Vehicle visual and non-visual data recording system

Abstract

The system described in this invention can be used for monitoring and analyzing real time visual and non-visual information pertaining to the occupant, vehicle, and surroundings prior to, during and post eccentric operating conditions for a given period of time. The system stores vehicle and occupant data from sensors throughout the vehicle and also makes use of existing vehicle sensors that may already be present in the vehicle. The invention also includes a video recording module that makes use of a fish-eye camera to capture video from the inside and the outside of the vehicle. Real-time data analysis is performed to detect and to recognize vehicle occupants, and recognize impending eccentric events. Vehicle, occupant, and video data are stored in circular buffers. When an eccentric event, a collision for example, has been detected, the device continues to record data and video for a fixed period of time. Once this time has elapsed, the data is transferred from volatile to non-volatile memory for later retrieval. A computer may be used to retrieve and display the vehicle and occupant data in a synchronization with the video data for the purposes of accident recreation, driver or vehicle monitoring.

1 . An in-vehicle recording system comprising:
 a plurality of occupant sensors in the vehicle capturing occupant data;   a video capture module recording video data inside and outside the vehicle.   a data recorder in the vehicle, the data recording the occupant data and the video data and synchronizing the occupant data with the video data.   
   
   
       2 . The in-vehicle recording system of  claim 1 , wherein the video data is recorded by the data recorder. 
   
   
       3 . The in-vehicle recording system of  claim 2 , wherein the video data is synchronized with the occupant data from the plurality of occupant sensors. 
   
   
       4 . The in-vehicle recording system of  claim 3 , wherein a display displays video data recorded by the data recorder. 
   
   
       5 . The in-vehicle recording system of  claim 4 , wherein the display displays the video data and the occupant data from the occupant sensors, and wherein the occupant data from the occupant sensors is synchronized with the video data on the display. 
   
   
       6 . The in-vehicle recording system of  claim 5 , wherein the occupant sensors determine the number of occupants in the vehicle and report the number of occupants in the vehicle to the data recorder. 
   
   
       7 . The in-vehicle recording system of  claim 5 , wherein the occupant sensors determine positions of occupants in the vehicle and report the positions of the occupants in the vehicle to the data recorder. 
   
   
       8 . The in-vehicle recording system of  claim 5 , wherein the occupant sensors determine the size of the at least one occupant in the vehicle and report the size of the at least one occupant in the vehicle to the data recorder. 
   
   
       9 . The in-vehicle recording system of  claim 5 , wherein the occupant sensors gather biometric data regarding the at least one occupant in the vehicle and report the biometric data to the data recorder. 
   
   
       10 . The in-vehicle recording system of  claim 9 , wherein the occupant sensors determine a drowsiness level of the at least one occupant in the vehicle and report the drowsiness level to the data recorder. 
   
   
       11 . An in-vehicle recording system comprising:
 a data recorder in the vehicle;   a plurality of occupant sensors in the vehicle capturing occupant data and sending the occupant data to the data recorder; and   a display in the vehicle for displaying the occupant data from the data recorder after an accident.   
   
   
       12 . The in-vehicle recording system of  claim 1 , wherein the occupant data and the video data are continuously synchronized by the data recorder. 
   
   
       13 . The in-vehicle recording system of  claim 1 , wherein the video capture module comprises a wide-angle lens. 
   
   
       14 . The in-vehicle recording system of  claim 13 , wherein the lens is a fisheye lens. 
   
   
       15 . The in-vehicle recording system of  claim 1 , wherein the video capture module comprises a digital video camera. 
   
   
       16 . The in-vehicle recording system of  claim 15 , further comprising a video processor for processing the video data. 
   
   
       17 . The in-vehicle recording system of  claim 11 , further comprising a video capture module recording video data inside and outside the vehicle and sending the video data to the data recorder. 
   
   
       18 . The in-vehicle recording system of  claim 17 , wherein the occupant data and the video data are continuously synchronized and displayed on the display. 
   
   
       19 . The in-vehicle recording system of  claim 18 , wherein the video capture module comprises a digital video camera and a video analyzer for detecting the presence of occupants in the video data. 
   
   
       20 . The in-vehicle recording system of  claim 19 , wherein the data recorder comprises a circular buffer for sending the video data to a non-volatile storage based upon a detection of an eccentricity. 
   
   
       21 . The in-vehicle recording system of  claim 20 , wherein the occupant data comprises at least one of a total number of occupants in the vehicle, positions of the occupants in the vehicle, size of at least one of the occupants in the vehicle and biometrics of at least one of the occupants. 
   
   
       22 . The in-vehicle recording system of  claim 11 , further comprising an eccentricity detection unit, the data recorder recording data based upon an eccentricity indication from the eccentricity detection unit. 
   
   
       23 . The in-vehicle recording system of  claim 11 , wherein the occupant sensors determine a drowsiness level of at least one occupant in the vehicle and report the drowsiness level to the data recorder. 
   
   
       24 . An in-vehicle recording system, comprising:
 a plurality of sensors in the vehicle capturing biometric data;   a video capture module capturing video data inside and outside the vehicle; and   a data recorder in the vehicle, the data recorder recording the biometric data and the video data and synchronizing the biometric data with the video data.