Vehicle accident response using diagnostic data burst transmission

• US 9,728,087 B2
• Filed: 12/18/2015
• Issued: 08/08/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/18/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Davis, Gregory P., Kumhyr, David B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Flores, Leon
• Application Number:
  US14/973,848
• Publication Number:
  US 20170178513A1
• Time in Patent Office: 599 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/10 related to vehicle motion
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/08 Insurance
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/40 Business processes related to the transportation industry shipping G06Q10/083
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0808 Diagnosing performance data testing of vehicles G01M17/00; testing of electrical installation on vehicles G01R31/005
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/016 Personal emergency signalling and security systems emergency non-personal manually actuated alarm activators G08B25/12
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/162 event-triggered
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/166 for active traffic, e.g. moving vehicles, pedestrians, bikes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

An approach is provided for vehicle accident response using diagnostic data burst transmission. In the approach, a set of vehicle data is collected during operation of a vehicle. When an impact is detected, the set of vehicle data is transmitted using a short range wireless communication technology to any receivers that are proximate to the vehicle, such as a second vehicle that was involved in the impact. The vehicle data may include intra-vehicle data, such as the vehicle identification number (VIN) of the vehicle, as well as extra-vehicle data, such as a timestamp.

Claims

1. A method implemented by an information handling system that includes a processor and a memory accessible by the processor, the method comprising:

collecting a first set of vehicle data during operation of a first vehicle, wherein the first set of vehicle data includes one or more extra vehicle factors that include one or more weather conditions and one or more traffic conditions;

detecting an impact at the first vehicle;

in response to detecting the impact, transmitting the first set of vehicle data using a short range wireless communication technology to a receiver in a second vehicle, wherein the second vehicle is proximate to the first vehicle, and wherein the second vehicle is not a party to the impact;

receiving a request, after the transmission of the first set of vehicle data, from an emergency vehicle proximate to the first vehicle to transmit the collected first set of vehicle data; and

transmitting the first set of vehicle data to the emergency vehicle in response to the request.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein one of the receivers proximate to the first vehicle is located in a second vehicle that is proximate to the first vehicle at the time of the impact, and wherein the first set of vehicle data includes a vehicle identification number (VIN) corresponding to the first vehicle.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the short range wireless communication technology is selected from the group consisting of Near Field Communication (NFC) technology and Bluetooth technology.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving, at a wireless receiver installed in the first vehicle, a wireless burst transmission from a second vehicle that was involved in the impact, wherein the wireless burst transmission includes a second set of vehicle data that pertains to the second vehicle, and wherein the second set of vehicle data includes the vehicle identification number (VIN) of the second vehicle;

storing the second set of vehicle data received in the wireless burst transmission in a memory included in the first vehicle; and

storing the first set of vehicle data transmitted by the first vehicle in the memory.

5. The method of claim 4 further comprising:

receiving, at the first vehicle, a vehicle impact request;

retrieving the first and second sets of vehicle data from the memory; and

outputting the first and second sets of vehicle data.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the first set of vehicle data includes one or more intra-vehicle factors and one or more extra-vehicle factors pertaining to the first vehicle, wherein at least one of the intra-vehicle factors is selected from the group consisting of a vehicle identification number (VIN) of the first vehicle, a vehicle operation quality factor of the first vehicle, a vehicle performance factor of the first vehicle, an engine operating data of the first vehicle, speed of the first vehicle, a driving style of the first vehicle, a phone usage of the first vehicle, a braking condition of the first vehicle, a g-force occurring at the first vehicle, a throttle position of the first vehicle, and a noise volume in an interior of the first vehicle, and wherein at least one of the extra-vehicle factors is selected from the group consisting of a date, a time of day, a GPS location, a traffic condition, a number of vehicles proximate to the first vehicle, and a weather condition.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein at least one of the receivers is located in a device selected from the group consisting of a second vehicle, a law enforcement device, a fixed roadside device, an insurance device, and a service device.

8. An information handling system comprising:

one or more processors;

a memory coupled to at least one of the processors;

a short range wireless transmitter accessible by at least one of the processors;

a short range wireless receiver accessible by at least one of the processors; and

a set of computer program instructions stored in the memory and executed by at least one of the processors in order to perform actions comprising;

collecting a first set of vehicle data during operation of a first vehicle, wherein the first set of vehicle data includes one or more extra vehicle factors that include one or more weather conditions and one or more traffic conditions;

detecting an impact at the first vehicle;

in response to detecting the impact, transmitting the first set of vehicle data using a short range wireless communication technology to a receiver in a second vehicle, wherein the second vehicle is proximate to the first vehicle, and wherein the second vehicle is not a party to the impact;

receiving a request, after the transmission of the first set of vehicle data, from an emergency vehicle proximate to the first vehicle to transmit the collected first set of vehicle data; and

transmitting the first set of vehicle data to the emergency vehicle in response to the request.

9. The information handling system of claim 8 wherein one of the receivers proximate to the first vehicle is located in a second vehicle that is proximate to the first vehicle at the time of the impact, and wherein the first set of vehicle data includes a vehicle identification number (VIN) corresponding to the first vehicle.

10. The information handling system of claim 8 wherein the short range wireless communication technology is selected from the group consisting of Near Field Communication (NFC) technology and Bluetooth technology.

11. The information handling system of claim 8 wherein the actions further comprise:

receiving, at a wireless receiver installed in the first vehicle, a wireless burst transmission from a second vehicle that was involved in the impact, wherein the wireless burst transmission includes a second set of vehicle data that pertains to the second vehicle, and wherein the second set of vehicle data includes the vehicle identification number (VIN) of the second vehicle;

storing the second set of vehicle data received in the wireless burst transmission in a memory included in the first vehicle; and

storing the first set of vehicle data transmitted by the first vehicle in the memory.

12. The information handling system of claim 11 wherein the actions further comprise:

receiving, at the first vehicle, a vehicle impact request;

retrieving the first and second sets of vehicle data from the memory; and

outputting the first and second sets of vehicle data.

13. The information handling system of claim 8 wherein the first set of vehicle data includes one or more intra-vehicle factors and one or more extra-vehicle factors pertaining to the first vehicle, wherein at least one of the intra-vehicle factors is selected from the group consisting of a vehicle identification number (VIN) of the first vehicle, a vehicle operation quality factor of the first vehicle, a vehicle performance factor of the first vehicle, an engine operating data of the first vehicle, speed of the first vehicle, a driving style of the first vehicle, a phone usage of the first vehicle, a braking condition of the first vehicle, a g-force occurring at the first vehicle, a throttle position of the first vehicle, and a noise volume in an interior of the first vehicle, and wherein at least one of the extra-vehicle factors is selected from the group consisting of a date, a time of day, a GPS location, a traffic condition, a number of vehicles proximate to the first vehicle, and a weather condition.

14. The information handling system of claim 8 wherein at least one of the receivers is located in a device selected from the group consisting of a second vehicle, a law enforcement device, a fixed roadside device, an insurance device, and a service device.

15. A computer program product stored in a computer readable storage medium, comprising computer program code that, when executed by an information handling system, performs actions comprising:

collecting a first set of vehicle data during operation of a first vehicle, wherein the first set of vehicle data includes one or more extra vehicle factors that include one or more weather conditions and one or more traffic conditions;

detecting an impact at the first vehicle;

in response to detecting the impact, transmitting the first set of vehicle data using a short range wireless communication technology to a receiver in a second vehicle, wherein the second vehicle is proximate to the first vehicle, and wherein the second vehicle is not a party to the impact;

receiving a request, after the transmission of the first set of vehicle data, from an emergency vehicle proximate to the first vehicle to transmit the collected first set of vehicle data; and

transmitting the first set of vehicle data to the emergency vehicle in response to the request.

16. The computer program product of claim 15 wherein one of the receivers proximate to the first vehicle is located in a second vehicle that is proximate to the first vehicle at the time of the impact, and wherein the first set of vehicle data includes a vehicle identification number (VIN) corresponding to the first vehicle.

17. The computer program product of claim 15 wherein the short range wireless communication technology is selected from the group consisting of Near Field Communication (NFC) technology and Bluetooth technology.

18. The computer program product of claim 15 wherein the actions further comprise:

receiving, at a wireless receiver installed in the first vehicle, a wireless burst transmission from a second vehicle that was involved in the impact, wherein the wireless burst transmission includes a second set of vehicle data that pertains to the second vehicle, and wherein the second set of vehicle data includes the vehicle identification number (VIN) of the second vehicle;

storing the second set of vehicle data received in the wireless burst transmission in a memory included in the first vehicle; and

storing the first set of vehicle data transmitted by the first vehicle in the memory.

19. The computer program product of claim 18 wherein the actions further comprise:

receiving, at the first vehicle, a vehicle impact request;

retrieving the first and second sets of vehicle data from the memory; and

outputting the first and second sets of vehicle data.

20. The computer program product of claim 15 wherein the first set of vehicle data includes one or more intra-vehicle factors and one or more extra-vehicle factors pertaining to the first vehicle, wherein at least one of the intra-vehicle factors is selected from the group consisting of a vehicle identification number (VIN) of the first vehicle, a vehicle operation quality factor of the first vehicle, a vehicle performance factor of the first vehicle, an engine operating data of the first vehicle, speed of the first vehicle, a driving style of the first vehicle, a phone usage of the first vehicle, a braking condition of the first vehicle, a g-force occurring at the first vehicle, a throttle position of the first vehicle, and a noise volume in an interior of the first vehicle, and wherein at least one of the extra-vehicle factors is selected from the group consisting of a date, a time of day, a GPS location, a traffic condition, a number of vehicles proximate to the first vehicle, and a weather condition.