WO2015193908A1

WO2015193908A1 - Method and system for providing driving assistance in a vehicle and on roads

Info

Publication number: WO2015193908A1
Application number: PCT/IN2015/000002
Authority: WO
Inventors: Bapurao Kane Tapan
Original assignee: Bapurao Kane Tapan
Priority date: 2014-06-18
Filing date: 2015-01-05
Publication date: 2015-12-23

Abstract

A method and system for providing driving assistance in an automobile vehicle more particularly to minimize road accidents, resolving traffic issues and pooling several automobiles over a server for assistance wherein said method and system comprise, creation of at least one user account initially wherein said user account is associated with a service whereas said device assist the driver of speed limits and the surrounding environment such as vehicles approaching from the sides and provide safe overtaking time to the driver to prevent head-on-collisions, also includes make way system for emergency vehicles like fire brigades, police patrols and ambulance. The system also includes automated braking for the situations wherein the driver fails to take any action. Hence to assure full safety the system receives necessary instructions from server as to applying of brakes. Thus this invention not only warms the driver but also takes necessary steps to prevent an accident.

Description

TITLE: METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PROVIDING DRIVING ASSISTANCE IN A VEHICLE AND ON ROADS

THE FOLLOWING SPECIFICATION PARTICULARLY DESCRIBES THE INVENTION AND THE MANNER IN WHICH IT IS TO BE PERFORMED:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION:

The invention refers to the method and system for driving assistance in an automobile more particularly to minimize road accidents due to speeding, drunken driving, night and drowsy driving, due to several deadly curves and blind spots, cross roads, unsafe lane changes, tailgating etc and moreover resolving traffic issues by infusing the invention in an automobile vehicle and pooling several such automobiles over a server for assistance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION:

The invention includes a server to which all the automobile vehicles with embedded invention application in a device are pooled together over a grid to gather information wherein this gathered information is sent to the server and in return the server help guide providing assistance to the vehicles using collected information from various vehicles.

One of the aspects of the invention includes prevention of accident due to reckless drivers on roads. Many drivers are impatient and reckless, driving so close to another car that they cannot react in time if the car in front of them brakes suddenly. This invention prevents such car accidents by giving the car in front of you a one-car-length buffer for every 10 kmph you drive.

The present invention (drive assist) basically works on specially developed software in addition to Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) and 3G communications (data service provided) with G.P.S technology. Every vehicle on road can be fitted with this device, thus forming a grid. The central server collects the corresponding data (latitudes & longitudes, velocity, direction, acceleration). After receiving the data via invention device (Drive Assist Device); this data will be analyzed by the software. Every device of this grid will have its own unique identification code. Thus each device can be plotted on the map, synchronized with server which will be aware of every device (vehicles), thus it can display the respective vehicles which will be in radius of 2500-3000 feet of each other. The arrow is the base vehicle & circles are the vehicles in its specific radius (maximum radius which the vehicles will be detected). It not only displays the vehicle on highway but also display vehicles approaching from the sides thus completely keeping the driver informed about its vehicular environment.

Another aspect of the invention includes calculating safe time for overtaking any vehicle in front. When driver accelerates to do overtaking maneuver, the server calculates the safe time for the same. If there is ample time between any given two vehicles then "SAFE TO OVERTAKE" message will be flashed on the display screen of respective device. When the time window is too less than permissible value then "DO NOT OVERTAKE" message will be displayed (visual message and voice message). This will reduce the risks of head-on collisions & give confidence to driver while driving. This is useful not on single lane roads but also on 2-3 lane roads as many drivers even tend to make mistakes on such roads.

Drive assist Gneiss is an automated braking for the situations wherein the driver fails to take any action; the system receives necessary instructions from the central server as to apply the brake to prevent an accident / accidental situation.

Further aspect of the invention includes anti-theft feature of the invention help police to track stolen vehicles. As this invention is equipped with G.P.S, can track down any vehicle in case of theft, which will be accessible to police. The users, when turns on device for first time; is asked to fill his/her basic details as well as vehicle details such as registration number, chassis number. This will help police to track the vehicle in certain circumstances. The ignition power line &invention's power line must be connected in series. That is if any one tries to uproot the device in case on theft scenario it will also immobilize the engine.

This invention also helps in case of drowsy drivers on the road which results in accidents. Such accidents mainly occur between 00:01 to 06:00 hours. Hence to avoid such accidents the driver have to speak out "YES"/ or any word of his/her choice in every 5 minutes to ensure that he/she is awake. If he/she fails to do so then alarm is triggered. This safety measure is active only from 00:00 to 06:00 hours; to avoid this alarm from getting hectic; it automatically turns off below the speed of 50 kmph.

This invention also provides a 24*7 roadside assistance i.e. in case of breakdown; driver can seek help by pressing on "emergency" option given on the devices display. This sends a message to the central server which in return will send all contacts of nearby garage, towing services, hotels, hospitals, fire brigade& nearest police station. Another service which can be activated on customer request will be of on-the-go wifi hotspot. This will help many customers to work even in transit.

The invention also helps assist works on location based technology where every Toll Plaza can be exactly tracked and plotted on maps wherein existing toll will be taken as reference points to create a geo-fencing area with consultation of respective government authority. Every user (Drive assist unit) will be having an account specifically designed to pay online or using their normal banking transactions i.e., Debit cards, Credit cards or Net banking. When vehicle is passed through that respective geo-fence without paying the toll tax, if possible amount will be automatically deducted from the account according to the make & model of the vehicle of that respective toll. If not possible and a vehicle escapes a geo-fence without paying the toll tax local traffic authority can be informed and provided the location of that vehicle. This invention also provides pre-booking feature for various hotels/restaurants/fast food chains, to provide a complete hassle free driving experience. Thus saving time spent in waiting.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION:

Many automobile systems in the state-of-the-art ignores the important aspects such as drunk driving, drowsy and night driving, cross roads, the deadly curves and blind spots left unnoticed at times, unsafe lane changes, wrong-way driving, improper turns, tailgating by the drivers and most importantly speed limit and lack of notification of the surrounding environment to the driver leads to accidents. Many car manufacturers have tried to make roads safer place by developing systems and implementing them, which includes: seat belts, ABS/TCS ESP, air bags, crumple zones, Audi Pre-Sense/ Mercedes- Benz intelligent drive, all these systems have their application when collision is about to happen or just has taken place (air bags), but this does not serve the purpose. The major reason of failure of the system in the state of the art is their unavailability to the masses, cannot be fitted to every automobile machine especially in case of public transportation and passenger vehicles, and also fails to locate vehicles coming from opposite lane or vehicles coming from the sides.

To eradicate all the problems causing road accidents and improvising the state of art technology, what is needed is to help guide the driver and assist him of the surrounding environment he is driving in. Also what is needed includes providing driver the details of the path he needs to travel and current scenario of any drunk driving ahead or status of any vehicle ahead causing collision.

The invention provides 24*7 driving assistance to drowsy, incapable drivers in order to avoid accidents in case of improper turns, blind spots, cross road, improper lane changes, drowsy and drunken drivers on road, any emergency vehicle like police patrol or ambulance if needed way to be cleared to pass ahead, help guide to pullover and overtake the vehicle safely in traffic, determine the threat by any vehicle coming from opposite direction.

This invention also helps police department by acting as an anti theft device wherein this invention embedded in the automobile system help to locate the last location of the automobile and help track its movement. This invention also helps identify the drunk driver on the road and also help other vehicles by notifying of such a driver in their lane ahead or coming in their way.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS:

Figure 1 illustrates flowchart describing the work flow of the invention over a network. Figure 2 illustrates java based server, managing geo-fencing and toll system. DESCRIPTION:

The following detailed description contains specific details that are set forth to provide a comprehensive understanding of the present invention. Although the following detailed description contains many specifics for the purposes of illustration, anyone of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that many variations and alterations to the following details are within the scope of the invention. The following specification describes the invention Drive Assists Device which is a GPS device with integrated display & GSM SIM slot. It is backed up by a powerful dual core processor, and decent memory RAM that facilitates smoothest functioning and seamless multitasking platform.

It incorporates a wide range of high quality IPS display with high pixels HD resolution that allows you to enjoy full HD. This also facilitates 3G connectivity for faster hot-spot services.

Its GPS support system that will not only help you to find any location but also gives you the liberty to travel outdoors by providing the best available routes as well as the transportation options, find tourist places and hotels in a particular area.

This large screen HD display will to give a crispy & precise display of vehicles in its specific radius. This will be rooted & only the invention application developed will be installed on it. This invention application will collect the necessary data i.e. latitudes & longitudes, velocity, direction. This data is then sent to the central sever using GSM SIM network.

This central server is made up of following sub-components; an application server, which is a server dedicated to running certain software applications, Communications server, that is a carrier-grade computing platform for communications networks, Compute server, a server intended for intensive computations especially those involving scientific computations, Also a Database server, that provides database services to other computer programs or computers.

The Drive assist's core functionality is to eliminate the danger of vehicles approaching the intersection. For this position co-ordinates of every vehicle (device) are necessary, which can be easily accessed via application installed in the device which uses GPS satellites to determine its position on the globe. After which this data is sent to the server, where the latitudes & longitudes are plotted on map. The distance between any two points (devices) is then calculated. Also the velocity of the vehicle is considered. Using the compass of the device its direction of movement will be sent to the server. After all the data from every device is available to the server it then plots a real time moving grid on the map. Then only selective data i.e. information of any vehicle in radius of 2500-3000 feet of its base device is sent to the device where it will be displayed in form of dots on the map (maximum zoom). The server will predict the path of the vehicles approaching an intersection. If any two or more vehicles are found to be on collision path then an acoustic alarm (beep) is triggered in those respective vehicles and also those dots on the screen will turn dark red thus warning the drivers to slow down. Even on two-three lane highways when the vehicle in front applies break hardly, the subsequent vehicles behind it are warned via acoustic alarm (beep) & visual message displayed on the screen. There will be no lag in this system as it works on real time

communication (DART-"Data Access in Real Time" method). The devices to be fitted in emergency vehicles like ambulances, fire brigades and police patrol vehicles should equipped with an additional feature. This feature when activated in given situation sends a message "MAKE WAY" to all vehicles in front of it up to 3000 feet. This can be activated by touching "alert" button given on display of the device. After initiating the "alert" mode a message is sent to the server from where it must check for all the vehicles in front & send a "make way" alert accompanied with an acoustic alarm (beep). Deadly curves, Tailgating, Head-on Collision, Speeding, Undulations Road, another reason for deaths on road are head on collision that happen while overtaking a vehicle. This life threatening problem is encountered by "Eagle eye" feature of the invention (drive assist). Consider a scenario when a driver in vehicle 'A' accelerates to overtake the vehicle 'B' in front, the central server analyzes the opposite lane of the road for oncoming vehicles & check whether it's safe to overtake. If there is no vehicle coming from the opposite lane of the road then server sends a "safe to Overtake" message that will be display on screen of the device. In case vehicle 'C is coming from the opposite lane of the road then the server then sends a 'Do not overtake' message accompanied with an acoustic alarm (beep *2) if the "Safe overtaking criteria" is not fulfilled. At times the road aren't straight, which creates a blind for both drivers in different lanes. This problem is solved by the Eagle eye feature of the Drive assist, Also vehicle C will be informed that another vehicle is trying to come in his lane, thus alerting him/her about the environment. Even if any vehicle is stopped on road & its device is not on, the server records its last location when it was on. And if any vehicle is approaching that stationary vehicle the driver is warned with "stationary vehicle ahead" message displayed on the screen. That position co-ordinates will be kept till the device is not turned on again & is moving.

When the server sends "DO NOT OVERTAKE" or "SLOWDOWN" alerts on the device. The genesis is turned on to standby mode. In spite of warning & alerts the driver ignores them & its velocity increases, then according to the vehicle's velocity & proximity to nearby vehicle the amount of braking is determined. This braking is very gradual & just to keep safety in check, which prevents a jerk.

Vehicles which have on-board computer for various purposes, the genesis will forward the command to computer available on the vehicle. From where the brakes & amount of braking is controlled.

For vehicles that don't have on-board computer. The driver is first alerted as standard feature of Drive Assist. But the genesis version has module installed near brake pedal. This module/ system will receive commands from drive assist wired connection / wirelessly using Bluetooth communication.

This also helps the traffic police to charge the driver's who park their vehicles in non-parking zone or even stop in no-stopping zone. About 30% of accidents that happen on roads are due to dozing of driver. Out of which majority cases occur between 00:01 to 06:00 am. Hence to prevent such accidents the invention (Drive Assist) will be installed with 'Stay Awake' as standard service. Stay awake keeps the driver in full responsive posture by compelling him/her to respond via speaking any word in every 5 minutes; failing to do so an acoustic alarm (continuous beeps) is triggered. This stay awake function is automatically turned on when a device is on i.e. a vehicle is mobile after 00:01 am. It also automatically shut down after 06:00 am. During this time period the driver have to speak out a word e.g. 'YES' or any other word of his/her choice, which have to be selected while registering i.e. when device is turned on for the first time.

To detect the word, device uses both of its microphones. Primary microphone to detect the actual word & secondary microphone to cancel out all unnecessary sounds like that of engine, wind, etc. then recorded sound is matched with the data-base of word that has been selected. If both wave-forms match up to 90% then the alarm will not be triggered for next five. And this cycle goes on till its end time (06:00 am).

If the driver fails to respond in five minutes then it will not only trigger an acoustic but will also send a subsequent message to the server including its position & time when sleep off alarm was set off. From where the server scans for the vehicles in its region of 2500 feet radius & send them a message "drowsy driver ahead" and the dot/triangle corresponding to that vehicle will be displayed in black color on the screens of other vehicles, 'stay awake' also works in coordination with velocity outputs of the vehicle, when the velocity drops below a certain speed, it will automatically snooze its alarm. Because chances of driver dozing off at low speeds are very minimalistic.

Another aspect of the invention describes anti-theft feature which would help police to find stolen vehicles. Every year nearly 40000 vehicles are stolen in India alone costing close to 1 15 crore rupees. Out of which mere 14000 can be traced including the ones found in non-drivable condition.

Drive Assist also provides an additional feature of Anti-Theft. This device being G.P.S enabled it can be tracked down at any moment when requested. The service will be only available to the police department. Even if vehicle is not turned on, the server will keep its last active location.

While installing the device, it is highly recommended to connect the device in series connection with the ignition line of the vehicle. So when a thief tries to uproot the device he will also immobilize the vehicle. And he doesn't remove the device then it can track on demand.

Drive assists pro, a more advance version of the stock version. This device can be synchronized with the vehicles on-board computer; this will provide an additional security layer. For which . driver can set-up a password, pin, or even a pattern. This then allows the on-board computer to start the vehicle. Failing to do so can lock the vehicle. After which the server receives an alert of vehicle being tampered, for which server will inform the local authorities.

Drive assists Genesis an advance version which prevent head-on collision

This invention (drive assist) includes a specially developed feature which detects if the driver is drunk or not. For this the device's app is also programmed with a pattern test. As seen in all android devices there is a 3*3 pattern lock but the drive assist is programmed for a 5*5 pattern test. This is a very fundamental test designed to check the motor action & control - coordination of the brain.

While registering the device the user is asked to set-up his/her own personal pattern. The app records the time taken to draw the pattern in normal condition (first time). After which the driver will have to draw it every time when device turns on. If the driver takes a bit long than normal time then, it will set off an acoustic alarm accompanied with alert message sent to the server. The server allows the driver to consecutively attempt for fixed no. of times. If same delay is observed for the concurrent time, then the server will check out its location & inform the local patrol unit to verify the drunk & drive case.

Also it acts like a black-box for insurance companies if driver was still driving vehicle even after a warning from the server. Insurance companies have to pay if the accident takes place. Thereby saving millions of rupees that insurance companies have to pay for the driver's mistake.

In case of vehicle breakdown and emergency cases, the present invention provides ORG feature On-Road Guide (ORG) for better convenience on road. On-Road Guide (ORG) - as the location of every device (vehicle) is available to the server, it can guide the needy driver for essential help is breakdown scenario. In case of breakdown the driver needs to tap on the emergency option available on display of the device. After which a subsequent message is sent to server. The server then scans for garages, service centers, towing vans, hospitals, police station in the vicinity the vehicle. This detailed message then sent to the device which will be displayed. This information is essential in such scenario.

ORG not only provides help in breakdown situation but also there will be "places of interest" option on the screen. Selecting it can display all the tourist attractions & hotels will be displayed on the screen. For this, a data base, of all such tourist attractions & places of interest will be collected and synchronized with the server. When a driver request for this information, only specific places of interest & tourist attractions nearby its location (after considering its location coordinates).

The 'Drive Assist' (invention) also provides navigation services on demand. But this route adviser is unlike any other available in the market. Real navigator function uses the data like traffic density, fuel stations etc from the server. Once the destination is set, then the selected road is turned into blue color. This does not affect any other core functionality of the invention as mentioned above. The invention will provide the shortest possible route with least traffic, which is calculated by the central serve.

Many a times owner of commercial vehicles face problems related to whereabouts of their vehicles, which is solved by the tracking facility provided with drive assist by our company. This tracking facility can be provided to the owner when requested for the same, on any platform (windows, android). It will display the selected vehicles of that specific owner on the map. If a truck/bus is planned for some specific route & the driver goes off route, then the owner of that vehicle will be immediately informed on his/her selected platform.

Ideally time wasted at toll plaza by a vehicle is 60 sec or more time, fuel wasted in the idling queue and labour availability and running cost which can be reduced using drive assist, this works on a technology where every toll plaza can be exactly tracked and plotted on maps, geo- fenced on the network on consultation of respective government authority. Wherein the route of journey is selected and an option will be popped up to pay the tolls and payment can be made on passing the toll through server account and/or debit cards, credit cards, net banking etc. And if the vehicle is passed through that respective geo-fence without paying the toll tax, if possible amount will be automatically deducted from the account according to the make & model of the vehicle of that respective toll. If not possible and a vehicle escapes a geo-fence without paying the toll tax local traffic authority can be informed and provided the location of that vehicle.

Drive assist also provides pre-booking feature for various hotels/restaurants/fast food chains, to provide a complete hassle free driving experience. This invention also as mentioned as drive assist in the specification elsewhere is GPS based & location of the user is available to the server, which is then used to provide information of hotels/restaurants in its vicinity. This feature is further enhanced as it enables users to place their orders on the go. This order is then sent to respective hotel/restaurant. The hotels are informed when that vehicle is at 3 km thus saving the time of both Consumer & Provider.

Furthermore pre booking function will also be used to book parking space for given destination. As parking is also raising problem especially is growing cities. The parking lots will be synchronized with the server. This will help to monitor the available space for parking. This will indeed enable user to experience a complete hassle free driving pleasure.

Claims

I CLAIM:

1. A method and system for providing driving assistance in an automobile vehicle more

particularly to minimize road accidents, resolving traffic issues and pooling several automobiles over a server for assistance wherein said method and systemcomprising,

Creation of at least one user account initially by an user on installation of the device in said user vehicle, wherein said user account is associated with a service and said user uses said user account for payments and identification recordsand serve as an identification within the central server;

Providing a Graphical User Interface (GUI) using which said user uses said services;

Establishing an application server that is dedicated to run server applications over a network;

Establishing a communication server that is a computing platform for communication networks between various user devices and the server;

Establishing a compute server for carrying out intense computations especially those involving scientific computations or sorting data and to said user sending messages to the user interface over a network;

Establishing a database server wherein database services to other computer programs or computer systems are provided;

Establishing a geo fencing network over the serverwherein the placement of the user vehicle first categorized and said data is sent to the server and latitudes and longitudes are plotted on the map initially wherein distance between various user (devices) is calculated, thus plotting a real time moving grid on the map over a network on installation of the device in said automobile vehicle,

Mapping places like tolls, hospitals, refreshments, tourist's places, emergency contacts, help line booth etc. Over a network and linking said data on said grid for user accessibility through GUI.

Scrutinizing and/ or detection of the changes in the surrounding environment of said user device over a network and collection of data,

Sorting data and sending alerts and providing real time communication which includes but is not limited to on the go wifi hotspots, parking space, tolling systems, restaurants, emergency needs like hospitals, telephone booth, fire stations, a means for application of brake etc, with the. server over a network.

2. The method and system according to claim 1 wherein application server, communication server, compute server and database server forms the components of said central server.

3. The method and system according to claim 1 wherein said user account includes user details and identification along with a pattern lock wherein time duration taken by the user to draw the pattern is noted by the server to avoid drink and drive cases, wherein said time interval of drawing the pattern help identify the drunk drivers and notified to the nearby traffic police by the server signals.

4. The method and system according to claim 1 wherein server applications provided

includes toll payment system, wherein said database server stores user account details and payment details, parking slots details, tourist places, traffic details etc.

5. The method and system according to claim 1 wherein said data of the vehicle positioned is captured and sent to the server thorough GPS based system.

6. The method and system according to claim 1 wherein said means for application of break

includes a braking system comprising of Rhino R.C.B (remote control board), Bluetooth UART module or the same can be implemented with the help of direct wire connection from Device to Low RPM 12V DC motor, final assembly.

7. The method and system according to claim 6 wherein automated braking for the

situations wherein the driver fails to take any action, the system receives necessary instructions from the central server as to apply the brake to prevent an accident / accidental situation

8. The method and system according to claim 1 wherein mapping the vehicular environment on the server wherein vehicles which in radius of 2500-3000 feet of each other are mapped.

9. The method and system according to claim 1 wherein said geofencing includes making 3 sets of geo points wherein vehicles are categorized to analyze depending upon the speed of the vehicle, distance calculated and accelerating if any.

10. The method and system according to claim 1 wherein vehicles are classified or

categorized depending on the bearing value, vehicles behind said use, vehicle ahead of said user, vehicles on the opposite lane etc.

1 1. The method and system according to claim 1 wherein said system help calculate safe time to overtake any vehicle and make way for any emergency vehicle overtaking user vehicle.

12. The method and system according to claim 10 wherein if any emergency vehicle is identified an alarm is activated on the user device.

13. The method and system according to claim 1 wherein sorting data related to parking space available and at what distance from the user vehicle.

14. The method and system according to claim 1 wherein sending data or order frorh the user device to the device placed at the restaurants on the way if any orders to be placed for take away, the server help user device to make it in advance or book a table in advance in restaurant on the way before reaching to the place.

15. The method and system according to claim 1 wherein said geo fencing is applied to toll system to detect vehicles arriving and payment of tolls through the user device directly without stopping the vehicle.