Advanced e-call as retrofit for new means of future mobility
Authors:   Trier University of Applied Sciences, GERMANY, Fuchs Sebastian , Kalandrik Dustin ,   Trier University of Applied Sciences, GERMANY, Herrmann Lukas ,   Trier University of Applied Sciences, GERMANY, König Peter ,   Trier University of Applied Sciences, GERMANY, Bentgens Felix ,   Trier University of Applied Sciences, GERMANY, Mayakrishnan Jaikumar ,   Hindustan Institute of Technology & Science, INDIA, Thangaraju Shanmuganathan ,   Hindustan Institute of Technology & Science, INDIA
Published: March 2022

"Research and/ or Engineering Questions/ Objective Especially in emerging markets no emergency infrastructure is established, so in case of an accident passing road users need to call help or the ambulance. An automated e-call to friends and families - or in future directly to the rescue team - with transmission of GPS position, probable injury pattern and injury severity could improve the rescue chain significantly and would save lives in large scale. Methodology A simulation model was built up in MADYMO and validated based on large-scale analysis of crash pulses and injury data measured in real life vehicle accidents. With help of this model a correlation of crash pulses and injury levels was worked out. In addition, an App for crash detection was developed for mobile phones which automatically connects via Bluetooth with a g-sensor being mounted on the vehicle structure. Comparing these crash data with the database injury levels and crash severity can be predicted and sent as emergency call to defined contacts or local authorities. In order to prevent false alerts, driving tests have been performed in India and Germany with multiple low energy impacts and misuse events to support algorithm calibration. For motorbikes drive style and crash data have been collected and serve as base for the algorithm. Here the development of the crash detection algorithm is still ongoing. Results The study shows that in a significant number of vehicle crashes reliable information can be provided by the App in advance - in these cases the rescuers will save valuable time and lives. Discussion with paramedics lead to the conclusion, that in all other cases with wrong or no advance information there will just be no advantage relatively to today’s status, so the solution does not represent any risk. Limitations of this study Today the information can just be provided to emergency contacts selected by the user, a direct distribution to emergency services is not yet possible. As V2I communication will be installed soon in many countries, this problem should be solved soon. In emerging markets, the families and friends will serve as first points of contact and will need to provide the information to the rescue teams. What does the paper offer that is new in the field including in comparison to other work by the authors? Especially in rural areas and developing countries without any rescue infrastructure the e-call App can significantly contribute to reduce traffic fatalities. Conclusions Based on the results presented paramedics are informed in advance of arriving at the incidence about the crash severity and can prepare their rescue strategy while approaching. So critical minutes in the rescue process can be gained and will contribute to save lives."