Autonomous Vehicle Command Relay for Unexpected Road Hazards

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current autonomous vehicle technologies are not equipped to handle unexpected road conditions such as weather changes, traffic congestion, road closures, or obstacles, leading to inefficiencies and safety concerns in navigation.

Innovation Solution

A system that enables autonomous vehicles to communicate commands based on detected environmental data, allowing for broad or specific instructions to navigate around unexpected conditions, with the ability to update commands based on sensor data and communicate with other vehicles and an operation server to optimize navigation.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If autonomous vehicles rely solely on pre-programmed navigation, then device complexity is reduced, but adaptability to unexpected road conditions deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveadaptability to unexpected road conditionsVSAvoiddevice complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces an operation server as an intermediary between autonomous vehicles and the control system. The server receives environmental data from vehicles, processes it to detect unexpected road conditions, and generates appropriate commands. This mediator approach allows vehicles to adapt to unexpected conditions without requiring complex decision-making algorithms within each vehicle, thus improving adaptability while managing device complexity at the server level.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs preliminary actions by continuously monitoring environmental data and detecting unexpected road conditions before they become critical hazards. The operation server proactively generates avoidance commands and transmits them to vehicles in advance, allowing vehicles to take preventive action rather than reacting to emergencies, thereby improving adaptability without requiring complex real-time decision systems in each vehicle.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Reliability

If autonomous vehicles use centralized operation server control, then navigation safety is improved, but communication time delay increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvenavigation safetyVSAvoidcommunication time delay
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The operation server continuously monitors environmental data and detects unexpected road conditions in advance, generating avoidance commands before vehicles encounter hazards. This preliminary detection and command generation reduces the effective response time needed during critical moments, maintaining safety while managing communication delays by preparing commands proactively rather than reacting to emergencies.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system implements a feedback loop where vehicles transmit environmental data to the operation server, which processes the information and returns optimized avoidance commands. This continuous feedback mechanism allows the centralized system to maintain navigation safety by constantly updating vehicles with the latest hazard information and optimal avoidance strategies, compensating for communication delays through iterative refinement of commands.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

3Measurement precision

If autonomous vehicles transmit detailed environmental data continuously, then detection precision is improved, but data transmission volume increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveenvironmental data detection precisionVSAvoiddata transmission volume
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The operation server extracts only the essential and relevant environmental data features needed for detecting unexpected road conditions, rather than processing all raw sensor data continuously. By identifying and extracting critical information elements (such as unexpected obstacles, weather changes, or road conditions) from the voluminous environmental data, the system maintains high detection precision while significantly reducing the data transmission volume required for effective hazard detection and command generation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Data Source

PatentUS11767032B2Direct autonomous vehicle to autonomous vehicle communications
Publication Date: 2023.09.26 CREATEAI INC
  • US11767032B2 patent drawing
  • US11767032B2 patent drawing
  • US11767032B2 patent drawing

AI summary

A system comprises a lead autonomous vehicle (AV), a control device associated with the lead AV, and a following AV. The control device receives a command to navigate the lead AV to avoid an unexpected road condition. The control device receives sensor data from a sensor of the lead AV, comprising location coordinates of objects ahead of the lead AV. The control device accesses environmental data associated with a portion of a road between the lead AV and following AV. The environmental data comprises location coordinates of objects between the lead AV and following AV. The control device determines whether an object in the sensor data or environmental data impedes performing the command by the following AV. The control device updates the command, if the control device determines that an object impedes performing the command by the following AV, and communicates the updated command to the following AV.