Patent ID: 8493198

Claim:
A computer-implemented method, comprising: monitoring, via a sensor associated with at least one of a vehicle and a mobile device, an environment external to the vehicle, wherein the monitoring of the environment includes recording audio signals of the environment based on an output of the sensor; performing audio recognition based on the audio signals via a recognition module of the mobile device; detecting, at the mobile device and based on results of the audio recognition, objects in an area through which the vehicle is to pass; determining, at the mobile device, which ones of the detected objects satisfy one or more predetermined criteria, the one or more predetermined criteria including object features that are indiscernible or marginally discernible to a vehicle operator with a hearing deficiency, the object features including audible signatures predetermined to be marginally discernible or indiscernible by the vehicle operator; identifying, at the mobile device, selected ones of the detected objects to monitor when the selected ones of the detected objects satisfy the one or more predetermined criteria; and alerting the vehicle operator of the selected ones of the detected objects with an alert predetermined to be discernible to the vehicle operator, the selected ones identified as having one or more of the audible signatures.