Autonomous Mode Gating Using Vehicle Control System SoH

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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 whether the autonomous mode can be safely used, triggering a handover to operator control if malfunctions are detected, and preventing switches to autonomous mode when risks are present.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If the autonomous mode is used to control vehicle motion, then travel convenience and efficiency are improved, but safety hazards increase due to potential control system malfunctions

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetravel convenienceVSAvoidsafety
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary health assessments of control systems before allowing autonomous mode activation. The processing circuitry continuously monitors and evaluates the SoH of autonomous control systems and driver intervention systems in advance, preventing autonomous operation when malfunctions are detected, thus resolving the contradiction between convenience and safety by ensuring systems are ready before use.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system implements continuous feedback monitoring of control system health status through State of Health estimation. The processing circuitry receives sensor data, evaluates system functionality, and provides real-time feedback to determine whether autonomous mode should be permitted, creating a closed-loop safety mechanism that maintains both convenience and reliability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

2Reliability

If continuous monitoring of control system health is implemented, then safety is improved, but system complexity and computational load increase

Engineering Contradiction:
ImprovesafetyVSAvoidsystem complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The monitoring system is segmented into distinct functional modules: sensor data acquisition, State of Health estimation processing, and autonomous mode determination logic. This modular approach allows continuous safety monitoring to be implemented as discrete, manageable components rather than a monolithic complex system, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining continuous monitoring capability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentEP4674719A1Computer system and computer-implemented method for managing a vehicle and vehicle
Publication Date: 2026.01.07 VOLVO TRUCK CORP
  • EP4674719A1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4674719A1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP4674719A1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A computer system (600) comprising processing circuitry (602) configured to manage a vehicle (1) comprising an Automated Driving System (ADS). The ADS is configured to control the motion of the vehicle (1) when the vehicle (1) is configured in an autonomous mode. The processing circuitry (602) is configured to estimate State of Health (SoH) of one or more control systems of the vehicle (1). The one or more control systems are configured to control the use of the autonomous mode. The processing circuitry (602) is configured to, based on the estimated SoH, determine whether or not the vehicle (1) shall use the autonomous mode.