Vehicle Collision Response Using Adaptive Steering to Mitigate Hard Braking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Autonomous vehicles often resort to hard-braking in emergency situations due to insufficient sensory information, leading to discomfort and potential injuries, as existing anti-collision systems relying on radar alone provide a limited model of surroundings, failing to anticipate unanticipated obstacles effectively.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a rich model system using cameras, lidar, radar, and supersonic sensors to continuously analyze surroundings, predict potential collisions, and employ adaptive steering as a means to avoid hard-braking scenarios, while maintaining communication with the vehicle's braking and steering systems to determine the best response based on danger levels and available maneuvers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If radar-only anti-collision systems are used to detect obstacles, then the system can respond to emergencies, but the sensory information is insufficient leading to hard-braking events and passenger discomfort
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple sensing technologies (radar, lidar, cameras, supersonic sensors) into an integrated sensing system. This merging of sensors provides comprehensive sensory information about the environment, enabling the vehicle to distinguish between actual collision threats and non-threats, thereby avoiding unnecessary hard-braking events while maintaining reliable collision avoidance capability.
2Reliability
If hard-braking is applied to avoid collisions with detected objects, then collision risk is reduced, but passenger comfort and safety are compromised due to sudden deceleration
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic response selection based on real-time environmental analysis. The system continuously evaluates the detected object's characteristics, movement trajectory, and threat level to dynamically determine the appropriate response. This allows the vehicle to switch between different braking intensities or alternative avoidance maneuvers, preventing unnecessary hard-braking while maintaining effective collision avoidance when truly needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediate analysis layer between obstacle detection and braking execution. This intermediary component (the rich model system) processes sensory data to distinguish between actual collision threats and non-threats, acting as a mediator that filters out false positives before they trigger hard-braking responses, thereby reducing passenger discomfort while maintaining safety.
3Device complexity
If a simple radar-based detection system is used, then the system complexity is low, but the ability to predict and avoid hard-braking situations is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the sensing and analysis function into multiple specialized components: radar for range detection, lidar for spatial mapping, cameras for visual recognition, and supersonic sensors for additional environmental data. Each sensor type processes specific aspects of the environment, and their results are integrated to form a comprehensive understanding. This segmentation enables accurate hard-braking prediction while keeping each individual sensor component relatively simple and manageable.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, apparatus, systems, and articles of manufacture are disclosed herein that mitigate hard-braking events. An example apparatus at least one memory; instructions; and processor circuitry to execute the instructions to: determine a danger level associated with an object, the danger level indicative of a first measure of damage corresponding to a trajectory of the object compared to a trajectory of a vehicle; determine, based on the first danger level, a danger measure based on at least one of a position of the object, a velocity of the object, an acceleration of the object, a direction of travel of the object, a weight or mass of the object; and generate instructions to transmit to a steering system or a braking system of the vehicle based on the determination.