Capturing digital images during vehicle collisions

• US 10,679,071 B2
• Filed: 01/10/2018
• Issued: 06/09/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 01/10/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kyndryl Incorporated
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Anderson, Evelyn R., Bender, Michael, Childress, Rhonda L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Teitelbaum, Michael E
• Application Number:
  US15/867,002
• Publication Number:
  US 20190213425A1
• Time in Patent Office: 881 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/105 using multiple cameras
• 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: G06Q 40/08 Insurance
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30252 Vehicle exterior; Vicinity of vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/70 Determining position or orientation of objects or cameras camera calibration G06T7/80
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/56 exterior to a vehicle by using sensors mounted on the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/58 Recognition of moving objects or obstacles, e.g. vehicles or pedestrians; Recognition of traffic objects, e.g. traffic signs, traffic lights or roads
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0866 the electronic data carrier being a digital video recorder in combination with video camera
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0112 from the vehicle, e.g. floating car data [FCD]
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/162 event-triggered
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/44 for communication between vehicles and infrastructures, e.g. vehicle-to-cloud [V2C] or vehicle-to-home [V2H]

Abstract

A method for capturing digital images during vehicle collisions includes: detecting, by a computer device, an impact with a vehicle; controlling, by the computer device and based on the detecting, at least one digital camera to capture images of an area around the vehicle; and transmitting, by the computer device, the images to a server that is remotely located relative to the vehicle.

Claims

1. A method for capturing digital images during vehicle collisions, comprising:

detecting, by a computer device, an impact with a vehicle;

controlling, by the computer device and based on the detecting, at least one digital camera to capture images of an area around the vehicle; and

transmitting, by the computer device, the images to a server that is remotely located relative to the vehicle,

detecting, by the computer device and prior to the detecting the impact, an object within a predefined distance around the vehicle;

detecting, by the computer device, an impact with a tire of the vehicle by receiving a signal from a tire pressure sensor of the vehicle;

controlling, by the computer device and based on the detecting the object, the at least one digital camera to capture pre-impact images of the area around the vehicle; and

dynamically adjusting, by the computer device, the predefined distance around the vehicle based on a determined driving condition of the vehicle,

wherein the area around the vehicle is a 360 degree view around the vehicle,

the 360 degree view includes a front area at a front of the vehicle, a rear area at a rear of the vehicle, a left area at a left side of the vehicle, and a right area at a right side of the vehicle, and

the pre-impact images captured include all of the 360 degree view.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one camera comprises:

at least one camera with a field of view at a front of the vehicle;

at least one camera with a field of view at a rear of the vehicle;

at least one camera with a field of view at a left side of the vehicle; and

at least one camera with a field of view at a right side of the vehicle.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmitting is via wireless communication.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmitting comprises transmitting:

the captured images;

the captured pre-impact images;

an identifier of the vehicle;

date and time of the detected impact; and

a location of the vehicle during the detected impact.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the server is configured to securely store the captured images and the captured pre-impact images.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the server is configured to transmit the captured images and the captured pre-impact images to at least one designated recipient.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the server is configured to determine the at least one designated recipient based on the identifier of the vehicle and previously received user input.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the at least one designated recipient comprises an owner of the vehicle or an insurance provider.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein the server is configured to transmit the captured images and the captured pre-impact images to the at least one designated recipient via email.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the pre-impact images are captured prior to the detecting the impact;

the images are captured after the detecting the impact; and

the transmitting comprises transmitting the images and the pre-impact images to the server.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the computer device comprises networked device;

the server comprises network broker; and

the transmitting comprises the networked device publishing data to the network broker.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the controlling comprises controlling the at least one digital camera to capture the images for a predefined amount of time after the detecting the impact.

19. The method of claim 1, further comprising dynamically adjusting the predefined distance around the vehicle to a first distance when the vehicle is stopped, and dynamically adjusting the predefined distance around the vehicle to a second distance when the vehicle is moving, the second distance being different than the first distance, wherein the dynamically adjusting the predefined distance comprises adjusting a sensitivity of a proximity sensor on the vehicle.

13. A collision recording system, comprising:

a computer device onboard a vehicle;

at least one proximity sensor on the vehicle;

at least one tire pressure sensor on the vehicle; and

at least one camera on the vehicle;

wherein the computer device is configured to;

determine that an object is within a proximity of the vehicle based on data from the at least one proximity sensor;

in response to the determining that the object is within the proximity of the vehicle, control the at least one camera to capture images of an area around the vehicle; and

after the determining that the object is within the proximity of the vehicle, perform one of;

(i) detect an impact with the vehicle based on data from the at least one tire pressure sensor, and continue controlling the at least one camera to capture additional images of the area around the vehicle after the detected impact; and

(ii) determine that an object is no longer within the proximity of the vehicle without detecting an impact, and delete the captured images,

wherein the area around the vehicle is a 360 degree view around the vehicle,

the 360 degree view includes a front area at a front of the vehicle, a rear area at a rear of the vehicle, a left area at a left side of the vehicle, and a right area at a right side of the vehicle, and

the images captured include all of the 360 degree view.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the at least one camera comprises:

at least one camera with a field of view at a front of the vehicle;

at least one camera with a field of view at a rear of the vehicle;

at least one camera with a field of view at a left side of the vehicle; and

at least one camera with a field of view at a right side of the vehicle.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the computer device is configured to wirelessly transmit data to a server that is remotely located relative to the vehicle, the data comprising:

the images and the additional images;

an identifier of the vehicle;

date and time of the detected impact; and

a location of the vehicle during the detected impact.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the server is configured to securely store the data and transmit the data to at least one designated recipient.

18. The system of claim 13, wherein a distance within which the object is determined to be within the proximity of the vehicle is dynamically adjusted to a first distance when the vehicle is stopped, and dynamically adjusted to a second distance when the vehicle is moving, the second distance being different than the first distance.

17. A computer program product for capturing digital images during vehicle collisions, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, the program instructions executable by a computer device to cause the computer device to:

determine that an object is within a proximity of a vehicle based on data from at least one proximity sensor on the vehicle;

in response to the detecting the object is within a proximity of the vehicle, control at least one camera on the vehicle to capture images of an area around the vehicle; and

after the determining that the object is within a proximity of the vehicle, perform one of;

(i) detect an impact with the vehicle based on data from at least one tire pressure sensor on the vehicle, continue controlling the at least one camera to capture additional images of the area around the vehicle for a predefined amount of time after the detected impact, and transmit the images and the additional images to a server that is remote from the vehicle and that is configured to transmit the images and the additional images to at least one designated recipient; and

(ii) delete the images in response to determining that an object is no longer within the proximity of the vehicle without detecting an impact,

wherein the area around the vehicle is a 360 degree view around the vehicle,

the 360 degree view includes a front area at a front of the vehicle, a rear area at a rear of the vehicle, a left area at a left side of the vehicle, and a right area at a right side of the vehicle, and

the images captured include all of the 360 degree view.