IRIS Technology Joins with MIRA to Test Remote Vehicle Communications
IVsource.net
14 January 2002

IRIS Technology recently demonstrated the adaptation of their telemetry technology to remote vehicle communications, by automatically relaying critical passenger and vehicle data after a 50 mph crash on a test track.  This article is based on information kindly provided by David Ireland of IRIS.

IRIS Technology recently demonstrated the adaptation of their telemetry technology to remote vehicle communications, by automatically relaying critical passenger and vehicle data after a 50 mph (80kph) crash on a test track.  The test was conducted in the UK in conjunction with the UK Motor Industry Research Association (MIRA Ltd).

Iris Technology, Ltd. specializes in the acquisition, transmission, and distribution of mission critical telemetry data to and from remote platforms or vehicles.  Their in-vehicle unit integrates vehicle sensor, video, and GPS data and relays it to emergency personnel within seconds of a vehicle incident -- thus aiming to gain precious minutes that could save lives.  The core communication protocols have been adapted from other remote telemetry systems but the packaging has been customized for vehicle applications.

Technology Pioneered in Offshore Applications

IRIS Technology pioneered the development of data protocols specifically to support remote platform and remote vehicle applications in the Offshore Oil and Subsea Exploration industries.  The sophistication of the instrumentation used in these industries was not matched by the means available to transmit and distribute data to users.

IRIS found that when telemetry systems operate remotely, poor overall performance often results from bandwidth limitations inherent in the data link, and from effects such as ‘data drop out.’  Some data systems designed for wireless networks have no need to individually acknowledge remote users' requests or to manage data movements to allow duplex data communications across limited bandwidth links (for example, GSM).  In particular, for a 'mission-critical' communications environment (such as vehicle crash telemetry), the absence of an action / acknowledgement feedback loop can lead to a breakdown in coordinated real time actions.

For the specialized requirements demanded in these settings, IRIS Technology introduced a new telemetry approach featuring:

• Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) for mission critical data transmission

• One single data format through OPC

• Real time data compression

• Very high speed data processing

• Data transmission using Extensible Markup Language (XML)

New Market:  Vehicle Telematics

IRIS has identified the motor vehicle industry as a major potential user of remote communications.  The increased reliability and coverage of GSM, coupled with the promise of 3G, or third-generation wireless -- a comparatively high bandwidth communication medium -- together will provide global communications capable of supporting the creation of instantaneous networks that link service providers with vehicles.

The implementation of vehicle control area networks (or CANs) allows multiple sets of related vehicle instrumentation to communicate with each other and with sources external to the vehicle.  By adopting such a standard service providers can develop product offerings that are not necessarily vehicle- or manufacturer- specific.

The potential applications are numerous; however, the cost of infrastructure and support required to turn the idea into reality will obviously require powerful market drivers.  One such driver is vehicle safety -- not simply the cost measured in lives lost or serious injuries, but the direct and indirect costs associated with the provision of immediate care, emergency services, and hospital care.  One of the key elements in determining the true value of technology is the impact it would have on the relative level of efficiency of an operation.  That is, could the introduction of this technology result in improvements to the service at the same cost ... or could it achieve actual cost reductions with no detrimental effect on the level of service provision?  Or: can both be achieved?

Focus: Vehicle Accidents and Emergency Support

The lack of data that frequently attends the incidence of a vehicle accident is an odd phenomenon in today’s world of information overload.  The driver and passengers may be unconscious, such that no one is made aware of an accident until it is discovered by a passer-by with a mobile phone.  Even in cases when accident victims are conscious, they are often unable to provide emergency services with accurate geographic coordinates.  In fact, in multiple vehicle accidents, the only information likely to be communicated to the emergency services is that more than one vehicle is involved.

From this sparse information someone has to interpret not only how to find the incident, but also how many ambulances may be required, what type of injuries can be expected, how many cars are involved, and how many passengers there may be.  Obviously this situation is less than ideal, when survival may be dependent on the right treatment being made available at the right time.  Other information needs -- such as victim extraction needs, types and ages of vehicles involved, type of crash impact, and local logistical difficulties -- could be vital as well to an efficient rescue effort ... but are rarely available prior to help's arrival on the scene.

Technology Demonstrated with MIRA’s Help

In November 2001, IRIS was asked by the UK Motor Industry Research Association, aka MIRA Ltd, to demonstrate the status of available technology at the launch of the Accident Victim Rescuer Information Link program.  The location chosen for the program launch (and remote reception of the crash data) was Brussels, Belgium. MIRA simulated a two-vehicle crash with a closing speed of 80 kph (50 mph) at their headquarters in Nuneaton, England.

The IRIS 1000 network was installed on the crash test vehicle, which was then subjected to a rear end collision.  The vehicle-mounted device collected data from on-board sensors, and -- when triggered by the severe deceleration -- telemetered the data in highly compressed form to a central service provider via GSM modem.  The IRIS Network software decoded the compressed data in real time, providing medical professionals with a fairly rich set of data within 8 seconds of the crash ... including accurate sensor data, video images of the last second prior to the crash, actions during the crash, and live updates thereafter.

The prototype IRIS 1000 was linked specifically and directly to a color video camera, an accelerometer, and a seat belt strain gauge.  Support for CAN is a standard feature of IRIS 1000 but was not utilized in the test due to the age of the vehicles chosen.  In production form, the system would detect a severe deceleration by an inbuilt accelerometer or by interrogating the vehicle CAN to determine whether an airbag had deployed or for any other type of incidence trigger.  For the demonstration, a closure switch was fitted to the front bumper of the vehicle in rear.

The IRIS 1000 is designed to operate whenever the vehicle engine is started and to continually log data, including video, to a memory buffer.  As long as the vehicle is not involved in an accident, the memory is continuously flushed of old data as new data is logged; when the ignition is turned off all stored data is deleted.  In the event of a severe deceleration being communicated to the system, the events preceding the crash and the crash data are instantaneously transferred to non-volatile memory and a data call is initiated by the modem.

Once connected to the service provider, the data is downloaded, and medical professionals receive sensor data from the vehicle within 8 seconds of the crash.  Frame-by-frame analysis of the video before, during, and after the crash downloads immediately after the crash data.  Additional post-crash data may be acquired by remote interrogation.  The system ensures reliability: if the datalink is lost before the complete data sequence is downloaded, the modem will continually auto-redial, and if the complete data file fails to download, it remains in non-volatile memory and may be recovered from the vehicle directly.  Production versions of the system include a built-in GPS receiver with an accuracy of 20 meters (65 ft), and this location data is also transferred together with the sensor data.

Figure 1
The last frame of video before crash impact; the rear of the vehicle in front is clearly visible (below)

Figure 2
The first frame after the crash showing the effect of the impact on the crash test dummy and the likelihood of there being a serious head injury.  The boot of the car in front has opened as a consequence of the impact (below)

Figure 3
Accelerometer and seat belt load cell data retrieved from the vehicle in real time.  Had the vehicle been equipped with CAN, remote interrogation of the vehicle systems after the crash would have been possible (below)

An MPEG video file is available on the IRIS Technology web site:

iris-technology.co.uk/Auto/Downloads/downloads.html

The video file re-runs the full event.  The post-crash footage shows a member of the emergency services removing the camera from the vehicle and positioning it to allow remote monitoring of an injured casualty.  (Note that, even with heavy compression of the video data, normal video rates of 25 frames per second are not achievable at the 9600 baud used for transmission over the limited GSM bandwidth.)

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For More Information ...

... contact IRIS Technology Ltd, at info@iris-technology.co.uk, or visit www.iris-technology.co.uk.

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