Researchers Submit Patent Application, “Systems And Methods For Building, Utilizing, And/Or Maintaining An Autonomous Vehicle-Related Event Distributed Ledger Or Blockchain”, for Approval (USPTO 20210042842)

2021 FEB 25 (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 Floyd, Matthew L. (Alpharetta, GA); Yu, Alvin Hon-wai (Johns Creek, GA); Murphy, Antwuan (Riverdale, GA); Benzio, Brittney (Atlanta, GA); Brantley, Lindsi (Atlanta, GA); Delaney, Matthew S. (Alpharetta, GA); Vulich, Matthew (Marietta, GA); Rodriguez, Matthew S. (Dunwoody, GA); Goel, Neha (Atlanta, GA); Collins, Sabrina (Woodstock, GA); Murillo, Annie Pudlo (Roswell, GA), filed on October 22, 2020, was made available online on February 11, 2021.

The patent’s assignee 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: “In an autonomous vehicle, control of the vehicle may shift between varying states of manual and autonomous control. According to SAE International, there are six levels of automation for on-road vehicles ranging from no automation at all (level 0) to full automation of all aspects of dynamic driving (level 5). Depending on which vehicle systems are operating under autonomous control liability for any damage that occurs to the autonomous vehicle (or by the autonomous vehicle) may vary between an operator of the autonomous vehicle, an insurer of the operator and/or autonomous vehicle, and/or a manufacturer of the autonomous vehicle. Similarly, vehicle autonomy may also lead to other shifts in traditional liability arrangements. However, currently there is no trusted system that automatically enforces these liability arrangements associated with autonomous vehicles.”

As a supplement to the background information on this patent application, NewsRx correspondents also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent application: “The present embodiments may be related to autonomous vehicle operation, including smart contracts that govern the operation of the autonomous vehicles. The embodiments described herein relate particularly to various aspects of autonomous operation, feature, component and/or sensor monitoring, and/or assessment. When data relevant to a smart contract is generated, a transaction may be generated and compiled into a block of a distributed ledger. Alternatively, some aspects relate to enforcement of smart contracts which are automatically enforced based at least upon the transactions included in the distributed ledger. Specific systems and methods are summarized below. The methods and systems summarized below may include additional, less, or alternate actions, including those discussed elsewhere herein.

“In one aspect, a computer-implemented method of building, utilizing, and/or maintaining an autonomous vehicle-related event blockchain may be provided. The method may include one or more of the following, and the sequence of actions may be rearranged: (1) detecting and/or recording, via one or more processors, sensors, and/or transceivers, autonomous vehicle events, the autonomous vehicle events including autonomous vehicle system or technology usage or operational events; (2) compiling, via the one or more processors, the autonomous vehicle events into a log of recorded autonomous vehicle events; (3) determining, via the one or more processors, an action to implement based upon the autonomous vehicle events recorded and/or the log of recorded autonomous vehicle events; and/or (4) distributing, via the one or more processors and/or transceivers, the log of recorded autonomous vehicle events and/or the autonomous vehicle-related blockchain to a public or private network of distributed nodes to facilitate maintaining the shared ledger of autonomous vehicle events up-to-date. The method may include additional, less, or alternate actions, including those discussed elsewhere herein.

“For instance, the method may include updating a smart contract based upon the blockchain, events records, and/or actions determined to implement. The action determined to implement based upon the autonomous vehicle events recorded and/or the log of recorded autonomous vehicle events may be (i) estimating an actual value of the autonomous vehicle; (ii) estimating a replacement cost of the autonomous vehicle; (iii) generating a usage-based insurance quote for the autonomous vehicle and/or a specific trip; and/or (iv) to determine that the autonomous vehicle was involved in a vehicle collision, and to commence a claim handling process.

“The autonomous vehicle events recorded may be related to at least one of the following autonomous vehicle systems, features, or technologies: driver alertness monitoring; driver responsiveness monitoring; pedestrian detection; artificial intelligence; a back-up system; a navigation system; a positioning system; a security system; an anti-hacking measure; a theft prevention system; and/or remote vehicle location determination.

“Systems or computer-readable media storing instructions for implementing all or part of the method described above may also be provided in some aspects. Systems for implementing such methods may include one or more of the following: a special-purpose computing device, a personal electronic device, a processing unit of a vehicle, a remote server, one or more sensors, one or more communication modules configured to communicate wirelessly via radio links, radio frequency links, and/or wireless communication channels, and/or one or more program memories coupled to one or more processors of the personal electronic device, processing unit of the vehicle, or remote server. Such program memories may store instructions to cause the one or more processors to implement part or all of the method described above. Additional or alternative features described herein below may be included in some aspects.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. A computer-implemented method of building, utilizing, and/or maintaining an autonomous vehicle-related event distributed ledger or blockchain, the method comprising: transmitting, via one or more processors, a subscription request associated with a smart contract and pertaining to an autonomous vehicle, wherein transmitting the subscription request causes an electronic device at the autonomous vehicle to: generate one or more autonomous vehicle events based on the generated sensor data that is relevant to the subscription request; receiving, via the one or more processors and/or transceivers, the generated autonomous vehicle events; compiling, via the one or more processors, the one or more autonomous vehicle events into a log of recorded autonomous vehicle-related events; determining, via the one or more processors, an action to implement based upon the recorded autonomous vehicle-related events and/or the log of recorded autonomous vehicle events; and distributing, via the one or more processors and/or transceivers, the log of recorded autonomous vehicle-related events and/or the action to implement to a public or private network of distributed nodes to facilitate maintaining an up-to-date shared ledger of autonomous vehicle-related events.

“2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, the method further comprising updating a smart contract based upon the blockchain, events records, and/or determined actions to implement.

“3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the determined action to implement based upon the autonomous vehicle events and/or the log of recorded autonomous vehicle events is estimating an actual value of the autonomous vehicle.

“4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the determined action to implement based upon the recorded autonomous vehicle events and/or the log of recorded autonomous vehicle events is estimating a replacement cost of the autonomous vehicle.

“5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the determined action to implement based upon the recorded autonomous vehicle events and/or the log of recorded autonomous vehicle events is generating a usage-based insurance quote for the autonomous vehicle and/or a specific trip.

“6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the determined action to implement based upon the recorded autonomous vehicle events and/or the log of recorded autonomous vehicle events is to determine that the autonomous vehicle was involved in a vehicle collision, and to commence a claim handling process.

“7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the recorded autonomous vehicle events are related to at least one of the following autonomous vehicle systems, features, or technologies: driver alertness monitoring; driver responsiveness monitoring; pedestrian detection; artificial intelligence; a back-up system; a navigation system; a positioning system; a security system; an anti-hacking measure; a theft prevention system; or remote vehicle location determination.

“8. A computer system configured to build, utilize, and/or maintain an autonomous vehicle-related event distributed ledger or blockchain, the computer system comprising one or more processors, sensors, and/or transceivers configured to: transmit a subscription request associated with a smart contract and pertaining to an autonomous vehicle, wherein transmitting the subscription request causes an electronic device at the autonomous vehicle to: generate one or more autonomous vehicle events based on the generated sensor data that is relevant to the subscription request; receive, via the one or more processors and/or transceivers, the generated autonomous vehicle events; compile, via the one or more processors, the one or more autonomous vehicle events into a log of recorded autonomous vehicle-related events; determine, via the one or more processors, an action to implement based upon the recorded autonomous vehicle-related events and/or the log of recorded autonomous vehicle events; and/or distribute, via the one or more processors and/or transceivers, the log of recorded autonomous vehicle-related events and/or the action to implement to a public or private network of distributed nodes to facilitate maintaining an up-to-date shared ledger of autonomous vehicle-related events.

“9. The computer system of claim 8, the computer system further configured to update a smart contract based upon the blockchain, events records, and/or determined actions to implement.

“10. The computer system of claim 8, wherein the determined action to implement based upon the recorded autonomous vehicle events and/or the log of recorded autonomous vehicle events is estimating an actual value of the autonomous vehicle.

“11. The computer system of claim 8, wherein the determined action to implement based upon the recorded autonomous vehicle events and/or the log of recorded autonomous vehicle events is estimating a replacement cost of the autonomous vehicle.

“12. The computer system of claim 8, wherein the determined action to implement based upon the recorded autonomous vehicle events and/or the log of recorded autonomous vehicle events is generating a usage-based insurance quote for the autonomous vehicle and/or a specific trip.

“13. The computer system of claim 8, wherein the determined action to implement based upon the recorded autonomous vehicle events and/or the log of recorded autonomous vehicle events is to determine that the autonomous vehicle was involved in a vehicle collision, and to commence a claim handling process.

“14. The computer system of claim 8, wherein the recorded autonomous vehicle events are related to at least one of the following autonomous vehicle systems, features, or technologies: driver alertness monitoring; driver responsiveness monitoring; pedestrian detection; artificial intelligence; a back-up system; a navigation system; a positioning system; a security system; an anti-hacking measure; a theft prevention system; or remote vehicle location determination.

“15. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing processor-executable instructions, that, when executed, cause one or more processors to: transmit, via one or more processors, a subscription request associated with a smart contract and pertaining to an autonomous vehicle, wherein transmitting the subscription request causes an electronic device at the autonomous vehicle to: generate one or more autonomous vehicle events based on the generated sensor data that is relevant to the subscription request; receive, via the one or more processors and/or transceivers, the generated autonomous vehicle events; compile, via the one or more processors, the one or more autonomous vehicle events into a log of recorded autonomous vehicle-related events; determine, via the one or more processors, an action to implement based upon the recorded autonomous vehicle-related events and/or the log of recorded autonomous vehicle events; and distribute, via the one or more processors and/or transceivers, the log of recorded autonomous vehicle-related events and/or the action to implement to a public or private network of distributed nodes to facilitate maintaining an up-to-date shared ledger of autonomous vehicle-related events.

“16. The computer readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the one or more processors to update a smart contract based upon the blockchain, events records, and/or determined actions to implement.

“17. The computer readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the determined action to implement based upon the recorded autonomous vehicle events and/or the log of recorded autonomous vehicle events is estimating an actual value of the autonomous vehicle.

“18. The computer readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the determined action to implement based upon the recorded autonomous vehicle events and/or the log of recorded autonomous vehicle events is estimating a replacement cost of the autonomous vehicle.

“19. The computer readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the determined action to implement based upon the recorded autonomous vehicle events and/or the log of recorded autonomous vehicle events is generating a usage-based insurance quote for the autonomous vehicle and/or a specific trip.

“20. The computer readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the determined action to implement based upon the recorded autonomous vehicle events and/or the log of recorded autonomous vehicle events is to determine that the autonomous vehicle was involved in a vehicle collision, and to commence a claim handling process.”

For additional information on this patent application, see: Floyd, Matthew L.; Yu, Alvin Hon-wai; Murphy, Antwuan; Benzio, Brittney; Brantley, Lindsi; Delaney, Matthew S.; Vulich, Matthew; Rodriguez, Matthew S.; Goel, Neha; Collins, Sabrina; Murillo, Annie Pudlo. Systems And Methods For Building, Utilizing, And/Or Maintaining An Autonomous Vehicle-Related Event Distributed Ledger Or Blockchain. Filed October 22, 2020 and posted February 11, 2021. Patent URL: http://appft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PG01&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=%2220210042842%22.PGNR.&OS=DN/20210042842&RS=DN/20210042842

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