Systems and methods for crash determination

Abstract

Systems and methods for crash determination in accordance with embodiments of the invention are disclosed. In one embodiment, a vehicle telematics device includes a processor and a memory storing a crash determination application, wherein the processor, on reading the crash determination application, is directed to obtain sensor data from at least one sensor installed in a vehicle, calculate peak resultant data based on the sensor data, where the peak resultant data describes the acceleration of the vehicle over a first time period, generate crash score data based on the peak resultant data and a set of crash curve data for the vehicle, where the crash score data describes the likelihood that the vehicle was involved in a crash based on the characteristics of the vehicle and the sensor data, and provide the obtained sensor data when the crash score data exceeds a crash threshold to a remote server system.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A vehicle telematics device, comprising:
 a processor; and   a memory connected to the processor and storing a crash determination application;   wherein the processor, on reading the crash determination application, is directed to:
 obtain sensor data from at least one sensor installed in a vehicle; 
 calculate peak resultant data based on the sensor data, where the peak resultant data describes the acceleration of the vehicle over a first time period; 
 generate crash score data based on the peak resultant data and a set of crash curve data for the vehicle, where the crash score data describes the likelihood that the vehicle was involved in a crash based on the characteristics of the vehicle and the sensor data; and 
 provide the obtained sensor data when the crash score data exceeds a crash threshold to a remote server system. 
   
     
     
         2 . The vehicle telematics device of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one sensor comprises an accelerometer. 
     
     
         3 . The vehicle telematics device of  claim 1 , wherein the crash curve data is based on vehicle data comprising a vehicle identification number associated with the vehicle. 
     
     
         4 . The vehicle telematics device of  claim 1 , wherein the crash curve data is dynamically determined based on vehicle data describing a weight of the vehicle. 
     
     
         5 . The vehicle telematics device of  claim 4 , wherein the at least one sensor comprises a weight sensor. 
     
     
         6 . The vehicle telematics device of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the vehicle telematics system further comprises a communications interface; and   the vehicle telematics unit obtains the sensor data using the communications interface.   
     
     
         7 . The vehicle telematics device of  claim 1 , wherein the set of crash curve data is provided by the remote server system. 
     
     
         8 . The vehicle telematics device of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the remote server system comprises a processor and a memory storing a crash analysis application; and   the processor of the remote server system, on reading the crash analysis application, is directed to:
 obtain vehicle sensor data from the vehicle telematics device; 
 obtain vehicle identification data from the vehicle telematics device; 
 calculate resultant change data based on the obtained sensor data and the vehicle identification data; and 
 generate crash occurred data when the resultant change data exceeds a threshold value. 
   
     
     
         9 . The vehicle telematics device of  claim 8 , wherein the processor of the remote server system is further directed to provide notification data comprising the crash occurred data. 
     
     
         10 . The vehicle telematics device of  claim 1 , wherein the crash score data is generated by:
 calculating peak resultant data based on the obtained sensor data; and   calculating the crash score data based on a duration of time in which the peak resultant data exceeds the crash curve data.   
     
     
         11 . A method for determining when a vehicle has been involved in a crash, comprising:
 obtaining sensor data from at least one sensor installed in a vehicle using a vehicle telematics device, where the vehicle telematics device comprises a processor and a memory;   calculating peak resultant data based on the sensor data using the vehicle telematics device, where the peak resultant data describes the acceleration of the vehicle over a first time period;   generating crash score data based on the peak resultant data and a set of crash curve data for the vehicle using the vehicle telematics device, where the crash score data describes the likelihood that the vehicle was involved in a crash based on the characteristics of the vehicle and the sensor data; and   providing the obtained sensor data when the crash score data exceeds a crash threshold to a remote server system using the vehicle telematics device.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the at least one sensor comprises an accelerometer. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the crash curve data is based on vehicle data comprising a vehicle identification number associated with the vehicle. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the crash curve data is dynamically determined based on vehicle data describing a weight of the vehicle. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the at least one sensor comprises a weight sensor. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein:
 the vehicle telematics system further comprises a communications interface; and   the vehicle telematics unit obtains the sensor data using the communications interface.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the set of crash curve data is provided by the remote server system. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 obtaining vehicle sensor data from the vehicle telematics device using a remote server system comprising a processor and a memory;   obtaining vehicle identification data from the vehicle telematics device using the remote server system;   calculating resultant change data based on the obtained sensor data and the vehicle identification data using the remote server system; and   generating crash occurred data when the resultant change data exceeds a threshold value using the remote server system.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , further comprising providing notification data comprising the crash occurred data using the remote server system. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the crash score data is generated by:
 calculating peak resultant data based on the obtained sensor data using the vehicle telematics device; and   calculating the crash score data based on a duration of time in which the peak resultant data exceeds the crash curve data using the vehicle telematics device.