ARVI – Armrest Vibration Index (Earthquake-like Vibration Scale) for Passengers in Moving Vehicles with Road Classification

Abstract

The invention relates to an Internet of Things (IoT)-based device named the ARVI Tracker (Armrest Vibration Index Tracker), designed to monitor and assess road quality in real-time by measuring vibrations experienced by passengers in a moving vehicle. The device uses multiple sensors, including a vibration sensor, GPS sensor, and speed sensor, to capture vibration data, geographic location, and vehicle speed. Vibration readings, ranging from 1 to 100,000, are converted to an Armrest Vibration Index (ARVI) on a scale of 0 to 10, where 10 indicates the worst road conditions. Based on ARVI values, roads are classified into five categories from Class A to Class E, where Class A (ARVI ≤ 0.5) represents the smoothest roads and Class E (ARVI > 5) indicates the worst conditions. This classification system, inspired by the Richter scale for earthquakes, provides an "earthquake like" indicator of road quality for passengers, enabling applications in navigation, road maintenance, and vehicle insurance. Real-time data is transmitted to cloud storage, where machine learning algorithms distinguish between road-induced and vehicle-induced vibrations, enhancing the accuracy of road quality assessments. The ARVI Tracker thus offers a cost-effective, continuous monitoring solution that has the potential to improve transportation safety, reduce maintenance costs, and enhance passenger comfort.

Specification

Description:Background and Problem Addressed
The world's vast road networks facilitate daily commutes and transportation for billions of people,
but a major challenge persists in monitoring road quality on a continuous and real-time basis.
Traditional methods of road assessment are labour-intensive, periodic, Data intensive and often fail
to capture Real Time insights into road deterioration, impacting road safety, passenger comfort, and
vehicle maintenance. To address this, the invention introduces ARVI Tracker (Armrest Vibration
Index Tracker), an IoT-based device that continuously measures Real time road quality through the
vibrations experienced by passengers in moving vehicles, providing a practical, cost-effective solution
for road classification and quality monitoring.
Summary of the Invention
The ARVI Tracker is designed to measure vibrations through a sensor mounted on the armrest of a
vehicle. The device captures real-time data, quantifying it as the Armrest Vibration Index (ARVI) on a
scale from 0 to 10. This ARVI scale serves as an "earthquake-like" indicator of road conditions, with
values classified into five distinct categories, from Class A (ARVI ≤ 0.5) to Class E (ARVI > 5), where
Class E represents the worst road conditions. This classification provides valuable data for a range of
applications, including navigation, toll setting, vehicle insurance adjustments, and road maintenance
prioritization.
Additionally, it opens an opportunity for Road Quality Data Analytics helping Governments to frame
policies and public road work departments to fix road deteriorations, potholes, un scientific humps
immediately or helps in predicting potential road damages.
Components and Structure
The ARVI Tracker installed in Vehicles (also in Trains) includes:
1. Vibration Sensor: Measures the vibrations experienced by passengers via the vehicle's
armrest. Readings range from 1 to 100,000, representing varying intensities of road impact.
2. GPS Sensor: Captures the precise geographic location of the vehicle, aiding in mapping road
quality data to specific locations.
3. Speed Sensor: Tracks vehicle speed, providing contextual data for the recorded vibrations.
4. Microcontroller (ESP32): Processes the sensor data using the Sketch Programming platform
and transmits it to cloud storage.
5. Wireless Communication Module: Enables real-time data transfer to a cloud-based system
for further processing and analysis.
Operation of the Invention
The ARVI Tracker is mounted within a vehicle, continuously monitoring vibrations as the vehicle
moves. The raw vibration data collected by the sensor is processed using a formula that maps
readings from 1 to 100,000 to an ARVI value between 0 and 10:
ARVI = (Sensor Reading/100,000) x 10
The calculated ARVI value provides a direct assessment of road conditions in real-time. This data,
along with location and speed, is transmitted to cloud storage, where a machine learning algorithm
processes the information, distinguishing road-induced vibrations from vehicle-induced vibrations for
more accurate road quality assessment.
Road Classification System
The ARVI values are used to classify roads into five categories:
• Class A: Smoothest roads, with ARVI ≤ 0.5.
• Class B: Good road conditions, with ARVI > 0.5 to 1.
• Class C: Moderate road conditions, with ARVI > 1 to 3.
• Class D: Poor quality, with ARVI > 3 to 6.
• Class E: Worst quality roads, with ARVI > 6 to 10.
This classification system enables informed decision-making for road usage, vehicle routing, and
resource allocation for road maintenance.
Applications and Benefits
1. Navigation: The ARVI classification provides enhanced navigation information, allowing
drivers to select smoother routes for improved passenger comfort. People with medical
conditions such as Back pains or Pregnant women who have to avoid bad roads will get to
know the Class of the road even before their travel, helping them in taking precautions as
necessary.
2. Vehicle Insurance: By assessing road quality exposure, ARVI data enables personalized
insurance premiums based on the vehicle's usage conditions.
3. Road Maintenance: Authorities can use ARVI-based road classification to prioritize repairs on
poor-quality roads (Class D and E), optimizing maintenance resources and enhancing road
safety.
4. Second-Hand Vehicle Assessment: ARVI data helps potential buyers assess a vehicle's road
exposure history, contributing to a more accurate valuation of used vehicles.
5. Road Quality Data Analytics: As the data collected is Realtime, it opens an avenue of data
analytics that helps to flag Realtime alarming road quality conditions if any along with road
deterioration predictions
Conclusion
The ARVI Tracker provides a continuous, real-time solution for assessing road quality using IoT-based
technology. By capturing and analysing vibrations through an innovative ARVI scale, the device offers
a scalable, cost-effective means of improving road safety, maintenance, and passenger experience.
This system stands to transform road quality assessment, introducing a novel classification approach
that has wide-ranging applications across transportation, insurance, and public infrastructure
planning. , Claims:Independent Claims
1. Device Claim:
An Internet of Things (IoT)-based device for monitoring road quality through passenger
experienced vibrations in a moving vehicle, comprising:
o a vibration sensor configured to detect vibrations from the vehicle's armrest,
producing text readings ranging from 1 to 100,000;
o a GPS sensor to capture the geographic location of the vehicle;
o a speed sensor to record the vehicle's speed;
o a microcontroller programmed to process sensor readings and convert them into an
Armrest Vibration Index (ARVI) on a scale of 0 to 10, wherein the ARVI value
represents road quality, and an ARVI of 10 corresponds to the highest sensor reading;
o a wireless communication module for transmitting ARVI values, location, and speed
data to a cloud-based storage system;
o wherein roads are classified based on ARVI values into Class A to Class E, where Class
A represents ARVI ≤ 0.5 and Class E represents ARVI > 5.
2. Method Claim:
A method for assessing and classifying road quality using an Internet of Things (IoT)-based
device, the method of Text based data collection comprising of:
o measuring vibrations on the armrest of a vehicle using a vibration sensor with
readings between 1 and 100,000;
o converting the measured readings to an Armrest Vibration Index (ARVI) on a scale of
0 to 10 using the formula:
ARVI=(Sensor Reading/100,000)×10
o classifying the road quality based on ARVI values, where ARVI ≤ 0.5 is classified as
Class A and ARVI > 5 is classified as Class E;
o transmitting ARVI data, along with the vehicle's speed and geographic location, to a
cloud-based storage system for further analysis;
o analysing the data with a machine learning algorithm to distinguish road-induced
vibrations from vehicle-induced vibrations for accurate road quality assessment.
3. System Claim:
A system for continuous road quality monitoring and classification, comprising:
o a plurality of IoT devices, each installed in vehicles and including a vibration sensor,
GPS sensor, and speed sensor;
o a cloud-based data storage system configured to receive ARVI, location, and speed
data from each IoT device;
o a machine learning-based analysis module in the cloud-based system to process ARVI
data and classify roads from Class A to Class E based on the vibration severity
experienced by passengers.
Dependent Claims
1. The device of claim 1, wherein the vibration sensor is a tri-axis accelerometer, allowing
detection of vibrations along multiple axes for increased accuracy.
2. The device of claim 1, wherein the microcontroller is configured to operate on minimal
power consumption, allowing the device to remain operational for extended periods.
3. The method of claim 2, further comprising displaying the real-time ARVI value to passengers
or drivers through an onboard user interface for improved navigation and comfort.
4. The system of claim 3, wherein the classification results are accessible to navigation systems,
allowing users to select routes based on road quality classification from Class A to Class E.
5. The system of claim 3, wherein the Data Analysis module utilizes data on vehicle type, road
type, and vibration patterns to enhance the accuracy of road quality assessment.
6. The method of claim 2, wherein ARVI values are used to adjust insurance premiums for
vehicles based on the type and frequency of road quality exposure.

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