System and method for generating vehicle crash data

• US 10,360,742 B1
• Filed: 06/30/2016
• Issued: 07/23/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/22/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (State Farm)
• Original Assignee: State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (State Farm)
• Inventors: Bellas, Eric, Call, Shawn M., Carter, Gregory Dwayne, Duehr, Ronald R., Hevrin, Jeffrey David, Collins, Sara Elizabeth
• Primary Examiner(s): Cass, Jean Paul
• Application Number:
  US15/199,115
• Time in Patent Office: 1,118 Days
• Field of Search: 701 32
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/08 Insurance
• 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

Abstract

A computer-implemented method for generating vehicle crash data is presented. It may be determined whether a first mobile computing device has detected that a crash of a vehicle has occurred. It may also be determined whether a second mobile computing device(s) has detected that the crash has occurred. Sensor data output by at least one sensor of the first mobile computing device and/or the second mobile computing device(s) may be received when it is determined that the first mobile computing device and/or the second mobile computing device(s) has detected that the crash has occurred. Vehicle crash data may be generated based on such sensor data, and may include an initial confirmation that the crash has occurred, an indication of crash severity, an indication of a number of vehicle occupants, and/or an indication that the crash has not occurred.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for generating vehicle crash data, the method comprising:

determining, using one or more processors, whether a first mobile computing device within a vehicle has detected that a crash of the vehicle has occurred before generation of an initial confirmation that the crash of the vehicle has occurred;

causing, using the one or more processors, the first mobile computing device to operate in a beacon receive mode;

determining, using the one or more processors, whether at least a second mobile computing device within the vehicle has detected that the crash of the vehicle has occurred before generation of the initial confirmation that the crash of the vehicle has occurred based on whether the first mobile computing device operating in the beacon receive mode has received a signal from at least one of the at least the second mobile computing device indicating that the crash of the vehicle has occurred;

receiving, using the one or more processors, sensor data output by at least one sensor when the one or more processors determine that at least one of the first mobile computing device or the at least the second mobile computing device has detected that the crash of the vehicle has occurred, the at least one sensor being at least one sensor of at least one of the first mobile computing device or the at least the second mobile computing device, the sensor data output by the at least one sensor of the at least one of the first mobile computing device or the at least the second mobile computing device being associated with the detected crash of the vehicle; and

generating, using the one or more processors, based on the sensor data associated with the detected crash of the vehicle, vehicle crash data, the vehicle crash data including at least one of the initial confirmation that the crash of the vehicle has occurred, an indication of a severity of the crash of the vehicle, an indication of a number of occupants of the vehicle at a time of the crash, or an indication that the crash of the vehicle has not occurred.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors include one or more processors of the first mobile computing device, and wherein determining whether the at least the second mobile computing device has detected that the crash of the vehicle has occurred includes determining, using the one or more processors, whether the first mobile computing device has received an indication from the at least the second mobile computing device that the crash of the vehicle has occurred.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors include one or more processors of the first mobile computing device, and

wherein determining whether the first mobile computing device has detected that the crash of the vehicle has occurred includes determining, using the one or more processors, whether the first mobile computing device has detected that the crash of the vehicle has occurred based on at least a portion of the sensor data associated with the detected crash of the vehicle, the at least the portion of the sensor data associated with the detected crash of the vehicle including sensor data output by at least one sensor of the first mobile computing device.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein the one or more processors further include one or more processors of a remote computing device outside the vehicle, wherein the method further comprises sending, using the one or more processors of the first mobile computing device, the sensor data associated with the detected crash of the vehicle to the remote computing device, and wherein generating the vehicle crash data is performed using the one or more processors of the remote computing device.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein generating the vehicle crash data includes generating, using the one or more processors, the vehicle crash data further based on, for each one of the at least one of the first mobile computing device or the at least the second mobile computing device, at least one of (i) a respective geographic location of the one of the at least one of the first mobile computing device or the at least the second mobile computing device or (ii) a respective indication of a time that at least a portion of the sensor data associated with the detected crash of the vehicle was output by at least one sensor of the one of the at least one of the first mobile computing device or the at least the second mobile computing device.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising receiving, using the one or more processors, further sensor data output by at least one sensor of a further mobile computing device, the further mobile computing device being communicatively coupled to the first mobile computing device, the further sensor data being associated with the detected crash of the vehicle, wherein generating the vehicle crash data includes generating, using the one or more processors, the vehicle crash data further based on the further sensor data.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors include one or more processors of a remote computing device outside the vehicle, wherein determining whether the first mobile computing device has detected that the crash of the vehicle has occurred includes receiving, using the one or more processors, an indication from the first mobile computing device of whether the crash of the vehicle has occurred, and wherein determining whether the at least the second mobile computing device has detected that the crash of the vehicle has occurred includes receiving, using the one or more processors, an indication from the at least the second mobile computing device of whether the crash of the vehicle has occurred.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, wherein generating the vehicle crash data includes generating, using the one or more processors, the vehicle crash data further based on, for each one of the at least one of the first mobile computing device or the at least the second mobile computing device, at least one of (i) a respective geographic location of the one of the at least one of the first mobile computing device or the at least the second mobile computing device or (ii) a respective indication of a time that at least a portion of the sensor data associated with the detected crash of the vehicle was output by at least one sensor of the one of the at least one of the first mobile computing device or the at least the second mobile computing device.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, further comprising receiving, using the one or more processors, from the first mobile computing device, further sensor data output by at least one sensor of a further mobile computing device, the further mobile computing device being communicatively coupled to the first mobile computing device, the further sensor data being associated with the detected crash of the vehicle, wherein generating the vehicle crash data includes generating, using the one or more processors, the vehicle crash data further based on the further sensor data.

10. A computing system for generating vehicle crash data, the computing system comprising:

a first mobile computing device within a vehicle; and

at least a second mobile computing device within the vehicle,

wherein the first mobile computing device is configured to;

detect whether a crash of the vehicle has occurred before generation of an initial confirmation that the crash of the vehicle has occurred;

operate in a beacon receive mode;

determine whether the at least the second mobile computing device has detected that the crash of the vehicle has occurred before generation of the initial confirmation that the crash of the vehicle has occurred based on whether the first mobile computing device, while operating in the beacon receive mode, has received a signal from at least one of the at least the second mobile computing device indicating that the crash of the vehicle has occurred; and

analyze sensor data output by at least one sensor when at least one of the first mobile computing device or the at least the second mobile computing device has detected that the crash of the vehicle has occurred, the at least one sensor being at least one sensor of at least one of the first mobile computing device or the at least the second mobile computing device, the sensor data output by the at least one sensor of the at least one of the first mobile computing device or the at least the second mobile computing device being associated with the detected crash of the vehicle,

wherein vehicle crash data is generated based on the analyzing of the sensor data associated with the detected crash of the vehicle, the vehicle crash data including at least one of the initial confirmation that the crash of the vehicle has occurred, an indication of a severity of the crash of the vehicle, an indication of a number of occupants of the vehicle at a time of the crash, or an indication that the crash of the vehicle has not occurred.

11. The computing system of claim 10, wherein the first mobile computing device is further configured to determine whether the at least the second mobile computing device has detected that the crash of the vehicle has occurred by determining whether the first mobile computing device has received an indication from the at least the second mobile computing device that the crash of the vehicle has occurred.

12. The computing system of claim 10, wherein the first mobile computing device is further configured to detect whether the crash of the vehicle has occurred based on at least a portion of the sensor data associated with the detected crash of the vehicle, the at least the portion of the sensor data associated with the detected crash of the vehicle including sensor data output by at least one sensor of the first mobile computing device.

13. The computing system of claim 12, further comprising a remote computing device outside the vehicle, wherein the first mobile computing device is further configured to send the sensor data associated with the detected crash of the vehicle to the remote computing device, wherein the remote computing device is configured to generate the vehicle crash data based on the sensor data associated with the detected crash of the vehicle.

14. The computing system of claim 10, wherein the first mobile computing device is configured to generate the vehicle crash data, and wherein the vehicle crash data is generated further based on, for each one of the at least one of the first mobile computing device or the at least the second mobile computing device, at least one of (i) a respective geographic location of the one of the at least one of the first mobile computing device or the at least the second mobile computing device or (ii) a respective indication of a time that at least a portion of the sensor data associated with the detected crash of the vehicle was output by at least one sensor of the one of the at least one of the first mobile computing device or the at least the second mobile computing device.

15. The computing system of claim 10, wherein the first mobile computing device is further configured to receive further sensor data output by at least one sensor of a further mobile computing device, the further mobile computing device being communicatively coupled to the first mobile computing device, the further sensor data being associated with the detected crash of the vehicle, and wherein the first mobile computing device is configured to generate the vehicle crash data, the vehicle crash data being generated further based on the further sensor data.

16. A computer readable storage medium comprising non-transitory computer readable instructions stored thereon for generating vehicle crash data, wherein the instructions when executed on one or more processors cause the one or more processors to:

determine whether a first mobile computing device within a vehicle has detected that a crash of the vehicle has occurred before generation of an initial confirmation that the crash of the vehicle has occurred;

cause the first mobile computing device to operate in a beacon receive mode;

determine whether at least a second mobile computing device within the vehicle has detected that the crash of the vehicle has occurred before generation of the initial confirmation that the crash of the vehicle has occurred based on whether the first mobile computing device operating in the beacon receive mode has received a signal from at least one of the at least the second mobile computing device indicating that the crash of the vehicle has occurred;

receive sensor data output by at least one sensor when the one or more processors determine that at least one of the first mobile computing device or the at least the second mobile computing device has detected that the crash of the vehicle has occurred, the at least one sensor being at least one sensor of at least one of the first mobile computing device or the at least the second mobile computing device, the sensor data output by the at least one sensor of the at least one of the first mobile computing device or the at least the second mobile computing device being associated with the detected crash of the vehicle; and

generate, based on the sensor data associated with the detected crash of the vehicle, vehicle crash data, the vehicle crash data including at least one of the initial confirmation that the crash of the vehicle has occurred, an indication of a severity of the crash of the vehicle, an indication of a number of occupants of the vehicle at a time of the crash, or an indication that the crash of the vehicle has not occurred.

17. The computer readable storage medium of claim 16, further comprising non-transitory computer readable instructions stored thereon that when executed cause the one or more processors to determine whether the first mobile computing device has detected that the crash of the vehicle has occurred based on at least a portion of the sensor data associated with the detected crash of the vehicle, the at least the portion of the sensor data associated with the detected crash of the vehicle including sensor data output by at least one sensor of the first mobile computing device.

18. The computer readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the one or more processors include one or more processors of the first mobile computing device and one or more processors of a remote computing device outside the vehicle, the computer readable storage medium further comprising non-transitory computer readable instructions stored thereon that when executed cause the one or more processors of the first mobile computing device to cause the first mobile computing device to send the sensor data associated with the detected crash of the vehicle to the remote computing device, the computer readable storage medium further comprising non-transitory computer readable instructions stored thereon that when executed cause the one or more processors of the remote computing device to generate the vehicle crash data.

19. The computer readable storage medium of claim 16, further comprising non-transitory computer readable instructions stored thereon that when executed cause the one or more processors to generate the vehicle crash data further based on, for each one of the at least one of the first mobile computing device or the at least the second mobile computing device, at least one of (i) a respective geographic location of the one of the at least one of the first mobile computing device or the at least the second mobile computing device or (ii) a respective indication of a time that at least a portion of the sensor data associated with the detected crash of the vehicle was output by at least one sensor of the one of the at least one of the first mobile computing device or the at least the second mobile computing device.

20. The computer readable storage medium of claim 16, further comprising non-transitory computer readable instructions stored thereon that when executed cause the one or more processors to receive further sensor data output by at least one sensor of a further mobile computing device and generate the vehicle crash data further based on the further sensor data, the further mobile computing device being communicatively coupled to the first mobile computing device, the further sensor data being associated with the detected crash of the vehicle.