Autonomous Vehicle Oversight for Unexpected Road Condition Avoidance
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
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 detects unexpected road conditions through environmental data analysis and communicates specific or broad commands to autonomous vehicles (AVs) to navigate around these conditions, utilizing an operation server and vehicle-to-vehicle communication to update and confirm navigation instructions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If current autonomous vehicle technologies are used without additional oversight systems, then the system complexity remains low, but the ability to handle unexpected road conditions deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an operation server as an intermediary component that receives environmental data from multiple autonomous vehicles, compares it with map data, and generates commands to communicate back to vehicles. This intermediary handles the complex task of detecting unexpected road conditions and formulating appropriate responses, allowing individual vehicles to maintain simpler systems while gaining enhanced adaptability through the centralized oversight infrastructure.
2Productivity
If broad commands are communicated to multiple AVs, then the communication efficiency is improved, but the specificity of navigation instructions deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments command communication into two distinct levels: broad commands that apply to multiple autonomous vehicles facing similar unexpected road conditions (improving communication efficiency), and specific commands that provide detailed navigation instructions to individual vehicles when needed (maintaining instruction specificity). The operation server dynamically determines which level of command granularity to use based on the situation and vehicle-specific factors.
3Measurement precision
If specific commands are communicated to individual AVs, then the precision of navigation instructions is improved, but the communication overhead increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by communicating specific commands only to the extent necessary for each individual autonomous vehicle. Rather than sending detailed specific commands to all vehicles, the system sends broad commands to multiple vehicles and reserves specific commands for individual vehicles only when their situations require customized navigation instructions, thereby reducing overall communication overhead while maintaining necessary precision.
4Measurement precision
If the operation server detects unexpected road conditions by analyzing environmental data, then the detection accuracy is improved, but the data processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the data processing functions for detecting unexpected road conditions into a centralized operation server. Instead of each autonomous vehicle independently analyzing environmental data and comparing it with map data, the operation server consolidates environmental data from multiple vehicles, performs the comparison with map data, and generates commands. This combining of processing functions improves detection accuracy through aggregated data while managing complexity through centralized architecture.
Data Source
AI summary
A system comprises an autonomous vehicle (AV) and an operation server operably coupled with the AV. The operation server accesses environmental data associated with a road traveled by the AV. The environmental data is associated with a time window during which the AV is traveling along the road. The operation server compares the environmental data with map data that comprises expected road conditions ahead of the AV. The operation server determines whether the environmental data comprises an unexpected road condition that is not included in the map data. In response to determining that the environmental data comprises the unexpected road condition that is not included in the map data, the operation server determines a location coordinate of the unexpected road condition, and communicates a command to the AV to maneuver to avoid the unexpected road condition.