Autonomous Vehicle Sensor Blind Spot Modeling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Autonomous vehicles face challenges in safely navigating environments with occlusions and weather conditions due to limitations in sensor capabilities, leading to potential dangerous maneuvers.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that generate 3D models of each sensor's field of view, adjust these models based on weather information, and aggregate them with detailed map information to create a comprehensive model, which is then used to maneuver the vehicle, accounting for occlusions and weather impacts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If autonomous vehicles use sensors to detect objects in the surroundings, then the vehicle can build 3D models of detected objects, but the sensors have blind spots and limitations that lead to dangerous maneuvers
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the environment modeling into multiple segmented 3D models, each representing the field of view of a specific sensor. By segmenting the overall environmental perception into individual sensor contributions, the system can identify and account for blind spots in each sensor while maintaining comprehensive coverage through aggregation of all sensor models.
2Productivity
If the vehicle maneuvers without accounting for sensor limitations, then the vehicle can move quickly and efficiently, but dangerous maneuvers occur due to undetected objects in blind spots
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary action by generating and aggregating 3D models of sensor fields of view before the vehicle executes maneuvers. This advance modeling allows the system to identify potential blind spots and undetected objects ahead of time, enabling the vehicle to plan safe maneuvers that account for sensor limitations rather than reacting to dangers after they arise.
3Measurement precision
If the vehicle uses multiple sensors to improve detection coverage, then the comprehensive model becomes more accurate, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple individual sensor 3D models into a single comprehensive aggregated model. This combining approach allows the system to leverage the strengths of multiple sensors and compensate for their individual weaknesses while presenting a unified environmental representation to the vehicle control system, effectively managing complexity through integration.
Data Source
AI summary
Models can be generated of a vehicle's view of its environment and used to maneuver the vehicle. This view need not include what objects or features the vehicle is actually seeing, but rather those areas that the vehicle is able to observe using its sensors if the sensors were completely un-occluded. For example, for each of a plurality of sensors of the object detection component, a computer may generate an individual 3D model of that sensor's field of view. Weather information is received and used to adjust one or more of the models. After this adjusting, the models may be aggregated into a comprehensive 3D model. The comprehensive model may be combined with detailed map information indicating the probability of detecting objects at different locations. The model of the vehicle's environment may be computed based on the combined comprehensive 3D model and detailed map information.