Determining an identification of an occupant within a vehicle

A method, comprising:

• receiving, by a processor, via a communications interface, from at least one sensor, and at a time when a source of a propulsion force for a vehicle is in an off state, at least one signal having information about at least one detectable characteristic associated with an occupant within the vehicle;
• producing, by the processor and based on the information, a prediction of an identification of the occupant by:
• recording the information, and
• determining an existence of a pattern, within a record of the information, correlated with the occupant,
• wherein the pattern includes, at a first time, a first detectable characteristic and, at a second time, a second detectable characteristic, and
• wherein an element, of the pattern, is characterized by at least one of:
• a measure of a duration of time during which at least one of the at least one sensor was caused to sense at least one of the at least one detectable characteristic,
• a count of a number of instances in which the at least one of the at least one sensor was caused to sense before a time when the source of the propulsion force for the vehicle was changed from the off state to an on state, the count being greater than one, or
• a characteristic of a time during which the at least one of the at least one sensor was caused to sense the at least one of the at least one detectable characteristic, the characteristic of the time being at least one of a time of a day, a day of a week, or a season;
• and
• causing, by the processor and in response to a production of the prediction of the identification of the occupant, a setting of a component of the vehicle to have a specific value, wherein the setting of the component comprises at least one of a position of a seat, a height of the seat, a degree to which the seat reclines, a position of a ventilation duct, a direction of the ventilation duct, a temperature of a heating system or an air conditioning system, a speed of a fan of a ventilation system, a position of a rearview mirror, a tilt angle of a steering wheel, a longitudinal position of the steering wheel, a volume of a speaker, a tuner of a radio, a setting of an in-car entertainment system, a setting of a satellite radio, a setting of an Internet radio, or a setting of a media streaming receiver.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium for determining an identification of an occupant within a vehicle, the non-transitory computer-readable medium including instructions that when executed by one or more processors cause the one or more processors to:

• receive, via a communications interface, from at least one sensor, and at a time when a source of a propulsion force for a vehicle is in an off state, at least one signal having information about at least one detectable characteristic associated with an occupant within the vehicle;
• produce, based on the information, a prediction of an identification of the occupant by:
• recording the information, and
• determining an existence of a pattern, within a record of the information, correlated with the occupant,
• wherein the pattern includes, at a first time, a first detectable characteristic and, at a second time, a second detectable characteristic, and
• wherein an element, of the pattern, is characterized by at least one of:
• a measure of a duration of time during which at least one of the at least one sensor was caused to sense at least one of the at least one detectable characteristic,
• a count of a number of instances in which the at least one of the at least one sensor was caused to sense before a time when the source of the propulsion force for the vehicle was changed from the off state to an on state, the count being greater than one, or
• a characteristic of a time during which the at least one of the at least one sensor was caused to sense the at least one of the at least one detectable characteristic, the characteristic of the time being at least one of a time of a day, a day of a week, or a season;
• and
• cause, in response to a production of the prediction of the identification of the occupant, a setting of a component of the vehicle to have a specific value, wherein the setting of the component comprises at least one of a position of a seat, a height of the seat, a degree to which the seat reclines, a position of a ventilation duct, a direction of the ventilation duct, a temperature of a heating system or an air conditioning system, a speed of a fan of a ventilation system, a position of a rearview mirror, a tilt angle of a steering wheel, a longitudinal position of the steering wheel, a volume of a speaker, a tuner of a radio, a setting of an in-car entertainment system, a setting of a satellite radio, a setting of an Internet radio, or a setting of a media streaming receiver.

A system, comprising:

• a processor;
• and
• a memory storing instructions that cause the processor to:
• receive detectable characteristics of an occupant;
• determine, from the detectable characteristics, a pattern, correlated with the occupant, that includes, at a first time, a first detectable characteristic and, at a second time, a second detectable characteristic;
• produce, based on the pattern, an identification prediction of the occupant;
• and
• cause, in response to a production of the identification prediction, a setting of a component of a vehicle to have a specific value, wherein the setting comprises at least one of a position of a seat, a height of the seat, a degree to which the seat reclines, a position of a ventilation duct, a direction of the ventilation duct, a temperature of a heating system or an air conditioning system, a speed of a fan of a ventilation system, a position of a rearview mirror, a tilt angle of a steering wheel, a longitudinal position of the steering wheel, a volume of a speaker, a tuner of a radio, a setting of an in-car entertainment system, a setting of a satellite radio, a setting of an Internet radio, or a setting of a media streaming receiver.