External Backend for Vehicle Emergency Calls
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing emergency call systems in vehicles are ineffective when the on-board system is damaged, and they often trigger false alarms in minor accidents, failing to meet EU regulatory requirements for reliable emergency call functionality.
Innovation Solution
A backend device outside the vehicle that communicates with a collision detection system to periodically receive collision probability data and vehicle information, triggering an automatic emergency call via a cellular network when a high collision probability is detected and communication with the vehicle is interrupted, ensuring accurate emergency response even if the vehicle cannot make the call itself.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If an on-board emergency call system is used in vehicles, then emergency calls can be triggered from within the vehicle, but the system becomes ineffective when the on-board system or vehicle is damaged
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a backend device as an intermediary component that communicates with the vehicle's collision detection system. This backend device resides outside the vehicle and can trigger emergency calls independently when the vehicle's on-board system is damaged, ensuring continuous emergency call functionality without requiring complex modifications to the vehicle itself.
Solution Approach 2:
The emergency call system is segmented into two independent parts: the on-board collision detection device and the external backend device. The backend device handles emergency call triggering separately from the vehicle's internal systems, allowing it to function even when the vehicle's on-board systems are compromised.
2Measurement precision
If automatic emergency call systems continuously monitor collision probabilities, then accurate emergency response can be triggered, but false alarms occur in minor accidents with no serious impact
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses feedback mechanisms where the backend device continuously receives collision probability data from the vehicle and monitors communication status. When the vehicle communicates that it is still operational despite detected collisions, the system can suppress emergency calls, preventing false alarms while maintaining precise collision detection.
Solution Approach 2:
The emergency call triggering is made dynamic by continuously monitoring both collision probability and vehicle communication status. The system adjusts its response based on real-time feedback, only triggering emergency calls when collision severity and communication interruption conditions are met, thereby reducing false alarms.
Data Source
AI summary
Backend apparatus for triggering an automatic emergency call for a vehicle is arranged outside the vehicle, comprising a first interface for vehicle-to-environment communication to recurrently obtain a current collision probability from a collision detection device for a collision with an object, a second interface for vehicle-to-environment communication to recurrently obtain a data record updated by the vehicle comprising a time, a location and an identification number of the vehicle. The backend apparatus is designed, if the impact probability is not obtained, and on the basis of the impact probability obtained last, to trigger the automatic emergency call comprising the data record obtained last. A third interface makes the automatic emergency call. The invention also relates to a vehicle control unit for a vehicle-to-environment communication, a system and method for triggering an automatic emergency call, and a computer program product for a backend apparatus.