Patent Application
20220144292
The present specification relates to driver assistance systems, and more particularly, to systems and methods for selecting a user profile among multiple users carrying personal devices.
Vehicles may have a number of settings that drivers may adjust based on their personal preferences. For example, these settings may include seat positions, mirror positions, pedal positions, radio station presets, heating and air conditioning settings, navigation settings, voice settings, audio settings, search settings, subscription status, screen configurations, and the like. A vehicle may store parameters for one or more of these settings in a user profile associated with a driver. Then, when the driver enters a vehicle, the vehicle settings may be automatically adjusted to the user's preferences based on the user profile. Thus, a driver need not manually adjust these settings each time he enters the vehicle.
If multiple drivers use a particular vehicle, the vehicle may store a user profile for each such driver. As such, when a particular driver uses the vehicle, it may be desirable for the vehicle to load a user profile associated with that driver and adjust the vehicle settings according to the user profile.
When a driver enters a vehicle, the vehicle may detect a mobile device (e.g., a smartphone) carried by the driver. The vehicle may identify the driver based on the detected mobile device and automatically load a user profile associated with that driver. This may increase the convenience of the driver by obviating the need for the driver to manually select a user profile. However, if multiple individuals enter a vehicle (e.g., a driver and one or more passengers) and each individual carries a mobile device that can be detected by the vehicle and is associated with a user profile, the vehicle may not know which individual is the driver. Consequently, the vehicle may not be able to load the appropriate user profile for the individual who is driving the vehicle. Accordingly, there is a need for systems and methods for selecting a user profile among multiple users carrying personal devices.
In one embodiment, upon determination that one user profile is associated with a detected one or more mobile devices, the one user profile associated with the detected one or more mobile devices is loaded. Upon determination that a plurality of user profiles are associated with the detected one or more mobile devices, the user profile that was most recently loaded on a vehicle is loaded. Upon determination that no user profiles are associated with the detected one or more mobile devices, a guest profile is loaded.
In another embodiment, a vehicle system for a vehicle includes one or more processors and a controller. The controller is configured to detect one or more mobile devices and determine whether one or more user profiles are associated with the detected one or more mobile devices. Upon determination that one user profile is associated with the detected one or more mobile devices, the controller loads that user profile. Upon determination that a plurality of user profiles are associated with the detected one or more mobile devices, the controller determines which user profile of the plurality of user profiles was most recently loaded on the vehicle and loads that user profile. Upon determination that no user profiles are associated with the detected one or more mobile devices, the controller loads a guest profile.
The embodiments set forth in the drawings are illustrative and exemplary in nature and not intended to limit the disclosure. The following detailed description of the illustrative embodiments can be understood when read in conjunction with the following drawings, where like structure is indicated with like reference numerals and in which:
The embodiments disclosed herein include systems and methods for selecting a user profile among multiple users carrying personal (e.g., mobile) devices. One or more users may enter a vehicle. Each users may carry a mobile device, such as a smartphone. Each mobile device may have an ID that may be detected by a vehicle system of the vehicle. Furthermore, each mobile device ID may be associated with a user profile. Each user profile may be associated with the user carrying the corresponding mobile device and may comprise a series of vehicle settings preferred by a particular user.
When the vehicle system detects multiple mobile devices associated with multiple user profiles, the vehicle system must determine which user profile to load. Disclosed herein are rules that the vehicle system may follow to determine which user profile to load. In particular, the vehicle system may determine which user profile associated with a detected mobile device was most recently loaded (e.g., during a previous driving trip) and load that profile. As such, the vehicle system is more likely to load the user profile associated with the driver of the vehicle. For example, if a driver and a passenger drive a certain distance and then stop for gas, it is more likely that the same person will continue to drive the vehicle when the driving trip is resumed. If no mobile devices are detected that are associated with a known user profile, then the vehicle system may load a guest profile.
Each of the one or more processors 202 may be any device capable of executing machine readable and executable instructions. Accordingly, each of the one or more processors 202 may be a controller, an integrated circuit, a microchip, a computer, or any other computing device. The one or more processors 202 are coupled to a communication path 204 that provides signal interconnectivity between various modules of the vehicle system 200. Accordingly, the communication path 204 may communicatively couple any number of processors 202 with one another, and allow the modules coupled to the communication path 204 to operate in a distributed computing environment. Specifically, each of the modules may operate as a node that may send and/or receive data. As used herein, the term “communicatively coupled” means that coupled components are capable of exchanging data signals with one another such as, for example, electrical signals via conductive medium, electromagnetic signals via air, optical signals via optical waveguides, and the like.
Accordingly, the communication path 204 may be formed from any medium that is capable of transmitting a signal such as, for example, conductive wires, conductive traces, optical waveguides, or the like. In some embodiments, the communication path 204 may facilitate the transmission of wireless signals, such as WiFi, Bluetooth®, Near Field Communication (NFC) and the like. Moreover, the communication path 204 may be formed from a combination of mediums capable of transmitting signals. In one embodiment, the communication path 204 comprises a combination of conductive traces, conductive wires, connectors, and buses that cooperate to permit the transmission of electrical data signals to components such as processors, memories, sensors, input devices, output devices, and communication devices. Accordingly, the communication path 204 may comprise a vehicle bus, such as for example a LIN bus, a CAN bus, a VAN bus, and the like. Additionally, it is noted that the term “signal” means a waveform (e.g., electrical, optical, magnetic, mechanical or electromagnetic), such as DC, AC, sinusoidal-wave, triangular-wave, square-wave, vibration, and the like, capable of traveling through a medium.
The vehicle system 200 includes one or more memory modules 206 coupled to the communication path 204. The one or more memory modules 206 may comprise RAM, ROM, flash memories, hard drives, or any device capable of storing machine readable and executable instructions such that the machine readable and executable instructions can be accessed by the one or more processors 202. The machine readable and executable instructions may comprise logic or algorithm(s) written in any programming language of any generation (e.g., 1GL, 2GL, 3GL, 4GL, or 5GL) such as, for example, machine language that may be directly executed by the processor, or assembly language, object-oriented programming (OOP), scripting languages, microcode, etc., that may be compiled or assembled into machine readable and executable instructions and stored on the one or more memory modules 206. Alternatively, the machine readable and executable instructions may be written in a hardware description language (HDL), such as logic implemented via either a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) configuration or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or their equivalents. Accordingly, the methods described herein may be implemented in any conventional computer programming language, as pre-programmed hardware elements, or as a combination of hardware and software components. The memory modules 206 of the vehicle system 200 are described in further detail below with respect to
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The vehicle system 200 comprises one or more vehicle sensors 210. Each of the one or more vehicle sensors 210 is coupled to the communication path 204 and communicatively coupled to the one or more processors 202. The one or more vehicle sensors 210 may include, but are not limited to, LiDAR sensors, RADAR sensors, optical sensors (e.g., cameras, laser sensors, proximity sensors, location sensors), and the like. In some examples, the vehicle sensors 210 may be used to autonomously navigate the vehicle 102.
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The BLE communication module 300 may establish BLE communication with one or more mobile devices using the BLE protocol. Specifically, the BLE communication module 300 may cause the transceiver 208 to broadcast a BLE signal that may be detected by mobile devices located inside or near the vehicle 102. When a mobile device receives the BLE broadcast signal, a communication channel may be established between the BLE communication module 300 and the mobile device by pairing the mobile device to the BLE communication module 300 using the BLE protocol.
In embodiments, a mobile device may run an appropriate application (e.g., an application compatible with the system 100) so that the mobile device may be paired with the BLE communication module 300. By using the BLE protocol, the BLE communication module 300 may pair with a mobile device even if the mobile device has not previously been paired with the vehicle system 200. Once a mobile device is paired to the BLE communication module 300, data may be transmitted between the BLE communication module 300 and the mobile device via the transceiver 208.
The SPP communication module 302 may establish SPP communication with a mobile device using the SPP protocol. However, unlike the BLE protocol, the SPP protocol can only be used to pair with a mobile device that has been previously paired to the vehicle system 200. Accordingly, the SPP communication module 302 may cause the transceiver 208 to ping for mobile devices that have previously been paired to the SPP communication module 302. When a mobile device responds to a ping from the SPP communication module 302, a communication channel may be established between the SPP communication module 302 and the mobile device by pairing the mobile device to the SPP communication module 302 using the SPP protocol. Once a mobile device is paired to the SPP communication module 302, data may be transmitted between the SPP communication module 302 and the mobile device via the transceiver 208.
The mobile device detection module 304 may detect one or more mobile devices positioned within or in the vicinity of the vehicle 102. Specifically, after a mobile device is paired to either the BLE communication module 300 or the SPP communication module 302, the mobile device detection module 304 may determine a device ID associated with the paired mobile device. In embodiments, each mobile device that is able to pair with the BLE communication module 300 and/or the SPP communication module 302 (e.g., each mobile device running an application associated with the system 100) has a device ID that uniquely identifies the mobile device. Accordingly, the device ID of a paired mobile device may be detected by the mobile device detection module 304 to identify the paired mobile device. Furthermore, each device ID may be associated with a particular user profile associated with an owner or user of the mobile device having the device ID. As such, a device ID of a mobile device may be used to determine a user profile associated with a particular user.
In embodiments, one or more user profiles associated with one or more device IDs may be stored in the data storage component 214. As discussed above, each user profile may comprise settings for one or more components of the vehicle 102 preferred by a user associated with the user profile. The settings of the user profile may be stored in the data storage component 214. In some examples, a user may establish a user profile using a head unit of the vehicle 102. In some examples, a user may establish a user profile using a mobile device. In other examples, a user may establish a user profile using other methods and/or devices. In some embodiments, one or more user profiles may be stored in a remote server, and the vehicle system 200 may receive the one or more user profiles from the remote server when corresponding profiles needed to be loaded on the vehicle system 200.
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In addition to storing user profiles associated with device IDs, the data storage component 214 may also maintain a profile log comprising user profiles previously loaded by the vehicle system 200. This log may include a timestamp when each user profile was loaded. Every time that a user profile is loaded, the log may be updated. This log may be used by the vehicle system 200, as explained in further detail below.
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Alternatively, if a single mobile device is detected by the mobile device detection module 304 but the user profile lookup module 306 is unable to find a user profile associated with the device ID of the detected mobile device, then the user profile determination module 308 may determine that a guest profile should be loaded. A guest profile may comprise default settings for one or more components of the vehicle 102 that may be loaded when an individual driving the vehicle 102 has not established a user profile. A guest profile may be stored in the data storage component 214. This situation may occur when a single individual enters the vehicle 102 carrying a mobile device that is not associated with a user profile. In this situation, the sole detected individual will likely drive the vehicle but has not previously established a user profile. Accordingly, the user profile determination module 308 may determine that a guest user profile is to be loaded.
In examples where the mobile device detection module 304 detects multiple mobile devices, there may be multiple user profiles associated with the multiple mobile devices. As such, the user profile determination module 308 may determine which user profile to load using the techniques described herein. If the mobile device detection module 304 detects multiple mobile devices, the user profile lookup module 306 determines whether the data storage component 214 contains a user profile associated with the device ID of each of the detected mobile devices. If the user profile lookup module 306 determines that the data storage component 214 does not contain user profiles for any of the detected mobile devices, then the user profile determination module 308 determines that the guest profile should be loaded. If instead, the user profile lookup module 306 determines that the data storage component 214 contains a user profile for exactly one of the detected mobile devices, then the user profile determination module 308 determines that the user profile associated with the detected mobile device should be loaded. Alternatively, if the user profile lookup module 306 determines that the data storage component 214 contains user profiles for a plurality of the detected mobile devices, the user profile determination module 308 may use the techniques described below to determine which user profile to load.
When the user profile lookup module 306 determines that the data storage component 214 contains user profiles for a plurality of the detected mobile devices, the user profile determination module 308 may access the profile log stored in the data storage component 214. As discussed above, the profile log records a record each time that a user profile is loaded. Accordingly, after accessing the profile log, the user profile determination module 308 may determine which of the user profiles associated with the detected mobile devices was most recently loaded. The user profile determination module 308 may then determine that the user profile among the user profiles associated with the detected mobile devices that was most recently loaded should be loaded. In particular, the user profile determination module 308 may review the user profiles in the profile log in reverse order of when they were loaded, starting with the most recently loaded user profile. Once a previously loaded user profile associated with a device ID that matches the device ID of one of the detected mobile devices is found, the user profile determination module 308 may select that user profile (i.e., the most recently loaded user profile) to be loaded.
By loading the most recently loaded user profile, it may be more likely that the user profile determination module 308 selects the user profile associated with the person who will actually be driving the vehicle 102. For example, if a driver and a passenger, who each have separate user profiles, get in a vehicle and start driving, the user profile of the driver may be loaded; either automatically by the vehicle system 200 using the techniques described herein or by the driver manually selecting his user profile. If the vehicle is then stopped and turned off (e.g., at a gas station, a restaurant, etc.), when the vehicle is started again, a user profile will once again have to be loaded. If the same driver and passenger then get in the vehicle again, it is presumed to be more likely that the same person will be driving who was driving before the vehicle was stopped. Accordingly, because the user profile of the previous driver was more recently loaded, if the same person continues to drive the vehicle 102, the same user profile is automatically determined as the user profile to be loaded by the user profile determination module 308. This may allow the correct user profile to be automatically loaded without any action needing to be taken by the driver. In the event that the incorrect user profile is loaded, the actual driver may manually select the correct user profile to be loaded.
A table below is an exemplary set of rules for determining which profile should be loaded on the head unit.
For example, if the user profile for Primary user and the user profile for Secondary user 1 are identified, then the head unit may load a profile for Primary user or Secondary user 1 whichever was loaded last time. That is, if the user profile for Secondary user 1 was loaded last time, then, the head unit loads the user profile for Secondary user 1 instead of the user profile for Primary user. As another example, if the user profile for Primary user, the user profile for Secondary user 1 and the user profile for Secondary user 2 are identified, then the head unit may load a profile for Primary user, Secondary user 1, or Secondary user 2 whichever was loaded last time. Any profile can be automatically loaded based on the matrix above.
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The guest profile loading module 312 may load the guest profile stored in the data storage component 214 when the user profile determination module 308 determines that the guest profile should be loaded. This may cause the vehicle settings associated with the guest user profile to be implemented by the vehicle 102. In some examples, a user may adjust the default vehicle settings associated with the guest profile.
At step 404, the mobile device detection module 304 detects one or more devices within or near the vehicle 102. The mobile device detection module 304 may detect mobile devices that have been paired to either the BLE communication module 300 or the SPP communication module 302. The mobile device detection module 304 may also determine a device ID associated with each detected mobile device.
At step 406, the user profile lookup module 306 attempts to look up user profiles associated with each of the device IDs of the detected mobile devices in the data storage component 214. Specifically, the user profile lookup module 306 determines whether the data storage component 214 contains a user profile associated with each of the detected device IDs.
At step 408, the user profile determination module 308 determines, for each of the detected device IDs, whether the data storage component 214 contains a stored user profile for the device ID. If the user profile lookup module 306 is unable to find a user profile associated with any of the detected device IDs (no at step 408), then in step 410, the guest profile loading module 310 loads the guest profile. Alternatively, if the user profile lookup module 306 is able to find one or more user profiles associated with one or more of the detected device IDs (yes at step 408), then control passes to step 412.
At step 412, the user profile determination module 308 determines which of the user profiles associated with the detected device IDs was most recently loaded by the user profile loading module 310 and selects that user profile to be loaded. Then, at step 414, the user profile loading module 310 loads the user profile selected by the user profile determination module 308. At step 416, after the selected user profile is loaded, the user profile loading module 310 may update the profile log in the data storage component 214 with a new record indicating that the selected user profile was loaded and the timestamp at which it was loaded.
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It should now be understood that embodiments described herein are directed to systems and methods for selecting a user profile among multiple users carrying personal devices. A vehicle system may detect one or more mobile devices within or near a vehicle. When one or more devices are detected, the vehicle system may determine a device ID associated with each detected mobile device and determine whether a stored user profile is associated with each of the detected mobile devices. If a single stored user profile is associated with one of the detected mobile devices, the vehicle system may load that user profile. If multiple profiles are associated with multiple detected mobile devices, the vehicle system may load the user profile associated with the detected mobile devices that was most recently loaded by the vehicle system. If no user profiles are associated with any of the detected mobile devices, the vehicle system may load a guest profile.
It is noted that the terms “substantially” and “about” may be utilized herein to represent the inherent degree of uncertainty that may be attributed to any quantitative comparison, value, measurement, or other representation. These terms are also utilized herein to represent the degree by which a quantitative representation may vary from a stated reference without resulting in a change in the basic function of the subject matter at issue.
While particular embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, it should be understood that various other changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the claimed subject matter. Moreover, although various aspects of the claimed subject matter have been described herein, such aspects need not be utilized in combination. It is therefore intended that the appended claims cover all such changes and modifications that are within the scope of the claimed subject matter.
