Emergency Call Video Distress Object Obscuring

Solution Overview

Problem

Emergency call takers experience mental health issues due to constant exposure to traumatic images and videos of incident scenes, which can exacerbate stress, anxiety, and PTSD, even when the visual information does not change the response required.

Innovation Solution

A method and system that intercepts incident-related video, identifies potentially distressing objects, obscures them, and provides textual descriptions, allowing emergency call takers to make decisions without direct exposure to disturbing imagery, with the option to selectively unobscure objects as needed.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If incident-related video is provided to emergency call takers to improve situational understanding, then the quality of emergency response decision-making is improved, but the mental health of call takers deteriorates due to exposure to traumatic imagery

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesituational understandingVSAvoidmental health impact

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts and removes distressing visual elements (blood, injuries, violent scenes) from the incident video while preserving the essential contextual information. This is achieved through automated detection of harmful visual content and selective obscuring or removal of specific frames, allowing call takers to maintain situational understanding without direct exposure to traumatic imagery that causes mental health deterioration

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces an intermediary processing system that acts as a buffer between the raw incident video and the call taker interface. This intermediary layer automatically analyzes video content, identifies distressing elements, and modifies the video stream in real-time, mediating the harmful interaction while preserving the useful information needed for emergency response decisions

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Object-affected harmful factors

If traumatic imagery is obscured to protect call taker mental health, then mental anguish is reduced, but information availability for decision-making may be compromised

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemental anguishVSAvoidinformation availability

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The patent creates modified copies of the incident video where distressing elements are obscured or removed. These copied versions are then presented to call takers, preserving the overall scene context and non-distressing information while eliminating harmful visual content. The original unmodified video is retained for complete information availability when needed

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

Solution Approach 2:

The patent applies selective modification only to specific portions of the video that contain distressing content, while leaving the rest of the video unchanged. This localized approach ensures that essential information in non-distressing areas remains fully visible and accessible to call takers for decision-making, while only the harmful elements are obscured

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

3Reliability

If all video content is made available to ensure complete information, then decision-making accuracy is improved, but exposure to traumatic content increases call taker stress and PTSD risk

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedecision-making accuracyVSAvoidstress and PTSD

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSObject-generated harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts and removes distressing visual elements (blood, injuries, violent scenes) from the incident video while preserving the essential contextual information. This is achieved through automated detection of harmful visual content and selective obscuring or removal of specific frames, allowing call takers to maintain situational understanding without direct exposure to traumatic imagery that causes mental health deterioration

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces an intermediary processing system that acts as a buffer between the raw incident video and the call taker interface. This intermediary layer automatically analyzes video content, identifies distressing elements, and modifies the video stream in real-time, mediating the harmful interaction while preserving the useful information needed for emergency response decisions

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentUS11288885B1System and method for emergency call taker mental health improvement

Publication Date: 2022.03.29 MOTOROLA SOLUTIONS INC

AI summary

Techniques for emergency call taker mental health improvement are provided. Incident scene related media that captures a visual representation of a scene associated with an incident is received. At least one object shown in the incident related media that may cause emotional distress to an emergency call taker that will view the incident related media is determined. The object is obscured in the incident scene related media to create obscured incident related media. A textual description of the object is generated. The textual description of the object is included in the obscured incident related media. The obscured incident related media is displayed to the emergency call taker.