Adaptive Following Space Management for Cut-In Prevention

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Solution Overview

Problem

Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) systems fail to maintain a safe and pleasant vehicle velocity in various driving situations, such as curved or hilly roads, city driving, and multi-lane highways, leading to suboptimal following distances and increased risk of surrounding vehicles cutting in front of the host vehicle.

Innovation Solution

A following space management unit that adjusts the following space based on parameters including the difference between vehicle velocity and speed limit, road markings, and average following spaces in adjacent lanes, using a formula to determine an optimal time gap or distance to prevent excessive cutting in by surrounding vehicles.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If the ACC system maintains a large following distance to prevent cutting in, then safety is improved, but the system becomes less responsive to traffic flow and driver expectations

Engineering Contradiction:

ImprovesafetyVSAvoidresponsiveness to traffic flow

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The system dynamically adjusts the following distance based on real-time traffic conditions, road geometry, and vehicle acceleration capabilities. The ACC controller continuously modifies the target following distance parameter rather than maintaining a fixed distance, allowing the system to adapt between safety-oriented large distances and efficiency-oriented smaller distances based on current driving context

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The system changes key parameters including following distance, acceleration rate, and deceleration rate based on detected traffic conditions. When cut-in risk is detected, the system adjusts these parameters to maintain safer distances and smoother transitions, while in normal conditions it uses more aggressive parameter settings for better traffic flow responsiveness

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

2Ease of operation

If the ACC system uses pre-set following distances, then the system is simple to operate, but the driver must manually change settings which reduces usability satisfaction

Engineering Contradiction:

ImprovesimplicityVSAvoidusability satisfaction

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The ACC system automatically determines and adjusts the optimal following distance without requiring driver intervention. The system monitors traffic conditions, surrounding vehicles, and road characteristics to self-adjust the following distance parameter, eliminating the need for drivers to manually switch between pre-set distance options while maintaining adaptability to different driving scenarios

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

3Productivity

If the ACC system decreases following distance as road gets busier, then traffic flow efficiency is improved, but surrounding vehicles can cut in front of the host vehicle

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetraffic flow efficiencyVSAvoidcutting in risk

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The system continuously monitors surrounding traffic conditions including vehicles in adjacent lanes and uses this feedback to adjust following distance in real-time. When the system detects vehicles approaching from adjacent lanes or conditions that increase cut-in probability, it provides feedback signals to increase the following distance, creating a closed-loop control system that balances efficiency and safety based on ongoing traffic patterns

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

4Reliability

If the ACC system maintains consistent following distance, then safety is improved, but the system does not adapt to different driving situations such as curves, hills, and intersections

Engineering Contradiction:

ImprovesafetyVSAvoidadaptation to driving situations

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The system dynamically adjusts following distance based on detected road geometry (curves, hills), intersection proximity, and traffic conditions. The ACC controller modifies the target following distance parameter in real-time according to the driving situation, maintaining safety margins in complex scenarios while adapting to normal driving conditions

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The system applies different following distance strategies for different local driving conditions. For example, it maintains larger following distances in curves and intersections where cut-in risk is higher, while using optimized smaller distances on straight sections with good visibility, creating locally optimized safety margins throughout the driving environment

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentEP2913239B1Method and unit for managing following space

Publication Date: 2019.06.19 VOLVO CAR CORP

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AI summary

A method and a following space management unit (110) of a host vehicle (100) for managing a following space are disclosed. The following space management unit (110) obtains a set of parameters comprising one or more of: a difference parameter, indicating a difference between a velocity of the host vehicle (100) and a speed limit for the host vehicle (100) at a current location; and a road marking parameter, indicating whether a surrounding vehicle (102, 103) is allowed to enter the current lane (130). Moreover, the following space management unit (110) determines the following space based on the set of parameters.