Adaptive Cruise Control Gap Adjustment for Trailing Vehicle Safety
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Solution Overview
Problem
Vehicles equipped with adaptive cruise control systems often face challenges in maintaining safe gaps with lead and trailing vehicles, leading to potential collisions due to rapid deceleration, especially when a trailing vehicle is tailgating or unable to stop in time.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a vehicle system that includes a rear sensing device, controller, and cruise control unit to monitor and adjust the gap between vehicles, using sensors and communication modules to determine target gaps and adjust vehicle speed and deceleration rates to prevent collisions, by increasing the lead gap when the trailing gap is insufficient and decelerating more gradually when the lead vehicle decelerates.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the cruise control system autonomously decelerates the vehicle upon detecting an approaching lead vehicle, then the vehicle maintains a safe distance from the lead vehicle, but the trailing vehicle may not be able to stop in time causing a rear-end collision
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by detecting the trailing vehicle's presence and proximity before the lead vehicle deceleration becomes critical. The controller monitors the trailing distance continuously and prepares to adjust the lead gap incrementally, giving the trailing vehicle advance warning and additional time to react, thereby preventing the trailing vehicle from being forced into an abrupt emergency stop
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies dynamics by making the lead gap adjustable and dynamic rather than fixed. The controller increments the lead gap based on the detected trailing distance, creating a variable safety margin that adapts to real-time conditions. This dynamic adjustment allows the system to balance maintaining safe distance from the lead vehicle while providing adequate warning space for the trailing vehicle
2Reliability
If the vehicle maintains a larger lead gap to prevent collisions with trailing vehicles, then the safety against rear-end collisions improves, but the vehicle's productivity and efficiency decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses dynamics by implementing a variable lead gap that adjusts based on the detected trailing distance. When a trailing vehicle is detected at a safe distance, the lead gap remains at its normal smaller value, maintaining productivity. When the trailing vehicle approaches within a critical distance, the controller increments the lead gap to a larger safety margin, preventing collisions. This dynamic adjustment resolves the contradiction by optimizing the lead gap size according to real-time conditions
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies parameter changes by modifying the lead gap parameter based on the trailing vehicle's distance. The controller changes the lead gap from a fixed value to a variable parameter that increases when the trailing distance decreases below a threshold. This parameter change allows the system to maintain high productivity during normal operation while ensuring safety when needed
Data Source
AI summary
Method and apparatus are disclosed for monitoring and adjustment of gaps between vehicles. An example vehicle includes a rear sensing device and a controller. The controller is to determine a target lead gap for following a lead vehicle during adaptive cruise control and measure, via the rear sensing device, a trailing distance to a trailing vehicle. The controller also is to determine a target trailing gap for the trailing vehicle. The example vehicle also includes a cruise control unit to increase, responsive to the trailing distance being less than the target trailing gap, the target lead gap based on the trailing distance.