U.S. patent application number 16/212050 was filed with the patent office on 2020-06-11 for fleet trigger-based incentives with blockchain.
The applicant listed for this patent is Ford Global Technologies, LLC. Invention is credited to Shaheer Ahmed, Abraham Mezaael, Thomas Woloszyn.
Application Number | 20200184404 16/212050 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 70776903 |
Filed Date | 2020-06-11 |
![](/patent/app/20200184404/US20200184404A1-20200611-D00000.png)
![](/patent/app/20200184404/US20200184404A1-20200611-D00001.png)
![](/patent/app/20200184404/US20200184404A1-20200611-D00002.png)
![](/patent/app/20200184404/US20200184404A1-20200611-D00003.png)
![](/patent/app/20200184404/US20200184404A1-20200611-D00004.png)
United States Patent
Application |
20200184404 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Mezaael; Abraham ; et
al. |
June 11, 2020 |
Fleet Trigger-Based Incentives With Blockchain
Abstract
A vehicle includes a controller, programmed to responsive to
detecting occurrence of a condition specified by a pre-defined
trigger, generate a trigger event for the condition and send the
trigger event to a blockchain network having multiple nodes; and
responsive to receiving a validation from a node of the blockchain
network, add a block for the trigger event to a distributed ledger
stored locally.
Inventors: |
Mezaael; Abraham;
(Southfield, MI) ; Woloszyn; Thomas; (Northville,
MI) ; Ahmed; Shaheer; (Farmington Hills, MI) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Ford Global Technologies, LLC |
Dearborn |
MI |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
70776903 |
Appl. No.: |
16/212050 |
Filed: |
December 6, 2018 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04L 2209/38 20130101;
G06F 16/27 20190101; H04L 9/0637 20130101; H04L 9/0643 20130101;
G06Q 10/06398 20130101; G07C 5/02 20130101 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 10/06 20060101
G06Q010/06; G06F 16/27 20060101 G06F016/27; H04L 9/06 20060101
H04L009/06; G07C 5/02 20060101 G07C005/02 |
Claims
1. A vehicle comprising: a controller, programmed to responsive to
detecting occurrence of a condition specified by a pre-defined
trigger, generate a trigger event for the condition and send the
trigger event to a blockchain network having multiple nodes; and
responsive to receiving a validation from a node of the blockchain
network, add a block for the trigger event to a distributed ledger
stored locally.
2. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the controller is further
programmed to output an incentive result via an output device.
3. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the controller is further
programmed to create the block incorporating the trigger event from
a previous block using cryptic hash algorithm.
4. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the controller is further
programmed to encrypt the trigger event before sending the trigger
event to the blockchain network.
5. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the trigger includes at least
one of: a trip evaluation trigger cluster, a fuel performance
trigger cluster, a road safety driving habit trigger cluster, a
vehicle safety feature trigger cluster, a fleet-to-fleet assist
trigger cluster, a driving green trigger cluster, a driver habit
upon returning vehicle trigger cluster, or a compliance trigger
cluster.
6. The vehicle of claim 5, wherein the trip evaluation trigger
cluster includes at least one of: a route planned via a global
navigation satellite system (GNSS) controller, a predefined fuel
reimbursement value, a trigger for continuous improvements on
vehicle inspections, an electronic logging device (ELD) trigger, a
trip reporting trigger, or a driver maintaining good driver score
trigger.
7. The vehicle of claim 5, wherein the fuel performance trigger
cluster includes at least one of: trigger for stop/start system
usage, engine idle trigger, a trigger for usage of air conditioning
(AC) level in comparison to outside temperature, a fuel-economy
value trigger, and a tire pressure maintenance trigger.
8. The vehicle of claim 5, wherein the road safety driving habit
trigger cluster includes at least one of: a seatbelt usage pattern
trigger, a lane changing turn signals usage trigger, a trigger for
keeping safety distance from other vehicles, a bad weather speed
reducing trigger, a break trigger, a speed limit trigger, a low
visibility headlight usage trigger, or a moderate volume level
trigger.
9. The vehicle of claim 5, wherein the vehicle safety feature
trigger cluster includes at least one of: a blind spot monitor
usage trigger, a cruise control usage trigger, a trigger for lance
keep assist sensitivity maintaining and lane warning, a cruise
control usage trigger, a hands-off-wheel alert maintaining trigger,
a hands-free phone call mode usage trigger, or a brake mitigation
sensitivity level maintaining trigger.
10. The vehicle of claim 5, wherein the fleet-to-fleet assist
trigger cluster includes at least one of: a trigger for picking up
load from another fleet vehicle out of route, a trigger for
stopping to render assistance, or a trigger for vehicle repair.
11. The vehicle of claim 5, wherein the driving green trigger
cluster includes at least one of: low ethanol fuel trigger, a fleet
route optimization trigger, an electric vehicle (EV) trigger, a
trigger for charging EV at off-peak hours, or trigger for reporting
infrastructure issues.
12. The vehicle of claim 5, wherein the driver habit upon returning
vehicle trigger cluster includes at least one of: a vehicle
maintenance checklist trigger, a reverse parking trigger, or a fuel
tank percentage trigger.
13. The vehicle of claim 5, wherein the compliance trigger cluster
includes at least one of: an ELD trigger, a vehicle weight trigger,
an hours of operation trigger, a tire pressure trigger, a brake
depth trigger, or a seatbelt status trigger.
14. A method for a vehicle, comprising: detecting a pre-defined
trigger being matched via a signal received from a vehicle sensor;
generating a trigger event based on the matching trigger;
broadcasting the trigger event to a blockchain network having
multiple nodes via a telematics control unit (TCU) through a
wireless connection; receiving a validation key for the trigger
event from at least one node of the blockchain network; generating
a new block incorporating the trigger event based on a previous
block; and adding the new block to a distributed ledger stored
within the vehicle.
15. The method of claim 14, further comprising: encrypting the
trigger event using a key; and sending an encrypted trigger event
to the blockchain network.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein the key is associated with an
identification of the vehicle.
17. The method of claim 14, wherein the pre-defined trigger is
among least one of: a trip evaluation trigger cluster, a fuel
performance trigger cluster, a road safety driving habit trigger
cluster, a vehicle safety feature trigger cluster, a fleet-to-fleet
assist trigger cluster, a driving green trigger cluster, a driver
habit upon returning vehicle trigger cluster, or a compliance
trigger cluster.
18. The method of claim 14, further comprising: receiving an
incentive reward from a fleet manager node of the blockchain
network.
19. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising
instructions that, when executed by a processor of a vehicle, cause
the vehicle to: detect a pre-defined trigger being matched via a
signal received from a vehicle sensor; generate a trigger event
based on the matching trigger; encrypt the trigger event using a
key to generate an encrypted trigger event; broadcast the encrypted
trigger event to a blockchain network having multiple nodes via a
TCU through a wireless connection; receive a validation key for the
trigger event from at least one node of the blockchain network;
generate a new block incorporating the trigger event based on a
previous block; and add the new block to a distributed ledger
stored within the vehicle.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present disclosure is generally related to a vehicle
activity tracking system. More specifically, the present disclosure
is related to a vehicle event tracking system using blockchain
technology.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Many commercial fleet companies actively monitor their fleet
vehicles and adjust compensation for drivers accordingly based on
the drivers' operating activities such as productivity, safe
driving, and/or vehicle maintenance. Blockchain technology has been
developed, and the popularity of blockchain has been increasing due
to the robustness and reliability of the technology.
SUMMARY
[0003] In one or more illustrative embodiment of the present
disclosure, a vehicle includes a controller, programmed to
responsive to detecting occurrence of a condition specified by a
pre-defined trigger, generate a trigger event for the condition and
send the trigger event to a blockchain network having multiple
nodes; and responsive to receiving a validation from a node of the
blockchain network, add a block for the trigger event to a
distributed ledger stored locally.
[0004] In one or more illustrative embodiment of the present
disclosure, a method for a vehicle includes detecting a pre-defined
trigger being matched via a signal received from a vehicle sensor;
generating a trigger event based on the matching trigger;
broadcasting the trigger event to a blockchain network having
multiple nodes via a telematics control unit (TCU) through a
wireless connection; receiving a validation key for the trigger
event from at least one node of the blockchain network; generating
a new block incorporating the trigger event based on a previous
block; and adding the new block to a distributed ledger stored
within the vehicle.
[0005] In one or more illustrative embodiment of the present
disclosure, a non-transitory computer-readable medium includes
instructions that, when executed by a processor of a vehicle, cause
the vehicle to detect a pre-defined trigger being matched via a
signal received from a vehicle sensor; generate a trigger event
based on the matching trigger; encrypt the trigger event using a
key to generate an encrypted trigger event; broadcast the encrypted
trigger event to a blockchain network having multiple nodes via a
TCU through a wireless connection; receive a validation key for the
trigger event from at least one node of the blockchain network;
generate a new block incorporating the trigger event based on a
previous block; and add the new block to a distributed ledger
stored within the vehicle.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] For a better understanding of the invention and to show how
it may be performed, embodiments thereof will now be described, by
way of non-limiting example only, with reference to the
accompanying drawings, in which:
[0007] FIG. 1 illustrates an example block topology of a vehicle
system of one embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0008] FIG. 2 illustrates an example blockchain topology diagram of
one embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0009] FIG. 3 illustrates an example block diagram of vehicle event
triggers of one embodiment of the present disclosure; and
[0010] FIG. 4 illustrates an example flow diagram for a process of
one embodiment of the present disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0011] As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention
are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the
disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention that
may be embodied in various and alternative forms. The figures are
not necessarily to scale; some features may be exaggerated or
minimized to show details of particular components. Therefore,
specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not
to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis
for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present
invention.
[0012] The present disclosure generally provides for a plurality of
circuits or other electrical devices. All references to the
circuits and other electrical devices, and the functionality
provided by each, are not intended to be limited to encompassing
only what is illustrated and described herein. While particular
labels may be assigned to the various circuits or other electrical
devices, such circuits and other electrical devices may be combined
with each other and/or separated in any manner based on the
particular type of electrical implementation that is desired. It is
recognized that any circuit or other electrical device disclosed
herein may include any number of microprocessors, integrated
circuits, memory devices (e.g., FLASH, random access memory (RAM),
read only memory (ROM), electrically programmable read only memory
(EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read only memory
(EEPROM), or other suitable variants thereof) and software which
co-act with one another to perform operation(s) disclosed herein.
In addition, any one or more of the electric devices may be
configured to execute a computer-program that is embodied in a
non-transitory computer readable medium that is programmed to
perform any number of the functions as disclosed.
[0013] The present disclosure, among other things, proposes a
vehicle event monitoring system. More specifically, the present
disclosure, proposes a vehicle event monitoring system utilizing
blockchain.
[0014] Referring to FIG. 1, an example block topology of a vehicle
system 100 of one embodiment of the present disclosure is
illustrated. A vehicle 102 may include various types of automobile,
crossover utility vehicle (CUV), sport utility vehicle (SUV),
truck, recreational vehicle (RV), boat, plane, or other mobile
machine for transporting people or goods. In many cases, the
vehicle 102 may be powered by an internal combustion engine. As
another possibility, the vehicle 102 may be battery electric
vehicle (BEV), a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) powered by both an
internal combustion engine and one or move electric motors, such as
a series hybrid electric vehicle (SHEV), a parallel hybrid electric
vehicle (PHEV), or a parallel/series hybrid vehicle (PSHEV), a
boat, a plane or other mobile machine for transporting people or
goods. As an example, the system 100 may include the SYNC system
manufactured by The Ford Motor Company of Dearborn, Mich. It should
be noted that the illustrated system 100 is merely an example, and
more, fewer, and/or differently located elements may be used.
[0015] As illustrated in FIG. 1, a computing platform 104 may
include one or more processors 112 configured to perform
instructions, commands, and other routines in support of the
processes described herein. For instance, the computing platform
104 may be configured to execute instructions of vehicle
applications 108 to provide features such as navigation, trigger
event detecting, event reporting, and wireless communications. Such
instructions and other data may be maintained in a non-volatile
manner using a variety of types of computer-readable storage medium
106. The computer-readable medium 106 (also referred to as a
processor-readable medium or storage) includes any non-transitory
medium (e.g., tangible medium) that participates in providing
instructions or other data that may be read by the processor 112 of
the computing platform 104. Computer-executable instructions may be
compiled or interpreted from computer programs created using a
variety of programming languages and/or technologies, including,
without limitation, and either alone or in combination, Java, C,
C++, C #, Objective C, Fortran, Pascal, Java Script, Python, Perl,
and PL/SQL.
[0016] The computing platform 104 may be provided with various
features allowing the vehicle occupants/users to interface with the
computing platform 104. For example, the computing platform 104 may
receive input from human-machine interface (HMI) controls 118
configured to provide for occupant interaction with the vehicle
102. As an example, the computing platform 104 may interface with
one or more buttons (not shown) or other HMI controls configured to
invoke functions on the computing platform 104 (e.g., steering
wheel audio buttons, a push-to-talk button, instrument panel
controls, etc.).
[0017] The computing platform 104 may also drive or otherwise
communicate with one or more displays 116 configured to provide
visual output to vehicle occupants by way of a video controller
114. In some cases, the display 116 may be a touch screen further
configured to receive user touch input via the video controller
114, while in other cases the display 116 may be a display only,
without touch input capabilities. The computing platform 104 may
also drive or otherwise communicate with one or more speakers 122
configured to provide audio output to vehicle occupants by way of
an audio controller 120.
[0018] The computing platform 104 may also be provided with
navigation and route planning features through a navigation
controller 126 configured to calculate navigation routes responsive
to user input via e.g., the HMI controls 118, and output planned
routes and instructions via the speaker 122 and the display 116.
Location data that is needed for navigation may be collected from a
global navigation satellite system (GNSS) controller 124 configured
to communicate with multiple satellites and calculate the location
of the vehicle 102. The GNSS controller may be configured to
support various current and/or future global or regional location
systems such as global positioning system (GPS), Galileo, Beidou,
Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) and the like. Map data
used for route planning may be stored in the storage 106 as a part
of the vehicle data 110. Navigation software may be stored in the
storage 106 e.g. as a part of the vehicle applications 108.
[0019] The computing platform 104 may be configured to wirelessly
communicate with a mobile device 140 of the vehicle users/occupants
via a wireless connection 184 through a wireless transceiver 136.
The mobile device 140 may be any of various types of portable
computing device, such as cellular phones, tablet computers, smart
watches, laptop computers, portable music players, or other device
capable of communication with the computing platform 104. The
wireless transceiver 136 may be in communication with a WiFi
controller 128, a Bluetooth controller 130, a radio-frequency
identification (RFID) controller 132, a near-field communication
(NFC) controller 134, and other controllers such as a Zigbee
transceiver, an IrDA transceiver (not shown), and configured to
communicate with a compatible wireless transceiver (not shown) of
the mobile device 140.
[0020] The computing platform 104 may be further configured to
communicate various electronic control units (ECUs) 152 via one or
more in-vehicle network 150. The in-vehicle network 150 may
include, but is not limited to, one or more of a controller area
network (CAN), an Ethernet network, and a media-oriented system
transport (MOST), as some examples.
[0021] The ECUs 152 may include a telematics control unit (TCU) 154
configured to control telecommunication between vehicle 102 and a
cloud 190 through a wireless connection 180 using a modem (not
shown). Additionally or alternatively, the computing platform 104
may be configured to communicate with the cloud 190 via the mobile
device 140 through a wireless connection 186. The computing
platform 104 may be further configured to directly communicate with
the cloud 190 via the wireless transceiver 136 using compatible
protocols through a wireless connection 182. The cloud 190 may
include one or more servers, or computers connected via various
types of wired or wireless networks. It is noted that the term
cloud is used as a general term throughout the present disclosure
and may refer to any cloud-based services involving multiple
servers, computers, devices and the like.
[0022] The ECUs 152 may further include a powertrain control module
(PCM) 156 configured to monitor and control the powertrain
operation of the vehicle 102. For instance, the PCM 156 may be
configured to the stop/start of an engine (not shown), and/or the
driving mode (e.g. economic, normal, or sport) of the vehicle 102.
The ECUs 152 may further include a body control module (BCM) 158
configured to monitor and control body operations of the vehicle
102. For instance, the BCM 158 may be configured to control and
monitor body functions such as door lock/unlock, seatbelt warning,
vehicle occupancy, blind spot monitoring or the like using signals
detected via one or more sensors 162. The sensors 162 may include
any electronic, mechanical, magnetic, optical sensors or the like
configured to communicate with various ECUs 152 to provide sensing
signals. As a few non-limiting examples, the sensors 162 may
include a vehicle weight sensor configured to measure the loading
weight of the vehicle 102, a seatbelt latch sensor configured to
detect seatbelt fasten status, a vehicle speed sensor configured to
measure vehicle speed, a vehicle proximity sensor configured to
measure a distance between the vehicle 102 and an object, a camera
sensor configured to take image or video outside or inside the
vehicle 102, one or more temperature sensors configured to measure
an ambient and/or cabin temperature of the vehicle 102, and a
vehicle fuel level sensor configured to measure fuel level of the
vehicle 102.
[0023] The ECUs 152 may further include an electronic stability
controls (ESC) 160 configured to monitor vehicle operation status
using signals from the speed sensor 162 and control the stability
of the vehicle operation whenever needed such as by activating
anti-lock brakes (ABS), traction controls or the like. The ECUs 152
may further include an autonomous driving controller (ADC) 164
configured to monitor and control the autonomous driving features
of the vehicle 102. Some autonomous driving feature may include
lane keep assist, safe distance from other vehicles, cruise
control, hands-off-wheel alert, autobraking, brake mitigation with
multiple sensitivity levels or the like.
[0024] Referring to FIG. 2, an example topology diagram 200 of a
vehicle blockchain network 202 of one embodiment of the present
disclosure is illustrated. The vehicle blockchain network 202 may
be a peer-to-pear network having multiple nodes connected with each
other. The vehicle 102 may be connected to the blockchain network
202 as a node via the various wireless connections 180, 182 and/or
186 through the cloud 190. The vehicle 102 may be connected to the
blockchain network using a blockchain application stored in the
storage 106 e.g. as one of the vehicle applications 108. For
instance, the blockchain application may contain a smart contract
business logic, legal rules, terms and conditions, and the like to
control the blockchain network operations specified by a fleet
manager 204 managing multiple fleet vehicles including the vehicle
102. Each node of the blockchain network 202 may be configured to
maintain a distributed ledger (sometimes referred to as DL)
individually within its own storage device. For instance, the
vehicle 102 may be configured to maintain a distributed ledger 222
stored in the storage 106 e.g. as a part of the vehicle data 110.
Each distributed ledger may include multiple blocks for data
recordation purposes. Taking the distributed ledger 222 of the
vehicle 102 for instance, the data chain included in the
distributed ledger 222 may grow at a block-by-block basis. For
instance, a successor block 242b may contain a cryptographic hash
of a previous block 242a, a timestamp indicative of a time of
creation of the successor block 242b, and transaction data stored
to the successor block 242b. The same configuration may be
implemented at other nodes of the blockchain network.
[0025] As an example, the vehicle 102 may be among a fleet
including multiple peer vehicles such as a peer vehicle 208 that
are managed by the fleet manager device 204. Both the peer vehicle
208 and the fleet manager 204 may be connected to blockchain
network 202 as nodes each maintaining a distributed ledger 228 and
224 respectively. The blockchain network 202 may further include
one or more insurance providers 206 for the vehicle 102 maintaining
a distributed ledger 226, one or more vehicle manufacturers/dealers
210 of the vehicle 102 maintaining a distributed ledger 230, and
one or more miner 212 maintaining a distributed ledger 232. It is
noted that the blockchain network 202 illustrated with reference to
FIG. 2 is merely an example and the blockchain network 202 may
include more, fewer, or different nodes involving various parties
illustrated or not illustrated in FIG. 2.
[0026] The topology of the vehicle blockchain network 202 may be
applied to various situations. For instance, the fleet manager 204
may monitor fleet vehicles, including the vehicle 102 and the peer
vehicle 208, using the blockchain network 202. Taking the vehicle
102 for example, blockchain connection software may be installed on
the computing platform 104. In addition, the computing platform 104
may be configured with various predefined trigger events 138 for
event detection and reporting. The computing platform 104 may be
configured to record vehicle history of the vehicle 102 responsive
to detecting a match of one or more trigger events via various
vehicle sensors 162 and use the blockchain network 202 to record
the event. Responsive to detecting a predefined trigger event 138
being matched, the computing platform 104 may be configured to
broadcast the event to the entire or part of the blockchain network
202 and wait for a validation. The validation may be conducted by a
variety of methods. For instance, the fleet manager 204 may
validate the event using a predefined authentication code (e.g. a
vehicle identification number (VIN)) sent with the event from the
vehicle 102 to validate the authenticity of the event broadcast.
Additionally or alternatively, one or more miners 212 serving as
nodes of the blockchain network 202 may be used to validate the
event from the vehicle 102 and calculate a key responsive to a
successful validation. Responsive to successfully calculating the
key, the miner 212 may broadcast the key to the entire or part of
the blockchain network. Using the key received from the miner 212,
each node of the blockchain network 202 involved in recording the
event from the vehicle 102 may generate a new block from a previous
block incorporating the event and add the new block to the
distributed ledger. Taking the vehicle 102 for example, if the
latest block in the distributed ledger is 242m when the event is
detected and broadcasted, responsive to receiving the key from the
miner 212, the computing platform 104 may generates a new block
242n based on the previous block 242m using the key and add the new
block 242n into the distributed ledger 222. Similarly, the fleet
manager 204 may add a new block 244n to the distributed ledger 224,
the insurance provider 206 may add a new block 246n to the
distributed ledger 226 and etc.
[0027] Referring to FIG. 3, an example diagram 300 of multiple
vehicle trigger events 138 of one embodiment of the present
disclosure is illustrated. In the present embodiment, the vehicle
102 may be fleet vehicle for commercial use for passengers and/or
cargos. The trigger events 138 may include a trip evaluation
trigger cluster 302 e.g. indicative of hours of operation of the
vehicle 102 against destinations completed. For instance, the trip
evaluation trigger cluster 302 may further include a route to a
destination calculated via the navigation controller 126. A
predefined value for the route based on the distance to the
destination (e.g. a 100 miles route may be assigned a value of $25)
may be assigned. The trip evaluation trigger cluster 302 may
further include a fuel reimbursement value per mile (e.g. $0.50 is
paid per mile driven on the route) and route stops including a
predefined value of each stop (e.g. $25 for each passenger stop and
$10 for each cargo stop). The trip evaluation trigger cluster 302
may further include a trigger for continuous improvements on
vehicle inspections, electronic logging devices (ELDs) trigger,
trip reporting trigger, and driver maintaining good driver score
trigger.
[0028] The trigger events 138 may further include a fuel
performance trigger cluster 304 indicative of the fuel-economy of
an operator operating the vehicle 102. The fuel performance trigger
cluster 304 may include trigger for the stop/start system usage
controlled by the PCM 156 which helps to improve the fuel-economy
of the vehicle 102. The more often the operator uses the stop/start
feature, the more incentive value may be added to the operator's
payment. For instance, the fleet manager may reward the operator
with a predefined incentive pay (e.g. $0.5) for each stop/start
cycle controlled by the PCM 156. The fuel performance trigger
cluster 304 may further include an engine idle trigger which is
compared with a historic trip data for the same or different
operator to determine the norm occurrences of engine idle for
similar trip types operating the vehicle 102. An incentive pay may
be given to the operator with a better (less frequent) engine
idling record. The fuel performance trigger cluster 304 may further
include a trigger for usage of air conditioning (AC) level in
comparison to outside temperature. Similar to the engine idle
trigger, the trigger for usage of AC may be compared with a
historic trip data for the same or different operator to determine
the norm of AC usage for similar outside temperature. An incentive
pay may be given to the operator with a better (less frequent) AC
usage at a similar outside temperature. The fuel performance
trigger cluster 304 may further include a fuel-economy value
trigger such as a miles-per-gallon value, and a tire pressure
maintenance trigger to monitor the vehicle fuel performance based
on signals received from a trip computer and/or a tire pressure
sensor 162 for instance. An incentive pay may be given to the
operator maintaining good fuel-economy and/or tire pressure.
[0029] The trigger events 138 may further included a road safety
driving habit trigger cluster 306 designated to reward the operator
of the vehicle 102 responsive to detecting road safety driving
habits. The road safety driving habit trigger cluster 306 may
include various factors related to driving safety. For instance,
the road safety driving habit trigger cluster 306 may include a
seatbelt usage trigger to monitor seatbelt usage based on signals
received from a seatbelt sensor 162, and a lane changing turn
signals usage trigger to monitor the vehicle operation based on
signals received from the camera 162 and an indictor switch sensor
162. The road safety driving habit trigger cluster 306 may further
include a trigger for keeping safety distance from other vehicles
using data received from the camera 162 or a proximity sensor 162.
The road safety driving habit trigger cluster 306 may further
include a bad weather speed reducing trigger to monitor the vehicle
operation in slippery, wet or low visibility conditions based on
weather data received via the TCU 154 from the cloud 190.
Additionally or alternatively, the temperature sensor, vehicle
speed sensor, the ESC 160 may further provide data to the computing
platform 104 to detect the bad weather speed reducing trigger being
matched.
[0030] In some countries or states, the law requires commercial
fleet drivers to take a break after a certain duration of driving.
Therefore, the road safety driving habit trigger cluster 306 may
further include a break trigger to monitor the vehicle operator
based on data received from the GNSS controller 124, vehicle trip
departure and stopping time or the like. The road safety driving
habit trigger cluster 306 may further include a driving on speed
limit trigger and low visibility headlight usage trigger to monitor
the vehicle operation based on data from a speed sensor 162 and a
light sensor 162. Sometimes high volume of the speaker 122 may have
negative impact for vehicle safety. The road safety driving habit
trigger cluster 306 may further include a moderate volume level
trigger for the speaker 122.
[0031] The vehicle 102 may be provided with various advanced safety
features such as blind spot monitoring. The trigger events 138 may
further include a vehicle safety feature trigger cluster 308
designated to reward the vehicle operation for using those vehicle
safety features. The vehicle safety feature trigger cluster 308 may
include a blind spot monitor usage trigger and cruise control usage
trigger to monitor the usage of those safety features based on data
received from the BCM 158 and the ADC 164 respectively. The vehicle
safety feature trigger cluster 308 may further include a trigger
for lane keep assist sensitivity maintaining and lane warning, and
a cruise control usage trigger to monitor the usage of those
features based on signals received from the ADC 164. The vehicle
safety feature trigger cluster 308 may further include a
hands-off-wheel alert maintaining trigger, a hands-free phone call
mode usage trigger, and a brake mitigation sensitivity level
maintaining trigger based on data received from the ADC 164 and TCU
154.
[0032] The trigger events 138 may further include a fleet-to-fleet
assist trigger cluster 310 designated to incentivize vehicle
operators to assist another member of the fleet beyond his/her own
route to meet customer goals. For instance, the fleet-to-fleet
assist trigger cluster 310 may include trigger for picking up load
(passenger or cargo) from another fleet vehicle or location out of
route, and a trigger for stopping to render assistance to a fellow
fleet inoperative (e.g. due to a flat tire). Data required for
these two triggers may include current location from the GNSS
controller 124 and destination target location transmitted received
from the TCU 154. The computing platform 104 of the vehicle 102 may
be further configured to communicate with the fleet manager 204 via
software stored in the storage 106 to receive instructions to
render assistance. The fleet-to-fleet assist trigger cluster 310
may further include a trigger for driving the vehicle for repair
upon observing a diagnostic trouble code (DTC). For instance, this
trigger may be matched by changing the route to a repair shop
within a predefined time period (e.g. 10 minutes) after the DTC is
reported to the operator.
[0033] The trigger events 138 may further include a driving green
trigger cluster 312 designated to encourage more eco-friendly
operation of the vehicle 102. The driving green trigger cluster 312
may include a low ethanol fuel trigger which provides incentive pay
to the operator for filling up the fuel tank with lower grade of
ethanol (e.g. 10% or less). The driving green trigger cluster 312
may further include a fleet route optimization trigger to provide
incentive pay to the operator to perform multiple load and unload
with one fleet vehicle based on data received from the navigation
controller 126 and the GNSS controller 124. The driving green
trigger cluster 312 may further include an electric vehicle (EV)
usage trigger which provides incentive pay to the operator for
using EVs instead of vehicles powered by conventional fossil fuel.
The driving green trigger cluster 312 may further include a trigger
for charging EV at off-peak hours which provides incentive pay to
the operator for charging the electric vehicle during predefined
off-peak hours (e.g. from 10 pm to 7 am). The driving green trigger
cluster 312 may further include a trigger for reporting
road/infrastructure issues such as a road work or accident by
uploading a picture/video captured by the camera 162 together with
the location from the GNSS controller 124 to the cloud 190 via the
TCU 154.
[0034] The trigger events 138 may further include a driver habit
upon returning vehicle trigger cluster 314 designated to encourage
good habits for the next trip. For instance, the driver habits upon
returning vehicle trigger cluster 314 may include a trigger for the
operator to perform a vehicle maintenance checklist after the
vehicle is parked. The checklist may include checking tire pressure
for each tire, engine oil, DTC scan or the like. The computing
platform may detect the checklist being performed such as by
detecting the vehicle hood is opened after the vehicle 102 has been
parked or the like. Alternatively, the computing platform 104 may
allow the operator to manual input the checklist via the HMI
controls 118. The driver habits upon returning vehicle trigger
cluster 314 may further include a reverse parking trigger to
monitor the parking orientation of the vehicle 102 using data from
the vehicle camera 162 and proximity sensor 162 to provide
incentive pay for reserve parking. The driver habits upon returning
vehicle trigger cluster 314 may further include a fuel tank
percentage trigger to monitor the vehicle fuel level based on data
from the fuel gauge sensor 162 to provide incentive pay to the
operator fueling up the tank for the next trip before parking.
[0035] In many states or countries, there are laws regulating the
operation of commercial vehicle such as ELD and vehicle weight
requirements. The trigger events 138 may further include a
regulation compliance trigger cluster 316 to encourage the operator
to comply with the regulations. Additionally or alternatively, the
regulation compliance trigger cluster 316 may further be used for
law enforcement purposes by granting access to such recorded
trigger data to the law enforcement agencies. As a few non-limiting
examples, the compliance trigger cluster 316 may include an ELD
trigger designated to track the vehicle operating time by a
specific operator, a vehicle weight trigger designated to check the
vehicle weight based on signals from a weight sensor 162, a hours
of operation trigger designated to inspect vehicle safety after
specific hours of operation, a tire pressure trigger designated to
verify appropriate tire pressure via one or more tire pressure
sensors 162, a brake depth trigger designated to verify sufficient
brake pad depth via one or more brake sensors 162, and a seatbelt
status trigger designated to verify the operator or passengers are
using seatbelt as required by law via one or more seatbelt
sensors.
[0036] Referring to FIG. 4, an example flow diagram for a process
400 of one embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated.
With continuing reference to FIGS. 1-3, at operation 402, the
computing platform 104 of the vehicle 102 detects a trigger event
138 with at least one trigger being matched. For instance, the
trigger event 138 may be any one or more among the trigger events
138 illustrated with reference to FIG. 3 detected via one or more
sensors 162, ECUs 152 and/or any other components of the vehicle
102. Responsive to detecting the trigger event 138, the computing
platform 104 performs encryption on the trigger event 138 to
generate an encrypted trigger event at operation 404. An
identification or a key (e.g. the VIN of the vehicle 102) may be
used for encryption purposes. At operation 406, the computing
platform 104 broadcasts the encrypted trigger event to the
blockchain network 202 for validation. As discussed previously with
reference to FIG. 2, responsive to receiving the encrypted trigger
event from the vehicle 102, the fleet manager 204 may perform
validation. Alternatively, the validation may be performed
elsewhere e.g. via a miner 212 as a node of the blockchain network
202. Responsive to a successful validation, the fleet manager 204
or the miner 212 may broadcast a validation key to the blockchain
network 202. Additionally, depending on the specific trigger event,
the fleet manager 204 or the miner 212 may further generate an
incentive reward and send along with the validation key to the
blockchain network 202. Responsive to receiving the validation key
at operation 408, at operation 410, the computing platform 104
creates a new block incorporating the detected trigger event based
on a previous block e.g. via hash algorithm, and add the block to
the distributed ledger 222 stored in the storage 106. In case that
a reward is received along with the validation key, at operation
412, the computing platform 104 further output the incentive reward
to the operation e.g. via the display 116 and/or the speaker
122.
[0037] The process 400 may be applied to various situations. For
instance, one or more trigger events 138 may be used to provide
incentive pay to an operation for the vehicle 102 to encourage good
driving behavior. Taking the lane changing turn signal usage
trigger of the road safety driving habit trigger cluster 306 for
example, responsive to detecting the operator consistently used
turn signal when changing lanes over a predefined period of time
(e.g. 30 minutes) or a predefined distance of driving (e.g. 30
miles), the computing platform 104 may send the lane changing turn
signal usage trigger event to the blockchain network 202 to report
the good driving habit of the operator. And responsive to receiving
a successful validation together with an incentive result (e.g. $5
extra pay), the computing platform 104 may output the incentive
result to the operator to encourage continuous good driving.
[0038] In another example, the fleet manager 204 may subscribe to a
driving green program sponsored by government or other
organizations. The fleet manager 204 may configure one or more
fleet vehicles 102 with the driving green trigger cluster 312 and
only share data related to the driving green trigger 312 category
with the sponsors for reimbursement or tax deduction purposes or
the like. Other categories of trigger events 138 such as the trip
evaluation trigger 302 may not be shared with the sponsors.
Similarly, the fleet manager 204 may grant certain categories of
trigger events stored in the distributed ledgers among the
blockchain network 202 to the insurance provider 206 for premium
discount calculation. For example, the fleet manager 204 may share
block data for the road safety driving habit trigger cluster 306
and vehicle safety feature trigger cluster 308 with the insurance
provider 206, and prohibit access to other categories of trigger
events 138 without special approval. It is noted that, the
insurance provider 206 as a node of the blockchain network may
still have other categories of trigger events 138 stored in the
distributed ledger 226 as blocks 246. However, the insurance
provider 206 may not decrypt the block data without a key granted
by the fleet manager 204.
[0039] The present disclosure may be further applied to law
enforcement context. For instance, the fleet manager 204 may grant
access to certain categories of trigger events data such as the
compliance trigger cluster 316 to a law enforcement agency (e.g. a
police department) allowing the agency to exam and inspect the
compliance status (e.g. load weight) of the fleet vehicle 102
without having to stop the vehicle 102. In this way, the present
disclosure provides a more convenient solution to both the fleets
and the law enforcement agency.
[0040] While exemplary embodiments are described above, it is not
intended that these embodiments describe all possible forms of the
invention. Rather, the words used in the specification are words of
description rather than limitation, and it is understood that
various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and
scope of the invention. Additionally, the features of various
implementing embodiments may be combined to form further
embodiments of the invention.
* * * * *