Autonomous Vehicle Road Marking With Non-Visible Paint Signals
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Solution Overview
Problem
Autonomous vehicles face challenges in detecting non-permanent, irregular road conditions due to limited sensor fields of view, leading to delayed or missed reactions, which can hinder efficient route planning and communication between vehicles.
Innovation Solution
Equipping autonomous vehicles with sensors and paint dispensers that can detect events and dispense non-visible spectrum paint to convey information about event types and durations, allowing other vehicles to make informed navigational decisions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If autonomous vehicles use standard sensors to detect road conditions, then the vehicle can identify events in the environment, but the limited field of view causes delayed or missed detection of irregular conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces paint markings on the road surface as an intermediary medium to transmit event information. Instead of relying solely on direct sensor detection of distant or obscure conditions, vehicles deposit visible paint markers that serve as intermediate information carriers, allowing following vehicles to detect road conditions earlier and more accurately without expanding sensor fields of view.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary action by having leading vehicles detect and mark road conditions before subsequent vehicles encounter them. The paint dispensing mechanism activates in advance to leave informational markers on the road, enabling following vehicles to prepare for upcoming irregular conditions rather than reacting after detection.
2Loss of information
If autonomous vehicles dispense visible paint to communicate road conditions, then information sharing between vehicles improves, but the paint may interfere with human drivers and normal roadway operations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the parameter of paint visibility by using non-visible spectrum paint (infrared or ultraviolet) instead of visible paint. This parameter change allows the paint to convey information to autonomous vehicles equipped with corresponding sensors while remaining invisible to human drivers, thus eliminating interference with human-operated vehicles and normal roadway operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces the mechanical/visual communication method (visible paint) with an electromagnetic field-based method (infrared or ultraviolet paint). This substitution enables information transmission to autonomous vehicles through non-visible electromagnetic spectrum detection, avoiding conflicts with human visual perception while maintaining effective communication.
3Loss of information
If autonomous vehicles use multiple paint dispensers for different event types, then the vehicle can convey detailed event information, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies universality by designing a single paint dispenser capable of multiple functions. The dispenser can switch between different paint types (visible and non-visible spectrum) and apply different paint patterns to convey various event type information, eliminating the need for multiple dedicated dispensers while maintaining comprehensive information transmission capability.
Data Source
AI summary
An autonomous vehicle comprises a sensor, a plurality of paint dispensers, and one or more processors. The processors can be configured to collect, using the sensor, data regarding an environment surrounding the autonomous vehicle as the autonomous vehicle is moving on a surface; detect an event in the environment surrounding the autonomous vehicle from the collected data; determine an event type of the event based on the collected data; select a paint dispenser from the plurality of paint dispensers based on the determined event type; and automatically dispense paint from the selected paint dispenser onto the surface.