Methods and systems for driver identification

A method comprising:

• measuring, by an accelerometer of a mobile phone disposed in a vehicle during a drive, acceleration forces applied to the mobile phone with respect to a reference frame of the mobile phone, the accelerometer configured to transmit electronic signals to a processor of the mobile phone indicating the acceleration forces applied to the mobile phone during the drive;
• receiving, by the processor of the mobile phone, the electronic signals from the accelerometer indicating the acceleration forces;
• analyzing, by the processor, the acceleration forces measured by the accelerometer to classify the acceleration forces into a first set of accelerations caused by a user of the mobile phone and a second set of accelerations caused by motion of the vehicle;
• transforming, by the processor, the acceleration forces to the reference frame of the vehicle using the second set of accelerations;
• determining, by the processor, a timestamp of a first event;
• extracting, by the processor, a portion of the first set of accelerations from within a window of time around the timestamp;
• determining, by the processor, whether the first event is an entry event in which the mobile phone enters the vehicle or an exit event in which the mobile phone exits the vehicle from the portion of the first set of accelerations;
• determining, by the processor, a first component of the portion of the first set of accelerations along a first axis;
• determining, by the processor, a second component of the portion of the first set of accelerations along a second axis, wherein the second axis is orthogonal to the first axis;
• determining, by the processor, whether the first event occurs on a left side or on a right side of the vehicle based on whether the first event is an entry event or an exit event, the first component, and the second component, to obtain a first determination result;
• determining, by the processor, whether the mobile phone is on a front side or on a rear side of the vehicle from the second set of accelerations to obtain a second determination result;
• and
• determining, by the processor, a position of the mobile phone in the vehicle during at least a portion of the drive based on the first determination result and the second determination result.

A system comprising:

• a vehicle;
• and
• a mobile phone disposed within the vehicle, the mobile phone comprising:
• a sensor arrangement configured to measure movements of the mobile phone during a drive in the vehicle and transmit electronic signals to a processor of the mobile phone indicating the movements associated with the mobile phone, the sensor arrangement comprising:
• an accelerometer configured to measure acceleration forces applied to the mobile phone with respect to a reference frame of the mobile phone;
• and
• a gyroscope configured to measure rotational forces applied to the mobile phone with respect to the reference frame of the mobile phone;
• a display;
• a memory storing a set of instructions;
• and
• one or more processors coupled to the sensor arrangement, the display, and the memory, the one or more processors being configured to execute the set of instructions to:
• receive the electronic signals from the sensor arrangement indicating the acceleration forces;
• analyze the acceleration forces measured by the accelerometer to classify the acceleration forces into a first set of accelerations caused by a user of the mobile phone and a second set of accelerations caused by motion of the vehicle;
• detect one or more braking events and one or more forward acceleration events based on the second set of accelerations;
• analyze a subset of the second set of accelerations that are associated with a first event of the one or more braking events or the one or more forward acceleration events to determine a direction of the first event with respect to the reference frame of the mobile phone;
• analyze the one or more braking events and the one or more forward acceleration events to determine a direction of the first event with respect to a reference frame of the vehicle;
• and
• transform the acceleration forces measured with respect to the reference frame of the mobile phone to be with respect to the reference frame of the vehicle using the direction of the first event with respect to the reference frame of the mobile phone and the direction of the first event with respect to the reference frame of the vehicle.

The system of claim 20, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to execute the set of instructions to:

• determine a timestamp of a first event that occurred before or after the one or more braking events and the one or more forward acceleration events;
• extract a portion of the transformed acceleration forces within a window of time around the timestamp;
• determine whether the first event is an entry event in which the mobile phone enters the vehicle before the one or more braking events and the one or more forward acceleration events or an exit event in which the mobile phone exits the vehicle after the one or more braking events and the one or more forward acceleration events;
• determine a first component of the portion of the transformed acceleration forces along a first axis;
• determine a second component of the portion of the transformed acceleration forces along a second axis, wherein the second axis is orthogonal to the first axis;
• determine, based on whether the first event is an entry event or an exit event, the first component, and the second component, whether the first event occurs on a left side or on a right side of the vehicle to obtain a first determination result;
• determine, based on the portion of the first set of accelerations, whether the mobile phone is on a front side or on a rear side of the vehicle to obtain a second determination result;
• and
• determine, based on the first determination result and the second determination result, a position of the mobile phone in the vehicle during at least a portion of the drive.