ADVANCED MAYDAY SYSTEM

摘要

We have developed, in a joint effort with an automobile manufacturer and several other companies, an "Emergency Call System" adapted to Japan-specific conditions. Such conditions include the communications protocol, road traffic infrastructure and the notification system to rescue centers. It was put into service in September 1998. This system consists of accident sensors that reduce the time required for rescue services to arrive at the accident site. The sensors are mounted on a vehicle and can detect when the vehicle has been involved in an accident. The accident is first reported to the Support Center (SC) via radio communication and then the report is forwarded to a Rescue Center (RC). This system is expected to help reduce the death toll from traffic accidents. The system's communications features have been designed so that even if the driver is unable to talk due to severe injuries the system can transmit information about the location and circumstances of the accident, which would be of great help to the emergency service. When an accident occurs, SC performs map-matching with the position information received from the TU and the digital map and displays the position data of the vehicle, vehicle ID and driver ID on the operator terminal. When data communication is completed, the operator then switches to voice communication and talks with the driver while looking at the terminal's screen to confirm the accident location and circumstances. Then, the operator notifies RC of the accident for the driver but then switches the communication link to have the driver communicate directly with RC and terminates a chain of its operations. This system is provided with various features including (1) the "Automatic Coverage Area Identification System = Polygon Search Function" used to determine the coverage area of each rescue center, (2) the "Multi-layer Road Identification Function" that automatically determines whether the vehicle was running in an expressway or common road, and (3) the "Map Search Function" to support operator work, which has been successfully constructed to suit Japan-specific conditions. Our current objective is to improve the present system through the realization of (1) an improvement in reliability by subdividing the transmitted data, and (2) an enhancement of transmitted information and construction of a total system covering everything from the occurrence of accidents to accommodation in hospitals. With these improvements, we hope to make a greater contribution to the process of lifesaving.