Disability scooter anti-collision system
The anti-collision system for mobility vehicles uses sensors and AI to detect obstacles and calculate stopping distances, addressing the challenge of collisions by ensuring precise vehicle stops, thereby enhancing safety.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- GB · GB
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- PEARSON STEPHEN ROBERT
- Filing Date
- 2024-10-31
- Publication Date
- 2026-06-10
AI Technical Summary
Mobility vehicles, such as scooters and wheelchairs, face challenges in accurately determining stopping distances due to variable speeds and user reaction times, leading to potential collisions with obstacles.
An anti-collision system utilizing accelerometers, GPS, LIDAR, radar, ultrasonic, and infrared sensors, along with artificial intelligence, to detect obstacles and calculate stopping distances based on vehicle speed, friction, mass, and surface conditions, and includes a relay unit to stop the vehicle before impact.
Effectively prevents collisions by ensuring precise obstacle detection and accurate stopping distances, enhancing safety for electric mobility vehicles.
Smart Images
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Abstract
Description
This invention relates to the prevention of mobility vehicles, without limitation to Mobility Scooters, Electric Wheelchairs, electric scooters and other electric pedestrian vehicles from crashing into obstacles in their path. Mobility vehicles are able to travel at variable speeds, with users potentially unable to react and respond to obstacles in their path due to the speed of travel, slow reactions and miscalculation of stopping distances. There is therefore a need to develop a system that will mitigate the issues of slow reactions and miscalculation of stopping distances in order to prevent collisions and reduce accidents. This invention aims to provide a solution to one or more of the above problems and provide an anticollision system that is capable of being retrofitted to existing electric mobility vehicles as well as being installed on new electric mobility vehicles. The first problem to overcome is that of being able to determine the speed of travel of the vehicle to ensure accurate calculations of the stopping distance for the vehicle. This is achieved using but not limited to accelerometers, inclinometers, GPS and other speed measurement technology. The second problem to overcome is to provide an accurate system for the detection of obstacles within a region of interest (ROI) in the path of the vehicle. This is achieved with, but not limited to the use of LIDAR, Radar, Ultrasonic, infra-red and laser sensors. The third problem to overcome is to determine the stopping distance of the vehicle based upon its current speed. This is achieved by the use of artificial intelligence or algorithmic calculation that is able to ascertain the correct stopping distance based upon the coefficient of friction of the wheels on the surface being travelled on, speed of the vehicle, and the mass of the vehicle and rider. One embodiment of the system may use a load cell to determine the weight of the rider with anther embodiment providing determination of the riders weight by remotely programming the system with specific parameters including but not limited to the weight of the rider, the weight of the vehicle and the type of surface to be ridden on. Another embodiment of the system may include the use of an app on a mobile device that will display specific information as required, for example but not limited to the speed of travel, the distance travelled, the battery life of the system. The fourth problem to overcome is stopping the vehicle once an obstacle is detected in its path. This is overcome but not limited to remotely triggering a mechanical or electronic relay switching unit connected to the battery in order to disconnect the vehicles power supply, based upon the preset stopping distance setting X plus a safety factor Y. By having a calculation factor of X+Y the vehicle is prevented from hitting the obstacle. Figure 1 is a block diagram of the system components. Figure 2 is a drawing showing the system combined sensor array and control unit mounted on an example of a mobility scooter, with the sensing direction shown.
Claims
1. According to the invention there is provided an electric mobility scooter anti-collision system comprising a sensor array, a control system and a power isolation unit.
2. A sensor array as in claim 1 comprising LIDAR, sensors.
3. A sensor array as in claim 1 &2 comprising, Radar, sensors.
4. A sensor array as in claim 1, 2 &3 comprising Ultrasonic, sensors.
5. A sensor array as in any preceding claims comprising infra-red sensors.
6. A sensor array as in any preceding claim comprising laser sensors.
7. A control system as in claim 1 able to provide artificial intelligence control of the system8. A power isolation unit as in claim 1 able to remove the power to the electric mobility device.
9. A control system as in claim 7 comprising microprocessor control of the system.
10. A control system as in claims 7 and 9 comprising an audio player, GPS, GSM, Bluetooth, WiFi, RF Transceivers, battery, battery charging circuit able to provide artificial intelligence or algorithmic control of the system.
11. A power isolation unit as in claim 1 comprising a mechanical or electronic relay switching system.
12. A power isolation unit as in claims 1 and 11 comprising a Radio Frequency transceiver.