The system described in this invention can be used for monitoring and
analyzing real time visual and non-visual information pertaining to the
occupant, vehicle, and surroundings prior to, during and post eccentric
operating conditions for a given period of time. The system stores
vehicle and occupant data from sensors throughout the vehicle and also
makes use of existing vehicle sensors that may already be present in the
vehicle. The invention also includes a video recording module that makes
use of a fish-eye camera to capture video from the inside and the outside
of the vehicle. Real-time data analysis is performed to detect and to
recognize vehicle occupants, and recognize impending eccentric events.
Vehicle, occupant, and video data are stored in circular buffers. When an
eccentric event, a collision for example, has been detected, the device
continues to record data and video for a fixed period of time. Once this
time has elapsed, the data is transferred from volatile to non-volatile
memory for later retrieval. A computer may be used to retrieve and
display the vehicle and occupant data in a synchronization with the video
data for the purposes of accident recreation, driver or vehicle
monitoring.