Selective Vehicle Data Sharing via OBD and GPS Integration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current On-Board-Diagnostics (OBD) and Global Positioning System (GPS) technologies do not effectively enable the selective sharing of vehicle operation and route data among users, limiting community-based logging and sharing of fuel economy and driving behavior, and lack integration for automated rideshare services and public automotive performance databases.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a system that uses OBD and GPS units to wirelessly transmit data to a remote processor, allowing users to selectively share operational and route data through a public web interface, enabling features like fuel economy comparisons, social recognition of virtuous driving, and automated rideshare services, with user-configurable permissions and integration with social networks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If OBD and GPS data are collected and stored centrally, then fuel economy comparisons and driving behavior analysis are improved, but user privacy and data security concerns increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a centralized server as an intermediary that collects, processes, and anonymizes OBD and GPS data before making it available for comparison. The server acts as a mediator between data collectors and users, implementing privacy-preserving techniques such as aggregation and anonymization to protect individual user privacy while enabling meaningful fuel economy comparisons across the community.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transforms raw personal data into aggregated statistical parameters that preserve useful information for comparison while removing identifying characteristics. By changing the form of data from individual trip records to community-wide fuel economy statistics, the system maintains data utility for improvement goals while mitigating privacy risks.
2Adaptability or versatility
If selective data sharing is enabled among users, then community-based logging and sharing of fuel economy data is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal data sharing platform that handles multiple functions through a single system architecture. The same infrastructure supports fuel economy comparisons, driving behavior analysis, rideshare matching, and expense tracking, reducing overall system complexity compared to implementing separate systems for each function.
Solution Approach 2:
The system segments data sharing into controlled categories and permission levels, allowing users to selectively share specific types of data (fuel economy, location, timing) while maintaining privacy for other information. This segmented approach simplifies the sharing mechanism by providing clear, modular options rather than requiring complex custom permissions for each data element.
3Productivity
If automated rideshare introduction service is implemented, then ridesharing efficiency is improved, but computational requirements and processing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary processing of user data, pre-computing compatibility metrics and storing them in an optimized format for rapid matching. By preparing data structures and compatibility information in advance, the system reduces the computational burden during actual rideshare introduction, enabling fast matching without requiring intensive real-time processing.
Solution Approach 2:
The automated rideshare service implements feedback mechanisms that learn from successful matches and refine matching algorithms over time. By using feedback from actual rideshare outcomes to improve matching criteria and parameters, the system increases productivity while reducing the need for complex computational processing in subsequent matching operations.
Data Source
AI summary
In exemplary implementations of this invention, data regarding the position and operation of a vehicle is gathered by a GPS unit and an On Board Diagnostic (“OBD”) port, respectively. This data is wirelessly transmitted by a wireless transceiver located in the vehicle. The transmitted data from multiple vehicles is received by a remote processor. The data is processed and selectively shared with users of a public web interface, in accordance with user preferences. A user selects the type of data that may be shared and the specified persons, classes of persons or public with whom particular data or types of data may be shared. In some cases, data gathered by the OBD ports and GPS units is transmitted to a host server of a social network, and selectively shared over the social network in accordance with that network's policies.