Autonomous Mode Gating Using Vehicle Control System Health
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing autonomous vehicle systems face safety hazards due to malfunctions in control systems, necessitating improved safety measures to ensure safe operation in autonomous modes.
Innovation Solution
A computer system estimates the State of Health (SoH) of vehicle control systems to determine if the autonomous mode is safe to use, triggering a handover to operator control if malfunctions are detected, and preventing switches to autonomous mode when risks are present.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the autonomous mode is used to control vehicle motion, then convenience and efficiency are improved, but safety hazards increase due to potential control system malfunctions
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary health checks of control systems before allowing autonomous mode activation. The processing circuitry estimates the State of Health (SoH) of control systems in advance, and only permits autonomous mode when the SoH indicates proper functioning, thereby preventing unsafe autonomous operation before it can occur
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors the State of Health of control systems during autonomous operation and provides feedback to the mode management. When the SoH estimation indicates malfunction or degradation below safety thresholds, the system automatically triggers handover to operator control or prevents mode switching, ensuring continuous safety verification
2Reliability
If continuous monitoring of control system health is implemented, then safety is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control systems perform self-diagnosis and self-monitoring of their own health status. The processing circuitry estimates State of Health by analyzing operational parameters and fault indicators from the control systems themselves, eliminating the need for separate complex monitoring hardware and reducing overall system complexity while maintaining continuous safety monitoring
Data Source
AI summary
A computer system has processing circuitry to manage a vehicle having an Automated Driving System (ADS). The ADS is configured to control the motion of the vehicle when the vehicle is configured in an autonomous mode. The processing circuitry is configured to estimate State of Health (SoH) of one or more control systems of the vehicle. The one or more control systems are configured to control the use of the autonomous mode. The processing circuitry is configured to, based on the estimated SoH, determine whether or not the vehicle shall use the autonomous mode.