Vetronix Corp. Launches the Automotive Crash Data Retrieval System
13 March 2000
Vetronix Corp. Launches the Automotive Crash Data Retrieval System
SANTA BARBARA, Calif.--March 13, 2000--Vetronix Corp., a leading provider of automotive diagnostic equipment, today unveiled the Crash Data Retrieval (CDR) System, an innovative hardware and software product that allows anyone with a computer to download vehicle-specific accident data from General Motors vehicles involved in an air bag-deployment or near-deployment collision.The CDR System collects the information stored on the air bag sensing and diagnostic module, interprets relevant portions, and presents it in easy-to-understand graphical and tabular formats. Using a proprietary decoding algorithm, the CDR System is able to present such information as vehicle speed, engine RPM, throttle and brake data in one-second increments for the five seconds preceding the crash.
Additionally, for some air bag modules, the CDR System shows the change in velocity, or delta-V, immediately after the impact. Other features in some air bag modules include seat belt usage, status of the Malfunction Indicator Light (MIL) on the dashboard, and whether or not the passenger's air bag was disabled.
"The CDR System is an incredibly simple way to access the information stored on the vehicle's air bag module," said Jim Zaleski, president of Vetronix Corp. "It helps vehicle owners, professional accident reconstructionists, vehicle safety engineers, insurance adjusters, fleet managers, law enforcement, car rental agencies, or any other authorized individual to understand what occurred in a crash. This information was not easily retrieved and interpreted prior to this. The CDR System will greatly improve the speed and accuracy in reconstructing accidents."
Zaleski added, "The CDR System allows you to collect objective, accurate data on crashes to enhance reconstruction analysis. This opens the door to a new generation of understanding and modeling automobile accidents. It also allows vehicle safety researchers access to greatly expanded crash data. The potential impacts of this product are immense since about 18,000 tow-away crashes occur daily."
How the CDR System Works
For many years, airplane crash investigators have had the benefit of retrieving data from the flight-data recorder. This information has proven invaluable for helping to determine what happened in the critical time before a crash.
In 1997, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) made the recommendation that vehicle manufacturers and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration work together to gather information on vehicle crashes using on-board collision sensing and recording devices. As a result, General Motors expanded the data downloaded to permanent memory in the air bag sensing and diagnostic module at deployment or in a near-deployment collision.
Since 1973, when GM first introduced air bag-equipped cars, some crash data has been recorded. As explained in the owner's manuals of GM vehicles, the amount of recorded data has expanded with time and technology. The capability to record pre-crash data was included with some 1999 GM vehicles following the NTSB's recommendation. The Vetronix CDR System helps further the NTSB's recommendation by creating a product that downloads the data stored in recordable air bag modules.
General Motors has authorized Vetronix Corp. of Santa Barbara to develop software, hardware and interface cables to allow the recorded data to be downloaded to commonly used computers. Data useful to researchers and investigators, such as delta-V, driver seat belt usage, and pre-impact data is stored and displayed in an easy-to-read format.
This new tool also allows the investigator to input other pertinent information, such as weather conditions, and export the data to a remote database. Interface cables that connect directly to the air bag module are available for vehicles that cannot be powered up after a crash.
About Vetronix Corp.
Vetronix Corp. is a leading supplier of products to the worldwide automotive service industry. In particular, Vetronix is engaged in the design, manufacture and distribution of diagnostic test equipment and service management systems for professional automotive service providers. Vetronix is active in both the OEM-affiliated and aftermarket segments of the industry.
Additionally, Vetronix is a leading supplier of "In-Vehicle" products, such as REVIEW, a wireless telemetry unit that allows fleet managers to monitor and control certain aspects of the vehicle's operation, including vehicle location (via GPS), fuel consumption, vehicle speed, mileage, engine status, air bag deployment and diagnostic status.
The company, founded in 1984, is privately held with its corporate headquarters in Santa Barbara. In addition to the Santa Barbara-based operations, Vetronix also maintains offices in Tokyo, Atlanta and Detroit. For more information, or to order a CDR System, call 800/321-4VTX ext. 3111; fax 805/965-3497; or visit www.vetronix.com.
