GM touts new crash severity-predicting OnStar technology
By Donald Melanson 
posted May 22nd 2009 2:31PM
posted May 22nd 2009 2:31PM
OnStar has been working with the CDC for a few years now in an effort to deliver real-time crash information to first responders, and it looks like it has now finally come up with something that's ready to be put to use. That comes in the form of OnStar's new Injury Severity Prediction technology, which apparently takes some recent CDC findings into account, and uses a whole range of sensors in the vehicle (along with other crash data) to predict whether a crash is likely to have caused severe injury to the people in the vehicle. That information can then be relayed to first responders with a simple severity prediction of "normal" or "high," which OnStar says should be especially helpful in cases where crash victims cannot speak for themselves. While there's no exact date for a rollout just yet, OnStar says it should be available to OnStar advisors "early next year," and that it'll be available on all vehicles equipped with OnStar's Automatic Crash Response system.[Via GM FastLane]
GM is broke, just go bankrupt and donate all resources to Tesla
I admit they are broke, but why donate all their resources to Tesla? Tesla Motors does have what appears to be an excellent product, but they have been chronically behind schedule and have pulled their full product line remains vaporware. The media treats Tesla like they're the future and they can do no wrong. The fact is that they're still struggling to get their final product done and way behind.
I'm not saying that Tesla isn't going to succeed eventually, but they don't have any magic touch and they're not any kind of do-no-wrong super-company. They have an expensive product that may eventually reach full market penetration.
couldn't they just have the onstar operator do this and automatically flag the accident as severe if people can't talk or are obviously otherwise messed up? i mean, the operator could just ask "is anyone bleeding profusely or totally nonresponsive?"
It'll probably stay as a prototype like the High Speed Pursuit Preventive Technology that they invented a couple of years ago : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_e_ZeYy3qjs
Too bad OnStar can't detect oncoming bankruptcies the same way it does collisions.
Word on the street is that GM is also saying that in order to implement such a feature, vehicles can get no more than 3 miles per gallon of (get this) leaded gasoline. This like a lot of their other battle cries such as us not being free unless we drive fifty ton twelve passenger fuel consumption tools to get around the block to return our copy of Who Killed the Electric Car
Crazy.
That makes no sense, the MPG should have no bearing on how a system function and we will never see a resurgance of leaded fuel. This type of system may degrade performance but it would be marginal, if barely noticable. I know this is what you "heard" but sounds very weak if not all crap if you ask me.
Required is full of FUD
How is GM getting money to come up with these "innovations"? Oh ya bail out money.
"OnStar has been working with the CDC for a few years now...". Yep totally funded 100% by bailout money. They should have just thrown all the work away instead of finishing whatever they probably had mostly done. These American car companies don't know anything.
God dam Goverment motors just stay down. They got so many stupid ideas no wonder they are going bankrupt. Make a car that holds up well in a crash and you wont need to think of these stupid ideas.
i dont get this - i think every crash that is "relayed" to first responders will be indicated as "high" severity, GM dosent want to accidentally send a low priority call for what turns out to be a serious accident.
Obviously not, why else would they be going bankrupt?
I don't get it. I think this is a really cool feature yet you all are bashing GM for it. Why WOULDN'T you want this? If you crash and both people are too injured to call for help and there is no one around, this would come in really useful. Any idea GM has gets bashed no matter if its good or not.
I agree with you entirely. I've talked to some EMTs who said the Onstar (and similar services) are great, but in general they are most useful in rural crashes where no responder with a cellphone can clue them in and they've got some distance to travel. This new info will let them know how many ambulances to send, or if they should send a helicopter for something that's really severe. Better utilization of resources, and quicker response time for your bleeding face.
*pleasant female voice comes on 3 seconds before impact*
"Oh sh!t you're going to be in a really bad accident!"
"That information can then be relayed to first responders with a simple severity prediction of "normal" or "high," which OnStar says should be especially helpful in cases where crash victims cannot speak for themselves."
Couldn't you just tell by the combination of viewing the car and the fact that they couldn't speak that it was a severe crash?
You fail at reading comprehension. The info is sent to first responders BEFORE they get to the scene.
The other funny thing is on-star has a problem getting signal at even the best of times. Crash into a tree, roll, have a head on, hit a dear and take out your antenna or end up in a river and your on-star will have zero hope of getting a connection. Our connection cuts out when there's light cloud. This is why GM are wasteing money. 911 assist has been proven to be a more realiable system and it's free.
OnStar to ambulance: "Don't bother. Call in the hearst."
Roooooooosebuuuuud.....
I kind of prefer the Volvo system which actually brakes your car and prevents the crash over one that after the fact tells you that you're dead.
This technology is good... for the cops and fire department. However, practically it is useless to the paramedic. It cannot clearly tell what are the injuries.
I can see this coming...
OnStar: Car flip 360 and the driver is possibly serious injured or dead. Have a good day!
I completely agreee with you as does my paramedic daughter. I just posted a rather long blog about a young man involved in a terrible crash who should have died but was VERY fortunate! OnStar completely failed him!!!! OnStar needs some MAJOR revamping!!
IT DID!!!!!
What does the Center for Disease Control (CDC) have to do with car crashes?
The air bag control module currently collects 4 vehicle parameters (speed, throttle percentage open, brake applied and engine RPM) for 5 seconds prior to air bag deployment, at a rate of 1 snapshot per second already. This has been the case for all GM vehicles made after 1998. Other air bag parameters are captured upon deplyment also.
Detroit Diesel ECM (engine control modules) collect even more info for up to 90 seconds before and 30 seconds post hard brake. The output looks like a black box recorder feed. This has been around for years also.
Why hasn't this been done long before this? Cost -- the cost accountants killed this off years ago. Unless it is mandated by the NHTSB, GM will NEVER include it. No, to have this system, a crash severity module connected to On-Star, the cost has been pushed back to the consumer.
So like ..umm...just before a potentially fatal accident does the onstart system say,
"Goodbye Dave"
or something like that?
*macabre chuckle*
I couldn't be more disappointed in Ontar right now. Being a retired law enforcement commander (mostly in the traffic division), I drove over to the scene of a VERY horrible car crash (out of curiouslity) that had occurrd the night before and was pleased to meet the young man who had been the driver involved-he survived with only a seatbelt bruise and a few scratches. His BIG '06 Chevy 4x4 truck was totalled after he swerved to miss a coyote and lost control. He slammed into a big eucalyptus tree that spun his truck around and flipped it several times impacting EVERY single side and his truck came to rest in a drainage culvert. Fortunately his friend was driving right behind hm and ran down the 100' embankment to rescue him.
Why am I so angry at OnStar? He told me that he knew his battery was still working because his stereo was still on after the truck came to rest. OnStar NEVER CALLED TO CHECK ON HIM AFTER THE CRASH! He was too shook up to try to reach up to push the red button, but at the speed of the collision, that should not have been necessary. Of all the times someone possibly needed assistance, it was then, but he did not receive a call! I was shocked! He was very blessed to have not been injured any further but OnStar completely failed him. Yes, his fees were current and he had recently used the system to get driving directions, so he knew the system worked, but not when he REALLY needed it! He and I both are completely at a loss to understand why OnStar failed him!
I decline to give his name at this time, but you may be hearing from him soon. The speed at the time of the collission was at least 60 mph,and as I stated, every side of the truck was hit-including the bumpers. Care to explain why his system failed him?