Collision Control Communication's: Eliminator™

On December 4, 2001, Collision Control Communications, Inc. received a patent that will greatly increase the speed and safety of local emergency response personnel. Indiana University and Purdue University’s Fort Wayne campus (IPFW) initially designed the prototypes of this technology. The Eliminator will be used on board emergency vehicles, and will perform the following functions (all simultaneously):

1. PREEMPTION

Prior to an emergency vehicle’s arrival at an intersection, traffic signals in its path recognize its approach and will turn green in its direction of travel only, while displaying a red light to all other directions of traffic flow. This preemption occurs up to a distance of one mile, a distance sufficient to allow traffic that may already be stopped at the light (facing in the same direction as the emergency vehicle’s direction of travel) to pass safely through the intersection; this allows for a “clear” intersection (and a green light) upon the emergency vehicle’s approach. Unlike existing “strobe” technology, the Eliminator utilizes data transmission techniques that do not preclude data transmission through obstacles that may lie between emergency vehicles and traffic signals. A few examples of commonly encountered obstacles are buildings, large vehicles (i.e. semi tractor-trailers and buses), or even tree branches, which may overhang roadways thereby blocking a “line of sight” transmission of optical (strobe) data. The Eliminator increases the inherent reliability dramatically over the current optical “state of the art” traffic signal preemption technologies (all of which utilize an infrared strobe to trigger preemption). The Eliminator has not only increased reliability over existing technology (because it is not limited to “line of sight”), but also the ability to communicate with the traffic signal at a much greater distance – up to one mile. Additionally, the “pirating” of the commonly used optical based MIRT (mobile infrared transmitter) or “strobe” technology has required some states (Michigan, for example) to pass legislation prohibiting their use by anyone other than authorized municipal employees. Knock off copies of this technology have also been available to the average consumer over the Internet, prompting the legislative action (note: Indiana Senator Tom Wyss also introduced similar legislation in Indiana, and facilitated a demonstration of the Eliminator™ in Indianapolis; he was extremely impressed that this technology will avert the need for this type of legislation, or as he put it, a technical solution to a legislative problem). The data encryption security capability of the Eliminator’s™ transmission of data is far superior to an infrared optical emitter, whose strobe “frequency” can easily be ascertained and duplicated. The data security encryption capability of the Eliminator is akin to the level of those, which are used to facilitate secure transmission of credit card numbers and many functions, used when banking via the Internet. Sadly, current traffic signal preemption technologies only have the ability to preempt traffic signals, nothing more. The Eliminator gives the driver of an emergency vehicle an additional lifesaving advantage: collision avoidance.

2. COLLISION AVOIDANCE

In the event that two or more emergency vehicles are on an impending collision course, the Eliminator will warn the driver of both vehicles well in advance of the potential collision by both an audible alarm, and by flashing an L.E.D. on the face of the device (represented as 1 in the figure below). This L.E.D. will flash in the direction from which the collision will impend within an accuracy of six degrees, as if to tell the driver “look in this direction, you will get hit from this direction within the next mile”. The system is also capable of handling “multiple” impending collisions simultaneously.

An explanation of the numbered items in the diagram below may be found by clicking the “Design Features” button on the previous page.



While there currently are other existing technologies on the market that will perform preemption (with less reliability using strobe technology), none perform emergency vehicle collision avoidance, and no other technology can perform both simultaneously.

The Department of Justice (DOJ), and the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) have taken an unusually keen interest (at the federal level) in the commercialization of this technology. We believe their interest is due in part to the technology’s additional ability to assist a large number of local emergency vehicles to respond to another terrorist (or weapons of mass destruction) attack more swiftly at the local level. It will allow a large number of emergency vehicles to impend to a single site more quickly (via an even more reliable traffic signal preemption method), yet avoid colliding into one another (via the Eliminator’s™ collision avoidance characteristics) as they approach “ground zero”. The technology differs from most other post 9/11 technologies being assisted by DOJ/NIJ for homeland security in that it is able to be of benefit on a day-to-day basis to emergency responders (unlike chemical weapons suits, for example, which will hang on a rack until needed).

The Eliminator is one of only 12 technologies nationally that were selected by a division of DOJ/NIJ for a commercialization planning workshop. It is part of their “active, broad based national program to assist in the commercialization of innovative technology for use by the law enforcement and corrections community.” They commissioned a marketing study regarding collision avoidance applications of intelligent transportation systems on behalf of Collision Control Communications, Inc.

In the fall of 2004, Indiana Senator Tom Wyss met with the president of Collision Control Communications for several hours and quickly developed an interest in the technology (particularly its security features, as described above under “preemption” above). The senator was instrumental in facilitating a meeting with officials representing the City of Indianapolis that led to an initial agreement between Collision Control Communications, Inc. and the City of Indianapolis regarding demonstration of prototypes to a potential licensee (and potential buyers from other cities) using the traffic signal at the intersection of Ohio and West Streets, and City emergency vehicles. Upon completion of successful testing by the staff of the Indianapolis Traffic Signal Department in January 2007, this agreement was later expanded to additionally include the corridor of traffic signals traveling south along West Street, including the intersection at the northeast corner of the Indianapolis Convention Center and RCA Dome at West and Maryland Streets. Collision Control Communications will also provide two emergency vehicle prototypes of the technology (to be used by fire units based at West and Ohio streets), and a remote command/control module to allow manual preemption by a portable hand held unit. The agreement calls for Collision Control Communications to provide this technology to the City at no cost.

Collision Control Communications currently holds not only U.S. patent rights, but also foreign patent rights in Canada and the U.K.