Distributed CAV Highway Intelligence Using RSU-Based Vehicle Automation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current autonomous vehicle systems face challenges due to their reliance on expensive and complex on-board sensing systems, limited sensing ranges, and insufficient computing capabilities, which hinder widespread commercial adoption and efficient operation in connected automated vehicle highway (CAVH) systems.
Innovation Solution
The proposed solution involves a connected and automated vehicle highway system with a hierarchical structure comprising vehicle, roadside unit (RSU), traffic control unit (TCU), and traffic control center (TCC) levels, utilizing sensing and communication components to allocate and distribute intelligence across vehicle and infrastructure dimensions, enabling efficient vehicle operations, safety, and resilience.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If autonomous vehicles use expensive and complex on-board sensing systems, then vehicle automation capability is improved, but system cost and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces roadside units (RSUs) as intermediary components that provide sensing and computing capabilities externally. The RSUs act as mediators between the vehicle and the infrastructure, offering automated driving assistance functions without requiring complex on-board systems in the vehicle itself. This shifts the complexity from the vehicle to the roadside infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent moves the automation capability from a single-dimension on-board vehicle system to a multi-dimensional system that includes vehicle, roadside, and cloud components. By adding the roadside dimension, the system achieves automation through distributed intelligence rather than concentrating all capabilities within the vehicle.
2Extent of automation
If autonomous vehicles rely on vehicle sensors and control, then vehicle autonomy is achieved, but implementation challenge increases
Solution Approach 1:
The RSU serves as an intermediary that simplifies vehicle autonomy implementation by providing pre-processed environmental information and control commands. Instead of requiring the vehicle to independently process all sensing and decision-making, the RSU mediates by providing assistance information that reduces the computational burden on the vehicle.
Solution Approach 2:
The roadside units perform preliminary sensing, processing, and decision-making actions before the vehicle needs them. Environmental information is captured and processed by RSUs in advance, and control commands are prepared beforehand, reducing the real-time computational requirements for the vehicle system.
3Reliability
If CAVH systems distribute intelligence across multiple levels, then system reliability and resilience are improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the CAVH system into four distinct control levels: vehicle, roadside unit, traffic control unit, and traffic control center. Each level has specific responsibilities and can operate semi-independently, which improves reliability through distributed architecture while managing complexity through clear functional segmentation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a vertical hierarchy dimension to the system architecture, creating multiple layers of intelligence distribution. This hierarchical dimension allows the system to achieve reliability through redundancy and failover capabilities while organizing complexity into manageable layers with defined interfaces between them.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to systems and methods that allocate, arrange, and distribute certain types of functions and intelligence, for connected automated vehicle highway (CAVH) systems, to facilitate vehicle operations and controls, to improve the general safety of the whole transportation system, and to ensure the efficiency, intelligence, reliability, and resilience of CAVH systems. The present invention also provides methods to define CAVH system intelligence and its levels, which are based on two dimensions: the vehicle intelligence and infrastructure intelligence.