Augmented Reality Vehicle Status Indicators for Collision Avoidance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for communicating vehicle movements and statuses in environments shared with human operators, such as manufacturing plants and airports, are inefficient and pose risks due to reliance on radio communications and operator observations, leading to potential collisions or injuries.
Innovation Solution
An augmented reality system that receives data from vehicles and presents augmented reality information, including indicators of movement or status, to operators through devices like smart glasses, using environment models to enhance safety and communication without distracting operators.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If radio communications and operator observations are used to communicate vehicle movements, then the system complexity is low, but the safety and communication efficiency deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an augmented reality device as an intermediary between vehicles and operators. The device receives data from vehicles, processes it through an environment model, and presents augmented reality information to operators. This intermediary system enhances safety by providing intuitive real-time information about vehicle movements and statuses without requiring complex direct communication protocols between all vehicles and operators.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces traditional radio communication and visual observation mechanisms with an augmented reality system that integrates sensor data, environment models, and graphical presentations. This substitution transforms the information delivery mechanism from passive radio/visual channels to an active integrated system that processes and presents contextualized information about vehicle positions, movements, and statuses.
2Productivity
If augmented reality information is presented to operators, then communication efficiency and safety improve, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The augmented reality device performs multiple functions: receiving data from multiple vehicles, processing environment models, generating graphical presentations, and presenting information through multiple sensory channels (visual, auditory, haptic). This multi-functional design consolidates what would otherwise require separate systems into a single integrated device, improving communication efficiency while managing complexity through functional integration.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds a new dimension of information presentation by overlaying augmented reality indicators on the operator's field of view. Instead of traditional two-dimensional displays or audio-only communication, the system presents spatially- contextualized information in the operator's environment, allowing simultaneous awareness of the physical environment and vehicle status data without adding physical complexity to the communication infrastructure.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If real-time indicators of vehicle movement are provided, then collision risk is reduced, but information processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential information needed for safety—vehicle position, movement status, and environmental context—from the full set of vehicle data. By selecting and presenting only the critical indicators relevant to collision avoidance through augmented reality overlays, the system reduces collision risk while managing processing requirements through selective information extraction rather than comprehensive data analysis.
Data Source
AI summary
An augmented reality system and methods of indicating at least one of a status or a movement of vehicles within an environment are presented. An augmented reality system comprises a number of vehicles within an environment and an augmented reality device configured to receive the data from the number of vehicles and present augmented reality information in association with a live view of the environment in the augmented reality device using the data from the number of vehicles and an environment model. The number of vehicles is configured to output data comprising at least one of a current position, an objective, a vector, a current movement status, a vehicle type, or a current power status. The augmented reality information comprises indicators associated with at least one of movement of the number of vehicles or status of the number of vehicles.