DISTRIBUTED LEDGER SYSTEM FOR MANAGING VEHICLE SENSOR DATA UTILIZED TO DEVELOP COLLISION PROFILES
Systems and methods are disclosed with respect to using a distributed ledger, such as a blockchain, for managing vehicle sensor data utilized to develop collision profiles. These collision profiles may be helpful when analyzing a collision to determine conditions that preceded the collision, to determine fault, and/or to determine an extent of damage to one or more vehicles involved in the collision. The sensor data may be collected from any of a number of sensors configured to capture position, orientation, movement, acceleration, driver behavior, etc.
1 . A computer-implemented method for tracking a collision, the method comprising:
implementing a plurality of computer systems including an in-vehicle computer system located at a vehicle and one or more other computer systems, each of the plurality of computer systems maintaining a copy of a distributed ledger;
detecting a collision involving the vehicle via one or more sensors at the vehicle, including detecting a set of conditions associated with the collision involving the vehicle;
responding to detecting the collision via the one or more sensors at the vehicle by:
(i) generating, at the in-vehicle computer system located at the vehicle, a transaction record storing a collision profile including the set of conditions associated with the collision;
(ii) causing the in-vehicle computer system at the vehicle to transmit the transaction record including the collision profile to the one or more other computer systems for a consensus analysis of the transaction record;
(iii) performing, via the plurality of computer systems, the consensus analysis of the transaction record including the collision profile utilizing a consensus mechanism, wherein performing the consensus analysis includes generating a hash value for the transaction record and utilizing the hash value for the transaction record to generate a hash value for a new block, including the transaction record, for the distributed ledger; and
(iv) when the consensus analysis indicates that the plurality of computer systems have formed a consensus, storing the new block including the transaction record at the distributed ledger by storing the new block to each copy of the distributed ledger at the plurality of computer systems; and
estimating damage to the vehicle based upon the set of conditions included in the collision profile stored to the transaction record and storing the estimated damage to the distributed ledger.
2 . (canceled)
3 . (canceled)
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the consensus mechanism is: a proof of work mechanism, a proof of stake mechanism, or a proof of activity mechanism.
5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the consensus mechanism is: a proof of burn mechanism, a proof of capacity mechanism, or a proof of elapsed time mechanism.
6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the collision profile stored to the transaction record further includes data representing each of: an identity of an insured person and an identity of the vehicle.
7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more sensors includes one or more of the following: a GPS receiver, an accelerometer, a heading indicator, a gyroscope, a braking sensor, and a steering wheel sensor.
8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the set of conditions associated with the collision includes telematics data collected or generated by one or more vehicles or mobile devices.
9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more sensors are configured for use with autonomous vehicles, and wherein the set of conditions includes any one or more of: radar data, image data, or telematics data.
10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more sensors includes a smart infrastructure sensor, and wherein the set of conditions include conditions detected via an analysis of speed data or image data detected via the smart infrastructure sensor.
11 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the set of conditions includes one or more of: acceleration, braking, speed, and a path of movement.
12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the in-vehicle computer system is a computer installed in the vehicle.
13 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the in-vehicle computer system is a mobile device.
14 . A system for tracking a collision, the system comprising:
one or more sensors disposed at a vehicle and configured to detect vehicle sensor data;
an in-vehicle computer system that is disposed at the vehicle and that is configured to detect, from the vehicle sensor data, a collision involving the vehicle and a set of conditions associated with the collision involving the vehicle;
a plurality of computer systems each maintaining a copy of a distributed ledger for tracking detected conditions associated with collisions;
wherein the in-vehicle computer system is configured to respond to detecting the collision by performing the following operations: (i) generate a transaction record including a collision profile, wherein the collision profile includes the detected set of conditions associated with the collision; and (ii) transmit the transaction record including the collision profile to the plurality of computer systems for a consensus analysis of the transaction record;
wherein the plurality of computer systems are configured to: (i) perform the consensus analysis of the transaction record representing the collision profile utilizing a consensus mechanism, wherein performing the consensus analysis includes generating a hash value for the transaction record and utilizing the hash value for the transaction record to generate a hash value for a new block, including the transaction record, for the distributed ledger; (ii) store the new block including the transaction record at the distributed ledger when the consensus analysis indicates that the plurality of computer systems have formed a consensus, including storing the new block to each copy of the distributed ledger at the plurality of computer systems; (iii) estimate damage to the vehicle based upon the detected set of conditions included in the collision profile; and (iv) store the estimated damage to the distributed ledger.
15 . (canceled)
16 . (canceled)
17 . The system of claim 14 , wherein the consensus mechanism is: a proof of work mechanism, a proof of stake mechanism, or a proof of activity mechanism.
18 . The system of claim 14 , wherein the consensus mechanism is: a proof of burn mechanism, a proof of capacity mechanism, or a proof of elapsed time mechanism.
19 . The system of claim 14 , wherein the transaction record includes each of: an identity of an insured person and an identity of the vehicle.
20 . The system of claim 14 , wherein the one or more sensors includes one or more of the following: a GPS receiver, an accelerometer, a heading indicator, a gyroscope, a braking sensor, and a steering wheel sensor.
21 . The system of claim 14 , wherein the vehicle sensor data is or includes: (i) telematics data collected or generated by one or more vehicles or mobile devices; (ii) data collected by one or more autonomous vehicles, including radar data or image data, and telematics data; or (iii) data collected by smart infrastructure, and image data.
22 . The system of claim 20 , wherein the transaction record includes one or more of: acceleration, braking, speed, and a path of movement.
23 . The system of claim 14 , wherein the in-vehicle computer system is a computer installed in the vehicle.