Adjustable Trigger Width for Vehicle Collision Mitigation

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing collision mitigation systems face challenges in adjusting the number of activations to balance between ensuring safety and minimizing unnecessary safety actions, which can be disturbing and potentially dangerous, especially in varying pedestrian densities and driving contexts.

Innovation Solution

A vehicle collision mitigation system with an adjustable trigger width defined by trigger borders, which adapts based on the number of system trigger signals issued over a certain time period, and considers the vehicle's total driving time and timing of earlier trigger occasions, using a multi-variable function to maintain a desired trigger rate.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If early decisions regarding safety actions are made to ensure high safety, then the safety level is improved, but the number of unnecessary safety actions increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesafety levelVSAvoidunnecessary safety actions
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSObject-generated harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The trigger width is made dynamically adjustable based on the detected number of pedestrians in the field of view. When many pedestrians are detected, the trigger width is reduced to avoid unnecessary safety actions. When fewer pedestrians are detected, the trigger width is increased to ensure high safety. This dynamic adaptation resolves the contradiction by allowing the system to optimize between safety and unnecessary activations based on real-time environmental conditions.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The system changes the trigger width parameter according to the density of pedestrians detected. By adjusting this critical parameter based on environmental conditions, the system maintains high safety when needed while reducing unnecessary safety actions when pedestrian density is high, thus resolving the technical contradiction between reliability and harmful factors.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

2Loss of time

If the trigger width is increased to detect objects earlier, then the response time is improved, but the number of false activations increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveresponse timeVSAvoidfalse activations
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of timeVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The trigger width is dynamically adjusted based on pedestrian density. In areas with few pedestrians, a larger trigger width provides early detection and adequate response time. In areas with many pedestrians, the trigger width is reduced to minimize false activations. This dynamic parameter adjustment resolves the contradiction between response time and false activations.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

3Reliability

If the system is tuned for high safety in areas with few pedestrians, then the safety performance is improved, but the number of activations increases in areas with many pedestrians

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesafety performanceVSAvoidnumber of activations
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The system changes the trigger width parameter based on the detected number of pedestrians. In areas with few pedestrians, the system maintains a larger trigger width for high safety performance. In areas with many pedestrians, the trigger width is reduced to decrease the number of activations. This parameter adaptation resolves the contradiction between safety performance and productivity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

Solution Approach 2:

The system applies different trigger width settings locally based on the environmental context (pedestrian density). Instead of using a uniform trigger width everywhere, the system adapts the trigger width to local conditions, providing high safety where needed while reducing unnecessary activations in pedestrian-dense areas.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentEP3000104B1Collision mitigation systems with adjustable trigger width
Publication Date: 2018.11.14 VEONEER SWEDEN AB
  • EP3000104B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3000104B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3000104B1 patent drawing

AI summary

The present invention relates to a vehicle collision mitigation system (2) comprising a detecting device (3) and a control unit (4). The detecting device (3) being arranged to detect a certain field of view (6) comprising a trigger area having an adjustable trigger width that is defined by trigger borders (9a, 9b; 10a, 10b) and is adjustable between a minimum trigger width (wmin) and a maximum trigger width (wmax). The collision mitigation system (2) is arranged to issue a system trigger signal at least in dependence of an object being determined to at least partly being present within the trigger borders if a collision is predicted to occur. The adjustable trigger width (w) is adjustable in dependence of the number of system trigger signals that have been issued during a certain time period. The present invention also relates to a corresponding method.