Autonomous Vehicle Priority Payments for Dynamic Traffic Precedence
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Solution Overview
Problem
There is a need for a system and method to prioritize self-driving vehicles in traffic situations, allowing one vehicle to gain precedence over others, which existing technologies do not effectively address.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) payment system where autonomous vehicles communicate to negotiate traffic prioritization through messages, offering financial compensation for precedence, with a central server managing pricing and transactions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If self-driving vehicles use traditional collision avoidance and communication protocols, then safety is maintained, but traffic flow efficiency and priority management are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a central server as an intermediary to manage traffic prioritization. The server receives requests from vehicles, determines priority based on multiple factors (payment, urgency, route optimization), and coordinates vehicle movements. This mediator handles the complex decision-making centrally, reducing the communication burden on individual vehicles while improving overall traffic efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamic traffic prioritization where vehicle priorities are not fixed but change in real-time based on current traffic conditions, vehicle payments, and route requirements. The system continuously adjusts priority levels and routing decisions, allowing the traffic management system to adapt dynamically to changing conditions rather than following static protocols.
2Loss of time
If vehicles negotiate payments for priority of passage, then traffic prioritization is achieved, but communication overhead and transaction time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements pre-payment mechanisms where vehicles can purchase priority credits or subscriptions in advance. This preliminary action allows the payment aspect to be handled before the actual priority need arises, reducing real-time transaction overhead. Vehicles with pre-purchased credits can quickly claim priority without lengthy negotiations during critical moments.
Solution Approach 2:
The system allows vehicles to autonomously make routing decisions based on pre-established payment arrangements and priority levels. Once payment terms are set and priority levels determined, vehicles independently negotiate and execute priority exchanges without constant human or centralized intervention, reducing communication overhead while maintaining systematic control.
3Reliability
If central server manages all pricing and transactions, then centralized control is achieved, but system vulnerability to failures and delays increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the traffic management system into segmented functional modules: a central server for overall coordination, local vehicle controllers for autonomous decision-making, and distributed communication nodes. This segmentation allows the central server to handle high-level pricing and priority assignment while local systems manage real-time execution, reducing the single point of failure risk inherent in fully centralized systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically changes operational parameters such as priority levels, payment rates, and routing preferences based on real-time traffic conditions and server capacity. When the central server experiences high load or potential failures, it can adjust parameters to distribute decision-making authority more locally, thereby maintaining reliability while adapting to changing system states.
Data Source
AI summary
A self-driving or autonomous vehicle has a traffic-prioritization processor to send or receive a payment to or from a central server to obtain a traffic prioritization for a route or to accept a traffic de-prioritization for the route. The central server receives and distributes payments to other vehicles traveling the route. The vehicle communicates with the central server to receive a plurality of levels of prioritization which range from a highest prioritization to a lowest prioritization, and the costs or payouts associated with each of the levels.