Method and system for detecting vehicle collision using global positioning system

Abstract

A method and a system using the Global Positioning System (GPS) to detect and report vehicle accidents are presented. GPS, which is currently used primarily for vehicle positioning, can be combined with wireless technology to automatically report accidents to third parties. A mobile unit placed or installed in a vehicle receives code sequences from the GPS satellites, converts the code sequences to positional information, and transmits the positional information to a server. The server derives the acceleration of the mobile unit from the positional information and compares the acceleration with a threshold value. In one embodiment, a microprocessor included in the mobile unit derives the acceleration and compares the acceleration with a threshold value. The threshold value represents acceleration that can be achieved only with an external force such as a collision. If the acceleration exceeds the threshold value, the server or the microprocessor automatically sends notification to third parties through the data network.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.