Autonomous Vehicle Feedback Control for Occupant Stress Mitigation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Autonomous vehicles often cause stress and anxiety in occupants due to sudden changes in speed and acceleration, as existing feedback systems fail to adequately adjust vehicle operations to ensure a comfortable and relaxing experience.
Innovation Solution
An autonomous vehicle feedback system that includes sensors and a processor to monitor physiological parameters, such as emotional responses and moisture levels, to adjust vehicle operations proportionally and in real-time, ensuring a comfortable experience by using a camera for emotional response analysis and a light diffuser with optical sensors to measure skin moisture.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If automated adjustments to vehicle operations are made to improve efficiency and safety, then vehicle performance is improved, but occupant stress and anxiety increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously monitors occupant physiological parameters (skin conductance, heart rate, respiration) and uses this feedback to dynamically adjust vehicle operations. When stress indicators are detected, the system automatically modifies acceleration, braking, and speed changes to reduce occupant stress while maintaining safe and efficient vehicle performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The vehicle operation parameters are made dynamic and adaptive rather than fixed. The system continuously adjusts acceleration rates, braking force, and speed changes based on real-time occupant stress levels, allowing the vehicle to operate efficiently when the occupant is calm while reducing aggressive maneuvers when stress is detected.
2Ease of operation
If real-time monitoring of physiological parameters is implemented to reduce occupant stress, then occupant comfort is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The steering wheel serves multiple functions: it is both the primary vehicle control interface and the housing for physiological monitoring sensors. The optical sensors embedded in the steering wheel utilize the existing structural component while adding monitoring capabilities, thereby reducing overall system complexity compared to adding separate monitoring devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The system automatically processes physiological data and adjusts vehicle operations without requiring occupant input or intervention. The processor autonomously analyzes skin conductance, heart rate, and respiration data, and automatically modifies vehicle parameters, eliminating the need for complex user interfaces or manual adjustments.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If proportional adjustments to vehicle operations are made based on physiological deviations, then stress mitigation is improved, but control precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system establishes baseline physiological parameters for each occupant and monitors deviations from this baseline. Rather than requiring absolute precision, the system detects significant deviations that indicate stress states and applies proportional adjustments to vehicle operations, using a threshold-based approach that balances precision requirements with effective stress mitigation.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system effectively adjusts vehicle operations to mitigate stress and anxiety by providing proportional and immediate responses to emotional deviations, ensuring a comfortable and enjoyable ride for occupants.
Implementation Method 1
The optical sensor monitors a refractive light index generated by the light diffuser and the processor establishes a baseline moisture level of an occupant of the vehicle based on the refractive light index measured by the at least one optical sensor
Data Source
AI summary
An autonomous vehicle feedback system includes at least one sensor embedded in an interior surface of a vehicle and a processor electrically coupled to the at least one sensor. The processor establishes a baseline for a physiological parameter of an occupant of the vehicle based on feedback from the at least one sensor, and provides an adjustment to at least one of a plurality of vehicle operations when a deviation of the physiological parameter compared to the baseline. The adjustment of the at least one of the plurality of vehicle operations is proportional to the deviation of the physiological parameter from the baseline.