Autonomous Vehicle Pullover Planning for Local Failure Handover
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Solution Overview
Problem
Autonomous vehicles face challenges in efficiently managing local failures during passenger or cargo transport, requiring a method to quickly and safely identify a pullover spot and request assistance from another vehicle to minimize trip interruptions.
Innovation Solution
The method involves using computing devices to detect local failures, determine the necessity of a pullover, and identify a suitable spot based on distance, size, and accessibility for both the failing vehicle and a second vehicle, allowing for safe disembarkation or unloading and subsequent pickup, while also requesting assistance from a fleet management system.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the autonomous vehicle continues the trip despite local failure, then productivity is maintained, but reliability deteriorates due to safety risks
Solution Approach 1:
The trip is segmented into multiple portions with evaluation points. The system divides the original trip into a first portion (before pullover) and a second portion (after pullover), allowing continuous operation while periodically reassessing safety conditions at each segment boundary
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary evaluation of the local failure impact before committing to continue the trip. By evaluating whether the failure affects trip completion in advance and identifying pullover spots beforehand, the system can make informed decisions to maintain productivity while ensuring safety
2Reliability
If the autonomous vehicle pullovers immediately upon detecting local failure, then reliability is improved through safety, but productivity deteriorates due to trip interruption
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the trip plan based on the evaluated impact of local failure. Rather than a static immediate pullover decision, the system can adaptively continue the original trip if safe, or dynamically insert a pullover event only when necessary, optimizing both safety and productivity in real-time
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces an intermediary evaluation mechanism that assesses the local failure impact and determines whether pullover is necessary. This intermediary decision layer prevents unnecessary trip interruptions while ensuring safety, acting as a mediator between the failure detection and the pullover execution
3Reliability
If the system evaluates all possible pullover spots, then reliability is improved through thorough assessment, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies different evaluation criteria to different portions of the trip. By evaluating the local failure impact specifically for the current trip context and considering only relevant factors (safety, accessibility, passenger/cargo needs), the system achieves thorough assessment without unnecessary complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs partial evaluation by focusing only on the necessary aspects of pullover spot selection rather than exhaustively analyzing all possible factors. By evaluating only the critical criteria needed to determine safety and feasibility, the system achieves sufficient reliability with reduced computational complexity
Data Source
AI summary
A method for determining a pullover spot for a vehicle is described. The method includes using a computing device to detect information related to a system of the vehicle or an environment surrounding the vehicle using a sensor of a vehicle and determine a local failure of the vehicle based on the information. The computing device may then be used to determine that the vehicle should pullover before completing a current trip related to transporting a passenger or good by comparing vehicle requirements for the trip with the local failure and determine a pullover spot by identifying a first area for the vehicle to park in part based on a second area being available for a second vehicle to pick up the passenger or good. The computing device may operate the vehicle to the pullover spot and transmit a request for a second vehicle.