System and method for reporting observed events/objects from smart vehicles

A computer program product, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, the program instructions executable by a computing device external to a smart vehicle to cause the computing device to:

• transmit an instruction to the smart vehicle to look for an event and/or object pertaining to vehicles or objects other than the smart vehicle;
• receive, from the smart vehicle, sensor data obtained by at least one sensor on the smart vehicle in response to the instructions to look for the event and/or object;
• analyze the sensor data received from the smart vehicle to detect whether the event and/or object is found in the sensor data;
• receive from the external server, an instruction for the smart vehicle to drive past the predetermined event and/or object to collect and provide additional sensor data based on the detecting;
• and
• receive input from a driver of the smart vehicle to override the instruction from the external server for the smart vehicle to drive past the predetermined event and/or object to collect and provide additional sensor data based on the detecting.

A system comprising:

• a processor, a computer readable memory, and a computer readable storage medium located in a smart vehicle;
• program instructions to receive, in the smart vehicle, instructions from an external server to look for an event and/or object external to the smart vehicle;
• program instructions to collect sensor data from at least one sensor on the smart vehicle;
• program instructions to analyze the sensor data to detect the event and/or object in the sensor data;
• program instructions to provide portions of the sensor data pertaining to the event and/or object to the external server based on the detecting;
• program instructions to advise the driver of the smart vehicle that the predetermined event and/or object has been found in the sensor data;
• program instructions to request authorization from the driver to provide portions of the sensor data pertaining to the predetermined event and/or object to the external server;
• program instructions to receive authorization from the driver to provide the portions of the sensor data pertaining to the predetermined event and/or object to the external server;
• and
• program instructions to provide the portions of the sensor data pertaining to the predetermined event and/or object to the external server based upon the received authorization,
• wherein the program instructions are stored on the computer readable storage medium for execution by the processor via the computer readable memory.