Autonomous Vehicle Door Closure via Sensor-Guided Movement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Autonomous vehicles face challenges in closing vehicle doors efficiently after user sessions, particularly in ride-sharing scenarios, as existing systems lack effective mechanisms to ensure door closure without human intervention and while navigating around obstacles.
Innovation Solution
A door closing system incorporating a sensor system and autonomous driving system that determines if a door is open and if the surrounding area is clear of obstacles, allowing the vehicle to move and close the door through movement or applied forces, with optional actuator latching and external user interface for obstacle avoidance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the vehicle moves to close an open door, then the door closure function is achieved, but safety risks increase due to potential collision with obstacles or pedestrians
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary detection of obstacles and pedestrians in the door closing path before initiating vehicle movement. The sensor system scans the environment and identifies potential hazards, allowing the control unit to prevent door-closing maneuvers that would cause collision, thus resolving the contradiction between achieving door closure and avoiding safety risks
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors the environment during the door closing process using sensor data feedback. The control unit adjusts or aborts the vehicle movement based on real-time detection of obstacles or pedestrians, ensuring safe operation while maintaining the door closure function
2Reliability
If the vehicle waits for manual door closure, then safety is maintained, but productivity decreases due to vehicle unavailability for subsequent passengers
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables the vehicle to autonomously close its own door by detecting open door status and automatically initiating controlled movement in the door closing direction. This self-service mechanism eliminates the need for manual intervention, maintaining safety through automated obstacle detection while improving productivity by rapidly transitioning the vehicle to an available state for subsequent passengers
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary detection of door status and environment safety before initiating autonomous door closing, ensuring that the vehicle only moves when safe to do so, thus maintaining reliability while enabling automated operation that improves productivity
3Productivity
If the vehicle moves autonomously to close the door, then door closure efficiency is improved, but device complexity increases due to sensor and control systems
Solution Approach 1:
The system utilizes the vehicle's existing sensor infrastructure (designed for general autonomous navigation and obstacle detection) for the specific function of door closing. The same sensors and control units that manage overall vehicle autonomy are repurposed to detect door status and control door-closing maneuvers, achieving improved door closure efficiency without proportionally increasing device complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The door closing function is merged with the vehicle's autonomous driving control system. The control unit integrates door status monitoring, obstacle detection, and vehicle movement control into a unified automated process, improving door closure efficiency while avoiding the need for separate dedicated systems that would increase complexity
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and systems for autonomously closing an open door of a vehicle are disclosed. A door closing system for a vehicle includes a sensor system and an autonomous driving system. The sensor system determines if a door of the vehicle is open and determines if a surrounding of the vehicle is free of obstacles in a predetermined range. The autonomous driving system instructs the vehicle to move if a door of the vehicle is open and if the predetermined range of the surrounding of the vehicle is free of obstacles, such that the door is closed as a result of the movement of the vehicle.