Vehicle Stability Monitoring and Emergency Reporting System

Over 230,000 people are involved in rollover accidents every year and 9,000 of those die annually. Some of these lives may have been saved if emergency personnel were more quickly notified of the accident. Every motor vehicle has the potential to rollover. Even the motor vehicles designed for off-road use such as ATVs, tractors, snow mobiles, and riding lawn mowers are prone to rolling over. The current safety mechanism on cars is the Electronic Stability Control System which reduces the risks of rollovers but is incapable of warning the driver before a rollover occurs and does not alert others of the accident.

The current invention developed by the researchers at the University of Missouri is an inexpensive emergency warning and notification system suitable for all types of vehicles. This technology is designed to alert emergency personnel and family members to the location, date and time of the accident. This could reduce the time it takes for medical help to arrive on the scene and result in better medical outcomes as well as overall safety. By using the driver's portable electronic device as the sensor and utilizing both audio and visual alarms, the portable electronic device can become a warning and emergency notification system. The system is intended to alert the driver of an impending rollover. In addition, if an accident does occur, the portable electronic device is devised to automatically transmit an emergency message by phone and email to a preloaded number and email address alerting others of the accident. Lives may be saved as a result of using this invention.

POTENTIAL AREAS OF APPLICATIONS
• On- or off-road vehicle emergency notification, safety and tracking device
• Driver education for professional and student drivers
• Agriculture, construction, mining and military vehicle safety device

MAIN ADVANTAGES OF INVENTION
• Inexpensive
• Can be used with a variety of vehicles
• Emergency reporting of date, time and GPS coordinates of the accident
• Monitors and alerts driver and others of vehicle stability, rollover and collision

STATE OF DEVELOPMENT
Complete. However, further features can be developed.

LICENSING POTENTIAL
University seeks licensee with the potential to continue research and commercialize.

PATENT STATUS: Patent Application planned