Autonomous Vehicle Sensor Unavailability Prediction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing autonomous driving systems face safety and comfort issues due to sensor unavailability and communication disruptions, which can lead to unplanned stops and stressful transitions from autonomous to manual driving.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle system that monitors sensor performance and communication status, determining the probability and timing of sensor unavailability, and activates countermeasures such as switching to alternative sensors or alerting the driver to take control, to maintain safety and comfort during autonomous driving.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the autonomous vehicle stops when a sensor becomes unavailable, then safety is maintained, but driver comfort deteriorates due to unplanned stops and stress
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by detecting sensor degradation trends and predicting future unavailability before it occurs. When a sensor's performance deteriorates below a threshold, the system proactively identifies alternative sensors or prepares manual takeover procedures, preventing unplanned stops and maintaining driver comfort while ensuring safety.
2Reliability
If the vehicle requires manual operation when sensor unavailability is detected, then safety is ensured, but driver comfort worsens due to short preparation time and stress
Solution Approach 1:
The system detects sensor degradation trends and predicts unavailability in advance, providing the driver with sufficient preparation time to transition to manual operation smoothly. This preliminary detection and prediction mechanism ensures safety while avoiding sudden, stressful transitions.
3Reliability
If multiple sensors are used for autonomous driving, then reliability improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously monitors sensor performance and provides feedback on degradation trends. Based on this feedback, it dynamically selects and switches between available sensors, optimizing the use of the sensor array while maintaining reliability and managing complexity through intelligent resource allocation.
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle, vehicle system and method for increasing at least one of safety and comfort during autonomous driving is provided. The vehicle system includes an autonomous drive arrangement with multiple sensors, and a vehicle control arrangement. The vehicle system is configured to determine an estimated probability that at least one sensor will become unavailable, or an estimated time/distance ahead until at least one sensor is determined to become unavailable. The vehicle system is further configured to activate at least one countermeasure based on at least one of the estimated probability, the estimated time and the estimated distance.