Autonomous Vehicle Active Sensing Under Information-Risk Tradeoffs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Autonomous vehicles face challenges in determining whether to perform active-sensing actions, such as lane changes or sensor adjustments, due to the need to balance information improvement with potential risks, including accidents or annoyance to passengers, without a systematic framework to evaluate these trade-offs effectively.
Innovation Solution
A computer-implemented method and system that assesses the information-improvement expectation and risk cost associated with active-sensing actions, allowing the autonomous vehicle to decide whether to initiate or adjust these actions based on a threshold score, iteratively refining the decision to ensure the risk cost is below a threshold.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If the autonomous vehicle performs active-sensing actions to improve information quality, then the information gain increases, but the risk of accidents or passenger annoyance increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes the parameters of active-sensing actions (such as sensor positioning, scanning patterns, or data collection intensity) to optimize the balance between information gain and safety risk. By adjusting these parameters dynamically, the system can achieve better information quality while maintaining acceptable risk levels.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs partial active-sensing actions rather than complete or excessive actions. This means collecting just enough information to meet decision-making requirements without over-collecting data that would increase risk unnecessarily. The threshold-based approach ensures actions are taken only when the expected information benefit justifies the risk cost.
2Loss of information
If the autonomous vehicle performs active-sensing actions to improve information quality, then the information gain increases, but the complexity of decision-making increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses parameter changes to simplify decision-making by establishing clear thresholds for risk cost and information benefit. These threshold parameters provide straightforward decision criteria, avoiding complex real-time calculations while still achieving optimal information gathering strategies.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary evaluation of potential active-sensing actions by pre-calculating risk costs and information benefits. This preliminary assessment allows the vehicle to make quick decisions during operation without complex real-time analysis, as the decision framework is prepared in advance.
3Reliability
If the autonomous vehicle adjusts active-sensing actions iteratively to reduce risk cost, then the safety improves, but the time required for decision-making increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary calculations of risk costs and information benefits for potential active-sensing actions. By pre-evaluating these parameters, the vehicle reduces the time required for iterative adjustments during actual operation, as the decision framework is already prepared with calculated values.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses feedback mechanisms to iteratively adjust active-sensing actions based on the relationship between risk cost and information benefit. The feedback loop compares actual outcomes with expected results and makes targeted adjustments, reducing the number of iterations needed to achieve safe and effective decisions.
Data Source
AI summary
An autonomous vehicle configured for active sensing may also be configured to weigh expected information gains from active-sensing actions against risk costs associated with the active-sensing actions. An example method involves: (a) receiving information from one or more sensors of an autonomous vehicle, (b) determining a risk-cost framework that indicates risk costs across a range of degrees to which an active-sensing action can be performed, wherein the active-sensing action comprises an action that is performable by the autonomous vehicle to potentially improve the information upon which at least one of the control processes for the autonomous vehicle is based, (c) determining an information-improvement expectation framework across the range of degrees to which the active-sensing action can be performed, and (d) applying the risk-cost framework and the information-improvement expectation framework to determine a degree to which the active-sensing action should be performed.