Autonomous Vehicle Navigation via Dynamic Traffic Width Adjustment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing autonomous movement systems face challenges in navigating narrow paths safely and swiftly while avoiding obstacles, as they either compromise on speed in narrow spaces or fail to adapt to varying environments and unknown obstacles.
Innovation Solution
An autonomous movement system equipped with environmental information acquisition, self-location estimation, obstacle detection, route decision, and speed control mechanisms that dynamically adjust traffic width and speed based on real-time environmental data to ensure safe and efficient navigation through both narrow and wide spaces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If the traffic width is set to narrow, then it is possible to go through a narrow path, but the vehicle goes through a path close to an obstacle also in a large space and it is impossible to run at a high speed apart from an ambient pedestrian
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the traffic width variable rather than fixed. The control unit dynamically adjusts the traffic width based on the detected distance to obstacles: using a first (narrow) traffic width when obstacles are far away to enable swift movement, and a second (wide) traffic width when obstacles are nearby to ensure safety. This dynamic adjustment resolves the contradiction between maintaining narrow width for speed and wide width for safety.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of traffic width based on environmental conditions (obstacle distance). By switching between different traffic width values (first and second traffic widths) according to the spatial relationship with obstacles, the system optimizes both speed and safety performance across different operating conditions.
2Reliability
If the traffic width is set to widen, then it is possible to go through a route apart from an obstacle in a large space, but it is impossible to go through a narrow path
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts traffic width based on the environment, switching between narrow and wide configurations as needed. This allows the vehicle to adapt to both narrow paths and large open spaces, resolving the contradiction between maintaining wide width for safety and narrow width for navigability.
Solution Approach 2:
By changing the traffic width parameter according to obstacle distance and environmental context, the system achieves both wide traffic width benefits (safety distance) and narrow traffic width benefits (narrow path navigation) at different times, eliminating the need to choose one fixed configuration.
3Device complexity
If a single speed is used for autonomous movement, then the control system is simple, but the vehicle cannot achieve both high speed in open spaces and safe speed in narrow paths or when pedestrians approach
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic speed adjustment based on environmental conditions. The control unit modifies the speed profile according to detected obstacles, path width, and pedestrian presence, enabling the vehicle to travel at high speeds in safe conditions and reduce speed when hazards are detected, thus resolving the contradiction between simple control and adaptive performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the speed parameter in response to environmental factors, switching between different speed levels based on real-time sensor data. This parameter adaptation allows the vehicle to optimize both speed and safety without requiring overly complex control mechanisms.
4Device complexity
If the hazardous region size is fixed for obstacle avoidance, then the route decision is simple, but the vehicle runs through a route similar to conventional systems and cannot optimize for both narrow space navigation and open space efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the hazardous region size dynamic rather than fixed. The control unit adjusts the hazardous region dimensions based on obstacle characteristics, distance, and environment type, enabling optimized route planning that adapts to both narrow and open spaces while maintaining simple decision-making logic.
Solution Approach 2:
By changing the hazardous region parameter according to environmental conditions and obstacle properties, the system achieves optimized navigation efficiency in both narrow and open spaces without significantly increasing route decision complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A route decision system is provided to avoid an obstacle existing in a traceably moving direction for tracing a reference route from a current location of an autonomous movable body. The system computes traffic distance and a traffic width as a traffic region having a given traffic width and does not allow an obstacle to intrude in each of a plurality of moving The moving direction of the autonomous movable body is decided on the basis of the traceably moving direction and the traffic region. A speed decision device decides a moving speed allowing the autonomous movable body to stop before it collides with the obstacle in response to the braking condition of the autonomous movable body and the location and the speed of the obstacle.