Drone-Assisted Trailer Shifting for Blind-Spot Hazard Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Engaging, supporting, and moving wheeled objects, such as cargo trailers, presents challenges due to undetectable blind spots that complicate hazard detection and environmental awareness, necessitating improved systems for controlled and monitored shifting.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising a vehicle and a drone that communicate and coordinate to monitor and control the position, orientation, and velocity of wheeled objects during shifting, using sensors to detect blind spots and environmental characteristics, enabling precise and safe maneuvering.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a vehicle shifts large wheeled objects such as cargo trailers, then the objects can be transported, but blind spots form around the vehicle that make detecting hazards or the environment challenging
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an aerial dimension by deploying a drone to provide overhead monitoring of the environment around large wheeled objects. This third-dimensional perspective eliminates blind spots that ground-based sensors cannot detect, allowing comprehensive hazard detection while maintaining transport capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The drone acts as an intermediary between the vehicle and the environment, collecting sensor data from areas the vehicle cannot directly observe and relaying this information to the control system. This intermediary provides critical environmental feedback that resolves the detection challenge.
2Measurement precision
If sensors are used to detect position and environmental characteristics, then monitoring accuracy improves, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The drone carries multiple sensors (cameras, LIDAR, GPS) that serve multiple functions: position detection, environmental monitoring, hazard identification, and navigation. This multi-functionality achieves high measurement precision without proportionally increasing system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the drone's own sensor data to autonomously determine position, orientation, and velocity of the wheeled object, and to identify hazards. The system serves itself by processing its own sensor feedback, reducing the need for additional complex external monitoring equipment.
3Ease of operation
If coordinated movement of vehicle and drone is implemented, then control and accuracy of shifting operations improve, but operational complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously monitors the relative position and motion of the vehicle and drone using sensors, and uses this feedback to automatically adjust their coordinated movement. The control system processes real-time data and generates corrective commands, enabling precise shifting operations despite the complexity of coordinating multiple moving components.
Data Source
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AI summary
Systems, and methods of shifting objects (20) using a vehicle (22) and at least one drone (24) are provided. The vehicle (22) and drone (24) are configured to communicate using communication components to coordinate movement of the at least one drone relative to the wheeled object. The system for shifting objects may include sensors for detecting characteristics of the environment. The system may include shifting the object to a second location based on the characteristics detected.