device via the network connection, a notification indicating that the third vehicle is approaching vehicle operators having the particular emotional state.

“7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein generating, based on the third location, the alternate route to avoid the first location and the second location comprises: identifying a destination location associated with the third vehicle; determining a set of roadways from the third location to the destination location, the set of roadways excluding the first location and the second location; and generating the alternate route according to the set of roadways.

“8. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, wherein determining the set of roadways from the third location to the destination location comprises: determining the set of roadways based on at least one of: at least one location of at least one additional vehicle operator, a set of traffic conditions, a minimum distance to the final destination, or a minimum time to travel to the final destination.

“9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein generating, based on the third location, the alternate route to avoid the first location and the second location comprises: identifying a preferred alternate route to the final destination of the third vehicle; and generating the alternate route based on the preferred alternate route.

“10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the alternate route to the third electronic device associated with the third vehicle comprises: transmitting, via the network connection, the alternate route to the third electronic device associated with the third vehicle, the alternate route causing the third electronic device to display, via a user interface, the alternate route.

“11. A system for dynamically modifying a route comprising: a memory configured to store non-transitory computer executable instructions; and a processor interfacing with the memory, wherein the processor is configured to execute the non-transitory computer executable instructions to cause the processor to: receive, from a first electronic device associated with a first vehicle, first information indicating (i) a first location of the first vehicle, and (ii) a particular emotional state being experienced by a first operator of the first vehicle, receive, from a second electronic device associated with a second vehicle, second information indicating (i) a second location of the second vehicle, and (ii) the particular emotional state being experienced by a second operator of the second vehicle, identify a third vehicle located at a third location behind the first location and the second location, generate, based on the third location, an alternate route to avoid the first location and the second location, and transmit, via a network connection, the alternate route to a third electronic device associated with the third vehicle.

“12. The system of claim 11, wherein the first information comprises a first set of image data and the second information comprises a second set of image data, and wherein the processor is further configured to: compare the first set of image data and the second set of image data to a set of baseline image data indication a set of emotions; identify, based on the comparing, characteristics indicative of one or more emotions from the first set of image data and the second set of image data; and determine, based on the characteristics indicative of the one or more emotions, a percentage likelihood that each of the first operator and the second operator is in the particular emotional state.

“13. The system of claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to: generate a log including the first location and the second location.

“14. The system of claim 11, wherein to identify the third vehicle located at the third location behind the first location and the second location, the processor is configured to: calculate a distance between the third location and at least one of the first location and the second location, and determine that the distance is less than a predetermined threshold.

“15. The system of claim 11, wherein to identify the third vehicle located at the third location behind the first location and the second location, the processor is configured to: access (i) a first set of movement information associated with operation of the first vehicle, (ii) a second set of movement information associated with operation of the second vehicle, and (iii) a third set of movement information associated with operation of the third vehicle, and determine, based on the first set of movement information, the second set of movement information, and the third set of movement information, that the third vehicle is located at the third location behind the first location and the second location.

“16. The system of claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to: transmit, to the third electronic device via the network connection, a notification indicating that the third vehicle is approaching vehicle operators having the particular emotional state.

“17. The system of claim 11, wherein to generate, based on the third location, the alternate route to avoid the first location and the second location, the processor is configured to: identify a destination location associated with the third vehicle, determine a set of roadways from the third location to the destination location, the set of roadways excluding the first location and the second location, and generate the alternate route according to the set of roadways.

“18. The system of claim 17, wherein to determine the set of roadways from the third location to the destination location, the processor is configured to: determine the set of roadways based on at least one of: at least one location of at least one additional vehicle operator, a set of traffic conditions, a minimum distance to the final destination, or a minimum time to travel to the final destination.

“19. The system of claim 11, wherein to generate, based on the third location, the alternate route to avoid the first location and the second location, the processor is configured to: identify a preferred alternate route to the final destination of the third vehicle, and generate the alternate route based on the preferred alternate route.

“20. The system of claim 11, wherein to transmit the alternate route to the third electronic device associated with the third vehicle, the processor is configured to: transmit, via the network connection, the alternate route to the third electronic device associated with the third vehicle, the alternate route causing the third electronic device to display, via a user interface, the alternate route.”

For additional information on this patent, see: Chan, Aaron Scott; Sanchez, Kenneth J. Technology For Generating Alternate Navigation Directions For Vehicles. U.S. Patent Number 10,415,985, filed December 10, 2018, and published online on September 30, 2019. 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=10,415,985.PN.&OS=PN/10,415,985RS=PN/10,415,985

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