Angled Vehicle Sensor Array for Near-Body Object Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle sensing systems, particularly those using ultrasonic sensors, struggle to provide comprehensive 360-degree coverage around vehicles due to limitations in sensor placement and detection range, especially near the sides of vehicles, leading to incomplete detection of objects close to the body and increased collision risks, especially for light commercial vehicles.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle sensing system employing multiple sensors positioned along the sides of the vehicle at angles relative to the body, with adjustable signal gain and threshold settings to create overlapping fields of view, allowing for enhanced detection and localization of objects near the vehicle body, including low-profile objects, and eliminating false detection reports from the vehicle structure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If sensors are spaced 50-90 cm apart across front and rear bumpers to provide coverage, then coverage area is improved, but detection capability near vehicle body deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The sensing system is divided into multiple sensor units, each with its own field of view. By segmenting the coverage area and assigning different sensors to different zones, the system achieves both wide coverage and precise near-body detection without requiring sensors to be extremely close together.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent positions sensors at angled orientations rather than only perpendicular to the vehicle body. This angular dimension allows sensor fields of view to overlap and cover areas closer to the vehicle body that would be inaccessible with traditional perpendicular mounting, thereby improving near-body detection capability while maintaining adequate sensor spacing.
2Length of moving object
If sensor settling time is reduced to detect objects closer than 17 cm, then detection range is improved, but sensor reliability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by adjusting signal gain and threshold levels before actual object detection. This preprocessing of sensor signals allows the system to reliably detect objects at close ranges by enhancing weak echoes and filtering out noise, thereby extending detection range without compromising sensor reliability during the settling period.
3Measurement precision
If signal gain and threshold levels are adjusted to detect low-profile objects, then detection sensitivity is improved, but false detection from vehicle structure increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control unit analyzes sensor outputs and adjusts signal processing parameters based on feedback from detected objects. By learning the characteristic echo patterns of the vehicle structure versus actual objects, the system can maintain high detection sensitivity for low-profile objects while filtering out false detections from the vehicle body through adaptive feedback mechanisms.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system achieves superior coverage and accurate detection of objects adjacent to the vehicle, including those within 10 cm of the body, reducing collision risks and enabling precise localization and classification of objects, while maintaining reduced sensor count and accommodating various vehicle configurations.
Implementation Method 1
Ultrasonic sensors and system have been used for over twenty years for detection of objects in close proximity to the front and rear of vehicles
Implementation Method 2
Through the use of triangulation, the ultrasonic signal transmitted by a single sensor may be received by any of the sensors
Implementation Method 3
The sensor's settling time, (the duration required for vibration of the transducer to end after the end of the transmit cycle), is about 1 ms
Data Source
AI summary
A sensing method and system includes equipping a vehicle with a first sensor at a forward portion of a side of the vehicle such that a principal axis of the first sensor's zone of sensing is rearward and sideward and at an acute angle relative to the body, and a second sensor at a rearward portion of the side of the vehicle such that a principal axis of the second sensor's zone of sensing is forward and sideward and at an acute angle relative to the body. Data sensed by the sensors when each sensor senses with zone of sensing and an adjusted zone of sensing are communicated to a control, which determines the presence of one or more objects exterior the vehicle and within the zone of sensing and the adjusted zone of sensing of the at least one of the sensors.