Researchers Submit Patent Application, “Risk Management System With Internet Of Things”, for Approval (USPTO 20240119839): Allstate Insurance Company

2024 MAY 01 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- From Washington, D.C., NewsRx journalists report that a patent application by the inventors Dahlman, Jeraldine (Evanston, IL, US); Farooqui, Sohail (Round Lake Beach, IL, US); Zurlo, Enriqueta (Park Ridge, IL, US), filed on October 12, 2023, was made available online on April 11, 2024.

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

News editors obtained the following quote from the background information supplied by the inventors: “Aspects of the disclosure generally relate to the internet of things (IoT) and the information acquired and stored within the IoT, such as: security and surveillance; building management; vehicle, asset, person, and pet monitoring and controlling; agriculture automation; energy consumption; machine-to-machine (M2M) and wireless sensor network; everyday things get connected for smarter tomorrow; telemedicine and healthcare; embedded mobile; and smart homes and cities.

“Aspects of this disclosure also generally relate to autonomous entities. Autonomous entities may include, but not be limited to: autonomous vehicles, drones for surveillance and delivery of goods, and mail and delivery drones. Autonomous entities have various sensors to know what is around the autonomous entity to safely navigate, mostly on a local-street level and may be proprietary and vendor-driven.

“Over several technologies, the IoT includes data from physical devices connecting to the internet to achieve a purpose. How can this data and the data from the autonomous entities be utilized to help understand risk and mitigate risk, specifically with autonomous entities? What happens when these autonomous entities do not communicate properly? This lack of communication or miscommunication may cause, for example, vehicle accidents, traffic jams, and missed opportunities for collaboration and increased efficiencies. Additionally, who bears the responsibility and liability in these instances and what risk is inherent in using autonomous systems? Additionally, a degree of public acceptance and marketing strengths of new technologies will influence the successful prevalence of autonomous entities.

“There is a need for a risk management system that integrates the information and data from a variety of sensors feeding into the IoT, such as, for example, from autonomous vehicles, drones, sensors and infrastructure, and smart homes and buildings. There is a further need for the risk management system to process and analyze the information using artificial intelligence in real-time or near real-time to determine patterns with cross-device or cross-industry information. There is a further need for the risk management system to send alerts and messages to relevant entities based on these risks.”

As a supplement to the background information on this patent application, NewsRx correspondents also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent application: “Aspects of this disclosure overcome problems and limitations of the prior art by providing systems and methods for risk management that includes a protocol-agnostic data aggregator of sensor data across a diverse set of sensor-enabled products across many manufacturers within the internet of things (IoT) for autonomous entities.

“Various approaches to risk management are presented. In accordance with aspects of this disclosure, a risk management system may include a plurality of internet of things (IoT)-capable sensors connected to an IoT system, a plurality of autonomous entity sensors connected to the risk management system, and an IoT integrated logic engine connected to the IoT system that includes a processor that provides a protocol-agnostic data aggregator of the data from the plurality of IoT-capable sensors connected to the IoT system. The plurality of IoT-capable sensors may be configured to record data from a plurality of sensor-enabled devices within the IoT system. The plurality of autonomous entity sensors may be configured to record data from a plurality of autonomous entity devices. The autonomous entity devices may include one or more of the following: one or more autonomous vehicles and one or more drones. The processor and a memory unit storing computer-executable instructions, which when executed by the processor, cause the processor to: receive and aggregate data from the plurality of IoT-capable sensors from the plurality of sensor-enabled devices; receive and aggregate data from the plurality of autonomous entity sensors from the autonomous entity devices; process and analyze in real-time the data from the plurality of IoT-capable sensors and the autonomous entity sensors; identify novel patterns and pre-defined data patterns in the data from the plurality of IoT-capable sensors and the autonomous entity sensors; determine that a risk is occurring or imminent based on the novel patterns and pre-defined data patterns from the plurality of IoT-capable sensors and the autonomous entity sensors; send real-time notifications to a set of subscribers of the risk management system about the risk that is occurring or imminent; and provide inter-device communications to provide real-time warnings between one or more of the plurality of sensor-enabled devices and the autonomous entity devices.

“In accordance with other aspects of this disclosure, one or more non-transitory computer readable media storing computer readable instructions that, when executed, cause an apparatus to: (a) receive and aggregate data, by an internet of things (IoT) integrated logic engine connected to an IoT system, from a plurality of IoT-capable sensors from a plurality of sensor-enabled devices, the plurality of IoT-capable sensors connected to the IoT system and configured to record data from the plurality of sensor-enabled devices within the IoT system, wherein the IoT system includes a processor that provides a protocol-agnostic data aggregator of the data from the plurality of IoT-capable sensors connected to the IoT system; (b) receive and aggregate data, by the IoT integrated logic engine, from a plurality of autonomous entity sensors from one or more autonomous entity devices, the plurality of autonomous entity sensors connected to the IoT integrated logic engine and configured to record data from the plurality of autonomous entity devices, wherein the autonomous entity devices include one or more of the following: one or more autonomous vehicles and one or more drones; © process and analyze in real-time the data, by the IoT integrated logic engine, from the plurality of IoT-capable sensors and the autonomous entity sensors; (d) identify novel patterns and pre-defined data patterns in the data, by the IoT integrated logic engine, from the plurality of IoT-capable sensors and the autonomous entity sensors; (e) determine, by the IoT integrated logic engine, that a risk is occurring or imminent based on the novel patterns and pre-defined data patterns from the plurality of IoT-capable sensors and the autonomous entity sensors; (f) send real-time notifications, by the IoT integrated logic engine, to a set of subscribers about the risk that is occurring or imminent; and (g) provide inter-device communications, by the IoT integrated logic engine, to provide real-time warnings between the plurality of IoT-capable sensors and the autonomous entity sensors.

“In accordance with another aspect of this disclosure, a risk management system may include a plurality of internet of things (IoT)-capable sensors connected to an IoT system, a plurality of autonomous entity sensors connected to the risk management system, and an IoT integrated logic engine connected to the IoT system that includes a processor that provides a protocol-agnostic data aggregator of the data from the plurality of IoT-capable sensors connected to the IoT system. The plurality of IoT-capable sensors may be configured to record data from a plurality of sensor-enabled devices within the IoT system. The plurality of autonomous entity sensors may be configured to record data from a plurality of autonomous entity devices. The autonomous entity devices may include one or more of the following: one or more autonomous vehicles and one or more drones. The processor and a memory unit storing computer-executable instructions, which when executed by the processor, may cause the processor to: receive and aggregate data from the plurality of IoT-capable sensors from the plurality of sensor-enabled devices; receive and aggregate data from the plurality of autonomous entity sensors from the autonomous entity devices; process and analyze in real-time the data from the plurality of IoT-capable sensors and the autonomous entity sensors; identify novel patterns and pre-defined data patterns in the data from the plurality of IoT-capable sensors and the autonomous entity sensors; determine that a risk is occurring or imminent based on the novel patterns and pre-defined data patterns from the plurality of IoT-capable sensors and the autonomous entity sensors; utilize a scoring algorithm for valuing new data from the plurality of IoT-capable sensors and the plurality of autonomous entity sensors; determine a potential impact to the risk based on the new data and the scoring algorithm; send real-time notifications to a set of subscribers of the risk management system about the risk that is occurring or imminent; and provide inter-device communications to provide real-time warnings between one or more of the plurality of sensor-enabled devices and the autonomous entity devices, wherein the real-time warnings include information from nearby sensor-enabled devices based upon location, speed, direction, and mapping, and further wherein the real-time warnings includes one or more of the following: inter-device proximity alerts, inter-device collision course alerts, inter-device dangerous conditions alerts.

“The details of these and other embodiments of this disclosure are set forth in the accompanying drawings and description below. Other features and advantages of aspects of this disclosure will be apparent from the description and drawings.

“The reader is advised that the attached drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale.

“It will be apparent to one skilled in the art after review of the entirety disclosed that the steps illustrated in the figures listed above may be performed in other than the recited order, and that one or more steps illustrated in these figures may be optional.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. A risk management system, the system comprising: a plurality of Internet of things (IoT)-capable sensors, the plurality of IoT-capable sensors configured to record data from a plurality of sensor-enabled devices; a plurality of autonomous entity sensors connected to the risk management system, the plurality of autonomous entity sensors configured to record data associated with a plurality of autonomous entity devices; an IoT integrated logic engine that includes a protocol-agnostic data aggregator of the data from the plurality of IoT-capable sensors; and the IoT integrated logic engine configured to: receive and aggregate data from the plurality of IoT-capable sensors; receive and aggregate data from the plurality of autonomous entity sensors; continuously process and analyze the data from the plurality of IoT-capable sensors and the autonomous entity sensors; identify novel patterns and pre-defined data patterns in the data from the plurality of IoT-capable sensors and the autonomous entity sensors; and evaluate risk based on the novel patterns and pre-defined data patterns from the plurality of IoT-capable sensors and the autonomous entity sensors.

“2. The risk management system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of sensor-enabled devices includes one or more sensors and infrastructure or one or more smart homes and smart buildings.

“3. The risk management system of claim 1, wherein the IoT integrated logic engine uses artificial intelligence algorithms to process and analyze the data from the plurality of IoT-capable sensors.

“4. The risk management system of claim 1, further including the computer-executable instruction of using a scoring algorithm for valuing new data patterns from the plurality of IoT-capable sensors.

“5. The risk management system of claim 4, further including the computer-executable instruction to determine a potential impact to the risk based on the new data patterns and the scoring algorithm.

“6. The risk management system of claim 5, further including the computer-executable instruction to add the new data pattern to a library of known data patterns.

“7. The risk management system of claim 1, further including the computer-executable instruction to: filter each risk that is occurring or imminent per interests of a given subscriber according to a risk assessment profile for the given subscriber; and send notifications to a set of subscribers of the risk management system about the risk that is occurring or imminent based on the filtering.

“8. The risk management system of claim 1, further including the computer-executable instruction to send notifications to a set of subscribers of the risk management system about the risk that is occurring or imminent, wherein the set of subscribers includes one or more of the following: government agencies, retail entities, home owners, and insurance companies.

“9. The risk management system of claim 1, further including the computer-executable instruction to provide inter-device communications to provide warnings between one or more of the plurality of sensor-enabled devices and the autonomous entity devices, wherein the warnings include information from nearby sensor-enabled devices based upon location, speed, direction, and mapping.

“10. The risk management system of claim 1, provide inter-device communications to provide warnings between one or more of the plurality of sensor-enabled devices and the autonomous entity devices, wherein the warnings include one or more of the following: inter-device proximity alerts, inter-device collision course alerts, and inter-device dangerous conditions alerts.

“11. One or more non-transitory computer readable media storing computer readable instructions that, when executed, cause an apparatus to: (a) receive and aggregate data, by an internet of things (IoT) integrated logic engine, from a plurality of IoT-capable sensors from a plurality of sensor-enabled devices, the plurality of IoT-capable sensors and configured to record data from the plurality of sensor-enabled devices, wherein aggregation of the data from the plurality of IoT-capable sensors is protocol-agnostic; (b) receive and aggregate data, by the IoT integrated logic engine, from a plurality of autonomous entity sensors from one or more autonomous entity devices, the plurality of autonomous entity sensors connected to the IoT integrated logic engine and configured to record data from the one or more autonomous entity devices; © process and analyze the data, by the IoT integrated logic engine, from the plurality of IoT-capable sensors and the autonomous entity sensors; (d) identify novel patterns and pre-defined data patterns in the data, by the IoT integrated logic engine, from the plurality of IoT-capable sensors and the autonomous entity sensors; and (e) determine, by the IoT integrated logic engine, that a risk is occurring or imminent based on the identified novel patterns and pre-defined data patterns.

“12. The one or more non-transitory computer readable media storing computer readable instructions of claim 11, wherein the plurality of sensor-enabled devices includes one or more sensors and infrastructure or one or more smart homes and smart buildings.

“13. The one or more non-transitory computer readable media storing computer readable instructions of claim 11, further including the instruction that, when executed, cause the apparatus to: (f) send notifications, by the IoT integrated logic engine, to a set of subscribers about the risk that is occurring or imminent; and (g) develop a risk assessment profile of risks as to what a given subscriber would be most interested in.

“14. The one or more non-transitory computer readable media storing computer readable instructions of claim 11, further including the instruction that, when executed, cause the apparatus to send notifications, by the IoT integrated logic engine, to a set of subscribers about the risk that is occurring or imminent; wherein the set of subscribers includes one or more of the following: government agencies, retail entities, home owners, and insurance companies.

“15. The one or more non-transitory computer readable media storing computer readable instructions of claim 11, further including the instruction that, when executed, cause the apparatus to: (f) send notifications, by the IoT integrated logic engine, to a set of subscribers about the risk that is occurring or imminent; and (g) provide inter-device communications, by the IoT integrated logic engine, to provide warnings between the plurality of IoT-capable sensors and the autonomous entity sensors, wherein the warnings include information from nearby sensor-enabled devices based upon location, speed, direction, and mapping.

“16. The one or more non-transitory computer readable media storing computer readable instructions of claim 11, further including the instruction that, when executed, cause the apparatus to: (f) send notifications, by the IoT integrated logic engine, to a set of subscribers about the risk that is occurring or imminent; and (g) provide inter-device communications, by the IoT integrated logic engine, to provide warnings between the plurality of IoT-capable sensors and the autonomous entity sensors, wherein the warnings include one or more of the following: inter-device proximity alerts, inter-device collision course alerts, and inter-device dangerous conditions alerts.

“17. A risk management system, the system comprising: a plurality of Internet of things (IoT)-capable sensors, the plurality of IoT-capable sensors configured to record data from a plurality of sensor-enabled devices; a plurality of autonomous entity sensors connected to the risk management system, the plurality of autonomous entity sensors configured to record data from a plurality of autonomous entity devices; an IoT integrated logic engine that includes a processor that provides a protocol-agnostic data aggregator of the data from the plurality of IoT-capable sensors; and the processor and a non-transitory memory unit storing computer-executable instructions, which when executed by the processor, cause the processor to: receive and aggregate data from the plurality of IoT-capable sensors from the plurality of sensor-enabled devices; receive and aggregate data from the plurality of autonomous entity sensors from the autonomous entity devices; process and analyze the data from the plurality of IoT-capable sensors and the autonomous entity sensors; identify novel patterns and pre-defined data patterns in the data from the plurality of IoT-capable sensors and the autonomous entity sensors; determine that a risk is occurring or imminent based on the novel patterns and pre-defined data patterns from the plurality of IoT-capable sensors and the autonomous entity sensors; utilize a scoring algorithm for valuing new data from the plurality of IoT-capable sensors and the plurality of autonomous entity sensors; determine a potential impact to the risk based on the new data and the scoring algorithm; and send notifications to a set of subscribers of the risk management system about the risk that is occurring or imminent.

“18. The risk management system of claim 17, wherein the plurality of sensor-enabled devices includes one or more sensors and infrastructure or one or more smart homes and smart buildings.

“19. The risk management system of claim 17, further including the computer-executable instruction to develop a risk assessment profile of risks as to what a given subscriber would be most interested in.

“20. The risk management system of claim 17, wherein the set of subscribers includes one or more of the following: government agencies, retail entities, home owners, and insurance companies.”

For additional information on this patent application, see: Dahlman, Jeraldine; Farooqui, Sohail; Zurlo, Enriqueta. Risk Management System With Internet Of Things. U.S. Patent Application Number 20240119839, filed October 12, 2023 and posted April 11, 2024. Patent URL (for desktop use only): https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/external.html?q=(20240119839)&db=US-PGPUB&type=ids

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