US-20260127888-A1 - INFORMATION GATHERING AND SHARING FROM A COLLISION EVENT

US20260127888A1US 20260127888 A1US20260127888 A1US 20260127888A1US-20260127888-A1

Abstract

A system and method for collecting evidence with an observer device of a collision event of a vehicle on a road are provided. An image sensor captures image data during the collision event. A communication module receives a collision message broadcast from a vehicle involved in the collision event. An evidence collection module processes image data acquired from the image sensor to determine whether the collision event was captured. The evidence collection module also compares temporal and geographic data from the collision message collected by the involved vehicle during the collision event and with time and location metadata in the image data to flag an image of the collision event. An evidence report including the flagged image of the collision event is generated when the time and location metadata matches the temporal and geographic data, and the image data captured the collision event.

Inventors

Mohammad Naserian
Daniel Xie
Patrick Giancarlo Gabriel Digioacchino
Utkarsh Saini

Assignees

GM Global Technology Operations LLC

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20241107

Claims (20)

1 . A system for collecting evidence of a collision event on a road, the system comprising: an image sensor configured to capture image data of the road during the collision event, wherein the image data includes time and location metadata; and an observer device in communication with the image sensor, wherein the observer device comprises: a non-transitory memory storing programming instructions; and a processor communicatively coupled to the non-transitory memory, wherein the processor executing the programming instructions is configured to: receive a collision message broadcasted from a first vehicle involved in the collision event, wherein the first vehicle from herein is referred to as an involved vehicle, the observer device is independent and separated from the involved vehicle, and the observer device is one of a second vehicle not involved in the collision event or a traffic infrastructure platform device; and acquire the image data from the image sensor; process the image data to determine whether the collision event was captured; acquire temporal and geographic data from the collision message collected by the involved vehicle during the collision event; compare the time and location metadata of the image data_with the temporal and geographic data of the collision message when the collision event is captured in the image data to coincide the image data with the collision event; and generate an evidence report when (i) the time and location metadata match the temporal and geographic data, and (ii) the image data captured the collision event, wherein the evidence report includes an image of the collision event.
2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the observer device is the traffic infrastructure platform device the image sensor is located proximate to the road for acquiring image data.
3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the observer device is the second vehicle and the image sensor is embodied in the second vehicle.
4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor executing the programming instructions is further configured to: identify one or more collided vehicles involved in the collision event in the image data; classify each collided vehicle in the image data with the collision event based on a vehicle make, a vehicle model, and a vehicle color; confirm the vehicle make, the vehicle model, and the vehicle color of each collided vehicle classified to determine whether one of the one or more collided vehicles is the involved vehicle that broadcasted the collision message; and transmit the evidence report to the involved vehicle when the vehicle make, the vehicle model, and the vehicle color of one of the one or more collided vehicles are confirmed.
5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor executing the programming instructions is further configured to: prompt a response input from a user to verify when the image data coincides with the collision event.
6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor executing the programming instructions is further configured to transmit the evidence report in response to a request therefor.
7 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the evidence report is transmitted to the involved vehicle based on the collision message.
8 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor executing the programming instructions is further configured to: generate an encrypted evidence report with a public key; and transmit the encrypted evidence report to the involved vehicle via a communication link.
9 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the processor executing the programming instructions is further configured to transmit the encrypted evidence report in response to a request received from the involved vehicle.
10 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the processor executing the programming instructions is further configured to: receive an acknowledgement from the involved vehicle confirming that the encrypted evidence report was received; and display an indicator acknowledging receipt of the encrypted evidence report by the involved vehicle.
11 . A method of collecting evidence of a collision event on a road using an observer device, the method comprising: acquiring, a processor, image data with an image sensor having a field of view of the road, wherein the image data includes time and location metadata; receiving, using the processor, a collision message broadcasted, in the observer device, from a first vehicle involved in the collision event on the road, wherein the first vehicle from herein is referred to as an involved vehicle, the collision message indicates that the involved vehicle has experienced the collision event and includes temporal and geographic data collected by the involved vehicle during the collision event, wherein the observer device is independent and separated from the involved vehicle and the observer device is one of a second vehicle or a traffic infrastructure platform device; processing, using the processor, the image data to determine whether the collision event was captured when the collision message is received; comparing, using the processor, the time and location metadata of the image data with the temporal and geographic data of the collision message when the collision event is captured in the image data to coincide the image data with the collision event; and generating, using the processor, an evidence report when (i) the time and location metadata matches the temporal and geographic data, and (ii) the image data captured the collision event, wherein the evidence report includes an image of the collision event.
12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the observer device comprises the traffic infrastructure platform device communication module for and wherein the image sensor is located proximate to the road.
13 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the observer device comprises the second vehicle located proximate to the road, and the second vehicle includes the image sensor.
14 . The method of claim 11 , further comprises: identifying one or more collided vehicles involved in the collision event in the image data; classifying each collided vehicle captured in the image data with the collision event based on a vehicle make, a vehicle model, and a vehicle color; confirming the vehicle make, the vehicle model, and the vehicle color of each classified vehicle to determine whether one of the one or more collided vehicles is the involved vehicle that broadcasted the collision message; and transmitting the evidence report to the involved vehicle when the vehicle make, the vehicle model, and the vehicle color of one of the one or more collided vehicles is confirmed.
15 . The method of claim 11 further comprising prompting a response input from a user to verify when the image data coincides with the collision event.
16 . The method of claim 11 further comprising transmitting the evidence report in response to a request therefor.
17 . The method of claim 11 further comprising transmitting the evidence report to the involved vehicle based on the collision message.
18 . The method of claim 11 further comprising: generating an encrypted evidence report with a public key; and transmitting the encrypted evidence report to the involved vehicle.
19 . The method of claim 18 further comprising receiving an acknowledgement from the involved vehicle confirming that the encrypted evidence report was received by the involved vehicle.
20 . A method of collecting evidence of a collision event on a road with an observer device, the method comprising: acquiring image data with an image sensor having a field of view of the road, wherein the image data includes time and location metadata; receiving, using a processor of the observer device, a collision message broadcasted from a first vehicle involved in the collision event on the road, wherein the first vehicle is referred to as an involved vehicle from herein, wherein the collision message indicates that the involved vehicle has experienced the collision event and includes temporal and geographic data collected by the involved vehicle during the collision event, wherein the observer device is independent and separate from the involved vehicle, and wherein the observer device is one of a second vehicle or a traffic infrastructure platform device; processing, using the processor, the image data to determine whether the collision event was captured when the collision message is received; identifying, using the processor, one or more collided vehicles vehicle involved in the collision event that were captured in the image data; classifying, using the processor, each collided vehicle identified in the image data based on a vehicle make, a vehicle model, and a vehicle color; confirming, using the processor, the vehicle make, the vehicle model, and the vehicle color of each collided vehicle classified to determine whether one of the one or more collided vehicles is the involved vehicle that broadcasted the collision message; comparing, using the processor, the time and location metadata with the temporal and geographic data to coincide the image data with the collision event; generating, using the processor, an evidence report when (i) the time and location metadata matches the temporal and geographic data, (ii) the image data captured the collision event and (iii) the vehicle make, the vehicle model, and the vehicle color of one of the one or more collided vehicles are confirmed, wherein the evidence report includes an image of the collision event; encrypting, using the processor, the evidence report with a public key; and transmitting, using the processor, an encrypted evidence report to the involved vehicle.

Description

INTRODUCTION The technical field generally relates to a third-party device gathering evidence of collision event, and more particularly relates to a third-party device detecting a collision between nearby vehicles. In recent years, advancements in vehicular safety technologies have increasingly focused on improving the ability of vehicles to prevent and mitigate collisions. One significant area of development is in Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) communication systems, which allow vehicles to exchange critical information in real time with other road users and roadside infrastructure devices. These systems are designed to enhance situational awareness, enabling vehicles to react to potential hazards before they become imminent threats. A primary use case for V2X communication is the transmission of vehicle data between vehicles. In the event of a minor collision event, the third-party human observers that witness an affected vehicle may not feel that the minor collision is serious enough to stop and that there is no need exists to pull over and share collision event information with other drivers of nearby vehicles. Despite advancements in traffic management, challenges remain in reducing traffic related to minor vehicle collisions. The present disclosure provides an approach to aid in the exchange of evidence collected by making it quicker, safer, and more dependable for all occupants of the vehicle, thereby addressing the above-mentioned issues and more. Desirable features and characteristics of embodiments herein will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this introduction. SUMMARY In one aspect, the present disclosure provides a system for collecting evidence of a collision event on a road with an observer device, that is independent from a vehicle involve therein. An image sensor is configured to capture image data of the road during the collision event. The image data includes time and location metadata. A communication module is configured to receive a collision message broadcast from a vehicle involved in the collision event. An evidence collection module is in communication with the image sensor and including a processing unit. The processing unit acquires image data from the image sensor and processes the image data to determine whether the collision event was captured. Temporal and geographic data is acquired from the collision message collected by the involved vehicle during the collision event. The time and location metadata is compared with the temporal and geographic data to coincide the image data with the collision event. An evidence report is generated when (i) the time and location metadata match the temporal and geographic data, and (ii) the image data captured the collision event. The evidence report includes an image of the collision event. In one embodiment, the image sensor, the communication module, and the evidence collection module may be embodied in a traffic infrastructure platform with the image sensor located proximate to the road for acquiring image data. In another embodiment, the image sensor, the communication module, and the evidence collection module may be embodied in a witnessing vehicle with the image sensor located proximate to the road for acquiring image data. In some embodiments, the processing unit described above may be configured to identify the involved vehicle captured in the image data with the collision event. An identified vehicle captured in the image data is classified with the collision event based on a vehicle make, a vehicle model, and a vehicle color. The vehicle make, the vehicle model, and the vehicle color of the identified vehicle is confirmed based on the collision message. The evidence report is transmitted to the involved vehicle when the vehicle make, the vehicle model, and the vehicle color of the identified vehicle are confirmed. In yet another embodiment, the system described above may include a human machine interface (HMI) in communication with the evidence collection module. The evidence collection module prompts a response input on the HMI from a user to verify when the image data coincides with the collision event. In one embodiment, the communication module transmits the evidence report in response to a request therefore. In another embodiment, the evidence report is transmitted to the involved vehicle based on the collision message. In some embodiments, the processing unit described above may generate an encrypted evidence report with a public key and transmit the encrypted evidence report to the involved vehicle via a communication link. In yet another embodiment, the processing unit described above may transmit the encrypted evidence report in response to a request received by the communication module from the involved vehicle. In one embodiment, the system described above may include a human machine interface in communication with the