# US 10,504,306 B1 · Accident response using autonomous vehicle monitoring > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,504,306 B1 - Document ID: US10504306B1 - Status: Granted - Kind: B1 - Application number: 15/976,971 - Filed: 2018-05-11 - Granted: 2019-12-10 - Earliest claimed: 2014-05-20 - Assignees: State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company - Applicants: State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company - Inventors: Blake Konrardy; Scott T. Christensen; Gregory L. Hayward; Scott Farris - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10504306B1 ## CPC - G06Q 40/08: Insurance - B60Q 9/00: Arrangement or adaptation of signal devices not provided for in one of main groups B60Q1/00 - B60Q7/00 {, e.g. haptic signalling} - B60R 21/00: Arrangements or fittings on vehicles for protecting or preventing injuries to occupants or pedestrians in case of accidents or other traffic risks (safety belts or body harnesses in vehicles B60R22/00; seats constructed to protect the occupant from the effect of abnormal g-forces, e.g. crash or safety seats, B60N2/42; energy-absorbing arrangements for hand wheels for steering vehicles B62D1/11; energy-absorbing arrangements for vehicle steering columns B62D1/19) - B60W 40/09: Driving style or behaviour - G01S 19/48: by combining or switching between position solutions derived from the satellite radio beacon positioning system and position solutions derived from a further system - G05B 15/02: electric - G06F 30/20: Design optimisation, verification or simulation (optimisation, verification or simulation of circuit designs G06F30/30) - G06Q 10/0635: Risk analysis of enterprise or organisation activities - G06Q 20/0855: {involving a third party} - G06Q 40/04: Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange - G06V 20/597: {Recognising the driver's state or behaviour, e.g. attention or drowsiness} - G07C 5/008: {communicating information to a remotely located station (transmission systems for measured values G08C)} - G07C 5/08: Registering or indicating performance data other than driving, working, idle, or waiting time, with or without registering driving, working, idle or waiting time - G07C 5/0808: {Diagnosing performance data (testing of vehicles G01M17/00; testing of electrical installation on vehicles G01R31/005)} - G07C 5/0816: {Indicating performance data, e.g. occurrence of a malfunction} - G08B 21/06: indicating a condition of sleep, e.g. anti-dozing alarms - G08B 25/08: using communication transmission lines {(G08B13/19658, G08B21/0286, G08B25/016 take precedence)} - G08G 1/005: including pedestrian guidance indicator - G08G 1/096725: {where the received information generates an automatic action on the vehicle control} - G08G 1/096741: {where the source of the transmitted information selects which information to transmit to each vehicle} - G08G 1/09675: {where a selection from the received information takes place in the vehicle} - G08G 1/096758: {where no selection takes place on the transmitted or the received information} - G08G 1/096775: {where the origin of the information is a central station} - G08G 1/096783: {where the origin of the information is a roadside individual element} - G08G 1/096791: {where the origin of the information is another vehicle} - G08G 1/143: {inside the vehicles} - G08G 1/147: {where the parking area is within an open public zone, e.g. city centre} - G08G 1/164: {Centralised systems, e.g. external to vehicles} - G08G 1/165: {for passive traffic, e.g. including static obstacles, trees} - G08G 1/166: {for active traffic, e.g. moving vehicles, pedestrians, bikes} - G08G 1/167: {Driving aids for lane monitoring, lane changing, e.g. blind spot detection} - G08G 1/205: {Indicating the location of the monitored vehicles as destination, e.g. accidents, stolen, rental} - H04L 67/12: specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks - H04W 4/44: for communication between vehicles and infrastructures, e.g. vehicle-to-cloud [V2C] or vehicle-to-home [V2H] - H04W 4/90: Services for handling of emergency or hazardous situations, e.g. earthquake and tsunami warning systems [ETWS] - B60Q 11/005: {for lighting devices, e.g. indicating if lamps are burning or not} - B60R 2021/0027: {Post collision measures, e.g. notifying emergency services} - B60W 2040/0818: {Inactivity or incapacity of driver} - B60W 2050/0095: {Automatic control mode change} - B60W 2050/0096: {Control during transition between modes} - G01S 13/931: of land vehicles - G01S 15/931: of land vehicles - G01S 17/931: of land vehicles - G01S 19/13: Receivers - G01S 2013/9318: {Controlling the steering} - G06F 30/15: Vehicle, aircraft or watercraft design - G06Q 50/40: Business processes related to the transportation industry (shipping G06Q10/083) - G07C 5/085: {using electronic data carriers} - H04W 4/46: for vehicle-to-vehicle communication [V2V] - G06Q: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR - B60Q: ARRANGEMENT OF SIGNALLING OR LIGHTING DEVICES, THE MOUNTING OR SUPPORTING THEREOF OR CIRCUITS THEREFOR, FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL - B60R: VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR - B60W: CONJOINT CONTROL OF VEHICLE SUB-UNITS OF DIFFERENT TYPE OR DIFFERENT FUNCTION; CONTROL SYSTEMS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR HYBRID VEHICLES; ROAD VEHICLE DRIVE CONTROL SYSTEMS FOR PURPOSES NOT RELATED TO THE CONTROL OF A PARTICULAR SUB-UNIT - G01S: RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES - G05B: CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS (systems for controlling or regulating non-electric variables G05D; systems for regulating electric or magnetic variables G05F; control devices or systems insofar as characterised by mechanical features only G05G) - G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N) - G06V: IMAGE OR VIDEO RECOGNITION OR UNDERSTANDING - G07C: TIME OR ATTENDANCE REGISTERS; REGISTERING OR INDICATING THE WORKING OF MACHINES; GENERATING RANDOM NUMBERS; VOTING OR LOTTERY APPARATUS; ARRANGEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS FOR CHECKING NOT PROVIDED FOR ELSEWHERE - G08B: SIGNALLING SYSTEMS, e.g. PERSONAL CALLING SYSTEMS; ORDER TELEGRAPHS; ALARM SYSTEMS - G08G: TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS (guiding railway traffic, ensuring the safety of railway traffic B61L; arrangement of road signs or traffic signals E01F9/00; radar or analogous systems, sonar systems, lidar systems specially adapted for traffic control G01S13/91, G01S15/88, G01S17/88; {radar or analogous systems, sonar systems, lidar systems specially adapted for anti-collision purposes G01S13/93, G01S15/93, G01S17/93}) - H04L: TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION (arrangements common to telegraphic and telephonic communication H04M) - H04W: WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS (broadcast communication H04H; communication systems using wireless links for non-selective communication, e.g. wireless extensions H04M1/72) ## Abstract Methods and systems are provided for monitoring use of a vehicle having one or more autonomous (and/or semi-autonomous) operation features to determine and respond to incidents, such as collisions, thefts, or breakdowns. According to certain aspects, operating data from sensors within or near the vehicle may be used to determine when an incident has occurred and determine an appropriate response. The responses may include contacting a third party to provide assistance, such as local emergency services. In some embodiments, occurrence of the incident may be verified by automated communication with the vehicle operator. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A computer-implemented method for remotely monitoring a vehicle having one or more autonomous operation features for controlling the vehicle, comprising: receiving, from the vehicle via a communication network, operating data regarding operation of the vehicle, wherein the operating data includes information associated with operation of the one or more autonomous operation features in operating the vehicle; determining, by one or more processors, an occurrence of an incident involving the vehicle based at least in part upon an interruption of communication of the operating data from the vehicle, wherein the incident involving the vehicle includes: a vehicle collision, a vehicle accident, an engine malfunction, or a vehicle component failure; determining, by one or more processors, a type of the incident based at least in part upon the received operating data regarding operation of the vehicle prior to the interruption, including the information associated with the operation of the one or more autonomous operation features; determining, by one or more processors, a response to the incident based at least in part upon the determined type of the incident; and causing, by one or more processors, the response to be implemented. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: determining, by one or more processors, a severity of the incident based at least in part upon the received operating data regarding operation of the vehicle prior to the interruption, including the information associated with the operation of the one or more autonomous operation features, wherein determining the response to the incident further includes determining the response to the incident based at least in part upon the determined severity of the incident. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein: the operating data includes data regarding a vehicle environment of the vehicle associated with one or more sensors disposed within the vehicle; and determining the type of the incident includes determining the type of the incident based at least in part upon the data regarding the vehicle environment received prior to the interruption. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the type of the incident includes a collision or accident involving the vehicle. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein determining the type of the incident includes determining the operating data received prior to the interruption indicates one or more of the following: a component failure, inconsistent readings from a plurality of sensors within the vehicle, an engine malfunction, a flat tire, or an empty fuel tank. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the response includes a request for assistance that includes information regarding one or more of the following: a location of the vehicle, one or more types of assistance required, other vehicles involved in the incident, or pedestrians involved in the incident. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the response includes a request for assistance from an emergency service provider that includes one or more of the following: local police, state highway patrols, fire departments, emergency medical services, or ambulance services. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the operating data includes communication data received by the vehicle from external sources in a vehicle environment of the vehicle. ### Claim 9 A computer system for remotely monitoring a vehicle having one or more autonomous operation features for controlling the vehicle, comprising: one or more processors; one or more communication modules adapted to communicate data via one or more communication networks; 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: receive operating data regarding operation of the vehicle from the vehicle via the one or more communication modules, wherein the operating data includes information associated with operation of the one or more autonomous operation features in operating the vehicle; determine an occurrence of an incident involving the vehicle based at least in part upon an interruption of communication of the operating data from the vehicle, wherein the incident involving the vehicle includes: a vehicle collision, a vehicle accident, an engine malfunction, or a vehicle component failure; determine a type of the incident based at least in part upon the received operating data regarding operation of the vehicle prior to the interruption, including the information associated with the operation of the one or more autonomous operation features; determine a response to the incident based at least in part upon the determined type of the incident; and cause the response to be implemented. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The computer system of claim 9, wherein the non-transitory program memory further stores instructions that cause the computer system to: determine a severity of the incident based at least in part upon the received operating data regarding operation of the vehicle prior to the interruption, including the information associated with the operation of the one or more autonomous operation features; and determine the response to the incident further based at least in part upon the determined severity of the incident. ### Claim 11 (depends on 9) The computer system of claim 9, wherein: the operating data includes data regarding a vehicle environment of the vehicle associated with one or more sensors disposed within the vehicle; and the executable instructions that cause the computer system to determine the type of the incident further cause the computer system to determine the type of the incident based at least in part upon the data regarding the vehicle environment received prior to the interruption. ### Claim 12 (depends on 9) The computer system of claim 9, wherein the type of the incident includes a collision or accident involving the vehicle. ### Claim 13 (depends on 9) The computer system of claim 9, wherein the response includes a request for assistance that includes information regarding one or more of the following: a location of the vehicle, one or more types of assistance required, other vehicles involved in the incident, or pedestrians involved in the incident. ### Claim 14 (depends on 9) The computer system of claim 9, wherein the response includes a request for assistance from an emergency service provider that includes one or more of the following: local police, state highway patrols, fire departments, emergency medical services, or ambulance services. ### Claim 15 A tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium storing executable instructions for remotely monitoring a vehicle having one or more autonomous operation features for controlling the vehicle that, when executed by at least one processor of a computer system, cause the computer system to: receive operating data regarding operation of the vehicle from the vehicle via a communication component of the computer system, wherein the operating data includes information associated with operation of the one or more autonomous operation features in operating the vehicle; determine an occurrence of an incident involving the vehicle based at least in part upon an interruption of communication of the operating data from the vehicle, wherein the incident involving the vehicle includes: a vehicle collision, a vehicle accident, an engine malfunction, or a vehicle component failure; determine a type of the incident based at least in part upon the received operating data regarding operation of the vehicle prior to the interruption, including the information associated with the operation of the one or more autonomous operation features; determine a response to the incident based at least in part upon the determined type of the incident; and cause the response to be implemented. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, further storing executable instructions that cause the computer system to: determine a severity of the incident based at least in part upon the received operating data regarding operation of the vehicle prior to the interruption, including the information associated with the operation of the one or more autonomous operation features; and determine the response to the incident further based at least in part upon the determined severity of the incident. ### Claim 17 (depends on 15) The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the operating data includes data regarding a vehicle environment of the vehicle associated with one or more sensors disposed within the vehicle; and the executable instructions that cause the computer system to determine the type of the incident further cause the computer system to determine the type of the incident based at least in part upon the data regarding the vehicle environment received prior to the interruption. ### Claim 18 (depends on 15) The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the type of the incident includes a collision or accident involving the vehicle. ### Claim 19 (depends on 15) The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein: the response includes a request for assistance that includes information regarding one or more of the following: a location of the vehicle, one or more types of assistance required, other vehicles involved in the incident, or pedestrians involved in the incident. ### Claim 20 (depends on 15) The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the operating data includes communication data received by the vehicle from external sources in a vehicle environment of the vehicle.