Backup Vehicle System Testing Under Safe Traffic Conditions
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing autonomous vehicle systems lack effective methods for safely testing secondary vehicle systems during operations, which are crucial for ensuring redundancy and continuous functionality.
Innovation Solution
A computer system that controls primary and secondary vehicle systems to perform predefined maneuvers based on traffic conditions, allowing safe testing of secondary systems while the vehicle is on a mission, and provides feedback on system performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the secondary vehicle system is tested during autonomous vehicle operation, then the status determination of the secondary system is improved, but the safety risk increases due to potential malfunction during active testing
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary assessment of traffic situations to identify suitable conditions for secondary system testing. Before activating the secondary system, the autonomous drive control system evaluates whether the current traffic environment is appropriate, ensuring that testing only occurs when safety conditions are met. This preliminary action prevents unsafe testing while enabling status determination.
2Productivity
If the secondary vehicle system is tested during mission operations, then the vehicle availability is improved, but the operational complexity increases due to system switching and coordination requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The autonomous drive control system serves multiple functions: it controls the primary vehicle system during normal operation, assesses traffic situations for suitability, manages secondary system testing when conditions are appropriate, and coordinates switching between systems. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate dedicated testing systems, thereby managing operational complexity while improving vehicle availability through in-mission testing.
3Productivity
If the secondary vehicle system is tested during traffic operations, then the testing efficiency is improved, but the traffic safety risk increases due to potential unexpected maneuvers
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously monitors traffic conditions and provides feedback to the autonomous drive control system. The control system receives information about the present traffic situation, evaluates its suitability for testing, and adjusts testing activation accordingly. This feedback loop ensures that secondary system testing only proceeds when traffic conditions are confirmed to be safe, thereby enabling efficient testing during operations while preventing traffic safety risks.
Data Source
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AI summary
A computer system (13) comprising processing circuitry (21) configured to: receive a first vehicle operation command defining a first desired operation of an autonomous vehicle (1); control a primary vehicle system (17) to perform the first desired operation; send a request for testing a secondary vehicle system (19) being a backup of the primary vehicle system (17); receive an indication that a present traffic situation is suitable for testing the secondary vehicle system (19); receive a second vehicle operation command defining a second desired operation of the autonomous vehicle (1); control the secondary vehicle system (19) to perform the second desired operation; receive a third vehicle operation command defining a third desired operation of the autonomous vehicle (1); and control the primary vehicle system (17) to perform the third desired operation.