Autonomous Vehicle Rerouting Around Remote Support Failure Points

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Solution Overview

Problem

Autonomous driving systems face challenges when abnormalities occur in the remote support system, leading to decreased accuracy and the potential inability to provide remote support to autonomous vehicles, which can disrupt navigation and increase the likelihood of requiring remote assistance at specific positions.

Innovation Solution

The autonomous driving system detects abnormalities in the remote support system and reroutes the vehicle to an alternative path with fewer specific positions that require remote support, allowing the vehicle to continue driving without immediate interruption and reducing the need for remote assistance.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If the autonomous vehicle follows the first target route to the destination, then the route is direct and efficient, but the probability of requiring remote support increases when abnormality occurs in the remote support system

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveprobability of reaching destination without remote supportVSAvoidtime for route planning and rerouting
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system pre-calculates and stores multiple alternative routes before abnormality occurs. When abnormality is detected, the vehicle can immediately switch to a pre-prepared alternative route without time-consuming real-time recalculation, thus resolving the contradiction between reliability improvement and time loss.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The route planning system acts as an intermediary between the autonomous driving system and remote support system. By providing alternative routes that avoid positions requiring remote support, it mediates the conflict between maintaining autonomous operation and dealing with remote support abnormalities.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Productivity

If the autonomous vehicle continues driving with abnormal remote support system, then productivity is maintained, but the accuracy and reliability of remote support decreases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecontinuity of autonomous drivingVSAvoidaccuracy of remote support
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system extracts and identifies specific positions along the route that require remote support. By separating these positions from the overall route, the system can selectively avoid them using alternative routes, thereby maintaining productivity while compensating for reduced remote support reliability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The autonomous vehicle performs self-service by autonomously selecting and following alternative routes that minimize the need for remote support, rather than relying on external remote support operators to manage the routing decisions.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

3Reliability

If the autonomous vehicle ends autonomous driving near current position when abnormality occurs, then safety is ensured, but productivity and efficiency decrease

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesafety of autonomous drivingVSAvoidefficiency of reaching destination
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

Multiple alternative routes are pre-calculated and stored before abnormality occurs. This preliminary preparation enables the vehicle to safely continue driving to the destination by switching to a pre-validated alternative route, rather than stopping, thus maintaining both safety and productivity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentEP4089498B1Autonomous driving system, autonomous driving control method, and non-transitory storage medium
Publication Date: 2024.01.03 TOYOTA JIDOSHA KK
  • EP4089498B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4089498B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP4089498B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A system (10) includes: one or more storage devices (120) that store specific position information (220) indicating a specific position where an autonomous vehicle (1) has a possibility to require remote support; and one or more processors (110) configured to set a first target route as a target route, determine whether an abnormality has occurred in a remote support system (4), when the abnormality is detected in the remote support system (4), search for an alternative route that is a route to the destination based on the specific position information (220), the alternative route having a smaller number of the specific positions to be passed through by the autonomous vehicle (1) than the first target route, when the alternative route is found, change the target route from the first target route to the alternative route, and control the autonomous vehicle (1).