Autonomy Approval Workflow With Proximity Verification for UGVs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) require safe and intuitive interfaces for transitioning from human control to autonomous operations, ensuring operator proximity and system verification to prevent accidents and enhance trust for industrial adoption.
Innovation Solution
A mobile device application provides an autonomy management system with user interfaces for job approval, proximity verification, and system checks, including a perimeter walk-around and real-time feedback, ensuring the user is within a predetermined distance and the system is ready for autonomous operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the system requires user proximity verification and perimeter walk-around before autonomous operation, then safety and operator confidence are improved, but the time required to initiate autonomous work increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary safety verification actions before autonomous operation begins. The mobile device checks user proximity to the autonomous work machine and verifies the perimeter walk-around is complete before enabling autonomous mode. This preliminary action ensures safety requirements are met while allowing smooth transition to autonomous operation once verified.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides real-time feedback to the user during the proximity verification process. The mobile device communicates with the autonomous work machine to confirm user location relative to the machine perimeter, providing visual or haptic feedback when the user is at the correct distance. This feedback mechanism guides the user through the verification process efficiently.
2Reliability
If the system implements machine-verified proximity detection using mobile device data, then operational safety is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The mobile device acts as an intermediary between the user and the autonomous work machine. It handles the complexity of proximity verification by receiving location data from its own sensors (GPS, accelerometer, gyroscope) and communicating with the machine's control system. This intermediary approach distributes complexity across multiple devices rather than concentrating it in one system.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses data copying from the mobile device's sensor readings to verify user proximity. Instead of requiring direct complex sensing on the autonomous machine, the mobile device's existing sensor data is copied and used for verification purposes. This leverages existing capabilities rather than adding new complex sensing systems.
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
Ensures safe and efficient transfer of control to autonomous UGVs by verifying user proximity and system readiness, enhancing operator confidence and reducing the risk of errors.
Implementation Method 1
User proximity within the pre-determined distance can be detected using electromagnetic radiation.
Data Source
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AI summary
A mobile device (16, 71, 200) includes a processor (17) and memory (21), coupled to the processor (17), which memory (21) contains instructions that when executed cause the processor (17) to provide an autonomy management application. The autonomy management application includes an autonomy approval function. The autonomy approval function provides a user interface configured to display at least one aspect (240-248, 260, 262) of an autonomy job to a user and receive user acceptance (268) of the autonomy job. The autonomy approval function is configured to instruct the user to move within a pre-determined distance from an autonomous work machine that will execute the autonomy job and provide a machine-verified indication of user proximity within the pre-determined distance. The autonomy approval function includes a begin mission user interface element (282) displayable after verification that a user has moved within the pre-determined distance of the autonomous work machine, which begin mission user interface element (282), when selected, causes the autonomy approval function to initiate motion. A computer-implemented method is also provided.