Apparatus and method for dispatching a tow truck in response to a roadway emergency

1. A method of operating a cloud-server providing emergency service software-as-a-service applications to a plurality of emergency networks including public safety answering points (PSAPs), comprising:

receiving, by the cloud-server, data from a plurality of data sources;

determining that a vehicle collision occurred and that a tow truck is required based on the data;

determining vehicle collision locations for a plurality of vehicle collisions for which a tow truck is required based on the data; and

providing a software-as-a-service graphical user interface portal to a tow truck dispatch station computer system, displaying a plurality of pending dispatch requests, each dispatch request displayed in response to determining that a vehicle collision occurred for which a tow truck is required, each dispatch request displayed comprising a vehicle collision location and an acknowledgement input section operative to receive an acknowledgement input from a tow truck dispatch station computer system operator;

receiving an operator input to the acknowledgement input section at at least one of the displayed dispatch requests; and

providing the acknowledgement to a PSAP via a software-as-a-service graphical user interface portal displayed on a computer-aided-dispatch system located at the PSAP.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving, by the cloud server, location data for a plurality of emergency calls;

providing the location data to the PSAP in response to receiving the location data;

monitoring the location data for call clusters based on proximity and time; and

determining that a vehicle collision occurred based on determining that the emergency calls of a call cluster originated in proximity to a roadway.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving, by the cloud server, inertial measurement unit (IMU) data as a portion of the data received from the plurality of data sources;

determining that a vehicle collision occurred based on at least one of change in acceleration, change in velocity or change in position based on the IMU data; and

identifying the location of the IMU data source as the vehicle collision location.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving, by the cloud server, connected vehicle data as a portion of the data received from the plurality of data sources;

determining that a vehicle collision occurred based on at least one collision indicator included in the connected vehicle data; and

identifying the location of the connected vehicle as the location of the vehicle collision.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving, by the cloud server, traffic sensor data as a portion of the data received from the plurality of data sources;

determining that a vehicle collision occurred based on at least one collision indicator included in the traffic sensor data; and

identifying the location of the vehicle collision as the traffic sensor location.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving, by the cloud server, roadway camera data as a portion of the data received from the plurality of data sources;

determining that a vehicle collision occurred based on at least one collision indicator included in the roadway camera data; and

identifying the location of the vehicle collision as the roadway camera location.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining at least one collision indicator based on data from one of the plurality of data sources;

comparing other data source data to identify correlated data; and

determining a severity level for a collision based on the at least one collision indicator and the correlated data.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

searching social media feed data for related information in response to determining that a vehicle collision occurred based on the received data.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving an acknowledgment from a tow truck dispatch system in response to sending the tow truck dispatch request; and

notifying the PSAP via the software-as-a-service graphical user interface portal display on the computer-aided-dispatch system located at the PSAP that a tow truck has been dispatched to the vehicle collision location.

10. A cloud-server providing emergency service software-as-a-service applications to a plurality of emergency networks including public safety answering points (PSAPs), comprising:

an emergency assessment engine, operative to:

receive data from a plurality of data sources;

determine that a vehicle collision occurred and that a tow truck is required based on the data; and

a location determination engine, operatively coupled to the emergency assessment engine, operative to:

determine vehicle collision locations for a plurality of vehicle collisions based on the data; and

provide a tow truck dispatch system interface operatively coupled to the location determination engine and to the emergency assessment engine operative to:

provide a software-as-a-service graphical user interface portal to a tow truck dispatch station computer system, displaying a plurality of pending dispatch requests, each dispatch request displayed in response to the emergency assessment engine determining that a vehicle collision occurred for which a tow truck is required, each dispatch request displayed comprising a vehicle collision location and an acknowledgement input section operative to receive an acknowledgement input from a two truck dispatch station computer system operator;

receive an operator input to the acknowledgement input section at at least one of the displayed dispatch requests; and

provide the acknowledgement to a PSAP via a software-as-a-service graphical user interface portal displayed on a computer-aided-dispatch system located at the PSAP.

11. The cloud server of claim 10 , further comprising:

a call cluster analysis engine, operatively coupled to the emergency assessment engine and to the location determination engine, the call cluster analysis engine operative to:

monitor location data sent to the location determination engine for call clusters based on location proximity and time; and

determine that a vehicle collision occurred based on determining that the calls of a call cluster originated in proximity to a roadway; and

wherein the location determination engine is further operative to:

receive the location data for a plurality of emergency calls; and

provide location information to the PSAP in response to receiving the location data.

12. The cloud server of claim 10 , further comprising:

an inertial measurement unit (IMU) and vehicle data analysis engine, operatively coupled to the emergency assessment engine and to the location determination engine, the IMU and vehicle data analysis engine operative to:

receive IMU data from a plurality of mobile devices and vehicles;

determine that a vehicle collision occurred based on at least one of change in acceleration, change in velocity or change in position based on the IMU data; and

wherein the location determination engine is further operative to:

identify the location of a mobile device that sent the IMU data as the vehicle collision location.

13. The cloud server of claim 12 , wherein the IMU and vehicle data analysis engine is further operative to:

receive connected vehicle data from a plurality of connected vehicles;

determine that a vehicle collision occurred based on at least one collision indicator included in the connected vehicle data; and

wherein the location determination engine is further operative to:

identify the location of the connected vehicle as the vehicle collision location.

14. The cloud server of claim 10 , further comprising:

a traffic sensor data analysis engine, operatively coupled to the emergency assessment engine and to the location determination engine, the traffic sensor data analysis engine operative to:

receive traffic sensor data from a plurality of traffic sensors;

determine that a vehicle collision occurred based on at least one collision indicator included in the traffic sensor data; and

identify the location of the vehicle collision as the traffic sensor location.

15. The cloud server of claim 10 , further comprising:

an image analysis engine, operatively coupled to the emergency assessment engine and to the location determination engine, the image analysis engine operative to:

receive roadway camera data from a plurality of roadway cameras;

determine that a vehicle collision occurred based on at least one collision indicator included in the roadway camera data; and

identify the location of the vehicle collision as the roadway camera location.

16. The cloud server of claim 10 , wherein the emergency assessment engine is further operative to:

determine at least one collision indicator based on data from one of the plurality of data sources;

compare other data source data to identify correlated data; and

determine a severity level for a vehicle collision based on the at least one collision indicator and the correlated data.

17. The cloud server of claim 10 , further comprising:

a social media context engine, operatively coupled to the emergency assessment engine and to the location determination engine, the social media context engine operative to:

search social media feed data for related information in response to determining that a vehicle collision occurred based on the received data.

18. The cloud server of claim 10 , wherein

the software-as-a-service graphical user interface portal providing by the tow truck dispatch system interface is further operative to:

notify the PSAP via the software-as-a-service graphical user interface portal display on the computer-aided-dispatch system located at the PSAP that a tow truck has been dispatched to the vehicle collision location.

19. A method of operating a cloud server providing emergency service software-as-a-service applications to a plurality of emergency networks including public safety answering points (PSAPs), comprising:

determining that a vehicle collision occurred at a location based on data comprising connected vehicle data and mobile device inertial measurement unit data;

sending a tow truck dispatch request to a plurality of tow truck dispatch systems via Internet Protocol connections, displaying the tow truck dispatch requests on a software-as-a-service graphical user interface portal at each of the tow truck dispatch systems, in response to determining that the vehicle collision occurred at the location, the request comprising the location and a specified number of tow trucks;

receiving an acknowledgment at the cloud-server from at least one of the tow truck dispatch systems in response to sending the tow truck dispatch request to the software-as-a-service graphical user interface portals; and

notifying a PSAP that a tow truck has been dispatched to the location, the PSAP serving an area that includes the location.

20. The method of claim 19 , further comprising:

determining that a required number of tow trucks are not acknowledged based on the specified number of tow trucks;

notifying the PSAP that a remaining number of tow trucks is still required; and

sending an updated tow truck dispatch request with the remaining number of tow trucks.