AU2012202024A1 - A System and Method for Collecting an Operator Behavioural Profile - Google Patents

Abstract

A method and apparatus for collecting a behaviour profile of an vehicle operator. The method comprising the steps of: receiving, from a communications path to a computer module, operator identification data indicative of the operator; receiving, 5 from a communications path to the computer module, observation data presented by a plurality of devices, each of the plurality of devices are adapted to detect a predefined observation; executing the software logic, by the computer module, using the transmitted observation data to create a behavioural profile of the operator; and making the behavioural profile available to a subsequent decision process. 18 20 -22

Description

A SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR COLLECTING AN OPERATOR BEHAVIOURAL PROFILE FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to systems and methods for collecting an operator profile, and more particularly to and methods for collecting a profile of a vehicle 5 operator's operational characteristics. The invention has been developed primarily for use as a system and method for collecting a vehicle operator's behavioural profile, wherein the profile is then used in business or social decisions, and will be described hereinafter with reference to this application. However, it will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to this 10 particular field of use. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Any discussion of the prior art throughout the specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such prior art is widely known or forms part of the common general knowledge in the field. 15 Global positioning system (GPS) units have been used in vehicles. In one use, a single purpose GPS unit is used to identify a vehicle's location and movement characteristics (for example, location and speed). In another use, a multi-purpose unit containing a GPS along with other measurement devices (for example, a compass) is similarly used to identify a vehicle's location and movement. In some 20 cases, the unit also contains an input device such as a touch screen so that the operator can interact with the GPS unit. In other cases, the unit contains an output device such as a speaker through which the unit can communicate to the driver. Current art includes using a GPS unit, alone or in combination with other measurement devices, to detect additional aspects of a vehicle's location and 25 movement, these aspects including velocity and acceleration, the crossing of a prescribed or proscribed boundary, and any movement exceeding a pre-determined threshold. When used in concert with a communications path, the GPS and other measurement devices can report these measures to a computer system for analysis. - 1 - OBJECT OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to overcome or ameliorate at least one of the disadvantages of the prior art, or to provide a useful alternative. It is an object of the present invention in a preferred form to enable use of two or 5 more devices that can refine and correct collected data to define a behavioural profile of an operator. It is an object of the present invention in a preferred form to assign a behavioural profile to an operator based on the definition and calculation of prescribed, proscribed and exceptional event types. 10 It is an object of the present invention in a preferred form to present a behaviour profile for subsequent business and social decision-making processes. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to an aspect of the invention there is provided a method of collecting a behaviour profile of an operator, the method comprises the steps of: 15 obtaining operator identification data indicative of the operator; transmitting operator identification data along a communications path to a computer module; collecting observation data presented by a plurality of devices, each of the plurality of devices being adapted to detect a predefined observation; and 20 transmitting the collected observation data along a communications path to the computer module. According to an aspect of the invention there is provided a method of collecting a behaviour profile of an operator, the method comprises the steps of: receiving, from a communications path to a computer module, operator 25 identification data indicative of the operator; and receiving, from a communications path to the computer module, observation data presented by a plurality of devices, each of the plurality of devices being adapted to detect a predefined observation. -2- Preferably, the method further comprises the steps of: executing the software logic, by the computer module, to using the transmitted observation data to create a behavioural profile of the operator; and making the behavioural profile available to a subsequent decision process. 5 According to an aspect of the invention there is provided an apparatus for collecting a behaviour profile of an operator, the apparatus comprising: a means for obtaining operator identification data indicative of the operator; a plurality of observation devices, each of the plurality of observation devices being adapted to detect a predefined observation and transmit collected 10 observation data; a computer module coupled to the plurality of observation devices through a communications path for receiving the observation data; wherein the computer module is adapted to execute software logic, to use the transmitted observation data to create a behavioural profile of the operator; 15 wherein the computer module is further adapted to make the behavioural profile available to a subsequent decision process. Preferably, the behavioural profile is associated with the operator. More preferably, the operator being in control of a vehicle. Most preferably, when used to collect a behaviour profile of an operator in control of a motor vehicle. 20 According to an aspect of the invention there is provided an apparatus, operatively associated with a vehicle equipped with one or more location, velocity and acceleration detection devices, wherein the apparatus collects observations and detects events According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided an apparatus adapted to 25 use one or more location and/or movement detecting devices to collect data indicative of a vehicle, whether moving or at rest, the apparatus including a computer or other processing system to collect and analyse the data to provide a behavioural profile for the vehicle operator. Preferably, the apparatus reports the observations and events in a form supporting 30 business and social decisions.

Preferably, collected data is indicative of location, velocity and acceleration of a vehicle. More preferably, the collected data is used to create an operator profile. Most preferably, the profile is subsequently used as an input to a business or social decision-making process. 5 Preferably, the collected observations and events are transmitted using a communications system or path to a computer system having software logic and data storage capability. More preferably, the observations and events are associated with an operator of the vehicle, the operator having unique operator identification. Preferably, the apparatus comprises a computer processing module. More preferably, 10 the module accumulates the observations and events and, using software logic, determines a behavioural profile for the operator. More preferably, the behavioural profile is made available to one or more decision processes. According to an aspect of the invention there is provided a method comprising the steps of: receiving one or more location-detecting devices to collect data indicative of 15 a vehicle; creating a behavioural profile for the vehicle operator. According to an aspect of the invention there is provided a method comprising the steps of: (a) collecting the observations and data from one or more devices capable of detecting and reporting location or motion; 20 (b) transmitting the collected observations along a communications path to a computer module having software logic; (c) additionally transmitting to the computer module an operator identification; (d) executing the software logic using the transmitted observations thereby creating a behavioural profile for the operator; and 25 (e) making the behavioural profile available to a subsequent decision process. Preferably, collected data is indicative of location, velocity and acceleration of a vehicle. More preferably, this method includes the step of using the profile as in input to a business or social decision making process. -4- Preferably, the collected data is indicative of location in the form of one or more time-related points in a coordinate system. Preferably, the coordinate system is longitude and latitude. Preferably, the collected data is also indicative of velocity having vector components 5 of magnitude and direction. Herein, the term "speed" will be used to indicate only the magnitude of velocity. Preferably, the collected data is also indicative of acceleration having vector components of magnitude and direction. Preferably, the collected data includes data from more than one device so that the 10 validity of the data can be checked and, if necessary, interpolated or extrapolated or corrected. More preferably, the data includes GSP data. The data can preferably include observations from one or more other location or motion detecting devices, included but not limited to compass, magnetometer, accelerometer, and gyroscope. The data can preferably include observations from one or more devices detecting and 15 reporting properties of the vehicle, including but not limited to speedometer, tire pressure, fuel consumption, gross vehicle weight, tare vehicle weight, vehicle width and vehicle height. According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided a user access interface for a processor device, the processor device being adapted to collect data indicative of a 20 vehicle and its operation, the processor device being coupled to a database for storing the data; the interface comprising: software logic adapted to creating a behavioural profile for the vehicle operator. According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided a computer program product stored on a computer usable medium, the computer program product 25 adapted to provide a method as herein described. According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided a computer program product stored on a computer usable medium, the computer program product adapted to provide a user access interface for a computer device, the computer device being adapted to receive access data indicative of a vehicle, the computer device -5 being coupleable to database having one or more records indicative of the vehicle; the computer program product comprising: computer readable program means for creating a behavioural profile for the vehicle operator. 5 According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a computer program stored on a computer usable medium, the computer program adapted to provide an access interface to a user of the computer system, the access interface allowing the user to interact with the computer program and the coupled database to retrieve the behavioural profile for a vehicle operator. The access interface further allowing the 10 user of the computer system to retrieve the behavioural profile for a plurality of vehicle operators. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: 15 FIG. 1 is an overview of an embodiment apparatus of the invention; FIG. 2 is a detailed view of a vehicle containing devices capable of measuring vehicle observations and events; FIG. 3 is a further detailed view of devices for measuring observations and events connected to a computer system; and 20 FIG. 4 is a flow chart for an embodiment method processing steps of the observations and events within the computer system. PREFERRED EMBODIMENT AND BEST MODE OF THE INVENTION An embodiment can use one or more location- and movement-detecting devices to collect location, velocity and acceleration of a vehicle, and a computer system having 25 software logic to create a behavioural profile for the vehicle operator. This profile is subsequently used as input to a business or social decision-making process. -6- An embodiment system and method can collect and/or assign an operator profile, and more particularly collect or assign a profile of a vehicle operator's operational characteristics. It will be appreciated that a vehicle typically has more than one operator. A family 5 car may be driven by more than one family member. A company-owned vehicle may be operated by more than one employee. A rental car company makes its fleet of cars available to members of the general public. Each operator of a vehicle may use different driving techniques, or have a different degree of driving skill. How a vehicle is driven can make a difference for the vehicle owner. For example, unsafe operation 10 increases the likelihood of an accident; braking too hard or accelerating too fast can increase wear on the engine, brakes, tyres and other vehicle components; operating a "street vehicle" in an "off road" locale can result in various damage to a number of vehicle components and systems. Currently, the driving behaviours of the operator are only generally detected after-the-fact, that is, after vehicular wear or damage. 15 An embodiment of the invention can provide a system and method for determining vehicle operator behaviours and using these behaviours in making business and social decisions, including but not limited to offering "good" drivers a lower rental cost, allowing a teenager access to the family car after a number of weeks of "good" driving, warning a driver of a company car when a threshold of "bad" behaviours was 20 reached and suspending driving privileges when a further threshold was reached. The determination of "good" and "bad" behaviours is an aspect of the invention. Current technology allows for a vehicle to be equipped with one or more location and movement -detecting and reporting devices. These devices can include any one or more of: GPS receiver, compass, accelerometer, gyroscope, and magnetometer. 25 Current technology further includes communication systems through which these devices transmit and receive data to and from a computer system having software logic and data storage capabilities. The communication system may use one or more communications device such as a telephone or a wireless internet. An operator can be assigned to a vehicle. There are a great number of different 30 methods for assignment. For example, there may be only one driver of a personally owned car, a driver may "check out" a truck from the "motor pool", a rental car company can assign one of its fleet to a renting driver, or the parent may drive the -7car to and from work and the teenager may drive it only on Saturday. For the purpose of the present invention, it is sufficient that an operator is assigned to a vehicle in a way that for any given time interval of vehicle operation, the operator is known or can be determined. 5 It will be appreciated that, by way of example only, using location, velocity and acceleration detecting devices, 'good' and 'bad' operating events can be detected. Using the communications system, these events can be reported and/or collected for each operator. The collected events can be used to form a behavioural profile for the operator. The profile can then be used to make business and social decisions. The 10 determination of 'good' and 'bad' can be preformed by the software logic and can be altered to suit the type and purpose of the vehicle. For example, off-road driving may be permitted for a rental four-wheel drive rental car, but not allowed for a rental sedan. Using the location- and movement-detecting devices, a time-based record of 15 location, velocity and acceleration observations can be collected for each vehicle. As the operator of the vehicle is known for any time interval, the operator can be associated with the time-based record. The data collected may be examined, verified and in some cases corrected. It is well-known that the accuracy of a GPS receiver may be imprecise, giving only an approximate value. In the preferred embodiment, 20 additional location and movement detection devices (other than GPS) are available, and the data from these devices are collected and the combined data is compared between the different devices, for example, consecutive GPS positions can be used to calculate a direction of travel which can be compared to the coincident reading from the compass. By examination and comparison between the data given by the several 25 devices, inaccurate observations can be detected and either removed from further participation in subsequent calculation, or can be corrected. The computer software logic examines the time-based record of location, velocity and acceleration and makes a determination of "good" and "bad" behaviours. This determination may include, without limitation, any one or more of the following: 30 > Using the location, determination can be made that the operator took the vehicle to a proscribed area (for example, taking a street vehicle off-road), or -8took the vehicle outside a prescribed area (for example, taking the forklift outside the warehouse area known to contain the warehouse). > Using the location and velocity, determination can be made that the operator drove the vehicle too fast or too slow (for example, within the warehouse the 5 forklift should go no faster than 5 kilometres per hour, but in an area outside of all buildings may be driven up to 20 km per hour). > Using the velocity and acceleration, determination can be made that an unsafe turn was made (for example, travelling at a speed of 40 km per hour around a curve may be safe, but making a tight U-turn at a speed of 40 km per hour 10 may be unsafe). > Using acceleration, determination can be made that the vehicle was accelerated unsafely or was in a collision with another object or vehicle. The computer software logic thus makes determinations of behaviours and classifies the behaviours as "good" or "bad". The determination may be binary, for example 15 keeping track only of "bad" behaviours. The determination may be tertiary, for example, "good", "bad", or neither. The determination may be linear assigning a numeric value related to one or more observed value in a linear way, for example, a speed of 40 km per hour receives half the value of a speed of 8o km per hour. The determination may be non-linear, for example, a speed of 8o km per hour receives 20 four times the value of a speed of 40 km per hour. The determination may be time based, for example one hour and thirty minutes since the last observed speed of 8o or more km per hour. Of course, many other calculations and determinations are possible. It will be appreciated that the collected data can be indicative of acceleration having 25 vector components of magnitude and direction. Acceleration can include any change in either the magnitude or direction of velocity. By way of example only, a vehicle travelling a constant speed of 40 kilometres per hour while making a 90-degree right-hand turn is accelerating as the direction of the velocity vector is changing with respect to time. By way of a further example only, if vehicle which travels in a straight 30 line and starts at 40 kilometres per hour and ends some time later at 60 kilometres per hour is accelerating as the length of the velocity vector changes with time. -9Q- The behavioural profile of the assigned operator is thus comprised of one or more observations or calculated determinations. These observations and determinations may be weighted assigning more significance to some determinations than others. The profile is cumulative and time-based such that each calculated determination 5 and its assigned significance is associated with the correct operator. The behavioural profile of each operator is thus accumulated and saved in the computer data storage for subsequent retrieval. The behavioural profile of an operator is either reported or made available for other decision-making processes. For example, a rental car company retrieves a potential 10 renter's behavioural profile and sets the rate of rental and level of necessary insurance based thereon. For another example, a company retrieves an employee's behavioural profile in setting the level of reimbursement for company travel. It will be further appreciated that vehicle operator behaviours are now only detected after the fact, that is, after an accident or when vehicular wear is determined. An 15 embodiment disclosed herein can allow operator behaviours to be detected and reported in a way that allows business and social decisions to be made based thereon. By way of example only, groups of people who could use an embodiment as herein disclosed can include any or more of the following: > Owners of vehicles available for hire by the general public; 20 > Owners of private vehicles which have one or more operator; > Businesses that own a fleet of vehicles each of which may be operated by one or more vehicle operator; > Private companies that offer differing different rates to drivers based on their safe or unsafe driving behaviours; 25 > Vehicle operators themselves who could be informed if they were close to a threshold which change their permissions, privileges or costs; and/or > Vehicle operators who must provide positive evidence of save driving behaviours. Users of an embodiment can apply an operator profile to the making of business or 30 social decisions before allowing operator access to the vehicle. Further, the profile can be used to detect unsafe vehicle operation and put in preventative or corrective - 10 action, for example, vehicle operation education. Further, the profile can be used to identify operators who use the vehicle in a way that causes excess vehicle wear or excess use of vehicle consumables such as tyres or brake system components. Further, the profile can be used to identify operators who have violated a condition 5 for using the vehicle, for example operating the vehicle in an illegal manner, or taking the vehicle into a proscribed area or out of a prescribed area. In an embodiment of the present invention the method takes the following general steps: (a) a vehicle is equipped with at least two location, velocity and acceleration 10 detecting devices which collect time-related observations; (b) observations are sent as soon as they are received from the one or more devices, or collected and sent, using a communications system to a computer system having software logic and data storage capability; (c) observations are associated with an operator of the vehicle; 15 (d) software logic processes the observations and makes determinations of the operators behavioural profile; and (e) the behavioural profile is made available for one or more decision processes. Referring to FIG 1., an embodiment comprises a collection of one or more location, velocity and acceleration detecting devices are installed in a vehicle 10 connected by 20 a communications system 14 to a computer system 12 having a data storage capability 16. The vehicle shown is an automobile; an embodiment is not limited to a specific vehicle type, which may include, among others, types such as truck, bus, train, subway, tram, boat, motorcycle, motor scooter or special-purpose warehouse, construction or transportation vehicles. The collection of devices monitors the 25 location and movement of the vehicle 10 and communications observations in the form of data through the communications system 14 to the computer system 12. The computer system has software logic which processes the data, makes profile behavioural determinations and writes the profile to the computer system's data storage 16. The behavioural profile in the data storage 16 is then available to another 30 decision-making process 18, display process 20, or output process 22. - 11 - Referring to FIG 2., the collection of devices 30 installed in the vehicle 10 monitors the location and movement of the vehicle and communications data through the communications system 14. The collection of devices comprises two or more devices which detect and report the vehicle location, velocity and acceleration. These devices 5 may be one or more of a set containing but not limited to speedometer, odometer, tachometer, GPS, compass, altimeter, magnetometer, gyroscope, and accelerometer. Depending on the vehicle type, the set of devices may also include without limit water depth, water current speed and direction, water temperature, air temperature, wind strength and direction, barometric pressure, precipitation and other weather 10 conditions. Further depending on the type of vehicle, the set of devices may include without limit devices which detect the presence of other vehicles, their proximity and their movement. Further, depending on the type of vehicle, the set of devices may include, but not limited to, any one or more devices which detect and report vehicle properties such as vehicle gross weight, vehicle tare weight, vehicle height or length, 15 the number and type of any towed other vehicle. Further depending on the type of vehicle, the set of devices may include without limit devices which detect and report vehicle operational properties such as oil pressure, fuel consumption, tyre pressure, engine temperature, or other engine qualities such as revolutions per minute and torque. Further, depending on the type of vehicle, the set of devices may include 20 without limit devices which detect and report the status of vehicle operator control such as the position of the steering wheel, which gear is selected, the position of control pedals such as accelerator, brake and clutch. Each device in the collection of devices detects and reports data appropriate to the device. These data are made time-relative by the application of a time stamp. The 25 data are collected and are transmitted through the communications system 14 to the computer system 12. In an embodiment, the data are not collected but rather are transmitted as soon as received from the device. In one embodiment, the collection of devices includes a local data storage device allowing the data to be accumulated at one time and transmitted at a later time, for example, in the event the 30 communications system is not available, the data is collected and transmitted once the communications system become available. The communications system 14 allows the communication of the data from the vehicle 10 to the computer system 12. In one embodiment, the communications - 12 system is a 2G, 3G, 4G or GPRS telephone system. In another embodiment the communications is a wireless internet (Wi-Fi) system. In still another embodiment, the communications system is a combination two or more types of communication system. 5 Referring to FIG 3., the collection of devices 30 sends the collected observations through the communications system 14 to the computer system 12. The computer system has software logic which processes the data and makes determinations of aspects of a behavioural profile, associates the behavioural profile to a vehicle operator, and saves the behavioural profile in the computer systems data storage 16. 10 The behavioural profile is available to other processes 18, 20, and 22 which may use it to make business or social decisions. The software logic of the computer system processes the data singly and in combination to make a determination of aspects of the behavioural profile. In one embodiment, the software logic uses three types of pre-determined specifications in 15 making a determination: > Prescribed - qualities of location or movement which must be present, and the presence or absence of which affects the determination. One example is a polygonal area within which the vehicle must be operated. > Proscribed - qualities of location or movement which must not be present, 20 and the presence or absence of which affects the determination. One example is a polygonal area within which the vehicle must not be operated. > Exceptional - qualities of location or movement which if present affects the determination. One example is values of location, velocity and acceleration which indicate the rapid deceleration associated with a vehicular accident. 25 In one embodiment, the software logic also uses an external specification of a map through which the vehicle is operated. In an embodiment, by way of example only, events can include: prescribed events are events which the operator must perform, for example a route that must be taken or a speed that must be maintained; proscribed events are events which the operator 30 must not perform, for example, roads or terrain that must not be travelled, or rapid - 13 accelerations or decelerations; and exceptional events are events which if they occur immediately affect the operator's profile, for example, having a collision. In one embodiment, the software logic also uses one or more external specification of qualities of the possible routes along which the vehicle is operated. The specification 5 may include without limit a legal speed limit along a road, road closures, road surface material, the presence or absence of tolls, and the amount of traffic along a route. In one embodiment, the collection of devices includes those contained in a smart phone and the communications system is the telephone's telephony system. A device can detect and report the vehicle location using GPS, the vehicle direction of travel 10 using the compass and magnetometer, and the vehicle acceleration using the accelerometer or gyroscope. The software logic processes this data and calculates vehicle velocity (speed and direction) from the time difference in GPS location. The compass data is used to verify or refine the velocity. The software logic also calculates the vehicle acceleration from the time difference in velocity. The data from the 15 magnetometer, accelerometer, gyroscope or a combination of these is used to refine or verify the acceleration calculation. In one embodiment, data from other devices, for example speedometer and odometer, is further included to verify and refine the location, velocity and acceleration calculations. Using the observed and calculated, verified and refined data, the software logic can 20 determine the vehicle location, velocity and acceleration at any point in time. The software logic then refers to the prescribed, proscribed and exceptional specifications and any external specification to determine what, if any, alteration to the vehicle operator's behavioural profile is needed. In one embodiment, the prescribed and proscribed specifications are dependent on 25 only one of location, velocity or acceleration, for example, locations where the vehicle must stop (delivery addresses), must not stop (for example, bars) and speeds above which the vehicle must never be operated. In other cases, the prescribed and proscribed specification are a combination of two or more of vehicle location, velocity and acceleration, for example, the speed limit of a forklift inside the warehouse if 30 lower than the speed limit outside. In still other cases, the prescribed and proscribed specifications are a function of one or more of vehicle location, velocity and acceleration combined with one or more external specification, for example, the - 14 speed limit along a gravel surface road is lower than the speed limit along a paved road. In still other cases, the prescribed and proscribed specifications are a combination of one or more of vehicle location, velocity and acceleration in combination with the data from one or more other vehicle devices, for example the 5 speed limit of a loaded truck is lower than the speed limit of the same truck when empty. Referring to FIG 4, which illustrates one embodiment of the software logic of the computer system 12. The software starts it processing at step 40 and performs any start-up and initialisation required. Once initialised, the identity of the operator is 10 determined 42. At step 44, one set of data is received from the collection of devices (not shown) installed in the vehicle 10 and transmitted through the communication system 14. Once received, the data is processed and location, velocity and acceleration are calculated, verified and refined 46. Referring to the proscribed specification 64, prescribed specification 66 and exceptional specification 68, the 15 software logic determine if the operator's behavioural profile needs alteration 48 based on vehicle location. If yes, the operator behavioural profile is read from the computer data storage 6o, altered and returned to data storage. Processing continues at step 50 where a determination is made if velocity alone or velocity in combination with location requires a change in the vehicle operator's behavioural profile. If yes, 20 the profile is read from the computer data storage, altered and returned. Processing continues 54 where the vehicle acceleration alone or in combination with location or velocity or both determines if the vehicle operator's profile needs to be altered. If yes, the profile is retrieved from the computer data storage, altered and returned. Processing continues 58 where the software logic completes the processing of this set 25 of data, performs any housekeeping necessary and returns to step 44 to process the next data from the vehicle. The operator profile is maintained in the computer data storage 6o. These comprise records that are accessible by other processes, 18, 20, and 22. In one embodiment, these processes have read-only access to the profile records and make automatic or 30 manual decisions based on the profile contents. - 1.5 - In one embodiment, the profile comprises an accumulation of merit points, where points are added for prescribed events, and points are subtracted for proscribed or exceptional events. The points total is used in the making of business or social decisions. The points total may also be used to inform the operator or vehicle owner 5 or other interested person or process at one or more predetermined points threshold. One method of informing the operator is to display the number of points on a visual display. Another method is to sound an audible alarm. Another method is to send an SMS or email message. Another method is to play a pre-recorded message. Another method is to place a pre-recorded call to the operator's telephone. 10 Vehicle location and tracking devices are in common use. These are currently limited to tracking vehicle location and the time the vehicle is operated. Current art does not include keeping an operator profile, updating the profile based on the determination of prescribed, proscribed and exceptional events, and making the behavioural profile available to subsequent business and social decision-making processes. 15 It would be appreciated that some of the embodiments are described herein as a method or combination of elements of a method that can be implemented by a processor of a computer system or by other means of carrying out the function. Thus, a processor with the necessary instructions for carrying out such a method or element of a method forms a means for carrying out the method or element of a 20 method. Furthermore, an element described herein of an apparatus embodiment is an example of a means for carrying out the function performed by the element for the purpose of carrying out the invention. In alternative embodiments, the one or more processors operate as a standalone device or may be connected, e.g., networked to other processor(s), in a networked deployment, the one or more processors may 25 operate in the capacity of a server or a client machine in server-client network environment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer or distributed network environment. 30 - 16 - Identification of Parts and Components disclosed herein include the following: Ref Name of Part 10 A vehicle equipped with devices for detecting vehicle location, velocity, acceleration and other data 12 A computer system having appropriate software logic 14 A communications path between the vehicle and the computer system 16 A data store for recording observations, events and operator behavioural profiles 18 A decision process using the operator behavioural profile as an input 20 A process which displays the operator behavioural profile 22 A process which prints the operator behavioural profile 30 Devices installed in the vehicle which collect location, velocity and acceleration information, and information about the vehicle state (including odometer, tachometer, speedometer) 40 The start of software logic processing 42 A step of software logic which identifies the vehicle operator 44 A step of the software logic which begins a processing cycle and receives data from the devices installed in the vehicle 46 A step of the software logic which calculates the vehicle location 48 A step of the software logic which determines if the vehicle location is exceptional and if so, records the exception in the data storage 50 A step of the software logic which calculates the vehicle velocity 52 A step of the software logic which determines if the vehicle velocity is exceptional and if so, records the exception in the data storage 54 A step of the software logic which determines the vehicle acceleration 56 A step of the software logic which determines if the vehicle acceleration is exceptional and if so, records the exception in the data storage 58 A step of the software logic which completes this cycle of the software logic and continues a next cycle at processing step 44. 60 A database containing operator profiles 64 Specification for determining prescribed, proscribed and exceptional location events 66 Specification for determining prescribed, proscribed and exceptional velocity events 68 Specification for determining prescribed, proscribed and exceptional acceleration - 17events Thus, one embodiment of each of the methods described herein is in the form of a computer-readable carrier medium carrying a set of instructions, e.g., a computer program that are for execution on one or more processors. Unless specifically stated 5 otherwise, as apparent from the following discussions, it is appreciated that throughout the specification discussions utilizing terms such as "processing", "computing", "calculating", "determining" or the like, can refer to the action and/or processes of a computer or computing system, or similar electronic computing device, that manipulate and/or transform data represented as physical, such as 10 electronic, quantities into other data similarly represented as physical quantities. In a similar manner, the term "processor" may refer to any device or portion of a device that processes electronic data, e.g., from registers and/or memory to transform that electronic data into other electronic data that, e.g., may be stored in registers and/or memory. A "computer" or a "computing machine" or a "computing platform" may 15 include one or more processors. The methodologies described herein are, in one embodiment, performable by one or more processors that accept computer-readable (also called machine-readable) code containing a set of instructions that when executed by one or more of the processors carry out at least one of the methods described herein. Any processor capable of 20 executing a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken is included. Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout the description and the claims, the words "comprise", "comprising", and the like are to be construed in an inclusive sense as opposed to an exclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in the 25 sense of "including, but not limited to". Similarly, it is to be noticed that the term "coupled", when used in the claims, should not be interpreted as being limitative to direct connections only. The terms "coupled" and "connected", along with their derivatives, may be used. It should be understood that these terms are not intended as synonyms for each other. Thus, the scope of the expression a device A coupled to a 30 device B should not be limited to devices or systems wherein an output of device A is directly connected to an input of device B. It means that there exists a path between -18an output of A and an input of B which may be a path including other devices or means. "Coupled" may mean that two or more elements are either in direct physical or electrical contact, or that two or more elements are not in direct contact with each other but yet still co-operate or interact with each other. As used herein, unless 5 otherwise specified the use of the ordinal adjectives "first", "second", "third", etc., to describe a common object, merely indicate that different instances of like objects are being referred to, and are not intended to imply that the objects so described must be in a given sequence, either temporally, spatially, in ranking, or in any other manner. Reference throughout this specification to "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" 10 means that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. Thus, appearances of the phrases "in one embodiment" or "in an embodiment" in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, but may refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular 15 features, structures or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner, as would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art from this disclosure, in one or more embodiments. Similarly it should be appreciated that in the above description of exemplary embodiments of the invention, various features of the invention are sometimes 20 grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding in the understanding of one or more of the various inventive aspects. This method of disclosure, however, is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed invention requires more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims 25 reflect, inventive aspects lie in less than all features of a single foregoing disclosed embodiment. Thus, the claims following the Detailed Description are hereby expressly incorporated into this Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment of this invention. Furthermore, while some embodiments described herein include some but not other 30 features included in other embodiments, combinations of features of different embodiments are meant to be within the scope of the invention, and form different embodiments, as would be understood by those in the art. For example, in the - 19 following claims, any of the claimed embodiments can be used in any combination. In the description provided herein, numerous specific details are set forth. However, it is understood that embodiments of the invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, structures and techniques 5 have not been shown in detail in order not to obscure an understanding of this description. Although the invention has been described with reference to specific examples, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the invention may be embodied in many other forms. It will be appreciated that an embodiment of the invention can consist essentially of 10 features disclosed herein. Alternatively, an embodiment of the invention can consist of features disclosed herein. The invention illustratively disclosed herein suitably may be practiced in the absence of any element which is not specifically disclosed herein. - 20 -

Claims (20)

1. A method of collecting a behaviour profile of an operator, the method comprising the steps of: obtaining operator identification data indicative of the operator; 5 transmitting operator identification data along a communications path to a computer module; collecting observation data presented by a plurality of devices, each of the plurality of devices being adapted to detect a predefined observation; and transmitting the collected observation data along a communications path to the 10 computer module.

2. A method of collecting a behaviour profile of an operator, the method comprising the steps of: receiving, from a communications path to a computer module, operator identification data indicative of the operator; and 15 receiving, from a communications path to the computer module, observation data presented by a plurality of devices, each of the plurality of devices being adapted to detect a predefined observation.

3. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the predefined observation is a time-based observation selected from of any one or 20 more of the set including: location; velocity; and acceleration.

4. The method according to anyone of the preceding claims, the method further comprising the steps of: executing the software logic, by the computer module, using the transmitted observation data to create a behavioural profile of the operator; and 25 making the behavioural profile available to a subsequent decision process.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the behavioural profile includes a calculated determination as to a characterisation of operator behaviour. - 21 -

6. The method according to claim 4 or claim 5, wherein the behavioural profile includes data indicative of an event type.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the event types including any one or more of the set comprising: prescribed event types, proscribed event types 5 and/or exceptional event types.

8. The method according to any one of claims 4 to 7, wherein the behavioural profile is associated with the operator.

9. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein two or more devices being adapted to detect a first predefined observation for improving 10 reliability of observation data indicative of the first predefined observation.

10. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the operator is operating of a vehicle, and each of the plurality of devices being adapted to detect a predefined a time-based observation selected from any one or more of the set including: vehicle location; vehicle velocity; and vehicle acceleration. 15

11. A method of collecting a behaviour profile of an operator, substantially as herein described with reference to any one of the embodiments of the invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings and/or examples.

12. An apparatus for collecting a behaviour profile of an operator, the apparatus comprising: a processor means for performing the method according to any one 20 of claims 4 to 8.

13. An apparatus for collecting a behaviour profile of an operator, the apparatus comprising: a means for obtaining operator identification data indicative of the operator; a plurality of observation devices, each of the plurality of observation devices 25 being adapted to detect a predefined observation and transmit collected observation data; a computer module coupled to the plurality of observation devices through a communications path for receiving the observation data; - 22 - wherein the computer module is adapted to execute software logic, to use the transmitted observation data to create a behavioural profile of the operator; wherein the computer module is further adapted to make the behavioural profile available to a subsequent decision process. 5

14. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the predefined observation is a time-based observation selected from of any one or more of the set including: location; velocity; and acceleration.

15. The apparatus according to claim 13 or claim 14, wherein the behavioural profile includes a calculated determination as to a characterisation of operator 10 behaviour.

16. The apparatus according to any one of claims 13 to 15, wherein the behavioural profile includes data indicative of an event type, the event types including any one or more of the set comprising: prescribed event types, proscribed event types and/or exceptional event types. 15

17. The apparatus according to any one of claims 13 to 16, wherein the behavioural profile is associated with the operator.

18. The apparatus according to any one of claims 13 to 17, the operator being in control of a vehicle.

19. The apparatus according to any one of claims 13 to 18, when used to collect a 20 behaviour profile of an operator in control of a motor vehicle.

20. An apparatus for collecting a behaviour profile of an operator, substantially as herein described with reference to any one of the embodiments of the invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings and/or examples. - 2.' -