METHODS, APPARATUS, AND SYSTEMS FOR DOCUMENTING AND REPORTING EVENTS VIA TIME-ELAPSED GEO-REFERENCED ELECTRONIC DRAWINGS

• US 20100256981A1
• Filed: 04/02/2010
• Published: 10/07/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/03/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Certusview Technologies LLC (Dycom Industries Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Certusview Technologies LLC (Dycom Industries Incorporated)
• Inventors: Nielsen, Steven, Chambers, Curtis, Farr, Jeffrey
• Application Number:
  US12/753,687
• Publication Number:
  US 20100256981A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/1.100
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/302 combining image information with GPS information or vehicle data, e.g. vehicle speed, gyro, steering angle data
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/304 using merged images, e.g. merging camera image with stored images
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/50 characterised by the display information being shared, e.g. external display, data transfer to other traffic participants or centralised traffic controller
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/60 Editing figures and text; Combining figures or text
• 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 5/085 using electronic data carriers

Abstract

One or more electronic drawings may be generated to document and/or report an event, in which various elements of the drawing(s) include geographic reference information. A symbols library, a collection of images (e.g., geo-referenced images), geo-location data, and time and location data may be stored in memory for use in connection with such drawings, and a drawing tool graphical user interface (GUI) may be provided for electronically marking-up images on which one or more drawings are based. The marked-up images may be event-specific images, and may be integrated into various types of electronic reports for accurately depicting events of interest, such as personal injury events, vehicle accidents, and/or property damage events.

Claims

1. An apparatus for documenting an incident at an incident site, the apparatus comprising:

a communication interface;

a display device;

at least one user input device;

a memory to store processor-executable instructions; and

a processing unit communicatively coupled to the communication interface, the display device, the at least one user input device, and the memory, wherein upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the processing unit, the processing unit;

controls the communication interface to electronically receive source data representing at least one input image of a geographic area including the incident site;

controls the display device to display at least a portion of the at least one input image;

acquires first user input from the at least one user input device to provide a first representation of at least a portion of the incident at a first time on the at least one input image;

generates a first marked-up digital image including the first representation based on the first user input;

acquires second user input from the at least one user input device to provide a second representation of at least a portion of the incident at a second time on the at least one input image;

generates a second marked-up digital image including the second representation based on the second user input; and

further controls the communication interface and/or the memory to electronically transmit and/or electronically store information relating to the first and second marked-up digital images so as to document the incident at different times with respect to the geographic area.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing unit:

acquires third user input from the at least one user input device, the third user input indicating an estimate of the first time; and

further controls the communication interface and/or the memory to electronically transmit and/or electronically store the estimate of the first time in association with the information relating to the first marked-up digital image so as to document an estimated time corresponding to the first representation.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the processing unit:

acquires fourth user input from the at least one user input device, the fourth user input indicating an estimate of the second time; and

further controls the communication interface and/or the memory to electronically transmit and/or electronically store the estimate of the second time in association with the information relating to the second marked-up digital image so as to document an estimated time corresponding to the second representation.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing unit:

acquires third user input from the at least one user input device, the third user input indicating an estimate of the first time; and

modifies the first marked-up digital image to include the estimate of the first time.

5. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the processing unit:

acquires fourth user input from the at least one user input device, the fourth user input indicating an estimate of the second time; and

modifies the second marked-up digital image to include the estimate of the second time.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing unit further controls the display device to display a series of images as an animated sequence, the series of images comprising the first and second marked-up digital images.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the processing unit:

acquires third user input from the at least one user input device, the third user input indicating an estimate of the first time;

acquires fourth user input from the at least one user input device, the fourth user input indicating an estimate of the second time; and

controls the display device to display the first and second marked-up digital images at relative times that are based at least in part on the estimates of the first and second times.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one input image is geo-referenced.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the processing unit:

scales at least a portion of the first representation and/or second representation based on a scale of the at least one geo-referenced input image.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the at least a portion of the first representation and/or second representation comprises a symbol selected from a symbol library.

11. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the processing unit:

acquires geographic location information corresponding to the incident site from a global positioning system; and

acquires, based on the geographic location information, the source data representing the at least one geo-referenced input image of the geographic area including the incident site.

12. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the at least one geo-referenced input image comprises a first geo-referenced input image, and wherein the processing unit:

generates, using geo-reference data associated with the first geo-referenced input image, a second geo-referenced input image having a different perspective than the first geo-referenced input image.

13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

the incident involves a vehicle; and

the first representation comprises a representation of the vehicle.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the processing unit:

scales the representation of the vehicle based on a scale of the at least one input image.

15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the processing unit:

selects a vehicle symbol corresponding to the vehicle from a plurality of vehicle symbols in a symbol library; and

wherein the first representation comprises the selected vehicle symbol.

16. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the processing unit:

selects the vehicle symbol based on a vehicle identification number of the vehicle.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the incident involves a vehicular incident, and wherein the processing unit:

controls the communication interface and/or the memory to electronically transmit and/or electronically store a vehicular incident report including the first and second marked-up digital images.

18. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the incident involves a personal injury, and wherein the processing unit:

controls the communication interface and/or the memory to electronically transmit and/or electronically store a personal injury report including the first and second marked-up digital images.

19. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the incident involves property damage, and wherein the processing unit:

controls the communication interface and/or the memory to electronically transmit and/or electronically store a property damage report including the first and second marked-up digital images.

20. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the incident involves police-investigated activity, and wherein the processing unit:

controls the communication interface and/or the memory to electronically transmit and/or electronically store a police report including the first and second marked-up digital images.

21. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing unit:

controls the communication interface and/or the memory to electronically transmit and/or electronically store an incident report including the first and second marked-up digital images.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the processing unit:

controls the communication interface and/or the memory to electronically transmit and/or electronically store a descriptor file comprising;

information identifying the incident report; and

information identifying the first and second marked-up digital images.

23. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing unit:

controls the display device to display a symbol palette, the symbol palette comprising a selection of symbols for depicting objects and/or events.

24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the selection of symbols comprises at least one landmark symbol.

25. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the selection of symbols comprises at least one vehicle symbol.

26. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the selection of symbols comprises at least one person symbol.

27. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing unit:

controls the display device to display a sketching palette, the sketching palette comprising a selection of renderable shapes.

28. A method for documenting an incident at an incident site, the method comprising:

A) receiving source data representing at least one input image of a geographic area including the incident site;

B) processing the source data so as to display at least a portion of the at least one input image on a display device;

C) receiving first user input via at least one user input device associated with the display device;

D) processing the first user input so as to display, on the display device, a first marked-up digital image including a first representation of at least a portion of the incident at a first time on the at least one input image;

E) receiving second user input via the at least one user input device;

F) processing the second user input so as to display, on the display device, a second marked-up digital image including a second representation of at least a portion of the incident at a second time on the at least one input image; and

G) electronically transmitting and/or electronically storing information relating to the first and second marked-up digital images so as to document the incident at different times with respect to the geographic area.

29. At least one computer-readable medium encoded with instructions that, when executed on at least one processing unit, perform a method for documenting an incident at an incident site, the method comprising:

A) receiving source data representing at least one input image of a geographic area including the incident site;

B) processing the source data so as to display at least a portion of the at least one input image on a display device;

C) receiving first user input via at least one user input device associated with the display device;

D) processing the first user input so as to display, on the display device, a first marked-up digital image including a first representation of at least a portion of the incident at a first time on the at least one input image;

E) receiving second user input via the at least one user input device;

F) processing the second user input so as to display, on the display device, a second marked-up digital image including a second representation of at least a portion of the incident at a second time on the at least one input image; and

G) electronically transmitting and/or electronically storing information relating to the first and second marked-up digital images so as to document the incident at different times with respect to the geographic area.