GB2524660A

GB2524660A - Tracking from a vehicle

Info

Publication number: GB2524660A
Application number: GB1504751.7A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Randy Michael Freiburger; Thomas Lee Miller; Brian Bennie; Cynthia M Neubecker; Thomas Michael Mcquade; Brad Ignaczak
Original assignee: Ford Global Technologies LLC
Current assignee: Ford Global Technologies LLC
Priority date: 2014-03-22
Filing date: 2015-03-20
Publication date: 2015-09-30
Also published as: GB201504751D0; DE102015103362A1

Abstract

This is for a system that can detect a person who is outside a vehicle, and in close proximity to it, and the direction that they are moving in. It does this by having a computer within the vehicle that will collect data 310 outside of the vehicle. It will then use this data to generate a map 315, of one or more targets, including the person who is close to the vehicle. It will then provide a display 320 that shows the location of the person. The computer may also be programmed to detect that emergency lights are activated in the vehicle as a trigger to begin collecting data about the person who is outside of the vehicle. It may also be configured to provide an instruction to a vehicle controller to take an action. It may also use ultrasonic, radar, lidar or infrared data.

Description

Intellectual Property Office Application No. GB150475 1.7 RTM Date:23 July 2015 The following terms are registered trade marks and should be read as such wherever they occur in this document: Bluetooth WiFi Java Pod Intellectual Property Office is an operating name of the Patent Office www.gov.uk/ipo

TRACKING FROM A VEIIICLE

RELATED APPLICATION S

100011 This application claims priority to Provisional Application Serial Number 61/969,122 filed March 22, 2014 entitled "Tracking a Suspect From a Vehicle"; Provisional Application Serial Number 61/969,123 filed March 22, 2014 entitled "Approach Warning for a Police Vehicle"; and Provisional Application Serial Number 61/969,124 filed March 22, 2014 entitled "Approach Warning for a Police Vehicle", Provisional Application Serial Number 61/969,126 filed March 22, 2014 entitled "Emergency Vehicle Maneuver Notification" and US Application Serial Number 14/611,901 filed February 2, 2015, entitled "Tracking from a \Tehice", each of which applications are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their respective entireties.

BACKGROUND

100021 During police pursuit of a suspect in a vehicle, a suspect may stop his or her vehicle and/or flee on foot. In such situations, it may be difficult for police personnel to determine a direction in which the suspect flees due to low visibility (e.g. low light conditions, dust from the stopping vehicle, etc.).

SUMMARY OF THE JNVENTTON

100031 According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system as set forth in claim 1 of the appended claims.

100041 According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method as set forth in claim 10 of the appended claims.

DRAWINGS

100051 Figure lisa block diagram of an exemplary vehicle equipped suspect tracking.

100061 Figure 2 is a block diagram of a police vehicle and a suspect vehicle, where a suspect is fleeing the suspect vehicle on foot.

100071 Figure 3 is a diagram of an exemplary process for suspect location detection and/or tracking.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

SYSTEM OVERVIEW

100081 With reference to Figure 1, a tracking system and method may be deployed and used in vehicles such as a police vehicle 101. The system and method are generally in implemented in and/or include a computer 105 in the vehicle 101 The computer 105 generafly receives data from one or more data collectors 110, e.g., sensors, deployed in an interior and/or exterior of the vehicle 101.

100091 As illustrated in Figure 2, a police vehicle 101 may be in pursuit of a suspect vehicle 102, whereupon the suspect may stop his or her vehicle 102 and exit the vehicle 102 in an attempt to escape on foot. Accordingly, a police vehicle 101 may be provided with a computer 105 and other elements such as data collectors 110 and possibly other elements, e.g., to provide data 115 to the computer 105, to assist with tracking the suspect by indicating a direction in which a suspect fled after exiting a suspect's vehicle, and by making tracking information available. In general, the computer 105 may be equipped to provide information relating to suspect activity in a detection zone 200 (see Figure 2), i.e., an area defined by a distance at which sensors 110 in the vehicle 101 are able to obtain reliable and useful data 115 for suspect detection and tracking.

1000101 Figure I isa block diagram of an exemplary vehicle 101 equipped for suspect tracking. The vehicle 101 generally includes one or more sensor data collectors 110, used to monitor the area surrounding a police vehicle 102 during a chase, and to track any moving objects in the vicinity. During a pursuit, the disclosed system, e.g., the computer 105, can detect a location of a suspect vehicle 102, and indicate this location on a display or the like included in a human machine interface (HMJ) 120 in the vehicle 10!. Tn the event that a suspect exits his/her vehicle 102, the HMJ can also be used to indicate a location of the suspect, in addition to other information, to assist a police officer or the like in tracking the suspect, including transmitting the suspect's location to a portable device and/or aiming a light in a direction of the suspect to help illuminate the scene and to indicate the location of the suspect. Accordingly, the computer 105 can be used to detect a location and movement of a second vehicle 102 and/or a location and/or movement of a person outside the vehicles 101, 102, e.g., a suspect being pursued.

1000111 As stated above, a vehicle 101 includes a vehicle computer 105. The vehicle 101 is generally a land-based vehicle having three or more wheels, e.g., a passenger car, light truck, etc. The computer 105 generally includes a processor and a memory, the memory including one or more forms of computer-readable media, and storing instructions executable by the processor for performing various operations, including as disclosed herein. Further, the computer 105 may include and/or be communicatively coupled to more than one computing device, e.g., controllers or the like included in the vehicle 101 for monitoring and/or controlling various vehicle components, e.g., an engine control unit, transmission control unit, etc. The computer 105 is generally configured for communications on a controller area network (CAN) bus or the like.

Further, such computer 105 may include and/or be communicatively coupled to more than one computing device, e.g., controllers or the like included in the vehicle 101 for monitoring and/or controlling various vehicle components, e.g., an engine control unit, transmission control unit, etc. The computer 105 may also have a connection to an onboard diagnostics connector (OBD-11), and or other digital communications mechanisms 1000121 Via the CAN bus, OBD-II, and/or other wired or wireless mechanisms, the computer 105 may transmit messages to various devices in a vehicle and/or receive messages from the various devices, e.g., controllers, actuators, sensors, etc., including data collectors 110.

Alternatively or additionally, in cases where the computer 105 actually comprises multiple devices, the CAN bus or the like may be used for communications between devices represented as the computer 105 in this disclosure, In addition, the computer 105 may be configured for communicating with other devices via various wired and/or wireless networking technologies, e.g., cellular, Bluetooth, a universal serial bus (USB), wired and/or wireless packet networks, etc. 1000131 Data collectors 110 may include a variety of devices. For example, as illustrated in Figure 1, data collectors 110 can include one or more ultrasonic sensors, cameras, lidar sensors, radar sensors, infrared sensors, etc. 1000141 Further, the foregoing examples are not intended to be limiting; other types of data collectors 110 could be used to provide data 115 to the computer 105. For example, various controllers in a vehicle 101 may operate as data collectors 110 to provide data 115 via the CAN bus, e.g., data 115 relating to vehicle 101 speed, acceleration, etc. Further, sensors or the like, global positioning system (OPS) equipment, etc., could be included in a vehicle 101 and configured as data collectors 110 to provide data directly to the computer 105, e.g., via a wired or wireless connection, Accordingly, vehicle 101 equipment aid/or components may be controlled based upon operating conditions defined by vehicle 101 CAN bus 110 communications and or the like, 1000151 A memory of the computer 105 generally stores collected data 115. Collected data 115 may include a variety of data collected in a vehicle 101. Examples of collected data 115 may include measurements relating to a position, velocity, and size (e.g., length, width, height, radar cross section) of target(s) such as a suspect in or near a detection zone 200.

Data 115 may additionally include data calculated therefrom in the computer 105. in general, collected data 115 may include any data that may be gathered by a collection device 110 and/or computed from such data.

1000161 The vehicle 101 generally includes a human machine interface (HMi) 120. In general, the HMI 120 is equipped to accept inputs for, and/or provide outputs from, the computer 105. For example, the vehicle 101 may include one or more of a display configured to provide a graphical user interface (GUll) or the like, an interactive voice response (IVR) system, audio output devices, mechanisms for providing haptic output, e.g., via a vehicle 101 steering wheel or seat, etc. Further, a user device, e.g., a portable computing device such as a tablet computer, a wearable device, a smart phone, or the like, may be used to provide some or all of an HMT 120 to a computer 105. For example, a user device could be connected to the computer 105 using technologies discussed above, e.g., USB, Bluetooth, etc., and could be used to accept inputs for and/or provide outputs from the computer 105.

EXEMPLARY OPERATIONS

1000171 Exemplary operations of the computer 105, e.g., collecting and/or using data 115, may include some of all of the following: * When the vehicle 101 emergency lights are turned on, suspect tracking maybe automatically initiated, * Uses one or more (e.g. ultrasonic, radar, video, lidar, infrared) sensors 110 to detect any targets within the detection zone 200 during a police pursuit. Targets may include people, bicycles, motor vehicles, etc. * Determine a position, velocity, and size (length, width, height, radar cross section) of target(s) in or near a detection zone 200.

* Tracks a position and velocity of the target(s) in or near a detection zone 200.

* Classify target(s) based on a target type; e.g., a target type classifier included in the computer 105 may evaluate information from vehicle data collectors 110 such as radar cross section, length, width, shape, speed, etc., and assigns a target to an appropriate type class (e.g. person, car, truck, bicycle, etc.) * Display a position, speed, classification of the target(s), and/or time history (breadcrumbs) of target positions on a vehicle 101 1-Jlvll 120 display, e.g., as shown in Figure 2. Displays of moving and stationary targets can be provided in different colors on the display so they can easily be differentiated.

* Information relating to position, speed, classification of the target(s), and/or time history can be transmitted, e.g., via wi-fi, cellular data connections, etc., to a portable device (e.g. smartphone) so it can be displayed remotely.

* A log of past system trigger events can be stored in a volatile memory of the computer 105, and can also be saved to a non-volatile memory for longer storage. Data 1 1 5 so recorded and logged can include an object list (including, e.g., a position, velocity, size, and camera images) for one or more targets or objects, as well as images and/or data from forward looking radar, side radar, 360 degree radar, surround camera, forward looking camera, GPS location, direction suspect fled, etc., stored over some time range (e.g., 1 minute before and 5 minutes after a system trigger event). A trigger event can be defined, e.g., as any time the vehicle 101 conies to a stop during a while in a pursuit, e.g., while emergency lights and/or siren(s) are activated, or perhaps be based on other vehicle 101 inputs corresponding to the time that the suspect leaves the vehicle.

* The computer 105 can log the GPS coordinates of the location at which someone exited the suspect vehicle 102 and a direction in which a suspect fled.

* The computer 105 can provide instructions to a vehicle 101 controller to automatically aim a police search light (or a vehicle 101 headlight once the vehicle 101 stops) toward a suspect to

S

better illuminate a detection zone 200. Then, lights could continue to follow a path of a suspect even after a police officer leaves the vehicle 101.

* The computer 105 could also direct overhead police lights to indicate a direction that the suspect fled. Such lights could continue to follow a path of a suspect even after a police officer leaves the vehicle 101.

* The computer 105 could include instructions for retrieving, viewing, copying, and clearing the log of past system trigger events, e.g., according to input by a user or administrator.

* The computer 105 could include instructions for exporting the log of past system trigger events to another device (e.g. memory card, smartphone, EDR reader, etc.), and/or to a central location, e.g., a remote server in a dispatch center or the like.

* The computer 105 could include instructions to provide a trigger output signal to a DVR (digital video recorder) or other device when a system trigger event occurs (e.g., a DVR can record video from vehicle 101 cameras 110 before and after a system trigger event).

* The computer 105 can use GPS-based location of other police vehicles and indicate them on a map display. This feature of course would require that GPS (global positioning system) data 115 for the vehicle 101 was available, and that such data was received from other police vehicles.

* The computer 105 could provide an indication on an 1-lIvll 120 display (e.g., using color coding) indicating which of a plurality of targets indicated in the display is the suspect being pursued. In some cases, an ability to track a suspect may be limited (e.g., suspect hidden in weeds). If the suspect is no longer being tracked, the computer 105 can use an audio portion of the H['vll 120 to provide an audible alert at the time that the suspect is first lost from tracking, and/or could provide such indication on a display of the HMT 120,

EXEMPLARY PROCESS FLOW

1000181 Figure 3 is a diagram of an exemplary process 300 for suspect location detection and/or tracking. In general, actions performed as part of the process 300 may be performed by the computer 105, i.e., according to instructions stored in a memory of, and executable by a processor of, the computer 105.

1000191 The process 300 begins in a block 305, in which suspect monitoring, e.g., location detection and/or tracking is initiated. For example, as noted above, such a process 300 could be initiated when vehicle 101 emergency lights and/or sirens are activated. Alternatively or additionally, by way of further example, the computer 105 could be configured to initiate the process 300 on receiving a user input.

1000201 Next, in a block 310, the computer 105 obtains and/or generates collected data 115.

For example, collected data 115 may be obtained from one or more data collectors 110, as explained above. Further, collected data 115 may be computed from other data 115 as explained above, obtained directly from a data coHector 110, In any event, in the block 310, coflected data 115 obtained by the computer 105 may include data 115 such as described above.

1000211 Following the block 310, in a block 315, the computer 105 generates, or in the case of a second or later iteration of the process 300, updates, a virtual map, discussed further below with respect to the block 315, of the vehicle 101 surroundings. For example, a map update may be performed substantially continuously, e.g., after a predetermined amount of time, e.g., 100 milliseconds, has elapsed since the virtual map was last updated, or, an amount of time that data 115 has been collected, in the case of a first iteration of the process 300. The virtual map may store a vehicle 101 location, a vehicle 101 speed, an orientation of the vehicle 101 and/or certain vehicle 101 components, e.g., an orientation of vehicle 101 wheels, as well as a vehicle 102 location, a location of a suspect and/or other targets, as well as "breadcrumbs" or the like indicating movement of the suspect and/or other targets.

1000221 A virtual map of the vehicle 101 surroundings such as is generated or updated in the block 315 generally includes a three-dimensional coordinate system having an origin located with reference to the vehicle 10!, e.g., at an intersection of horizontal, longitudinal, and vertical axes of the vehicle 101. Further, the virtual map generally includes an identification and location of objects, e.g., the vehicles 101, 102, possibly other vehicles, bicycles, pedestrians, etc. 1000231 Data I 15 from different data collectors 110 may be used by itself or in combination with data from other types of data collectors 11 0. For example, data 1 1 5 from one or more sensors 110 may be used in combination with data 115 from other data collectors I 10, e.g. image data I I 5 from a vehicle 101 camera 110 could be used with radar data 115, lidar data 115, etc. For example, radar data 115 could indicate a likely presence of an object with respect to a vehicle 101, whereupon image data 115 could be used, based on image recognition techniques, to confirm and/or augment identification of the object.

1000241 Following the block 315, in a block 320, the computer 105 generates and/or updates the a display in the HMT 120 based on collected data 115 and/or the virtual map. For example, a location of a suspect and/or other target obj ects could be indicated and/or updated.

1000251 Following the block 320, in a block 325, the computer 105 determines whether collected data 115, inciluding the virtual map, provide a basis for an alert or action. For example, as mentioned above, the computer 105 could be configured to automatically direct vehicle 101 lights, to provide an audio and/or visual alert on certain trigger events, etc. If the computer 105 is not configured to provide alerts and/or take actions, or if none is warranted, the block 320 may be omitted.

1000261 Following the block 325, in a block 530, the computer 105 determines whether the process 300 should continue. For example, if the computer 105 is powered off, an operator has provided input to cease collecting data 115 and/or to cease vehicle 101 operations, etc., the process 300 may end. if such determination is not made, the process 300 returns to the block 310.

CONCLUSION

1000271 (The term "police" as used herein may refer to various public andior private law enforcement andor security operations, in addition to referring to a formal police department.) 1000281 Computing devices such as those discussed herein, e.g., the computer 105, generally each include instructions executable by one or more computing devices such as those identified above, and for carrying out blocks or steps of processes described above. For example, process blocks discussed above may be embodied as computer-executable instructions.

100029] Computer-executable instructions may be compiled or interpreted from computer programs created using a variety of programming languages and/or technologies, including, without limitation, and either alone or in combination, JavaTM, C, C++, Visual Basic, Java Script, Perl, HTML, etc. In general, a processor (e.g., a microprocessor) receives instructions, e.g., from a memory, a computer-readable medium, etc., and executes these instructions, thereby performing one or more processes, including one or more of the processes described herein.

Such instructions and other data may be stored and transmitted using a variety of computer-readable media. A file in a computing device is generafly a collection of data stored on a computer readable medium, such as a storage medium, a random access memory, etc. [00030] A computer-readable medium includes any medium that participates in providing data (e.g., instructions), which may be read by a computer. Such a medium may take many forms, including, but not limited to, non-volatile media, volatile media, etc. Non-volatile media include, for example, optical or magnetic disks and other persistent memor, Volatile media include dynamic random access memory (DRAM), which typically constitutes a main memory.

Common forms of computer-readable media include, for example, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, any other magnetic medium, a CD-ROM, DVD, any other optical medium, punch cards, paper tape, any other physical medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, a PROM, an EPROM, a FLASH-EEPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, or any other medium from which a computer can read.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A system, comprising a computer in a vehicle, the computer comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the computer is programmed to: collect data related to a person outside of the vehicle; use the collected data to generate a virtual map of one or more targets, including at least the person, proximate to the vehicle; provide a display based on the virtual map that includes information about a location of the person.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer is further configured to provide an instruction to a vehicle controller to take an action.
3. The system of claim 2, wherein the action includes directing at least one vehicle light.
4. The system of claims ito 3, wherein the collected data includes a position of the vehicle.
5. The system of claims 1 to 4, wherein the collected data includes at least one of ultrasonic, image, radar, lidar, and infrared data,
6. The system of any preceding claim, wherein the computer is further configured to provide information to a remote device based on the collected data.
7. The system of any preceding claim, wherein the information about the person includes a direction of travel of the person.
8. The system of any preceding claim, wherein the collected data includes data from at least one of a steering controller, a brake controller, an engine controller, and a transmission controller.
9. The system of any preceding claim, wherein the computer is further programmed to detect that emergency lights are activated in the vehicle as a trigger to begin collecting the data related to the person outside of the vehicle,
10. A method, carried out according to instructions stored in a computer in a vehicle comprising: collecting data related to a person outside of the vehicle; using the collected data to generate a virtual map of one or more targets, including at least the person, proximate to the vehicle; providing a display based on the virtual map that includes information about a location of the person.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein the computer is further configured to provide an instruction to a vehicle controller to take an action.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein the action includes directing at least one vehicle light.
13. The method of claims 10 to 12, wherein the collected data includes a position of the vehicle.
14. The method of claims 10 to 13, wherein the collected data includes at least one of ultrasonic, image, radar, lidar, and infrared data.
15. The method of claims 10 to 14, further comprising providing information to a remote device based on the collected data.
16. The method of claims 10 to 15, wherein the information about the person includes a direction of travel of the person.
17. The method of claims 10 to 16, wherein the collected data includes data from at least one of a steering controller, a brake controller, an engine controller, and a transmission controller. 1 I18. The method of claims 10 to 17, further comprising detecting that emergency lights are activated in the vehicle as a trigger to begin collecting the data related to the person outside of the vehicle.