Autonomous vehicle component damage and salvage assessment

Abstract

Methods and systems for assessing, detecting, and responding to malfunctions involving components of autonomous vehicle and/or smart homes are described herein. Autonomous operation features and related components can be assessed using direct or indirect data regarding operation. Such assessment may be performed to determine the condition of components for salvage following a collision or other loss-event. To this end, the information regarding a plurality of components may be received. A component of the plurality of components may be identified for assessment. Assessment may including causing test signals to be sent to the identified component. In response to the test signal, one or more responses may be received. The received response may be compared to an expected response to determine whether the identified component is salvageable.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 - 20 . (canceled) 
     
     
         21 . A computer-implemented method of assessing salvage potential for a vehicle, comprising:
 applying, by one or more processors, one or more test signals to one or more components of a plurality of components associated with autonomous operation features of the vehicle;   detecting, at one or more processors, one or more responses from the one or more components in response to the one or more test signals; and   determining, by one or more processors, whether the one or more components are salvageable based upon a comparison between the detected responses and expected responses.   
     
     
         22 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 21 , wherein determining whether a component of the one or more components is salvageable includes:
 comparing, by one or more processors, a detected response from the one or more responses that is associated with the component against an expected response from the one or more responses that is associated with the component, and   determining, by one or more processors, the component is salvageable if the response is within a range including the expected response and indicative of proper functioning of the component.   
     
     
         23 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 21 , wherein determining whether a component of the one or more components is salvageable includes determining whether the component is damaged. 
     
     
         24 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 21 , wherein:
 at least one of the responses from the one or more components is an implied response based upon an absence of a signal from at least one of the one or more components;   the at least one of the one or more components is determined to be damaged based upon the implied response; and   the at least one of the one or more components is determined not to be salvageable based upon the determination that the at least one of the one or more components is damaged.   
     
     
         25 . (canceled) 
     
     
         26 . (canceled) 
     
     
         27 . (canceled) 
     
     
         28 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 21 , further comprising:
 presenting, by a display, information indicating of the one or more components.   
     
     
         29 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 28 , wherein the on-board computer is controlled to assess the salvage potential by a special-purpose computing device communicatively connected to the on-board computer via a data port of the vehicle. 
     
     
         30 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 21 , further comprising:
 receiving, at one or more processors, operating data associated with operation of the vehicle at a time associated with the damage to the vehicle; and   determining, by one or more processors, a preliminary assessment of the salvage potential for the vehicle based upon the received operating data, wherein the one or more components of the plurality of components are identified based upon the determined preliminary assessment.   
     
     
         31 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 21 , further comprising:
 determining, by one or more processors, an estimated level of damage associated with one or more additional components based upon the detected responses and the expected responses from the one or more components, wherein the one or more additional components are vehicle components of the vehicle that are not sensors or operation features; and   determining, by one or more processors, whether the one or more additional components are salvageable based upon the estimated level of damage associated with the one or more additional components.   
     
     
         32 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 31 , wherein determining the estimated level of damage associated with the one or more additional components includes determining a damaged area of the vehicle. 
     
     
         33 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 21 , further comprising:
 determining, by one or more processors, whether the vehicle is a total loss based upon the determination regarding whether the one or more components are salvageable.   
     
     
         34 . A computer system configured to assess salvage potential for a vehicle, comprising:
 one or more processors;   one or more transceivers adapted to communicate with a plurality of components associated with operation features of the vehicle; and   a non-transitory program memory coupled to the one or more processors and storing executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computer system to:   detect one or more responses from one or more components of a plurality of components associated with operation features of the vehicle in response to the one or more test signals;   obtain one or more expected responses from the one or more components based upon the received information; and   determine whether the one or more components are salvageable based upon a comparison between the detected responses and expected responses.   
     
     
         35 . The computer system of  claim 34 , wherein to determine whether a component of the one or more components is salvageable, the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the computer system to:
 compare a detected response from the one or more responses that is associated with the component against an expected response from the one or more responses that is associated with the component, and   determine the component is salvageable if the response is within a range including the expected response and indicative of proper functioning of the component.   
     
     
         36 . The computer system of  claim 34 , wherein:
 at least one of the responses from the one or more components is an implied response based upon an absence of a signal from at least one of the one or more components;   the at least one of the one or more components is determined to be damaged based upon the implied response; and   the at least one of the one or more components is determined not to be salvageable based upon the determination that the at least one of the one or more components is damaged.   
     
     
         37 . The computer system of  claim 34 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the computer system to:
 determine an estimated level of damage associated with one or more additional components based upon the detected responses and the expected responses from the one or more components, wherein the one or more additional components are vehicle components of the vehicle that are not sensors or operation features; and   determine whether each of the one or more additional components is salvageable based upon the estimated level of damage associated with the one or more additional components.   
     
     
         38 . The computer system of  claim 37 , wherein to determine the estimated level of damage associated with the one or more additional components, the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the computer system to:
 determine a damaged area of the vehicle.   
     
     
         39 . The computer system of  claim 34 , the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the computer system to:
 determine whether the vehicle is a total loss based upon the determination regarding whether each of the one or more components is salvageable.   
     
     
         40 . An on-board computer included in a vehicle and storing processor-executable instructions, that when executed cause one or more processors to:
 receive operating data associated with the vehicle in the vehicle;   determine whether the one or more components are malfunctioning based on status data regarding the one or more components;   determine one or more repairs to correct malfunction of the one or more components, based on the status data; and   present, by a display, information indicating of the one or more components.   
     
     
         41 . A server storing processor-executable instructions, that when executed cause one or more processors to:
 obtain operating data, from one or more vehicles having a plurality of components;   select one or more components of the plurality of components associated with operation features of the vehicle;   identify occurrences of the selected one or more components malfunctioning in the one or more vehicles by evaluating the operating data based on signals that are inconsistent with other contemporaneous signals associated with other components of the one or more vehicle or are out of an expected range; and   determine component profile from one or more risks of associated with each the identified occurrence of the selected one or more components.   
     
     
         42 . The on-board computer included in the vehicle of  claim 40 , wherein the one or more repairs comprise one or more requirements that indicate parts required for the repairs or skill levels required for the repairs. 
     
     
         43 . The server of  claim 41 , the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the server to:
 determine component profile further from results of malfunction determined based on the identified occurrences; and   present, by a display, information indicating of the one or more components.