Advanced automobile accident detection, data recordation and reporting system

• US 7,348,895 B2
• Filed: 11/03/2005
• Issued: 03/25/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/03/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Paul J. Lagassey
• Original Assignee: Paul J. Lagassey
• Inventors: Lagassey, Paul J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hofsass; Jeffery
• Assistant Examiner(s): MCNALLY, KERRI L
• Application Number:
  US11/267,732
• Publication Number:
  US 20060092043A1
• Time in Patent Office: 873 Days
• Field of Search: 340/907
• US Class Current: 340/907
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0891 Video recorder in combination with video camera
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0116 from roadside infrastructure, e.g. beacons
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/205 Indicating the location of the monitored vehicles as destination, e.g. accidents, stolen, rental

Abstract

A system for monitoring a location to detect and report a vehicular incident, comprising a transducer for detecting acoustic waves at the location, and having an audio output; a processor for determining a probable occurrence or impending occurrence of a vehicular incident, based at least upon said audio output; an imaging system for capturing images of the location, and having an image output; a buffer, receiving said image output, and storing at least a portion of said images commencing at or before said determination; and a communication link, for selectively communicating said portion of said images stored in said buffer with a remote location and at least information identifying the location, wherein information stored in said buffer is preserved at least until an acknowledgement of receipt is received representing successful transmission through said communication link with the remote location.

Claims

1. A system for detecting an incident, comprising:

a processor for determining a probable or impending occurrence of an incident at a location;

an input for receiving images representing the location;

a buffer, receiving said images, and storing at least a portion of said images commencing at or before a determination of a probable or impending occurrence by said processor, said buffer having substantially less capacity than would be required for continuous persistent storage of all of said images; and

a communication link to a communications network, employing a protocol ensuring reliable transmission of information through cryptographic means, for selectively securely and reliably communicating with a remote location, at least a portion of said images stored in said buffer and at least information identifying the location, and control signals from the remote location to be processed by said processor for controlling at least communications through said communications link;

wherein information stored in said buffer for a period after said probable impending occurrence is selectively preserved at least until an acknowledgement of successful receipt of an unaltered portion of said images at the remote location is received, the information received at the remote location is sufficient to establish a forensically valid record, and information stored in said buffer substantially before and substantially after said probable impending occurrence is purged from said buffer and is not selectively preserved.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein said communication link communicates a time code for a time different than a current time of said communication.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein said communication link communicates information identifying a state of a traffic signal proximate to the location.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein said communication link is selected from one of a wireless network, public switched telephone network, channel switched network, packet switched network, coaxial cable, twisted pair cable, cellular communications, point-to-point radio frequency wireless, point-to-point microwave wireless, broadcast wireless, line-of-sight optical, fiber optic, wireless communication channel, or ad hoc radio network.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor receives an input from an audio transducer for detecting incident-related acoustic waves at a location and, said processor analyzing the input to extract acoustic signals representing at least one of acoustic emissions occurring prior to a vehicular incident, and acoustic emissions occurring at the time of and following the impact of a vehicle with another vehicle, object or person to determine the probable or impending occurrence.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein said system further comprises a location sensor, for determining a geographic position of the location, said geographic position being communicated through said communications link.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein at least a portion of said input representing acoustic emissions at the location prior to said determination, is stored and communicated through said communications link after said determination.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein said processor analyzes said images to assist in determination of a likely occurrence or likely imminence of a vehicular incident.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein said communication link comprises a primary link and a backup link, using a different physical transport layer, said selective communication preferentially occurring through said primary link, and in an event of failure of said selective communication through said primary link, then through said backup link.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein said communication link further communicates a time sequence of images captured starting at the time of or after said determination.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein said system comprises a communication path to a traffic signal control device, and receives and stores a signal representing a state of a traffic signal at least once upon said determination, said state being communicated over said communication link.

12. The system of claim 1, further comprising a remote monitoring center at the remote location, which is adapted to simultaneously receive communications from a plurality of incident detection systems at respectively different locations, each having a respective communication link.

13. The system of claim 1, further comprising a display at the remote location, said display presenting at least one image of the location of a vehicular incident and the geographic location of a vehicular incident.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the data stored in said buffer and communicated over said communication link is stored at the remote location in a tamper evident record.

15. The system of claim 1, further comprising means for evidentiary authentication of said forensically valid record, said means providing at least one of physical security and cryptographic security, to ensure that the forensic record is a reliable and accurate record of the incident.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein said communication link communicates control signals from the remote location to be communicated to a traffic signal control device at the location.

17. The system of claim 1, wherein said processor determines a probable or impending occurrence of an incident based at least on an acoustic signature pattern.

18. The system of claim 1, wherein said processor determines a probable or impending occurrence of an incident based at least on object motion determined from said images.

19. The system of claim 1, wherein said communication link is a wireless system, and wherein said system communicates information identifying its geographic location to the remote location.

20. The system of claim 1, wherein said input receives information from an imaging system is adapted for imaging a vehicle at the location, said processor determining, based on said images, whether the vehicle complies or fails to comply with at least one traffic rule, ordinance, regulation and law.

21. The system of claim 1, wherein said system has a low resource mode active prior to said determination and a high resource mode active subsequent to said determination and until the occurrence of a predetermined condition for returning said system to low resource mode, wherein said high resource mode consumes resources to a greater extent than said low resource mode.

22. The system of claim 1, wherein said communications link is connected to the Internet.

23. A method, comprising the steps of:

determining a likely or imminent occurrence of an incident at a location;

capturing images of the location;

storing a portion of said captured images, starting at latest upon said determination in a memory having substantially less capacity than would be required for continuous persistent storage of all captured images;

selectively communicating over a communications network a portion of said stored images and incident related data comprising at least information identifying the location to a remote location, employing a protocol ensuring reliable transmission of information through cryptographic means, and further communicating control signals from the remote location for selectively controlling communications over said communications network;

selectively preserving said stored images in the memory at least until an acknowledgement of receipt of an unaltered portion of the images from the remote location of the portion of the stored images is received, the information received at the remote location being sufficient to establish a forensically valid record; and

purging information stored in the memory substantially before and substantially after the likely or imminent occurrence without selectively preservation thereof.

24. The method of claim 23, further comprising the step of communicating a timecode identifying a time distinct from a time of communication to the remote location.

25. The method of claim 23, further comprising communicating information identifying a state of a traffic signal proximate to the location to the remote location.

26. The method of claim 23, further comprising communicating a portion of said images over at least one transport layer selected from the group consisting of a wireless network, public switched telephone network, channel switched network, packet switched network, coaxial cable, twisted pair cable, cellular communications, point-to-point radio frequency wireless, point-to-point microwave wireless, broadcast wireless, line-of-sight optical, fiber optic, wireless communication channel, and an ad hoc radio network.

27. The method of claim 23, further comprising communicating at least one of a geographic position of the location, a time of the determination to the remote location.

28. The method of claim 23, further comprising communicating after said determination at least a portion of detected acoustic waves detected before said determination.

29. The method of claim 23, further comprising determining a likely occurrence of a vehicular incident at the location based at least upon acoustic waves detected after a determination of an imminent incident.

30. The method of claim 23, further comprising analyzing said captured images output to assist in said determination.

31. The method of claim 23, further comprising providing a primary communication link and a backup communication link, using a different physical transport layer for each, said selectively communicating preferentially occurring through said primary communication link, and in an event of failure of said selective communication through said primary communication link, then through said backup communication link.

32. The method of claim 23, further comprising communicating at least one image captured starting at a time preceding said determination.

33. The method of claim 23, further comprising remotely communicating information representing a state of a traffic signal at the location.

34. The method of claim 23, further comprising receiving control signals from the remote location for controlling a traffic signal proximate to the location.

35. The method of claim 23, further comprising performing acoustic signature analysis.

36. The method of claim 23, further comprising determining whether a vehicle at the location complies or fails to comply with a traffic rule, ordinance, regulation or law.

37. A system, comprising:

a sensor for detecting conditions relating to an incident at a location;

an imager adapted to capture images at the location;

a processor for predicting at least one of the imminent and likely occurrence of an incident at the location, based on a comparison of detected conditions from said sensor and a set of predetermined incident signatures, said processor producing an output prior to or contemporaneous with an incident;

a memory selectively storing a plurality of images and conditions at the scene detected by said sensor representing times before and after a time of the incident, and otherwise deleting information in the memory; and

an interface adapted to reliably communicate at least a portion of the information stored in the memory, to a remote monitoring center after predicting a likely occurrence of an incident, and after confirmation of communication, deleting the information stored in the memory, and being adapted to receive control signals from the remote monitoring center to be processed by said processor for control of communications through said interface.

38. The system of claim 37 wherein the interface communicates a timecode representing a time different than the time of communication.

39. The system of claim 37, wherein the interface receives control signals from a remote location for controlling a traffic control device proximate to the system.

40. The system of claim 37, further comprising a link for communicating status signals from a traffic signal control device at the location to the remote monitoring center.

41. A method, comprising the steps of:

continuously receiving data from at least one sensor at a scene;

determining from the data received a high probability of at least one of the imminent occurrence and the occurrence of an incident at the scene;

capturing at least one image at the scene, at a time proximate of said determination of the determined high probability;

selectively maintaining incident-related data captured preceding said determining at least until a condition is satisfied, and otherwise permitting deletion of the incident-related data after a specified delay;

selectively transmitting at least a portion of said selectively maintained incident-related data to a remote location after the determined high probability, wherein said continuously received data is substantially not transmitted when said determining is not at a high probability level;

receiving a confirmation of transmission of the incident-related data from the remote location;

establishing said condition, after receipt of confirmation of transmission, to permit deletion of said incident related data; and

receiving from the remote location control signals for controlling at least said selectively transmitting step.

42. The method of claim 41, wherein said determining comprises analyzing an audio signal for acoustic emissions indicative of at least one of an imminent vehicular incident, an imminent non-vehicular incident, an actual vehicular incident, and an actual non-vehicular incident.

43. The method of claim 41, wherein said determining comprises analyzing a video signal for object states and vectors indicative of at least one of an imminent vehicular incident or an actual vehicular incident.