Autonomous Vehicle Amber Alert Detection and Reporting

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current autonomous vehicle technologies lack efficient and reliable methods to identify and report vehicles of interest indicated in amber alerts to authorities, posing a safety risk on the roads.

Innovation Solution

An autonomous vehicle system that utilizes sensors to detect vehicles of interest, processes sensor data using machine learning algorithms to identify matching amber alert data, and communicates this information to oversight servers and third parties for appropriate action.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If autonomous vehicles are equipped with sensors and processing systems to identify vehicles of interest from amber alerts, then road safety and detection capability are improved, but device complexity and computational requirements increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveroad safetyVSAvoidsystem complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system divides the complex detection task into separate functional modules: sensor data acquisition, vehicle identification, amber alert database querying, and result reporting. Each module handles a specific aspect of the detection process, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining comprehensive safety monitoring capabilities

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces an oversight server as an intermediary component that manages the amber alert database and coordinates communication between autonomous vehicles and law enforcement agencies. This intermediary handles the complex data management and communication protocols, simplifying the architecture for individual vehicle systems

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Measurement precision

If the system compares vehicle data with multiple amber alerts in real-time, then detection accuracy is improved, but processing time and computational load increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedetection accuracyVSAvoidprocessing time
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system pre-loads and maintains an active amber alert database in memory, organizing vehicle descriptions, license plate patterns, and other identifying features for rapid comparison. This preliminary preparation eliminates the need for real-time database queries during detection, significantly reducing processing time while maintaining high accuracy

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The comparison algorithm focuses on key distinguishing features of vehicles of interest (such as license plate patterns, vehicle type, color) rather than analyzing all vehicle attributes equally. This selective approach maintains detection accuracy while reducing computational complexity and processing time

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

3Productivity

If the system reports vehicle information to oversight servers and third parties, then law enforcement response capability is improved, but data privacy and security concerns increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvelaw enforcement response capabilityVSAvoiddata privacy risk
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The system implements a controlled feedback mechanism where vehicle information is reported to oversight servers only when a match with amber alert criteria is detected. The oversight server verifies the match and coordinates the response, ensuring that data sharing occurs only when necessary and appropriate, thus balancing law enforcement needs with privacy protection

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The patent applies different data protection measures to different types of information. Sensitive personal data is encrypted and transmitted only when necessary, while general vehicle identification information can be shared more freely. This selective approach enables effective law enforcement response while minimizing privacy risks

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentUS12448004B2Vehicle of interest detection by autonomous vehicles based on amber alerts
Publication Date: 2025.10.21 CREATEAI INC
  • US12448004B2 patent drawing
  • US12448004B2 patent drawing
  • US12448004B2 patent drawing

AI summary

A system comprises an autonomous vehicle and a control device associated with the autonomous vehicle. The autonomous vehicle comprises sensors. The control device accesses sensor data captured by the sensors. The control device identifies a vehicle of interest from the sensor data. The control device communicates information associated with the vehicle of interest to at least one of an oversight server and a third party.