Systems and methods for reconstruction of a vehicular crash

• US 10,351,133 B1
• Filed: 01/25/2017
• Issued: 07/16/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/27/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (State Farm)
• Original Assignee: State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (State Farm)
• Inventors: Nave, Cole, Tofte, Nathan
• Primary Examiner(s): Heinle, Courtney D
• Application Number:
  US15/415,473
• Time in Patent Office: 902 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/002 Seats provided with an occupancy detection means mounted therein or thereon detection means responsive to presence or absence of children B60N2/266
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/0025 by using weight measurement
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/0027 for detecting the position of the occupant or of occupant's body part
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2220/00 Computerised treatment of data for controlling of seats
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2230/20 Wireless data transmission
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/04 including control of propulsion units
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/184 with wheel brakes
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/20 including control of steering systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2420/403 Image sensing, e.g. optical camera
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2420/408 Radar; Laser, e.g. lidar
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2520/00 Input parameters relating to overall vehicle dynamics
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/26 Incapacity
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/00 Input parameters relating to objects
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/20 Static objects
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/4023 large-size vehicles, e.g. trucks
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/4029 Pedestrians
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/4041 Position
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/00 Input parameters relating to data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/09 Taking automatic action to avoid collision, e.g. braking and steering
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/0956 the prediction being responsive to traffic or environmental parameters
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/0098 : Details of control systems ensuring comfort, safety or stability not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/14 : Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0055 : with safety arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/212 : with details for data modelling support
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/23 : Updating
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2455 : Query execution
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/20 : Design optimisation, verification or simulation optimisation, verification or simulation of circuit designs G06F30/30
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/08 : Insurance
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/95 : structured as a network, e.g. client-server architectures
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/56 : exterior to a vehicle by using sensors mounted on the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 : communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0841 : Registering performance data recording measured values G01D; information storage G11B
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/085 : using electronic data carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/006 : Alarm destination chosen according to type of event, e.g. in case of fire phone the fire service, in case of medical emergency phone the ambulance
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/016 : Personal emergency signalling and security systems emergency non-personal manually actuated alarm activators G08B25/12
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/10 : using wireless transmission systems G08B25/009 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/16 : Anti-collision systems road vehicle drive control systems for predicting or avoiding probable or impending collision otherwise than by control of a particular sub-unit B60W30/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5116 : for emergency applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/025 : using location based information parameters

Abstract

A system for detecting a vehicular crash may (i) receive data from said at least one sensor; (ii) determine that a potential vehicular crash is imminent based upon the received data; and/or (iii) transmit one or more high priority packets including a notification that the potential vehicular crash is imminent. As a result, the speed and accuracy of detecting an imminent vehicular crash is increased. The system may also utilized vehicle occupant positional data, and internal and external sensor data to detect potential imminent vehicle collisions, take corrective actions, automatically engage autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle features, and/or generate virtual reconstructions of the vehicle collision.

Claims

1. A vehicle comprising:

at least one sensor; and

a vehicle controller including at least one processor in communication with at least one memory device, the at least one processor programmed to;

conduct communications with one or more remote devices;

receive data from the at least one sensor;

determine that a potential vehicular crash is imminent based upon the received data;

override the communications conducted with the one or more remote devices;

transmit, to a remote server, one or more high priority packets including a notification that the potential vehicular crash is imminent, the high priority packets having a priority level configured to override the communication conducted with the one or more remote devices;

estimate a severity of the imminent vehicular crash using the data received from the at least one sensor;

determine whether the estimated severity exceeds a predetermine threshold; and

when the estimated severity exceeds the predetermined threshold, transmit the data received from the at least one sensor to a claim handling remote server for pre-populating an insurance claim form.

2. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the one or more high priority packets include data from said at least one sensor.

3. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein data from said at least one sensor includes speed, acceleration, and braking data.

4. The vehicle of claim 3, wherein data from said at least one sensor further includes image data associated with an area forward of a direction of travel of a vehicle that is acquired by a camera mounted on the vehicle.

5. The vehicle of claim 4, wherein determining that a potential vehicular crash is imminent is based upon applying object recognition techniques on the image data acquired by the camera mounted on the vehicle.

6. The vehicle of claim 5, wherein determining that a potential vehicular crash is imminent is further based upon vehicle speed, acceleration, and braking data.

7. The vehicle of claim 4, wherein determining that a potential vehicular crash is imminent is based upon processor analysis of vehicle speed and acceleration data, and the image data acquired by the vehicle mounted camera.

8. The vehicle of claim 4, wherein determining that a potential vehicular crash is imminent is based upon processor analysis of vehicle speed and acceleration data, and analysis of the image data acquired by the vehicle mounted camera that determines whether an object in a direction of travel of the vehicle is within a predetermined distance for a given vehicle speed and acceleration.

9. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the data received from the at least one sensor is analyzed to estimate the severity of the imminent vehicular crash, and the estimated severity of the imminent vehicular crash is transmitted within the high priority packets to the remote server via wireless communication.

10. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the estimated severity of the imminent vehicular crash is determined based upon vehicle speed, acceleration, and braking data acquired from at least one of mobile device-mounted sensors and vehicle-mounted sensors, and a size and type of an object determined to be in a direction of travel of the vehicle by performing object recognition techniques on image data captured by one or more vehicle-mounted cameras.

11. The vehicle of claim 10, wherein the type of the object determined to be in the direction of travel of the vehicle is one of a compact vehicle, a sport-utility vehicle, a truck, and a semi-truck.

12. The vehicle of claim 10, wherein the type of the object determined to be in the direction of travel of the vehicle is one of a concrete support, a street sign, traffic light, and a road marking.

13. The vehicle of claim 10, wherein the type of the object determined to be in the direction of travel of the vehicle is one of an animal and a tree.

14. The vehicle of claim 10, wherein the estimated severity of the imminent vehicular crash is determined to be an anticipated total loss, and the claim handling remote server is prompted by the vehicle processor to start a total loss insurance claim handling process.

15. A computer system coupled to a vehicle for detecting a vehicular crash involving the vehicle, the computer system including at least one processor in communication with at least one memory device, the at least one processor programmed to:

conduct communications with one or more remote devices;

receive data from at least one sensor associated with the vehicle;

determine that a potential vehicular crash is imminent based upon the received data;

interrupt the communications with the one or more remote devices;

transmit, to a remote server, one or more high priority packets including a notification that the potential vehicular crash is imminent, the high priority packets having a priority level configured to override communications with the one or more remote devices; and

estimate a severity of the imminent vehicular crash based upon (i) speed, acceleration, and braking data for the vehicle, and (ii) a size and type of an object determined to be in a direction of travel of the vehicle by performing object recognition techniques on image data captured by the at least one sensor,

wherein the estimated severity of the imminent vehicular crash is used to start an insurance claim handling process by causing a virtual insurance claim form to be pre-populated for further review.

16. A computer-implemented method for detecting a vehicular crash, the method implemented using a computer system including at least one processor in communication with at least one memory device, the method comprising:

conducting communications with one or more remote devices;

receiving, by the computer system, data from at least one sensor;

determining, by the computer system, that a potential vehicular crash is imminent based upon the received data;

overriding the communications conducted with the one or more remote devices;

transmitting, by the computer system to a remote server, one or more high priority packets including a notification that the potential vehicular crash is imminent, the high priority packets having a priority level configured to override the communications conducted with the one or more remote devices;

estimating a severity of the imminent vehicular crash based upon the data received from the at least one sensor;

determining whether the estimated severity exceeds a predetermined threshold; and

when the estimated severity exceeds the predetermined threshold, transmit at least some of the data received from the at least one sensor to a claim handling remote server for pre-populating an insurance claim form.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the one or more high priority packets include data from the at least one sensor.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein data from said at least one sensor includes speed, acceleration, and braking data.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein data from said at least one sensor further includes image data associated with an area forward of a direction of travel of a vehicle that is acquired by at least one of a camera mounted on the vehicle and a dash mounted mobile device.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein determining that a potential vehicular crash is imminent is based upon applying object recognition techniques on the image data acquired by at least one of the camera mounted on the vehicle and the dash mounted mobile device.