Autonomous Vehicle Navigation Using Pulsed Object Illumination
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing autonomous vehicle navigation systems face challenges in accurately identifying objects in various weather and lighting conditions, leading to increased rates of false negatives and false positives, particularly in degraded imaging conditions.
Innovation Solution
The system employs pulsed illumination from objects in the environment, which is decoded to identify specific objects using frequency, intensity, or wavelength, and this information is integrated into image data for enhanced object recognition through machine vision algorithms, improving navigation accuracy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional shape, size, and color recognition techniques are used for object identification, then the system is simple to implement, but the reliability of object recognition deteriorates in degraded imaging conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies periodic action by using pulsed illumination sources that emit light in periodic pulses rather than continuous illumination. Objects equipped with these pulsed illumination sources create periodic light signals that can be detected and decoded by the autonomous vehicle's sensor system. This periodic signaling enables reliable object identification in degraded imaging conditions by providing temporally distinct signals that stand out against the background environment, thereby improving recognition reliability without requiring fundamentally complex system changes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs parameter changes by utilizing multiple parameters of the pulsed illumination signals for object identification. Specifically, the system decodes frequency, intensity, and temporal characteristics of the received pulsed illumination to identify objects. By changing and analyzing these optical parameters rather than relying solely on spatial parameters like shape and size, the system achieves more reliable object recognition in conditions where traditional visual features may be degraded or ambiguous.
2Measurement precision
If pulsed illumination decoding is added to enhance object recognition, then false negatives and false positives are reduced, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the intermediary principle by introducing a decoder as an intermediate processing component between the sensor that receives pulsed illumination and the object identification system. The decoder specifically processes the temporal and frequency characteristics of received light signals to extract identification information. This intermediary component enables the system to accurately distinguish objects using pulsed illumination signals without requiring complete redesign of the entire navigation system, thereby improving measurement precision while managing device complexity through modular addition.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements universality by designing the pulsed illumination decoding system to handle multiple types of objects and multiple parameters simultaneously. The same sensor and decoder infrastructure can identify various objects (traffic signs, pedestrians, vehicles) by analyzing different characteristics of their emitted or reflected pulsed illumination. This multi-functional approach allows a single system to perform diverse object identification tasks, improving accuracy without proportionally increasing complexity for each additional object type.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach reduces the likelihood of false negatives and false positives by providing more reliable object recognition, even in poor imaging conditions, by using pulsed illumination to augment traditional shape, size, and color recognition techniques.
Implementation Method 1
receiving pulsed illumination from an object in the vehicle environment and decoding the pulsed illumination
Data Source
AI summary
A method of navigating an autonomous vehicle includes receiving pulsed illumination from an object in the vehicle environment and decoding the pulsed illumination. The object is identified using the decoded pulsed illumination of the pulsed illumination, and the autonomous vehicle navigated through the vehicle environment based on the identification of the object. Obstacle avoidance methods and navigation systems for autonomous vehicles are also described.