GM has filed a patent application for a vehicle system capable of informing authorities about current about conditions and other data, including potentially criminal activity. The application was assigned patent number US 2025/0100558 A1 with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and was published on March 27th, 2025. The GM patent application was originally submitted on September 21st, 2023, and lists several Michigan-based engineers as the inventors, including Manoj Kumar Sharma, Donald K. Grimm, and Michael Alan Losh.
The patent application describes a vehicle system that uses a combination of sensors, cameras, and a communication system, all of which are controlled by an onboard computer called a controller. The purpose behind this system is to quickly provide accurate information about road issues, such as accidents, debris, flooding, or other hazards, with relevant agencies such as police departments, road maintenance crews, or emergency services.
The system works by constantly monitoring the area around the vehicle using visual cameras, GPS, infrared detectors, and LiDAR. These cameras and sensors gather data about things like the road surface, temperature, weather, traffic signs, and nearby vehicles. When certain conditions are met, such as detecting an unusual bump, seeing debris, or recognizing a damaged sign, the system identifies this as a “measurement trigger” and captures detailed information through images or other sensor readings.
Next, the system classifies the type of issue at hand using built-in algorithms. For instance, it can determine whether the issue is a pothole, flooding, a damaged traffic sign, graffiti, or even criminal activity. It does this using machine learning to interpret what the sensors pick up, often using image recognition. Once the system has gathered and classified the data, it packages that information and sends it to a remote server through the vehicle’s communication system. This server is accessible by authorities, who can then take action based on what is reported.
Comments
What you gonna do when Big Sister Bondi comes for you?
As if there isn’t enough ‘crap’ built into today’s vehicles. Somebody needs to pull their head out of their ass and build a RELIABLE/DURABLE, inexpensive (stripped down), good looking mode of transformation, void of bells and whistles. What’s next? A car that will touch up your frosted tips and curl your eyelashes while you drive. Damn !!!!
Yup. Teach them young ins. Back in my day, when I reversed my Studebaker, and there was a kid playing with her dolly back there, she learned her lesson. These back up picture cameras make kids soft snowflakes who play Pong all day and smoke dope.
???????????? Really? I agree the teenage kids especially suck but “playing with her dolly” sounds a bit young to be counting on to fend for themselves.
When I was a wee young ‘in, I had to get up in -30 below at 4:30 to feed the Hogs by hand. We didn’t have them fancy heated school busses. I had to walk 5 miles in blinding, drifting snow to school with a bag of coal. That was 1st grade. I looked out for myself.
We don’t need all of this high tech stuff makes vehicles way more expensive then they need to be. It’s hard for people to afford vehicles now.
Invasion of privacy. GM already has OnSpy to spy on drivers.
And they will want me to pay to maintain the sensors while GM sells the data.