Incident-aware vehicular sensors for intelligent transportation systems

• US 6,804,602 B2
• Filed: 04/02/2002
• Issued: 10/12/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 04/02/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lockheed Martin Corporation (Martin Marietta Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Lockheed Martin Corporation (Martin Marietta Corporation)
• Inventors: Impson, Jeremy D., Mehravari, Nader
• Primary Examiner(s): Cuchlinski, Jr., William A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hernandez, Olga
• Application Number:
  US10/114,388
• Publication Number:
  US 20030187571A1
• Time in Patent Office: 924 Days
• Field of Search: 701/117, 701/118, 701/200, 701/213, 701/24, 731/78.R
• US Class Current: 701/117
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0104 Measuring and analyzing of parameters relative to traffic conditions
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/20 Monitoring the location of vehicles belonging to a group, e.g. fleet of vehicles, countable or determined number of vehicles

Abstract

A system and method for mobile platform real-time collection, transmission, and processing of an array of environmental and vehicle-related data in the context of an Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) network. The system and method provide enhanced in-vehicle data collection, enhanced communications capability between the vehicle and the ITS system, and enhanced ITS implementation functionality to provide real-time incident reporting to ITS users.

Claims

1. An Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) roadway information system for collecting, receiving, and processing ITS information from the plurality of said mobile collection systems, the roadway information system comprising:

an ITS network for collecting, receiving, and processing roadway information from a plurality of sources;

a mobile collection system for collecting and transmitting location-tagged ITS data to said ITS network, said mobile collection system includes

a sensor system for collecting mobile ITS data from at least one data probe;

a location-detecting system for determining a collection location at which said mobile ITS data were collected;

a location-tagging system, said location-tagging system creating said location-tagged ITS data by combining said mobile ITS data with said collection location;

an anonymity system for preserving anonymity of said mobile collection system;

a communications system for sending said location-tagged ITS data from said mobile collection system to said ITS network, said location-tagged ITS data wrapped in a communications message; and

a computer, said computer receiving said mobile ITS data from said sensor system, said computer receiving said collection location from said location-detecting system, said computer executing, for the received said mobile ITS data, said location-tagging system to combine the received said mobile ITS data with said collection location, said computer executing said anonymity system, said computer executing said communications system to send said location-tagged ITS data to said ITS network;

an interface system for receiving said location-tagged ITS data into said ITS network, said interface system combining said location-tagged ITS data from the plurality of said mobile collection systems to provide combined data, said interface system transmitting said combined data within said ITS network;

a traffic processing system for receiving said location-tagged ITS data from said interface system, said traffic processing system creating integrated data from a combination of said location-tagged ITS data and said roadway information; and

a report system for preparing a traffic report using said integrated data created by said traffic processing system.

2. The roadway information system as defined in claim 1 wherein said anonymity system comprises:

an anonymity protocol, said anonymity protocol indicating that an identity of said mobile collection system is not to be connected, within said ITS network, with said location-tagged data collected by said mobile collection system;

a combining system for preparing said communications message, said communications message including said message protocol element and said location-ragged ITS data; and

an ITS anonymity system, said ITS anonymity system receiving, into said ITS network, said communications message, said ITS anonymity system preserving the anonymity of said mobile collection system within said ITS network.

3. The roadway information system as defined in claim 1 wherein said location-detecting system comprises:

a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver interface, the interface having electronic connection with said computer; and

a GPS receiver for receiving said collection location and transferring said collection location to said GPS receiver interface.

4. The roadway information system as defined in claim 1 wherein said data probe is selected from a group consisting of a thermometer, barometer, anemometer, brightness gauge, windshield wiper activity meter, vehicle velocity gauge, proximity detector, vehicle orientation detector, vehicle speed differential detector, vehicle airbag sensor, and vehicle lighting gauge.

5. The roadway information system as defined in claim 1 wherein said communications system comprises:

a wireless receiver for sending and receiving messages to and from said mobile collection system and a communications interface for transferring messages between said wireless receiver and said computer; and

a message system for appending a communications protocol to said communications messages.

6. The roadway information system as defined in claim 1 wherein the interface system operates in the context of an implementation of a United States Intelligent Transportation System architecture (USITSA) Information Service Provider subsystem architecture.

7. The roadway information system as defined in claim 1 wherein the traffic system operates in the context of an implementation of a United States Intelligent Transportation System architecture (USITSA) Traffic Management subsystem architecture.

8. The roadway information system as defined in claim 7 wherein the report system operates in the context of an implementation of said Traffic Management subsystem.

9. An on-board collection system for a mobile platform comprising:

an Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) network interface positioned on-board the mobile platform, said ITS network interface allowing exchange of electronic messages between an ITS network and the mobile platform;

at least one anonymity protocol defined in said ITS network interface and defined in said ITS network, said at least one anonymity protocol allowing anonymous exchange of electronic messages between said ITS network and the mobile platform, said at least one anonymity protocol preserving anonymity of the mobile platform within said ITS network;

at least one on-board sensor, said at least one on-board sensor capable of electronic communication with the mobile platform, said at least one on-board sensor collecting data and transferring said data to the mobile platform; and

a message system, said message system preparing a message containing said on-board sensor data and said at least one anonymity protocol, said message system transmitting the message using said ITS network interface to said ITS network,

wherein said at least one on-board sensor is selected from a group consisting of a thermometer, barometer, anemometer, brightness gauge, windshield wiper activity meter, mobile platform velocity gauge, mobile platform airbag status, mobile platform orientation, mobile platform differential speed, proximity detector, and platform lighting gauge.

10. The collection system of claim 9 wherein said least one on-board sensor comprises an infrared data collector for measuring neighboring platform proximity.

11. The collection system of claim 9 further comprising an emergency vehicle activity data collection system for collecting emergency vehicle activity data.

12. A method for use in an ITS network of an on-board data collection system for a mobile platform comprising the steps of:

installing an ITS interface system in the mobile platform;

defining at least one anonymity protocol for use between the ITS interface system and the ITS network, the at least one anonymity protocol enabling exchange of anonymous electronic messages between the ITS network and the ITS interface system;

collecting sensor, status, and incident data from at least one mobile platform sensor;

preparing a mobile platform communications message containing the collected data and the anonymity protocol;

transmitting the mobile platform communications message from the ITS interface system to the ITS network; and

selecting the at least one mobile platform sensor from a group consisting of a thermometer, barometer, anemometer, brightness gauge, windshield wiper activity meter, mobile velocity gauge, proximity detector, mobile velocity differential, mobile airbag status, mobile orientation, and platform lighting gauge.

14. The method for use in an ITS network of an on-board data collection system as in claim 12 further comprising the step of:

collecting emergency vehicle activity data.

13. A method for use in an ITS network of an on-board data collection system for a mobile platform comprising the steps of:

installing an ITS interface system in the mobile platform;

defining at least one anonymity protocol for use between the ITS interface system and the ITS network, the anonymity protocol enabling exchange of anonymous electronic messages between the ITS network and the ITS interface system;

collecting sensor, status, and incident data from at least one mobile platform sensor;

preparing a mobile platform communications message containing the collect data and the anonymity protocol;

transmitting the mobile platform communications message from the ITS interface system to the ITS network;

determining proximity of neighboring mobile platforms to the mobile platform

determining mobile platform orientation;

determining mobile platform differential speed;

determining mobile platform airbag status; and

computing an incident status based on the proximity, the mobile platform orientation, the mobile platform differential speed, and the mobile platform airbag status.