Synchronization of vehicle sensor information

A method in an electronic processing system comprising a memory and one or more processors, the method comprising:

• receiving, at the electronic processing system, sensor data representing information collected by a sensor (i) located on or in a vehicle and (ii) configured to sense an environment external to the vehicle, wherein receiving sensor data includes receiving a first plurality of data points indicative of a plurality of respective states of the environment external to the vehicle at a plurality of respective times;
• receiving, at the electronic processing system, first operational data (i) generated by a first unit arranged within the vehicle and (ii) indicative of a first operational parameter of the vehicle, wherein receiving first operational data includes receiving a second plurality of data points indicative of a plurality of respective states of the first operational parameter at a plurality of respective times;
• receiving, at the electronic processing system, external data that (i) was received by the vehicle from a mobile communication device of a pedestrian external to the vehicle via a wireless link and (ii) is indicative of objects sensed by the mobile communication device, wherein receiving external data includes receiving a third plurality of data points indicative of an additional plurality of respective states of the environment external to the vehicle at a plurality of respective times;
• receiving, at the electronic processing system, synchronization data indicating a temporal relationship between the first plurality of data points, the second plurality of data points, and the third plurality of data points;
• storing the received sensor data, the received first operational data, the received external data, and the received synchronization data in the memory;
• and
• generating, via the one or more processors, a virtual model of an event involving the vehicle using the stored sensor data, the stored first operational data, the stored external data, and the stored synchronization data, wherein generating a virtual model includes
• generating, using the first plurality of data points, a first visual representation of the plurality of respective states of the environment external to the vehicle,
• generating, using the second plurality of data points, a second visual representation of the plurality of respective states of the first operational parameter,
• generating, using the third plurality of data points, a third visual representation of the additional plurality of respective states of the environment external to the vehicle, and
• using the synchronization data to cause the first visual representation to be displayed simultaneously with the second visual representation and the third visual representation such that the first visual representation is time-aligned with the second visual representation and the third visual representation.