Autonomous Vehicle Cleaning Service Station with Soiling Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Decentralized car sharing concepts face challenges in energy supply, maintenance, and care of autonomous vehicles, particularly due to increased personnel costs and risks of insufficient maintenance or vehicle breakdowns, as they require a minimum number of vehicles to be ready for use at all times to ensure user availability.
Innovation Solution
A service station equipped with autonomous cleaning modules, including robotic arms for interior cleaning and automatic car wash systems for exterior cleaning, along with control modules for detecting soiling levels and ensuring quality control, allowing for autonomous vehicle cleaning without human intervention, thereby reducing personnel costs and ensuring vehicle readiness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If employees are used to clean fleet vehicles, then cleaning quality is improved, but personnel costs increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The vehicle cleaning system performs cleaning operations autonomously without human intervention. Sensors detect soiling levels and automatically trigger appropriate cleaning methods (water spray, vacuuming, brushing) through robotic cleaning heads, eliminating the need for employee labor while maintaining consistent cleaning quality
Solution Approach 2:
Manual cleaning operations by employees are replaced with automated robotic systems. The patent employs robotic arms with various cleaning attachments (vacuum nozzles, brushes, water sprayers) controlled by sensors and processors to perform cleaning tasks that previously required human workers
2Quantity of substance
If users are prompted to carry out service trips, then personnel costs are reduced, but risk of insufficient maintenance increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously monitors vehicle conditions through sensors that detect soiling levels, operational status, and maintenance needs. This feedback is processed to automatically initiate cleaning operations when thresholds are exceeded, ensuring maintenance is performed reliably without requiring user action or employee intervention
Solution Approach 2:
The vehicle autonomously monitors its own condition and triggers cleaning operations when needed. The system self-manages the maintenance process by detecting soiling levels, selecting appropriate cleaning methods, and executing cleaning tasks without external input from users or employees
3Quantity of substance
If autonomous cleaning systems are implemented, then personnel costs are reduced, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning system is divided into modular functional units: sensor modules for detection, processing units for decision-making, robotic mechanisms for execution, and communication modules for coordination. This segmentation allows complex autonomous functionality to be achieved through coordinated simple modules, managing overall system complexity
4Productivity
If needs-based cleaning is implemented, then resource efficiency is improved, but measurement precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
Different sensor types are deployed to detect different aspects of soiling (optical sensors for surface dirt, tactile sensors for texture changes, particle counters for air quality). Each sensor provides localized measurement of specific soiling characteristics, and the system integrates these measurements to determine overall cleaning needs, achieving both precision and resource efficiency
Data Source
Figure 1
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Figure 4
AI summary
The invention relates to a service station (80, 90) for autonomously cleaning a vehicle (10), wherein the service station (80, 90) comprises a first service module (95) configured for performing interior cleaning of the vehicle (10) and a second service module (96) configured for performing exterior cleaning of the vehicle (10). The service station (80, 90) further comprises a first control module (98) upstream of the service modules (95, 96) with at least one third sensor configured for detecting at least one parameter characterizing the degree of soiling of the vehicle (10), and a second control module (99) downstream of the service modules (95, 96) with at least one fourth sensor configured for detecting a parameter characterizing the degree of soiling of the vehicle (10). The service station (80, 90) is further configured to carry out a method according to the invention for autonomously cleaning a vehicle (10).In this process, initial information on the vehicle's degree of soiling (10) is first acquired using the first control module (98). Based on this information, a cleaning procedure to be performed on the vehicle is determined. The determined cleaning procedure is then carried out using the first service module (95) and/or the second service module (96), and finally, further information on the vehicle's degree of soiling (10) is acquired using the second control module (99).