Development Of A Low Cost System For The Automated Documentation Of Crash Scenes Using GPS (AutoDOCS-GPS)

Charles Rodgers, Darrell Greenlee

Abstract:	OPTIMUS Corporation, under a contract to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), is developing a low cost (< $1.5k), automated, automotive crash scene, documentation system that utilizes the GPS for rapid, accurate measurements. NHTSA performs research on the causes and circumstances of automotive crashes. This function will be even more crucial in the future as roadway congestion is expected to continue to increase well into the next century. One of the most important sources of data for this research comes from the analysis of crash scenes. The position and orientation of vehicles relative to each other and roadway features are important to determining the crash dynamics and cause. Currently, crash scene measurements are done manually with wheel and tape measures. The data are recorded by hand and the analysis is done through manual calculation. The results of the measurements and calculations are captured on hand drawn, two-dimensional sketches. The number of manual operations in the measurement and analysis are a source of inefficiency and errors. In addition, data and sketches recorded on paper are difficult for the researchers to access, correlate, manipulate, and analyze. OPTIMUS is integrating a low cost system for a laptop computer that addresses these inefficiencies and inaccuracies by automating the entire process. We are developing a Kinematic Differential GPS (KDGPS) subsystem to measure, record, and process the scene measurements as the user walks about the scene. Each measurement will be correlated to a scene element through the custom Graphical User Interface (GUI) that can guide the user step-by-step through the crash scene measurement process. Once the scene dimensions are determined, a Computer Aided Drafting (CAD) program is called to automatically construct a scene drawing using previously developed scalable, graphical crash scene elements. An automated report generator using templates for common crash situations (two cars, etc.) will then enter the scene data into a standardized text report. The report file, three-dimensional scene data, and CAD file can be stored in various formats, and transmitted, retrieved, manipulated, and analyzed as any other computer file. The paper will discuss the system design and proof-of-concept testing. To compare the potential performance of AutoDOCS to current methods, simulated crash scenes were constructed on a roadway. Two police officers that teach crash scene investigation surveyed and sketched the scenes using current methods. OPTIMUS used a proof-of- concept KDGPS system to perform the same scene measurements. These two forms of documentation were compared to determine the potential improvement in accuracy and efficiency that will be provided by AutoDOCS-GPS. The results show that AutoDOCS-GPS will be at least three times faster than current methods, possibly significantly reducing traffic delays and researcher exposure to traffic. Each mile of traffic backup on a busy major highway costs the economy millions of dollars in lost productivity and fuel, and increased pollution, in addition to the psychological toll the frustration causes on the public. The measurement errors will be less than the resolution of the current method without even considering human measurement and recording mistakes. This accuracy improvement, three-dimensional information, and standard electronic format will greatly improve the NHTSA researchers' analyses and conclusions.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 1999 National Technical Meeting of The Institute of Navigation January 25 - 27, 1999 Catamaran Resort Hotel San Diego, CA
Pages:	369 - 376
Cite this article:	Rodgers, Charles, Greenlee, Darrell, "Development Of A Low Cost System For The Automated Documentation Of Crash Scenes Using GPS (AutoDOCS-GPS)," Proceedings of the 1999 National Technical Meeting of The Institute of Navigation, San Diego, CA, January 1999, pp. 369-376.
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