Centralized Autonomous Vehicle Control for Anomaly Handover
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Solution Overview
Problem
Autonomous vehicles face challenges in navigating anomalous situations and responding to spatial and temporal variations in regulatory frameworks, leading to limited ability to operate safely without human intervention.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that allow an autonomous control system to pass control to an offboard panel of experts and enable proactive distribution of rules and requirements from regulatory entities, reducing the need for human intervention by providing real-time guidance and anomaly resolution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If autonomous vehicles operate with fully autonomous control systems, then productivity and ease of operation are improved, but reliability deteriorates due to inability to handle edge cases and regulatory variations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a remote operator as an intermediary between the autonomous vehicle's control system and the external environment. When the autonomous control system encounters an anomaly or edge case, control is transferred to a remote operator who can provide human judgment and decision-making capabilities, thereby maintaining reliability while preserving autonomous operation for routine situations.
Solution Approach 2:
The control system is segmented into autonomous and human-operated modes. The autonomous control system handles routine driving tasks and normal operational scenarios, while the remote operator handles anomalous situations and edge cases. This segmentation allows the system to leverage the speed and efficiency of autonomous control while relying on human expertise for complex situations.
2Adaptability or versatility
If autonomous vehicles are equipped with extensive internal representations of traffic regulations, then adaptability to regulatory frameworks is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
A remote operator acts as an intermediary for regulatory interpretation and compliance decisions. Rather than embedding complex regulatory logic directly in the autonomous vehicle's control system, the remote operator provides expert judgment on regulatory matters, simplifying the onboard system while maintaining adaptability to various regulatory frameworks.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent moves the regulatory interpretation capability from the spatial dimension (onboard the vehicle) to a remote dimension. Regulatory expertise is distributed to remote operators who can provide guidance and decisions, effectively adding a remote dimension to the control architecture that handles regulatory complexity without burdening the onboard system.
3Reliability
If control is passed to offboard panel of experts for anomaly resolution, then reliability is improved, but loss of time increases due to control transfer and communication delays
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by maintaining autonomous control for routine operations and only initiating control transfer when anomalies are detected. The autonomous control system continues to operate and manage basic vehicle functions during the control transfer process, preparing the situation for remote operator intervention in advance to minimize disruption.
Solution Approach 2:
The autonomous control system maintains partial control over the vehicle even during anomaly resolution. Rather than completely transferring control, the system keeps basic autonomous functions active while augmenting decision-making with remote operator input, thereby reducing the time loss associated with full control transfer and communication cycles.
4Adaptability or versatility
If regulatory entities proactively distribute rules and requirements to autonomous vehicles, then adaptability to regulatory changes is improved, but device complexity increases due to real-time rule distribution and integration systems
Solution Approach 1:
The remote operator serves as an intermediary for receiving and interpreting regulatory updates. Rather than requiring the autonomous vehicle's onboard system to directly process and integrate complex regulatory changes, the remote operator receives rules from regulatory entities and provides interpreted guidance to the vehicle, simplifying the onboard system's requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the regulatory interpretation and rule integration functions from the autonomous vehicle's onboard system and places them in the remote operator environment. This extraction reduces the complexity burden on the vehicle's control system while maintaining the ability to adapt to regulatory changes through the remote operator's expertise and communication channels.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed are systems, methods and devices for centralized control of autonomous vehicles. In some embodiments, a system and method allow an autonomous control system on-board an autonomous vehicle to pass control of the autonomous vehicle to an offboard panel of experts upon encountering an anomaly. In some embodiments, a system and method allow a regulatory entity to proactively distribute rules and requirements to autonomous vehicles while operating within a regulated space.