Automated Driving Sensor Range Estimation and Speed Control
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Automated driving systems face challenges in ensuring safe operation when the range of environment-detecting sensors decreases due to contamination, malfunctions, or weather conditions, which can compromise the ability to react appropriately to obstacles.
Innovation Solution
A method that estimates the range of environment-detecting sensors, particularly those in the vehicle's direction of travel, and adjusts vehicle speed or issues a driver takeover request based on the sufficiency of these ranges to maintain safe automated driving.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If automated driving operates at high speed, then productivity is improved, but safety deteriorates when sensor range is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the vehicle speed based on the current sensor range conditions. When sensor range is sufficient, the vehicle operates at higher speeds for productivity. When sensor range deteriorates due to contamination or weather, the system automatically reduces speed to maintain safe stopping distances, thus resolving the contradiction between productivity and safety
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors sensor range and provides feedback to the control unit. This feedback loop enables real-time speed adjustments - when sensor performance degrades, the system detects this and reduces speed accordingly, ensuring safety is maintained while allowing high-speed operation when conditions permit
2Reliability
If driver takeover request is issued immediately when sensor range is insufficient, then safety is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to unnecessary interruptions
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary assessment of sensor range sufficiency before issuing takeover requests. It evaluates whether the current sensor range actually compromises safety, and only then triggers driver takeover. This prevents unnecessary interruptions while ensuring safety-critical situations are addressed promptly
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously evaluates sensor range and provides feedback on whether takeover is actually necessary. This intelligent feedback mechanism distinguishes between temporary sensor fluctuations that don't compromise safety and genuine range insufficiencies requiring driver intervention, thereby reducing unnecessary driver workload while maintaining safety
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5~6
AI summary
The invention relates to a method for operating a vehicle (F) in an automated driving mode. According to the invention, a respective range (R) of surroundings-sensing sensors (S) of the vehicle (F) is estimated by evaluating sensor signals from the sensors (S). A check is performed to determine whether the sensors (S) each have an estimated range (R) that is adequate for the automated driving mode. If it is ascertained that only one of the sensors (S) does not have an adequate estimated range (R) or that only a predefined subset of the sensors (S) each do not have an adequate estimated range (R), the vehicle (F) continues to be moved in the automated driving mode, a speed of the vehicle (F) being kept constant or being reduced to a predefined small extent, and a prompt to take over a driving task being output to a vehicle driver immediately or after a predefined time delay. If it is ascertained that all of the sensors (S) or more or different sensors (S) than the predefined subset each do not have an adequate estimated range (R), the vehicle (F) continues to be moved in the automated driving mode, the speed of the vehicle (F) being reduced to a predefined greater extent, and the prompt to take over the driving task for the vehicle (F) being output to the vehicle driver immediately.