Boarding Zone Trajectory Control for Deconflicted Trunk Lane Entry
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing autonomous vehicle control systems in transportation systems are susceptible to causing traffic jams, collisions, and inefficiencies, and may provide inflexible or suboptimal user experiences.
Innovation Solution
A transportation system that employs a control system to determine and manage spacetime trajectories for vehicles, using both predefined moving position-targets on trunk lanes and trajectory comparison schemes in contested zones like boarding zones and intersections, ensuring non-intersecting paths and safe, efficient vehicle operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If autonomous vehicles use traditional control systems to navigate boarding zones and trunk lanes, then vehicles can operate independently, but traffic jams and collisions occur due to lack of coordination
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges individual vehicle control with centralized coordination by integrating vehicle-specific trajectory generators with infrastructure-based moving position targets. This combination allows vehicles to maintain autonomy while being coordinated through shared spacetime trajectory management, eliminating collisions and traffic jams through unified system-level optimization.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces moving position targets as intermediary elements that mediate between infrastructure control and vehicle autonomy. These virtual targets act as intermediaries that vehicles follow, translating centralized coordination into individual vehicle actions without requiring direct vehicle-to-vehicle communication or complex inter-vehicle negotiation.
2Reliability
If vehicles follow fixed schedules or predefined routes, then traffic flow can be predicted, but flexibility to adapt to real-time conditions and user preferences is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the system dynamic by generating moving position targets that adapt in real-time to changing conditions. Instead of fixed schedules, the system continuously updates trajectory assignments based on current vehicle positions, user preferences, and system state, allowing predictable coordination while maintaining flexibility to respond to real-time demands.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of trajectory assignment from static predefined routes to dynamic spacetime trajectories. By varying trajectory parameters (position, time, speed) based on real-time conditions and user preferences, the system maintains predictability through controlled parameter changes while adapting to evolving requirements.
3Device complexity
If vehicles are assigned trajectories without considering spacetime deconfliction, then route assignment is simple, but collisions and near-misses occur in contested zones
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by performing spacetime deconfliction analysis before assigning trajectories to vehicles. The system proactively checks for potential conflicts in contested zones and adjusts trajectory assignments in advance, preventing collisions before they occur rather than reacting to conflicts after they arise.
Solution Approach 2:
The moving position targets serve as intermediaries that encode deconfliction information. Instead of directly managing complex vehicle-to-vehicle conflict resolution, the system uses these virtual targets as mediators that inherently contain spacetime separation information, simplifying the assignment process while ensuring safety.
4Reliability
If the system provides detailed real-time trajectory control to each vehicle, then collision avoidance improves, but computational load and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the complexity of collision avoidance from individual vehicle control systems and places it at the infrastructure level through centralized trajectory assignment. By removing the burden of real-time conflict resolution from vehicles and handling it through pre-computed moving position targets, the system maintains high reliability while reducing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses virtual copies (moving position targets) to represent vehicle trajectories. Instead of directly managing complex vehicle interactions, the system creates and manages simplified virtual trajectory representations that are computationally easier to handle while preserving the essential safety and coordination functions.
Data Source
AI summary
A method may include, at a control system, receiving a trip request specifying an origin boarding zone and a destination boarding zone, determining a path for the trip request, the path extending from the origin boarding zone and along at least a portion of a trunk lane of a roadway system, assigning the trip request to a vehicle, determining, based at least in part on a location of a parking spot where the vehicle is parked at the origin boarding zone, an estimated transit duration of the vehicle from the parking spot to an entrance to the trunk lane, selecting, based at least in part on the estimated transit duration, a moving position-target from a set of candidate moving position-targets, and causing the vehicle to travel from the parking spot to the trunk lane and travel along the portion of the trunk lane by following the selected moving position-target.