WO2014053019A1 - Driver training system and method - Google Patents

Driver training system and method Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2014053019A1
WO2014053019A1 PCT/AU2013/001136 AU2013001136W WO2014053019A1 WO 2014053019 A1 WO2014053019 A1 WO 2014053019A1 AU 2013001136 W AU2013001136 W AU 2013001136W WO 2014053019 A1 WO2014053019 A1 WO 2014053019A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
driving
driver
driving event
route
user
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/AU2013/001136
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Daniel LOMBARDO
Original Assignee
Free Apps Technology Pty Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority claimed from AU2012904325A external-priority patent/AU2012904325A0/en
Application filed by Free Apps Technology Pty Ltd filed Critical Free Apps Technology Pty Ltd
Priority to AU2013327398A priority Critical patent/AU2013327398A1/en
Publication of WO2014053019A1 publication Critical patent/WO2014053019A1/en

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Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
    • G07C—TIME OR ATTENDANCE REGISTERS; REGISTERING OR INDICATING THE WORKING OF MACHINES; GENERATING RANDOM NUMBERS; VOTING OR LOTTERY APPARATUS; ARRANGEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS FOR CHECKING NOT PROVIDED FOR ELSEWHERE
    • G07C5/00—Registering or indicating the working of vehicles
    • G07C5/08—Registering or indicating performance data other than driving, working, idle, or waiting time, with or without registering driving, working, idle or waiting time
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01C—MEASURING DISTANCES, LEVELS OR BEARINGS; SURVEYING; NAVIGATION; GYROSCOPIC INSTRUMENTS; PHOTOGRAMMETRY OR VIDEOGRAMMETRY
    • G01C21/00—Navigation; Navigational instruments not provided for in groups G01C1/00 - G01C19/00
    • G01C21/26—Navigation; Navigational instruments not provided for in groups G01C1/00 - G01C19/00 specially adapted for navigation in a road network
    • G01C21/34—Route searching; Route guidance
    • G01C21/3446—Details of route searching algorithms, e.g. Dijkstra, A*, arc-flags, using precalculated routes
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G09—EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
    • G09B—EDUCATIONAL OR DEMONSTRATION APPLIANCES; APPLIANCES FOR TEACHING, OR COMMUNICATING WITH, THE BLIND, DEAF OR MUTE; MODELS; PLANETARIA; GLOBES; MAPS; DIAGRAMS
    • G09B19/00—Teaching not covered by other main groups of this subclass
    • G09B19/16—Control of vehicles or other craft
    • G09B19/167—Control of land vehicles
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G09—EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
    • G09B—EDUCATIONAL OR DEMONSTRATION APPLIANCES; APPLIANCES FOR TEACHING, OR COMMUNICATING WITH, THE BLIND, DEAF OR MUTE; MODELS; PLANETARIA; GLOBES; MAPS; DIAGRAMS
    • G09B29/00—Maps; Plans; Charts; Diagrams, e.g. route diagram
    • G09B29/003—Maps
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G09—EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
    • G09B—EDUCATIONAL OR DEMONSTRATION APPLIANCES; APPLIANCES FOR TEACHING, OR COMMUNICATING WITH, THE BLIND, DEAF OR MUTE; MODELS; PLANETARIA; GLOBES; MAPS; DIAGRAMS
    • G09B9/00—Simulators for teaching or training purposes
    • G09B9/02—Simulators for teaching or training purposes for teaching control of vehicles or other craft
    • G09B9/04—Simulators for teaching or training purposes for teaching control of vehicles or other craft for teaching control of land vehicles
    • G09B9/052—Simulators for teaching or training purposes for teaching control of vehicles or other craft for teaching control of land vehicles characterised by provision for recording or measuring trainee's performance

Definitions

  • the present invention relates generally to a system and method for facilitating driver education and training, and in particular, to a system and method for remotely accessing information and recording and storing data for driver training purposes.
  • learner drivers are typically required to perform approximately 120 hours of supervised driving across a variety of night and day conditions, prior to obtaining their licence.
  • Such supervised driving must be performed in the presence of an experienced driver and the details of the driving event must be recorded in an official log book that is signed-off by both the learner driver ' and the supervising driver after completion of the driving event.
  • their log book must show completion of the predetermined number of hours of driving across a range of driving conditions, such as dry - wet roads, heavy - light traffic conditions, as well as day/night driving.
  • the driving test that is to be taken by the learner driver in order to obtain a licence to drive a vehicle is typically conducted by an appropriate government or regulatory authority responsible for administering such matters.
  • the testing procedure may vary depending on tire specific regulatory body conducting the test, but generally requires the learner driver to drive their vehicle in the presence of an Examiner as an observing passenger, who monitors and assesses the driving performance.
  • the Examiner typically assesses the learner driver in relation to their ability to control the vehicle and their ability to cooperate with other road users and obey the road rules, In this regard, most Examiners typically have one or more predetermined driving routes planned for assessment purposes, where, the learner driver is directed by the Examiner to drive their vehicle along the route and perforin various tasks, such as turns and stops, to test their skill and knowledge.
  • the specific driving routes planned by the Examiners are typically selected on their ability to test and challenge the learner driver's driving ability. Therefore, should the learner driver complete the test route to the satisfaction of the Examiner, the learner driver will typically be awarded their licence to drive, provided that any other requirements are also met.
  • parents and guardians are typically those responsible in many instances for supervising and training their children as learner drivers, there is a need to provide such non-formally trained driving supervisors with tools to assist them in assessing the development of their child's driving education and to challenge the driver's ability across a variety of driving conditions, This is important where the parent or guardian identifies a deficiency or area of their child's driving skills requiring improvement, such that more formalised training can be employed,, as may be provided by a trained driver educator.
  • a training system for training a driver to drive a vehicle comprising:
  • a remote database for storing a plurality of route maps representing a predetermined driving route for testing driving skills of a driver driving the vehicle
  • a mobile telecommunications device carried by or in association with the driver and having software to process one or more of the plurality of route maps
  • a communications interface configured to facilitate communication between a mobile telecommunications device and the remote database; wherein, the mobile telecommunications device is contr ollable by the driver to download one or more of the route maps from the database into the mobile telecommunications device and the software is configured to generate a driving event by directing the driver to drive along the predetermined driving route where the driving event is recorded by the software for storage in the remote database and/or the mobile telecommunications device in the form of a driving event report,
  • the database may be farther configured to store a plurality of accounts, each account may represent a registered driver and the database may be configured to store information associated with the registered driver.
  • the information associated with the registered driver may include personal information of the registered driver and driving event reports completed by the registered driver.
  • the driving event recorded by the software may include the route map and the time of completion of the route map by the driver.
  • the driving event may further include information supplied by the driver in the form of vehicle identification information, traffic conditions, and weather conditions.
  • the one or more route maps downloaded by the mobile telecommunications device may be selected by the driver in accordance with the driver's location.
  • a method of capturing and recording a completed driving event associated with a vehicle comprising: configuring a mobile telecommunication device for use with the vehicle: obtaining a route map for directing a driver of a vehicle along a roiite defined by said route map by way of said mobile telecommunication device: initiating the driving event such, that said mobile communication device directs said driver along the route; completing driving event; entering information associated with said driving event into said mobile telecommunication device; and storing a record of sard completed driving event, and information associated with said driving event.
  • the step of configuring the mobile telecommunication device may comprise the step of initiating a software application within said mobile telecommunication device.
  • the step of obtaining a route map may comprise employing the software application of the mobile telecommunication device to download the route map.
  • the route map may be downloaded by the software application of the mobile telecommunication device from a remotely accessible database by way of a wireless teleconununications network.
  • the remotely accessible database may include a plurality of route maps for download by the software application of the mobile telecommunication device.
  • the route map may be downloaded by the software application of the mobile telecommunication device from a memory associated the software application of the mobile telecommunication device.
  • the step of initiating the driving event may comprise the software application processing the route map in association with the position of the vehicle so as to direct the driver along the route.
  • the position of the vehicle may be determined from a Global Positioning System (GPS) of the mobile telecommunication device.
  • GPS Global Positioning System
  • the step of initiating the driving event may also comprise entering into the software application of the mobile telecommunication device an odometer reading of .the vehicle prior to initiation of the diiving event.
  • the step of completing the driving event may comprise bringing the vehicle to a stop and entering the completion event into tire software application of the mobile telecommunication device.
  • the step of entering information associated with said driving event may comprise entering information pertaining to any one or more of: weather conditions of the driving event,, traffic conditions of the driving event; final odometer reading of tire vehicle; time of day; vehicle identification number.
  • the step of storing a record of said completed driving event and information associated with the completed driving event may comprise downloading the completed driving event and information associated with the completed driving event for storage in a remote database by way of a wireless telecommunications network.
  • the step of storing a record of said completed driving event and information associated with the completed driving event may comprise downloading the completed driving event and information associated with the completed driving event for storage in a memory associated with the software application
  • a training system for training learner drivers to drive a vehicle comprising:
  • a database for storing a plurality of test maps representing a predetermined driving route for testing skills of a learner driver driving a the vehicle;
  • a mobile telecommunications device earned by the learner driver configured to include software to display one or more of the plurality of test maps stored within the database;
  • a communications interface configured to facilitate communication between a mobile telecommunications device and the database:
  • the learner driver can download one or more of the test maps from the database into their mobile telecommunications device and the software is configured to generate a driving event by directing the learner driver to drive along me predetennined driving route where the driving event is recorded by the software for storage in the form of a driving event report.
  • the database is further configured to store a. plurality of accounts, each account representing a subscribed learner driver and the database is configured to store information associated with subscribed learner driver,
  • the information associated with the subscribed learner driver includes personal information of the subscribed learner driver and completed driving event reports.
  • a method of conducting driving training for a learner driver of a vehicle comprising: installing software on a mobile telecommunications device to facilitate communication with a remotely hosted a server storing one or more driving route maps, the installed software being configured for data entry of a desired driving event, including date, time and selected driving route, said driving route being selected from one or more driving route maps stored in said installed software following downloading of said driving route map from the remotely hosted server; visual display of the selected driving route map on a screen of said mobile telecommunications device; audio presentation of directions to said learner driver to direct said learner driver along said driving route map using a GPS system provided with said mobile telecommunications device; data entry of completed data following completion of said desired driving event including time of completion of said driving event, name of supervising driver and odometer reading of vehicle in which driving event was conducted; storage of said completed data associated with said driving event; and inputting data of completed driving event into a database installed on said remotely hosted server.
  • a method of logging driving events associated with a vehicle comprising: recording the driving events on a mobile telecommunication device; capturing data associated with the driving events on said mobile telecommunication device; and storing said recorded driving events and captured data in a memory.
  • Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an environment for providing tire driver training application of the present invention in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • Figures 2 - 31 illustrate a graphical user interface of a mobile telecommunication device employing the dr iver training application of the present invention:
  • Figure 32 is a flow chart depicting a method of capturing a driving event in accordance with the system of the present invention.
  • a “driving event” will refer to a situation whereby a learner driver undertakes a driving lesson either formally or informally, in the presence of an experienced driver.
  • the driving event may include a formal driving lesson provided by a licensed driving instructor, or a driving lesson provided by a parent or guardian in an informal manner ,
  • FIG. 1 there is shown a simplified view of an environment 10 for implementing the driver training system of the present invention in accordance with a preferred ' embodiment-
  • the environment 10 is hosted by a remote host 11 to enable a plurality of remotely located users to access the system for downloading information and storing information relating to various aspects of driver training and other related services.
  • a remote host 11 to enable a plurality of remotely located users to access the system for downloading information and storing information relating to various aspects of driver training and other related services.
  • the environment 10 includes a host 11 having one or more servers 12 in communication with a distributed computing network 14 via wired or wireless communication channels, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art,
  • the distributed computing network 14 is the internet, although other types of networks are also envisaged.
  • a plurality of users 16 are then connected to the distributed computing network 14 by way of computer devices, typically mobile phones, laptops and/or tablet devices. In such an arrangement, multiple users 16 are able to remotely access the host 11 and the servers 12 at any time.
  • the servers 12 are configured to store a variety of information for the users 16 to access.
  • the servers 12 are also able to house multiple databases necessary for the proper operation of the methods and systems of the present invention and for the storage of information collected from the individual users 16.
  • the server 12 may be any of a number of servers known to those skilled in the art and are intended to be operably connected to the network 14 so as to operably link to the plurality of users 16.
  • the servers 12 typically include a central processing unit or CPU that includes one or more microprocessors and memory operably connected to the CPU.
  • the memory can include any combination of random access memory (RAM), a storage medium such as a magnetic hard disk drive(s) and the like.
  • the memory of the servers 12 may be used for storing an operating system, databases, software applications and the like for execution on the CPU.
  • the database stores data relating to maps of predetermined driving routes for a variety of locations to be downloaded by each registered user, as well as driving history logs for each registered user.
  • the data relating to each user may include a variety of information such as the user's name, address, driver learner permit number and the like.
  • Each user 16 is preferably able to connect to the distributed computing network 14 by way of a mobile telecommunications device.
  • the mobile telecommunications device is catried by the user 16 and is loaded with a software application, commonly referred to as "a mobile app", which is configured to download and display information to the user from the central server and from the mobile telecommunication devices own memory, as well as record and document a driving event and any relevant information relating to that driving event, such as time, car registration, road and traffic conditions and the like.
  • the mobile telecommunication device's functionality is provided by the software application which is installed in the device's local non-volatile storage and which is executed by the device's internal processor.
  • the application may be downloaded to the mobile telecommunication device via the network 14 from the host server 12.
  • the mobile telecommunications device may collect and transfer information to the host server 12 via the distributed computing network automatically, by transmitting data collected by the device's sensory equipment, such as Global Positioning Systems ("GPS 1" ) data, as well as any data manually entered by the user 1 . such as vehicle identification data and the like.
  • GPS 1 Global Positioning Systems
  • a user Prior to use of the driver training system and method of the present invention, a user typically downloads the software application from the host server 12 and subscribes as a registered user with the host server 12.
  • the driver training system and method may be a hosted platform that integrates with certain mobile telecommunication applications,
  • the registration or subscription process typically captures relevant personal information of the user and stores that information with the user to create a user profile for each registered user. All subscriber infonnation is securely stored on the server(s) 12 of tire host service provider using data warehousing to facilitate retrieval of infonnation when required.
  • the subscriber may log in to a subscriber website to register for the service, or alternatively, data may be entered directly and/or locally stored on the subscriber's personal mobile telecommunication device, and synchronised with data stored on the network at a later time.
  • the user may download the application to their mobile telecommunication device.
  • the location of tire downloaded application may depend on the type of mobile telecommunication device and the service carrier.
  • the mobile telecommunication device is a smartphone, such as an iPhone®, manufactured and sold by Apple, Inc.
  • tire application may be downloaded from an appropriate on-line store, such as iTunes®.
  • the mobile telecommunication device may relate to a PDA, a notepad such as an iPad®, or any other mobile device comprising local processing means and means for communicating with a telecommunication network.
  • a mobile telecommunication device 20 is depicted having the software application installed thereon in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention
  • the device 20 depicted in Fig, 2 shows a screen, sucli as a standard Graphic User Interface (GUI) that is common with existing iPhone® devices.
  • GUI Graphic User Interface
  • a keyboard is incorporated into the screen to facilitate entry of data and other information as required. It will be appreciate that in order to access the application the user typically selects an appropriate icon from the start-menu screen as shown in Figure 2.
  • start-menu generally provides multiple options for the subscriber to select depending upon their desired purpose for using tire application.
  • the start-menu provides for :
  • the application of the present invention provides a simple and convenient means for learner drivers to readily access all the information they require for their learner driver needs. Should the user wish to contact a local licence testing office in their vicinity they can simply conduct a search through the host records to locate the office details and phone the office if necessary to organise a time for the user to sit for their driving test. Similarly, as will become more apparent below, the application of the present invention provides information to the user to enable the user to not only practice their driving on actual routes that are used for conducting driving tests, but. to also search and contact driving instructors and other training aids as may be required. The present application also enables other learner drivers to communicate with each other to share driving experiences and knowledge. Referring to Figures 3 - 8 .
  • a licence testing office is a dedicated office tliat conducts licence testing and in which a learner driver must enrol to obtam a driving licence. It will be appreciated tliat should the user's of mobile telecommunication device have a Global Positioning System (GPS) enabled, the manual steps depicted in the screen shots of Figs. 3 - 5 would not be required as the device will merely transmit the GPS coordinates captured by the device's GPS system and. transmit that data to the server for determining the most proximal licence testing office to the user's immediate position.
  • GPS Global Positioning System
  • These driving test routes represent typical routes taken by Licence Testing Examiner's in that testing office which can be replicated by the user to provide a practice route to familiarise themselves with the type of traffic and road situations that they may be expected to experience when they undertake a test to obtain, their licence.
  • most licence testing offices have a number of dedicated testing routes tliat they take learner drivers on to assess their ability before issuing a licence to that, driver,
  • Such testing routes are specifically designed to require the learner driver undergoing the test to perform a number of specific tasks in a normal traffic situation. These tasks may include right and left turns into oncoming traffic; handbrake starts; merging lanes; u-turns; and any other such driving skills.
  • the testing routes are predetermined routes designed by skilled and experiences driving examiners or instructors to test the required skills of the learner driver.
  • the user is able to select a specific licence testing office as listed in Figure 6. Once selected, the user is presented with a map depicting the location of that testing office and is presented with two icons tliat enables the user to select between downloading driving test maps specific to tliat testing office in order to practice their driving by replicating a test situation with their supervising driver, or to call that test office directly to book an. examination (Figure 8).
  • Figure 9 depicts the manner in which the driving test maps are presented should a user select that option from the screen shown in Figure 7.
  • the driving test maps are typically stored on the remote server 12, In order to obtain a driving test map, the user initially purchases the map from the service provider in a conventional manner. The map is then downloaded from the server 12 onto their mobile telecommunication device to be stored with the software application.
  • each of the driving maps or test routes purchased by the user are listed and displayed by the application as shown in Figure 9. This listing is provided in brief descriptive terms, thus providing an indication of the distance of the route, start and end location of the route, and the average time taken to complete the test route. Information is also provided as to whether the test map has been completed in the past by the user, and the number of times that the user may have previously completed the test route, as well as whether there are any other maps available for purchase in the local area, as shown.
  • a user can simply locate local licence testing offices or testing offices present in predetermined location. The user can then either purchase a map relating to a dii ving route in that area or can book a test with that office, as required, Such a facility is particularly useful where a learner driver may be on a family holiday in an unfamiliar area or visiting or moving to an unfamiliar area. In such instances, the user can maintain their learner driving programme by identifying diiving routes to practice their skills, with the knowledge that the driving route is representative of the type of route that is required to be undertaking in a driving test situation. . The user is then free to visit a variety of different regions and undertake a variety of different test routes to challenge themselves and to familiarise themselves with routes that are of a driving test standard,
  • the present application also provides the ability for the user to directly access already purchased test maps that may be stored on the user's mobile telecommunication device or stored remotely in their user profile with the server 12 via. the network 14.
  • the user is able to search their purchased test maps directory on the basis of country; state/region; or testing office. Once selected, the test map is presented to the user as is shown in Figure 11.
  • the screen of the application as shown in Figure 11 is typical of a screen that may be presented to a user immediately prior to them undertaking a driving event using the test map.
  • the test route is depicted showing the start and finish location as well as the number of times the user has completed the test map in the past. Comments of other users may also be shown to share any additional insights or experiences between users of the system. This may include comments on whether a test route is challenging or easy, and other aspects considered worthy of note.
  • the user may also post their own Past comments and review previous reports generated by the user for that route to assist the user in determining any issues that they need to concentrate on, or be aware of. based on previous experience.
  • the user may also view a map showing the driving test route to further familiarise themselves with the route prior to taking the test, as is shown in the screen shot depicted in Figure 12.
  • the user In order to take the test, the user must first drive to the dedicated start point as shown in the description of the map depicted in Fig: 11. As the application uses the GPS system of the mobile telecommunication device, the user can readily view the start point iu comparison to their present position by using this function of their device. As soon as the user arrives at the start position, the user then enters the odometer reading of the vehicle as is shown in Figure 14 and selects the "Start " icon from the screen shown in Figure 15 and the test commences as shown in Figure 13 ,
  • the supervising driver namely the user's parent or driving instructor may typically hold the user's phone, or similar mobile telecommunication device, to view the map as the user undergoes the test route.
  • the software application uses the device's GPS system, it is able to give audible directions to the user as tire user drives along the route.
  • the audible directions are issued in accordance with the user's GPS system so as to replicate a licence testing situation, where such directions are typically given by a Driving Test Examiner present in the vehicle.
  • the supervising driver selects "finish" and the duration and distance of the test is shown and recorded.
  • a report form is then generated by the software application as shown in Figures 18 and 19.
  • the user with the help of the supervising driver then completes the test report, by entering the required information such as the odometer reading at the end of the test, the car registration number and the name of the supervising driver. Other information indicating the traffic conditions, weather conditions and light conditions are also recorded.
  • the user will also be able to add any comments about the test route for posting for other drivers to view when purchasing the test map. or for their own future information.
  • the manner in which the information can be entered is shown in Figures 20 - 23.
  • the user can then save the test to capture the information.
  • a copy of the saved test will be forwarded for storage against the user's registered profile contained within the host server 12.
  • the host server 12 and also the user's own device, is able to store an electronic logbook of the user's driving history for historical purposes.
  • This electronic logbook can be automatically uploaded to a regulatory authority as required or in those instances where a physical logbook is required to be maintained, an electronic and authenticated copy of the report will be emailed to the user's registered email address where it can be printed by the user and manually entered into the log book, or inserted into the log book as required.
  • the system of the present invention offers the ability to obviate the need for each user to maintain a physical logbook of their driving history which, can be readily misplaced or damaged, especially when the user is using multiple vehicles to perform the driving routes.
  • By maintaining a central electronic record of each user's driving history which is collected immediately after the user has completed the driving event' regulatory authorities cau access this information with the knowledge that the information is a true and correct record of the user's driving history, much of which can be traced back to the actual route undertaken by the user.
  • the method 40 for using the system of the present invention to perform a dri ving event is depicted in Fig. 32.
  • step 41 the user will configure their mobile device by initiating the software application which will present them with the main menu as is shown in Fig. 2.
  • step 42 the user will obtain a route map in which to conduct the driving event.
  • the user will drive the vehicle to the start point for the route at step 43.
  • the start point the user will enter in the odometer reading of the vehicle and present their mobile device to their driving instructor, who will hold the device or place the device in a position where it can be clearly heard by the driver.
  • the instructor will select start from the screen of the mobile device as shown in Fig. 15. The driver will then follow the instructions given by the mobile device to complete the route with the instructor observing the driver accordingly.
  • step 44 the driver may stop at step 44.
  • the instructor selects the finish icon depicted on the screen shown in Fig. 17, thereby completing the driving event in step 45.
  • the vehicle will be typically stopped.
  • the user and/or tire driving instructor will complete the remaining information relative to the driving event, as depicted in Figures 18 - 23. This will ensure that the driving conditions, car registration number, and other related information is captured in accordance with the logbook rules.
  • step 47 the user and/or instructor saves the record of the driving event whereby a copy is stored in the mobile device and/or the host server wit the user's other driving events for later retrieval.
  • the ability of the application to provide test maps to the user enables a learner driver to undertake driving events that replicate a driving test situation.
  • the learner driver may have merely driven along a highway or a stretch of road for a predetermined period of time and had little opportunity to test their driving skills and road knowledge
  • the learner driver is now able to select a test route that they can be confident will test their knowledge and replicate a. real driving examination situation.
  • the learner driver can practice the necessary skills required to obtain a licence by travelling along a route specifically determined by Licence testing Examiners to provide a true test of a variety of driving skills required.
  • the learner driver is able to capture and record these events in their log book. It will also be appreciated that by providing learner drivers with driving test routes that are typically used in driving examinations, the learner driver and their supervising driver, are able to identify problems or aspects of their driving mat may require further work or attention. In this regard, the learner driver is able to identify the need to seek driving lessons from an experienced driving instructor to address any such problems.
  • the system of the present invention can also be used as an electronic logbook that captures and records driving events undertaken by the learner driver for submission as part of the overall regulatory system for obtaining a driving licence.
  • This aspect of the system can be utilised by selecting the icon 24 provided on the main menu . This icon 24 can be selected irrespective of whether the user has downloaded and completed a test map driving route.
  • the user is provided with the ability to electronically record driving events undertaken as part of the user's general driver training as a replacement of traditional manual logbooks or in addition thereto as way of a back-up.
  • the learner driver is able to use the present application in a conventional manner to record driving events without the need to undertake a specific test map or if they do not have their manual logbook with them, as may be the case if the user is in another car or they may have misplaced their logbook.
  • the user By selecting the "Manual Log Entry" icon in the home menu depicted in Fig. 2, the user is directed to the screen shown in Figure 24.
  • the user is able to manually input and record a driving event and save the driving event against the user's profile either within the memory of the mobile telecommunication device, or against the user's profile stored with the host server.
  • the various fields can be simply selected by the user in a conventional manner to ensure that the driving event is captured correctly.
  • the user may use the devices GPS system to record the specific route undertaken or the time/distance of tire route, for authentication purposes.
  • the user is also able to view previously stored driving events by selecting the "my previous drives” icon 27, Once this icon is selected by the user, the user is taken to the screen shown in Figure 27 which provides a listing of the most recent driving events completed, starting from the most, recent.
  • the information gathered by the device may be a listing of all saved driving event information stored on the device or against the user's profile in the host server. Once the information is presented, should the user selecting a previous driving event, the user can review the details of that event, such as the traffic and weather conditions and any other relevant data as is shown in the screen of Figure 28.
  • the user is also able to generate a PDF report of the selected driving event, which will then be sent to the user's nominated email account for printing and inclusion into the user's log book where required.
  • the ability of the system to enable interrogation of the user's past driving events enables the user to generate reports of their recorded history to identify areas where their driving experience may be lacking. For those regions where it is mandatory that learner drivers undertake a minimum amount of driving in wet/diy/day/niglit/lieavy/iiglit/city/counti-y traffic conditions, the user is able to interrogate their driving history through the present invention to obtain a snapshot of this information.
  • the software application of the present invention is able to combine the user's driving history so as to indicate the total time/distance driven in each of the nominated driving conditions, As such, the user can simply identify whether they have satisfied the necessary requirements in each driving condition and take appropriate action where necessary to ensure that they meet their obligations.
  • the application of the present invention also provides a simple and convenient resource for a user to contact a driving instructor, should they ish to obtain formal driving lessons,
  • the user can simply select the "Find a Driving Instructor" icon 25 on the home menu screen shown in Figure 2, where they will be directed to the screen as shown in Figure 29 which typically lists the most conveniently located driving instructors based upon the user's GPS position.
  • Figure 30 should the user select one of the listed instructors they will be taken to a screen that gives a brief description of the driving instructor and provides a simple means for contacting the driving instructor by phone or email.
  • the screen may also provide recommendations or ' comments by other users recommending the services of the driving school as desired.
  • each user can submit requests for a map in a desired region should a test map not be provided by the application.
  • the user can simply select the "Request a Map for your Area” icon 28 on the "home menu' * of Figure 2 where they will be sent to the page shown in Figure 31, which the user can enter .the request.
  • the application providers will then be prompted with the request and seek to obtain a test map through the closest testing office or instructor, where available.
  • the driver training application of the present invention provides a simple method and system for assisting learner drivers as they undertake driving training and education,
  • learner drivers can tailor their driving education to ensure that they are testing the full range of skills necessary to obtain a licence.
  • the test is guided by the GPS system present in the user's mobile phone or similar telecommunication device, the user can concentrate on driving the vehicle under instruction from the GPS system, whereby the supervising driver is able to monitor the learner driver ' s ability in a real-time traffic situation.
  • the application of the present invention also provides a means for recording driving events as an electronic log book.
  • a means for capturing details of driving events assists learner drivers in ensuring that they meet desired requirements bestowed upon them by driving regulations for obtaining a licence and maintaining a log book

Abstract

A training system for driver training comprising a remote database for storing a plurality of route maps representing a predetermined driving route for testing driving skills of a driver driving a vehicle; a mobile telecommunications device carried by or in association with the driver and having software to process one or more of the plurality of route maps; and a communications interface configured to facilitate communication between a mobile telecommunications device (i.e. mobile) and the remote database; wherein, the mobile is controllable by the driver to download one or more of the route maps from the database into the mobile and the software is configured to generate a driving event by directing the driver to drive along the predetermined driving route where the driving event is recorded by the software for storage in the remote database and/or the mobile in the form of a driving event report.

Description

Driver Training System and Method
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
The present invention claims priority from Australian Provisional Patent Application No. 2012904235, filed 4 October 2012, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF IN VENTION
The present invention relates generally to a system and method for facilitating driver education and training, and in particular, to a system and method for remotely accessing information and recording and storing data for driver training purposes.
BACKGROUND ART
In most countries, the incidence of death . and injury of citizens due to vehicle related accidents is significant. Aside from the emotional impact vehicle accidents can have on those either directly or indirectly involved in such accidents, vehicle accidents also have a significant financial costs on communities due to resources associated with rehabilitation and care of survivors of vehicle accidents. In many instances, such deaths and injuries are often the result of driver error or inexperience and may be avoidable through improved, driver training and conditioning across a variety of driving conditions,
In many countries such as Australia, significant effort has been made by governments and regulating authorities on providing driver training programs that better prepare drivers for driving in a variety of road and traffic conditions, prior to the driver obtaining a driving licence. Graduated licensing systems have been introduced in a number of countries to enable new drivers to move from driving in lower to higher risk situations as driving experience and maturity increases. This is typically achieved through ensuring that prior to obtaining a licence; the new driver has proven driving experience for a minimum time across a vaii ety of driving situations. In many countries the amount of time and type of driving may vary, depending on local driving conditions and requirements.
In the Australian state of Victoria, learner drivers are typically required to perform approximately 120 hours of supervised driving across a variety of night and day conditions, prior to obtaining their licence. Such supervised driving must be performed in the presence of an experienced driver and the details of the driving event must be recorded in an official log book that is signed-off by both the learner driver' and the supervising driver after completion of the driving event. In this regard, before the learner driver is actually able to register to take a driving test to obtain their driving licence, their log book must show completion of the predetermined number of hours of driving across a range of driving conditions, such as dry - wet roads, heavy - light traffic conditions, as well as day/night driving.
The driving test that is to be taken by the learner driver in order to obtain a licence to drive a vehicle is typically conducted by an appropriate government or regulatory authority responsible for administering such matters. The testing procedure may vary depending on tire specific regulatory body conducting the test, but generally requires the learner driver to drive their vehicle in the presence of an Examiner as an observing passenger, who monitors and assesses the driving performance. The Examiner typically assesses the learner driver in relation to their ability to control the vehicle and their ability to cooperate with other road users and obey the road rules, In this regard, most Examiners typically have one or more predetermined driving routes planned for assessment purposes, where, the learner driver is directed by the Examiner to drive their vehicle along the route and perforin various tasks, such as turns and stops, to test their skill and knowledge. The specific driving routes planned by the Examiners are typically selected on their ability to test and challenge the learner driver's driving ability. Therefore, should the learner driver complete the test route to the satisfaction of the Examiner, the learner driver will typically be awarded their licence to drive, provided that any other requirements are also met.
Thus, with such a graduated driver training program, the process of obtaining a drivers license is rather complicated, and requires considerable planning and management dining the learning phase. In this regard, there is a requirement to maintain a logbook that not only keeps record of the supervised driving events undertaken by the learner driver, but which also captures the date and conditions of the supervised driving event in accordance with varying regulations governing such practices. Further, as parents and guardians are typically those responsible in many instances for supervising and training their children as learner drivers, there is a need to provide such non-formally trained driving supervisors with tools to assist them in assessing the development of their child's driving education and to challenge the driver's ability across a variety of driving conditions, This is important where the parent or guardian identifies a deficiency or area of their child's driving skills requiring improvement, such that more formalised training can be employed,, as may be provided by a trained driver educator.
Thus there is a need to provide an integrated system and method for managing driver training for a learner driver that provides simple data collection and storage and access to information to assist in assessing the progress of the learner driver in accordance with local testing requirements.
The above references to and descriptions of prior proposals or products are not intended to be, and are not to be construed as, statements or admissions of common general knowledge in the art. In particular, the following prior art discussion does not relate to. what is commonly or well known by the person skilled in the art, but assists in the understanding of the inventive step of the present invention of which the identification of pertinent prior art proposals is but one part,
STATEMENT OF INVENTION
According to a first aspect, there is provided a training system for training a driver to drive a vehicle comprising:
a remote database for storing a plurality of route maps representing a predetermined driving route for testing driving skills of a driver driving the vehicle;
a mobile telecommunications device carried by or in association with the driver and having software to process one or more of the plurality of route maps; and
a communications interface configured to facilitate communication between a mobile telecommunications device and the remote database; wherein, the mobile telecommunications device is contr ollable by the driver to download one or more of the route maps from the database into the mobile telecommunications device and the software is configured to generate a driving event by directing the driver to drive along the predetermined driving route where the driving event is recorded by the software for storage in the remote database and/or the mobile telecommunications device in the form of a driving event report,
The database may be farther configured to store a plurality of accounts, each account may represent a registered driver and the database may be configured to store information associated with the registered driver. The information associated with the registered driver may include personal information of the registered driver and driving event reports completed by the registered driver. The driving event recorded by the software may include the route map and the time of completion of the route map by the driver. The driving event may further include information supplied by the driver in the form of vehicle identification information, traffic conditions, and weather conditions.
The one or more route maps downloaded by the mobile telecommunications device may be selected by the driver in accordance with the driver's location.
According to a second aspect, there is provided a method of capturing and recording a completed driving event associated with a vehicle comprising: configuring a mobile telecommunication device for use with the vehicle: obtaining a route map for directing a driver of a vehicle along a roiite defined by said route map by way of said mobile telecommunication device: initiating the driving event such, that said mobile communication device directs said driver along the route; completing driving event; entering information associated with said driving event into said mobile telecommunication device; and storing a record of sard completed driving event, and information associated with said driving event.
The step of configuring the mobile telecommunication device may comprise the step of initiating a software application within said mobile telecommunication device.
The step of obtaining a route map may comprise employing the software application of the mobile telecommunication device to download the route map.
The route map may be downloaded by the software application of the mobile telecommunication device from a remotely accessible database by way of a wireless teleconununications network. The remotely accessible database may include a plurality of route maps for download by the software application of the mobile telecommunication device. In another form, the route map may be downloaded by the software application of the mobile telecommunication device from a memory associated the software application of the mobile telecommunication device. The step of initiating the driving event may comprise the software application processing the route map in association with the position of the vehicle so as to direct the driver along the route. The position of the vehicle may be determined from a Global Positioning System (GPS) of the mobile telecommunication device.
The step of initiating the driving event may also comprise entering into the software application of the mobile telecommunication device an odometer reading of .the vehicle prior to initiation of the diiving event.
The step of completing the driving event may comprise bringing the vehicle to a stop and entering the completion event into tire software application of the mobile telecommunication device.
The step of entering information associated with said driving event may comprise entering information pertaining to any one or more of: weather conditions of the driving event,, traffic conditions of the driving event; final odometer reading of tire vehicle; time of day; vehicle identification number.
The step of storing a record of said completed driving event and information associated with the completed driving event may comprise downloading the completed driving event and information associated with the completed driving event for storage in a remote database by way of a wireless telecommunications network.
The step of storing a record of said completed driving event and information associated with the completed driving event may comprise downloading the completed driving event and information associated with the completed driving event for storage in a memory associated with the software application
According to yet another aspect, there is provided a training system for training learner drivers to drive a vehicle comprising:
a database for storing a plurality of test maps representing a predetermined driving route for testing skills of a learner driver driving a the vehicle;
a mobile telecommunications device earned by the learner driver and configured to include software to display one or more of the plurality of test maps stored within the database; and
a communications interface configured to facilitate communication between a mobile telecommunications device and the database:
wherein, the learner driver can download one or more of the test maps from the database into their mobile telecommunications device and the software is configured to generate a driving event by directing the learner driver to drive along me predetennined driving route where the driving event is recorded by the software for storage in the form of a driving event report.
The database is further configured to store a. plurality of accounts, each account representing a subscribed learner driver and the database is configured to store information associated with subscribed learner driver, The information associated with the subscribed learner driver includes personal information of the subscribed learner driver and completed driving event reports.
According to yet another aspect, there is provided a method of conducting driving training for a learner driver of a vehicle, comprising: installing software on a mobile telecommunications device to facilitate communication with a remotely hosted a server storing one or more driving route maps, the installed software being configured for data entry of a desired driving event, including date, time and selected driving route, said driving route being selected from one or more driving route maps stored in said installed software following downloading of said driving route map from the remotely hosted server; visual display of the selected driving route map on a screen of said mobile telecommunications device; audio presentation of directions to said learner driver to direct said learner driver along said driving route map using a GPS system provided with said mobile telecommunications device; data entry of completed data following completion of said desired driving event including time of completion of said driving event, name of supervising driver and odometer reading of vehicle in which driving event was conducted; storage of said completed data associated with said driving event; and inputting data of completed driving event into a database installed on said remotely hosted server.
According to still yet another aspect, there is provided a method of logging driving events associated with a vehicle comprising: recording the driving events on a mobile telecommunication device; capturing data associated with the driving events on said mobile telecommunication device; and storing said recorded driving events and captured data in a memory.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention ma)' be better understood from the following non-limiting description of preferred embodiments, in which:
Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an environment for providing tire driver training application of the present invention in accordance with a preferred embodiment;
Figures 2 - 31 illustrate a graphical user interface of a mobile telecommunication device employing the dr iver training application of the present invention: and
Figure 32 is a flow chart depicting a method of capturing a driving event in accordance with the system of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Preferred features of the present invention Will now be described with particular reference to the accompanying drawings. However, it is to be understood that the features illustrated in and described with reference to the drawings are not to be construed as limiting on tire scope of the invention.
The present invention will be described below in relation to what is referred to as a "driving event". It will be appreciated that a "driving event" will refer to a situation whereby a learner driver undertakes a driving lesson either formally or informally, in the presence of an experienced driver. The driving event may include a formal driving lesson provided by a licensed driving instructor, or a driving lesson provided by a parent or guardian in an informal manner ,
Referring to Figure 1 , there is shown a simplified view of an environment 10 for implementing the driver training system of the present invention in accordance with a preferred' embodiment- In essence, the environment 10 is hosted by a remote host 11 to enable a plurality of remotely located users to access the system for downloading information and storing information relating to various aspects of driver training and other related services. It will be appreciated that the following discussion describes the structure of such an environment 10, but variations to the environment 10, as would be appreciated by those skilled, are also envisaged.
The environment 10 includes a host 11 having one or more servers 12 in communication with a distributed computing network 14 via wired or wireless communication channels, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, In a preferred embodiment, the distributed computing network 14 is the internet, although other types of networks are also envisaged. A plurality of users 16 are then connected to the distributed computing network 14 by way of computer devices, typically mobile phones, laptops and/or tablet devices. In such an arrangement, multiple users 16 are able to remotely access the host 11 and the servers 12 at any time.
As will be appreciated by the following described embodiment of the present invention, the servers 12 are configured to store a variety of information for the users 16 to access. The servers 12 are also able to house multiple databases necessary for the proper operation of the methods and systems of the present invention and for the storage of information collected from the individual users 16. The server 12 may be any of a number of servers known to those skilled in the art and are intended to be operably connected to the network 14 so as to operably link to the plurality of users 16. The servers 12 typically include a central processing unit or CPU that includes one or more microprocessors and memory operably connected to the CPU. The memory can include any combination of random access memory (RAM), a storage medium such as a magnetic hard disk drive(s) and the like.
The memory of the servers 12 may be used for storing an operating system, databases, software applications and the like for execution on the CPU. As will be discussed in more detail below, in a preferred embodiment the database stores data relating to maps of predetermined driving routes for a variety of locations to be downloaded by each registered user, as well as driving history logs for each registered user. The data relating to each user may include a variety of information such as the user's name, address, driver learner permit number and the like.
Each user 16 is preferably able to connect to the distributed computing network 14 by way of a mobile telecommunications device. The mobile telecommunications device is catried by the user 16 and is loaded with a software application, commonly referred to as "a mobile app", which is configured to download and display information to the user from the central server and from the mobile telecommunication devices own memory, as well as record and document a driving event and any relevant information relating to that driving event, such as time, car registration, road and traffic conditions and the like.
The mobile telecommunication device's functionality is provided by the software application which is installed in the device's local non-volatile storage and which is executed by the device's internal processor. The application may be downloaded to the mobile telecommunication device via the network 14 from the host server 12. In his regard, the mobile telecommunications device may collect and transfer information to the host server 12 via the distributed computing network automatically, by transmitting data collected by the device's sensory equipment, such as Global Positioning Systems ("GPS1") data, as well as any data manually entered by the user 1 . such as vehicle identification data and the like.
Prior to use of the driver training system and method of the present invention, a user typically downloads the software application from the host server 12 and subscribes as a registered user with the host server 12. The driver training system and method may be a hosted platform that integrates with certain mobile telecommunication applications, The registration or subscription process typically captures relevant personal information of the user and stores that information with the user to create a user profile for each registered user. All subscriber infonnation is securely stored on the server(s) 12 of tire host service provider using data warehousing to facilitate retrieval of infonnation when required. The subscriber may log in to a subscriber website to register for the service, or alternatively, data may be entered directly and/or locally stored on the subscriber's personal mobile telecommunication device, and synchronised with data stored on the network at a later time.
Once the user has subscribed to the service, the user may download the application to their mobile telecommunication device. The location of tire downloaded application may depend on the type of mobile telecommunication device and the service carrier. In a preferred embodiment, the mobile telecommunication device is a smartphone, such as an iPhone®, manufactured and sold by Apple, Inc. In such a situation tire application may be downloaded from an appropriate on-line store, such as iTunes®. Alternatively the mobile telecommunication device may relate to a PDA, a notepad such as an iPad®, or any other mobile device comprising local processing means and means for communicating with a telecommunication network.
Referring to Figure 2, a mobile telecommunication device 20 is depicted having the software application installed thereon in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, The device 20 depicted in Fig, 2 shows a screen, sucli as a standard Graphic User Interface (GUI) that is common with existing iPhone® devices. A keyboard is incorporated into the screen to facilitate entry of data and other information as required. It will be appreciate that in order to access the application the user typically selects an appropriate icon from the start-menu screen as shown in Figure 2.
As shown in Figure 2, the "start-menu" generally provides multiple options for the subscriber to select depending upon their desired purpose for using tire application. The start-menu provides for :
• searching for a testing office closest to their present position by selecting icon 22:
• searching for maps of sample driving test routes by selecting icon 23;
• manually entering a driving event into the Jog book by selecting icon 24; finding a driving instructor by selecting icon 25;
• finding service providers by selecting icon 26; viewing previous dive events stored in the log book by selecting icon 27; and
• requesting a map for a dedicated area by selecting icon 28,
In use, the application of the present invention provides a simple and convenient means for learner drivers to readily access all the information they require for their learner driver needs. Should the user wish to contact a local licence testing office in their vicinity they can simply conduct a search through the host records to locate the office details and phone the office if necessary to organise a time for the user to sit for their driving test. Similarly, as will become more apparent below, the application of the present invention provides information to the user to enable the user to not only practice their driving on actual routes that are used for conducting driving tests, but. to also search and contact driving instructors and other training aids as may be required. The present application also enables other learner drivers to communicate with each other to share driving experiences and knowledge. Referring to Figures 3 - 8., screen shots showing the manner in which the application can be used to locate a local licence testing office is shown. By selecting the icon 22, the user is presented with screen 30 to determine the geographic area in which the testing office location is desired. The user can select from a number of countries (see Figure 4) and regions within those countries to find a desired testing office (Figure 5). A licence testing office is a dedicated office tliat conducts licence testing and in which a learner driver must enrol to obtam a driving licence. It will be appreciated tliat should the user's of mobile telecommunication device have a Global Positioning System (GPS) enabled, the manual steps depicted in the screen shots of Figs. 3 - 5 would not be required as the device will merely transmit the GPS coordinates captured by the device's GPS system and. transmit that data to the server for determining the most proximal licence testing office to the user's immediate position.
As is shown in Figure 6, when a search is requested by the user on their mobile telecommunication device, a request is made and sent to the server 12 via the network 14, to locate and list the licence testing offices within the field requested by the user. Those licence testing offices tliat are identified axe then listed on the user's mobile telecommimication device, which depicts the name and address of the office as well as a distance of tliat office from the user based on their present GPS position. There is also a listing provided as to the number of driving test routes available from each listed licence testing office should the user wish to undertake a test route. These driving test routes represent typical routes taken by Licence Testing Examiner's in that testing office which can be replicated by the user to provide a practice route to familiarise themselves with the type of traffic and road situations that they may be expected to experience when they undertake a test to obtain, their licence. In this regard, most licence testing offices have a number of dedicated testing routes tliat they take learner drivers on to assess their ability before issuing a licence to that, driver, Such testing routes are specifically designed to require the learner driver undergoing the test to perform a number of specific tasks in a normal traffic situation. These tasks may include right and left turns into oncoming traffic; handbrake starts; merging lanes; u-turns; and any other such driving skills. As suchj the testing routes are predetermined routes designed by skilled and experiences driving examiners or instructors to test the required skills of the learner driver.
Referring to Figure 7; the user is able to select a specific licence testing office as listed in Figure 6. Once selected, the user is presented with a map depicting the location of that testing office and is presented with two icons tliat enables the user to select between downloading driving test maps specific to tliat testing office in order to practice their driving by replicating a test situation with their supervising driver, or to call that test office directly to book an. examination (Figure 8).
Figure 9 depicts the manner in which the driving test maps are presented should a user select that option from the screen shown in Figure 7. The driving test maps are typically stored on the remote server 12, In order to obtain a driving test map, the user initially purchases the map from the service provider in a conventional manner. The map is then downloaded from the server 12 onto their mobile telecommunication device to be stored with the software application. In this regard, each of the driving maps or test routes purchased by the user are listed and displayed by the application as shown in Figure 9. This listing is provided in brief descriptive terms, thus providing an indication of the distance of the route, start and end location of the route, and the average time taken to complete the test route. Information is also provided as to whether the test map has been completed in the past by the user, and the number of times that the user may have previously completed the test route, as well as whether there are any other maps available for purchase in the local area, as shown.
It will be appreciated that by using the system of the present invention in the maimer as described above, with reference to the screen shots of Figs 3 - 8, a user can simply locate local licence testing offices or testing offices present in predetermined location. The user can then either purchase a map relating to a dii ving route in that area or can book a test with that office, as required, Such a facility is particularly useful where a learner driver may be on a family holiday in an unfamiliar area or visiting or moving to an unfamiliar area. In such instances, the user can maintain their learner driving programme by identifying diiving routes to practice their skills, with the knowledge that the driving route is representative of the type of route that is required to be undertaking in a driving test situation. .The user is then free to visit a variety of different regions and undertake a variety of different test routes to challenge themselves and to familiarise themselves with routes that are of a driving test standard,
Referring to Figure 2, the present application also provides the ability for the user to directly access already purchased test maps that may be stored on the user's mobile telecommunication device or stored remotely in their user profile with the server 12 via. the network 14. In this regard, should the user select the test maps icon from the 'home screen' shown in Figure 2, the user is able to search their purchased test maps directory on the basis of country; state/region; or testing office. Once selected, the test map is presented to the user as is shown in Figure 11.
The screen of the application as shown in Figure 11 is typical of a screen that may be presented to a user immediately prior to them undertaking a driving event using the test map. The test route is depicted showing the start and finish location as well as the number of times the user has completed the test map in the past. Comments of other users may also be shown to share any additional insights or experiences between users of the system. This may include comments on whether a test route is challenging or easy, and other aspects considered worthy of note. The user may also post their own Past comments and review previous reports generated by the user for that route to assist the user in determining any issues that they need to concentrate on, or be aware of. based on previous experience. This could include comments as to a particular section of road or the presence of a road hazard which may have caused problems in previous attempts at the at the test route. The user may also view a map showing the driving test route to further familiarise themselves with the route prior to taking the test, as is shown in the screen shot depicted in Figure 12.
In order to take the test, the user must first drive to the dedicated start point as shown in the description of the map depicted in Fig: 11. As the application uses the GPS system of the mobile telecommunication device, the user can readily view the start point iu comparison to their present position by using this function of their device. As soon as the user arrives at the start position, the user then enters the odometer reading of the vehicle as is shown in Figure 14 and selects the "Start" icon from the screen shown in Figure 15 and the test commences as shown in Figure 13 ,
Once the test has commenced the supervising driver, namely the user's parent or driving instructor may typically hold the user's phone, or similar mobile telecommunication device, to view the map as the user undergoes the test route. As the software application uses the device's GPS system, it is able to give audible directions to the user as tire user drives along the route. The audible directions are issued in accordance with the user's GPS system so as to replicate a licence testing situation, where such directions are typically given by a Driving Test Examiner present in the vehicle.
Referring to Figures 16 and 17, once the user has finished the test the supervising driver selects "finish" and the duration and distance of the test is shown and recorded. A report form is then generated by the software application as shown in Figures 18 and 19. The user, with the help of the supervising driver then completes the test report, by entering the required information such as the odometer reading at the end of the test, the car registration number and the name of the supervising driver. Other information indicating the traffic conditions, weather conditions and light conditions are also recorded. The user will also be able to add any comments about the test route for posting for other drivers to view when purchasing the test map. or for their own future information. The manner in which the information can be entered is shown in Figures 20 - 23.
Once completed, the user can then save the test to capture the information. A copy of the saved test will be forwarded for storage against the user's registered profile contained within the host server 12. As such, the host server 12, and also the user's own device, is able to store an electronic logbook of the user's driving history for historical purposes. This electronic logbook can be automatically uploaded to a regulatory authority as required or in those instances where a physical logbook is required to be maintained, an electronic and authenticated copy of the report will be emailed to the user's registered email address where it can be printed by the user and manually entered into the log book, or inserted into the log book as required. It will be appreciated that the system of the present invention offers the ability to obviate the need for each user to maintain a physical logbook of their driving history which, can be readily misplaced or damaged, especially when the user is using multiple vehicles to perform the driving routes. By maintaining a central electronic record of each user's driving history which is collected immediately after the user has completed the driving event' regulatory authorities cau access this information with the knowledge that the information is a true and correct record of the user's driving history, much of which can be traced back to the actual route undertaken by the user.
The method 40 for using the system of the present invention to perform a dri ving event is depicted in Fig. 32.
In order to use the method 40, a user and their driving instructor, which may be a parent/guardian or qualified driving instructor, will be present in the vehicle. In step 41 the user will configure their mobile device by initiating the software application which will present them with the main menu as is shown in Fig. 2.
In step 42 the user will obtain a route map in which to conduct the driving event.
This may occur by the user selecting an already purchased or downloaded map stored in their mobile device, or by purchasing a new route map from the host server, as previously described.
Once the route map has been obtained and is displayed on the mobile device, the user will drive the vehicle to the start point for the route at step 43. Once at: the start point, the user will enter in the odometer reading of the vehicle and present their mobile device to their driving instructor, who will hold the device or place the device in a position where it can be clearly heard by the driver. To initiate the driving event the instructor will select start from the screen of the mobile device as shown in Fig. 15. The driver will then follow the instructions given by the mobile device to complete the route with the instructor observing the driver accordingly.
If the driver doesn't not complete the driving event for whatever reason, the driver may stop at step 44, Once the driving event has been completed the instructor selects the finish icon depicted on the screen shown in Fig. 17, thereby completing the driving event in step 45. At this stage the vehicle will be typically stopped.
At step 46, the user and/or tire driving instructor will complete the remaining information relative to the driving event, as depicted in Figures 18 - 23. This will ensure that the driving conditions, car registration number, and other related information is captured in accordance with the logbook rules.
At step 47 the user and/or instructor saves the record of the driving event whereby a copy is stored in the mobile device and/or the host server wit the user's other driving events for later retrieval.
It will be appreciated that for instances whereby the user does not obtain a route map and merely wished to record a normal driving event for logbook purp oses, as described below, the same method 40 will be employed without step 42.
It will be appreciated that, in the system described above, the ability of the application to provide test maps to the user enables a learner driver to undertake driving events that replicate a driving test situation, In this regard, where previously the learner driver may have merely driven along a highway or a stretch of road for a predetermined period of time and had little opportunity to test their driving skills and road knowledge, the learner driver is now able to select a test route that they can be confident will test their knowledge and replicate a. real driving examination situation. The learner driver can practice the necessary skills required to obtain a licence by travelling along a route specifically determined by Licence testing Examiners to provide a true test of a variety of driving skills required. As well as providing the dr iver with a valuable insight into the types of routes that they will be examined against, the learner driver is able to capture and record these events in their log book. It will also be appreciated that by providing learner drivers with driving test routes that are typically used in driving examinations, the learner driver and their supervising driver, are able to identify problems or aspects of their driving mat may require further work or attention. In this regard, the learner driver is able to identify the need to seek driving lessons from an experienced driving instructor to address any such problems.
Referring to Figure 2, and as alluded to previously, the system of the present invention can also be used as an electronic logbook that captures and records driving events undertaken by the learner driver for submission as part of the overall regulatory system for obtaining a driving licence. This aspect of the system can be utilised by selecting the icon 24 provided on the main menu . This icon 24 can be selected irrespective of whether the user has downloaded and completed a test map driving route.
In this situation, the user is provided with the ability to electronically record driving events undertaken as part of the user's general driver training as a replacement of traditional manual logbooks or in addition thereto as way of a back-up. Hence, the learner driver is able to use the present application in a conventional manner to record driving events without the need to undertake a specific test map or if they do not have their manual logbook with them, as may be the case if the user is in another car or they may have misplaced their logbook.
By selecting the "Manual Log Entry" icon in the home menu depicted in Fig. 2, the user is directed to the screen shown in Figure 24. In this screen, the user is able to manually input and record a driving event and save the driving event against the user's profile either within the memory of the mobile telecommunication device, or against the user's profile stored with the host server. As shown in Figures 25 and 26, the various fields can be simply selected by the user in a conventional manner to ensure that the driving event is captured correctly. In some instances, the user may use the devices GPS system to record the specific route undertaken or the time/distance of tire route, for authentication purposes.
Referring again to the "home menu" screen of the application as shown in Figure 2. the user is also able to view previously stored driving events by selecting the "my previous drives" icon 27, Once this icon is selected by the user, the user is taken to the screen shown in Figure 27 which provides a listing of the most recent driving events completed, starting from the most, recent. The information gathered by the device may be a listing of all saved driving event information stored on the device or against the user's profile in the host server. Once the information is presented, should the user selecting a previous driving event, the user can review the details of that event, such as the traffic and weather conditions and any other relevant data as is shown in the screen of Figure 28. The user is also able to generate a PDF report of the selected driving event, which will then be sent to the user's nominated email account for printing and inclusion into the user's log book where required.
It will be appreciated that the ability of the system to enable interrogation of the user's past driving events enables the user to generate reports of their recorded history to identify areas where their driving experience may be lacking. For those regions where it is mandatory that learner drivers undertake a minimum amount of driving in wet/diy/day/niglit/lieavy/iiglit/city/counti-y traffic conditions, the user is able to interrogate their driving history through the present invention to obtain a snapshot of this information. In this regard, the software application of the present invention is able to combine the user's driving history so as to indicate the total time/distance driven in each of the nominated driving conditions, As such, the user can simply identify whether they have satisfied the necessary requirements in each driving condition and take appropriate action where necessary to ensure that they meet their obligations.
As previously discussed the application of the present invention also provides a simple and convenient resource for a user to contact a driving instructor, should they ish to obtain formal driving lessons, In this regard, the user can simply select the "Find a Driving Instructor" icon 25 on the home menu screen shown in Figure 2, where they will be directed to the screen as shown in Figure 29 which typically lists the most conveniently located driving instructors based upon the user's GPS position. As is shown in Figure 30. should the user select one of the listed instructors they will be taken to a screen that gives a brief description of the driving instructor and provides a simple means for contacting the driving instructor by phone or email. It will be appreciated that the screen may also provide recommendations or 'comments by other users recommending the services of the driving school as desired.
Similarly, by selecting the '"Recommended Service Providers" icon 26 in the "home menu" of Figure 2, a list of service providers related to the auto industry, such as mechanics, insurance agencies, retail bodies and the like is also provided for the user's reference. Such a. listing provides tire user with a convenient tool to cover their motoring needs in the event: of an accident, breakdown and the like. To provide further interaction between the. users and the application providers, each user can submit requests for a map in a desired region should a test map not be provided by the application. In this regard, the user can simply select the "Request a Map for your Area" icon 28 on the "home menu'* of Figure 2 where they will be sent to the page shown in Figure 31, which the user can enter .the request. The application providers will then be prompted with the request and seek to obtain a test map through the closest testing office or instructor, where available.
It will be appreciated that the driver training application of the present invention provides a simple method and system for assisting learner drivers as they undertake driving training and education, By providing a method of obtaining test maps specific to their needs and representative of real driving examination routes, learner drivers can tailor their driving education to ensure that they are testing the full range of skills necessary to obtain a licence. As the test is guided by the GPS system present in the user's mobile phone or similar telecommunication device, the user can concentrate on driving the vehicle under instruction from the GPS system, whereby the supervising driver is able to monitor the learner driver's ability in a real-time traffic situation. Apart from providing a means to practice driving along routes representative of those that are used for conducting driving tests, the application of the present invention also provides a means for recording driving events as an electronic log book. Such a means for capturing details of driving events assists learner drivers in ensuring that they meet desired requirements bestowed upon them by driving regulations for obtaining a licence and maintaining a log book
Throughout the specification and claims the word "comprise" and its derivatives are intended to have an inclusive rather than exclusive meaning unless the contrary is expressly stated or the context requires otherwise. That is, the word "comprise" and its derivatives will be taken to indicate the inclusion of not only the listed components, steps or features that it directly references, but also other components, steps or features not specifically listed, unless the contr ary is expressly stated or the context requires otherwise.
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art mat many modifications and variations may be made to the methods of the invention described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

The Claims defining the invention are. as follows: 1. A training system for training a driver to drive a vehicle comprising:
a remote database for storing a plurality of route maps representing a predetermined driving route for testing driving skills of a dr iver driving the vehicle;
a mobile teleconmiunications device earned by or in association with the driver and having software to process one or more of the plurality of route maps; and
a conrmimications interface configured to facilitate communication between a mobile telecommunications device and the remote database; wherein, the mobile telecommunications device is controllable by the driver to download one or more of the route maps from the database into the mobile telecommunications device and the software is configured to generate a driving event by directing the driver to drive along the predetermined driving route where the driving event is recorded by the software for storage in the remote database and/or the mobile telecommunications device in the form of a driving event report,
2. A training system according to claim 1, wherein the database is further configured to store a plurality of accounts, each account representing a registered driver and the database is configured to store information associated with the registered driver.
3. A training system according to claim 2, wherein the information associated with the registered driver includes personal information of the registered driver aud driving event reports completed by the registered driver.
4. A training system according to claim 1, wherein the driving event recorded by the software includes the route map arid the time of completion of the route map by the driver.
5. A training system according to claim 4, wherein the driving event recorded by the software further includes information supplied by the driver in the form of vehicle identification information, traffic conditions, and weather conditions.
6. A training system according to claim 15 wherein the one or more route maps downloaded by the mobile telecommimications device is selected by the driver m accordance with the driver's location.
7. A method'of capturing and recording a completed driving event associated with a vehicle comprising: configuring a mobile telecommunication device for use with tire vehicle; obtaining a route map for directing a driver of a vehicle along a route defined by said route map by way of said mobile telecommunication device; initiating the driving event such that said mobile communication device directs said driver along the route; completing driving event; entering information associated with said driving event into said mobile telecommunication device; and storing a record of said completed driving event and information associated with said driving event.
8. A method according to claim 7, wherein the step of configuring the mobile telecommunication device comprises the step of initiating a software application within said mobile telecommunication device.
9. A method according to claim 8, wherein the step of obtaining a route map comprises employing the software application of the mobile telecommunication device to download the route map.
10. A method accordmg to claim 9, wherein the route map is downloaded by the software application of the mobile telecommunication device from a remotely accessible database by way of a wireless telecommunications network.
11. A method according to claim 10, wherein the remotely accessible database includes a plurality of route maps for download by the software application of the mobile telecommunication device.
12. A method according to claim 9. wherein the route map is downloaded by the software application of the mobile t.eleconununication device from a memory associated the software application of the mobile telecommunication device.
13. A method according to claim 9. wherein the step of initiating the driving event comprises the software application processing the route map in association with the position of the vehicle so as to direct the driver along the route.
14. A method according to claim 13, wherein the position of the vehicle is determined from a Global Positioning System (GPS) of the mobile telecommunication device.
15. A method according to claim 13 or claim 14, wherein the step of initiating the driving event also comprises entering into the software application of the mobile telecommunication device an odometer reading of the vehicle prior to initiation of the driving event.
16. A method according to claim 9, wherein the step of completing driving event comprises bringing the vehicle to a stop and entering the completion event into the software application of the mobile telecommunication device.
17. A method according to claim 9, wherein the step of entering information associated with said driving event comprises entering information pertaining to any one or more of: weather conditions of the driving event, traffic conditions of the driving event; final odometer reading of the vehicle; time of day; vehicle identification number.
18. A method according to claim 9, wherein the step of storing a record of said completed driving event and information associated with the completed driving event comprises downloading the completed driving event and information associated with the completed driving event for storage in a remote database by way of a wireless telecommunications network.
19. A method according to claim 9, wherein the step of storing a record of said completed driving event and information associated with the completed driving event comprises downloading the completed driving event and information associated with the completed driving event for storage in a memory associated with the software application
PCT/AU2013/001136 2012-10-04 2013-10-04 Driver training system and method WO2014053019A1 (en)

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EP3454313A1 (en) * 2017-09-12 2019-03-13 Clarion Co., Ltd. Information system, driving assistance information providing method, and in-vehicle terminal
CN113422817A (en) * 2021-06-18 2021-09-21 阿波罗智能技术(北京)有限公司 Mobile device, method and electronic device for assisting driving training

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Patent Citations (1)

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Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20120135382A1 (en) * 2009-05-12 2012-05-31 The Children's Hospital Of Philadelphia Individualized mastery-based driver training

Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP3454313A1 (en) * 2017-09-12 2019-03-13 Clarion Co., Ltd. Information system, driving assistance information providing method, and in-vehicle terminal
US11117593B2 (en) 2017-09-12 2021-09-14 Clarion Co., Ltd. Information system, driving assistance information providing method, and in-vehicle terminal
CN113422817A (en) * 2021-06-18 2021-09-21 阿波罗智能技术(北京)有限公司 Mobile device, method and electronic device for assisting driving training

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