Autonomous Vehicle Controller Architecture for Fault Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Autonomous vehicles lack an effective on-board monitoring system to detect faults and predict maintenance needs, which can lead to unexpected failures and increased downtime.
Innovation Solution
A controller architecture with multiple controllers, communication buses, and redundant instruction sets that include vehicle health monitoring agents to monitor and mitigate faults, and communicate prognostic classifications to an off-board controller for centralized management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a monitoring system is added to detect faults and predict maintenance needs, then reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The monitoring system is segmented into multiple independent controllers (first controller, second controller, third controller, telematics controller) each with specific functions. The first and second controllers execute redundant instruction sets for fault detection, while the third controller handles fault mitigation, and the telematics controller manages communication. This segmentation allows the system to achieve comprehensive monitoring capability without overwhelming complexity in a single controller.
Solution Approach 2:
The first and second controllers execute the same instruction set in parallel before faults occur, performing preliminary fault detection and validation. This redundant preliminary action ensures that potential failures are detected early through comparison of results from both controllers, improving reliability without requiring complex real-time analysis during actual faults.
2Reliability
If redundant instruction sets are implemented in multiple controllers, then reliability is improved, but loss of energy increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of implementing completely independent monitoring systems, the patent uses the second controller as a copy of the first controller, both executing the same instruction set. This copying approach provides redundant fault detection capability while minimizing energy consumption by using identical hardware and software configurations rather than duplicating entire separate systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The first and second controllers are designed with universal functionality to execute the same instruction set for multiple purposes: normal vehicle control operations and simultaneous fault detection. This multi-functionality allows the same hardware resources to serve dual purposes, reducing the need for dedicated energy-consuming monitoring hardware.
3Measurement precision
If multiple communication buses and controllers are used for monitoring, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The telematics controller serves as an intermediary that manages communication between the first controller, second controller, third controller, and off-board systems. This intermediary approach consolidates communication protocols and data routing logic in a single dedicated controller, improving measurement precision through standardized data collection while preventing communication architecture complexity from becoming unmanageable.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a hierarchical communication structure with multiple dimensions: intra-vehicle communication between controllers via communication buses, and inter-vehicle communication with off-board systems via the telematics controller. This dimensional organization separates communication concerns into different layers, allowing precise health monitoring through multiple communication pathways without creating tangled complexity in the overall architecture.
4Loss of time
If real-time monitoring and fault mitigation are implemented, then downtime is reduced, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The first and second controllers continuously execute monitoring instructions in real-time before faults manifest, performing preliminary detection of abnormal conditions. The third controller is pre-configured with mitigation strategies that are automatically activated upon fault detection. This preliminary action approach enables rapid response to faults, minimizing downtime without requiring complex real-time decision-making systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The monitoring system implements continuous feedback loops where the first and second controllers monitor system state, compare results against expected parameters, and trigger the third controller's mitigation routines when deviations are detected. This feedback mechanism automates the fault response process, reducing the time from fault detection to mitigation while maintaining manageable system complexity through standardized feedback protocols.
Data Source
AI summary
A controller architecture for monitoring an autonomic vehicle control system includes a first controller, a second controller, a telematics controller, a third controller, a plurality of subsystem controllers, a first and a second communication bus, and a first and a second communication link. The telematics controller in communication with the first controller. The second controller includes a second processor and a second memory device. Each subsystem controller is configured to effect operation of one of a subsystem, wherein each of the subsystem controllers includes a vehicle health monitor (VHM) agent. The third controller includes a third processor and a third memory device. A first instruction set includes a prognostic classification routine based upon inputs from the VHM agents of the plurality of subsystem controllers. The telematics controller is disposed to communicate an output from the prognostic classification routine to an off-board controller.