Invention describes method for capturing, wirelessly communicating and distributing data relating to incidents in the field
Fremont, CA -- March 12, 2003 -- @Road (Nasdaq: ARDI), a leading provider of location-enhanced wireless Internet solutions for mobile resource management (MRM), today announced that it has been awarded a patent by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Patent number 6,459,988 is titled "Method and system for detecting vehicle collision using global positioning system". @Road holds seven patents and has 35 additional patents pending in jurisdictions throughout the world.
The invention describes a method by which the global positioning system can be used to detect abnormal conditions, including dramatic acceleration, deceleration, free-fall and rollover, in the field. A mobile device captures signals emitted by global positioning system satellites. These signals are either translated by the mobile device into position, velocity and time data or wirelessly transmitted to a server that executes similar calculations. The results are compared with threshold data, such as the maximum possible deceleration using an automobile's braking system. Where the threshold is crossed, this information, along with data captured by the mobile device prior to and after the incident, is made available to authorized users.
The invention further contemplates making additional relevant information, such as current traffic conditions or the closest emergency response unit or hospital, available concurrently with the incident data. Captured data can be combined with automobile system information, such as air-bag deployment or other diagnostics, to provide additional information surrounding an incident.
The mobile device's wireless connectivity and network connection enables the rapid transmission of information to authorized users. The system supports any number of authorized users. Authorized users can include family members, police and rescue organizations, hospitals, business managers and repair facilities.
As described in the patent, captured data can be made available in a variety of formats, including text report, graphical map overlay and oral communication via text-to-speech interface. Furthermore, authorized users can access the data in a variety of ways, including by using any internet-connected device or any wireless or wireline telephone.
"We are very pleased that the investment we have made over the past several years in intellectual property protection and patent prosecution has begun to bear fruit," said Krish Panu, CEO of @Road. "We constantly seek to strengthen our competitive advantages and technology leadership. Our latest patent, along with our intellectual property protection efforts in general, meets both those objectives."
@Road (Nasdaq: ARDI) is a leading provider of mobile resource management (MRM) services, a rapidly growing category of productivity solutions integrating location technologies, wireless communications, transaction processing, software applications and the Internet to help companies better manage mobile workers. Any size organization, in any industry or public sector, in which improving the productivity of mobile workers has an impact on revenue, expenses, customer service and competitive advantage, will benefit from @Road MRM services. Because @Road offers MRM services on a hosted basis, customers avoid expensive and complex software and IT infrastructure investments. Since @Road delivers services using a pay-as-you-go subscription model, customers experience an immediate and measurable return-on-investment.
@Road delivers its MRM services to over 90,000 mobile workers in North America every day. The company has headquarters in Fremont, CA, and secure networked data centers on both U.S. coasts. For more information, visit the @Road web site at http://www.atroad.com.
@Road is a registered trademark of At Road, Inc.
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