Dual-Mode Shuttle Navigation Using Virtual Route Copy
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing autonomous vehicle technologies face challenges in navigating without a driver, particularly when the visual markers they rely on become obscured by weather or other conditions, and there is no reliable solution for fully autonomous vehicles at level 5, which could lead to increased traffic and pollution.
Innovation Solution
A fleet of vehicles equipped with inertial units and RFID chips, allowing them to navigate using a virtual computer strip even when the physical colored strip is not visible, combined with a centralized computer system for data management and redundancy in decision-making.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If autonomous vehicles use visual markers (colored strips) for navigation, then they can follow predefined routes, but the system becomes inoperative when the markers are obscured by snow, ice, sand, or other conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a virtual copy of the physical colored strip by using an inertial unit to digitize the route. The inertial unit records position, speed, and acceleration data to reconstruct the colored strip's path as a virtual computer image that can be followed even when the physical marker is invisible
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the optical detection system (cameras detecting colored strips) with an inertial navigation system. The inertial unit uses accelerometers and gyroscopes to calculate position and orientation without relying on visual markers, substituting mechanical sensing for optical detection
2Object-generated harmful factors
If level 5 autonomous vehicles are deployed to replace personal vehicles, then traffic congestion and pollution should decrease, but the number of vehicles on the road may increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs vehicles that can operate in multiple modes: autonomous electric mode for urban areas and manual thermal mode for rural areas. This multi-functionality allows a single vehicle to serve multiple purposes and regions, reducing the total number of vehicles needed
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamic mode switching between autonomous and manual operation, and between electric and thermal propulsion. This allows the system to adapt to different operational contexts and optimize resource utilization, preventing unnecessary vehicle deployment
3Reliability
If autonomous shuttles operate on marked routes at low speed, then safety is improved, but the ability to provide door-to-door service is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the journey into segments: autonomous navigation along marked routes for long-distance travel, and manual driving for final approach and door-to-door service. This segmentation allows each mode to operate in its optimal performance range
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses the inertial unit and virtual computer strip as an intermediary between the physical marked route and the vehicle's navigation system. This intermediary enables smooth transitions between autonomous and manual modes while maintaining continuous navigation awareness
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables safe and reliable navigation under various conditions, reduces congestion and pollution, and offers a cost-effective alternative to personal vehicles, with high user acceptance and lower operational costs.
Implementation Method 1
each vehicle, integrates an inertial unit, capable of managing all the parameters linked to the movements of the vehicle, and of defining the route of said vehicle, by identifying a succession of points of the route
Implementation Method 2
The said unit is equipped with a three-axis accelerometer (4)
Implementation Method 3
said colored strip (10) integrates RFID chips (acronym for Radio Frequency Identification, for radio frequency identification) which allow precise location periodically
Implementation Method 4
to move, the vehicle (6) will follow a colored band (10), by optoguidance
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~3
Figure 4~5
AI summary
An automatic public/private transport system, comprising a plurality of vehicles (6), operating through optical guidance by following a coloured strip, each vehicle incorporating an inertial unit (1) capable of managing all of the parameters related to the movements of a vehicle, namely: a starting point, steering, accelerations, times, and all successive variations of these various parameters, the processing of the abovementioned data allowing the on-board computer (2) to compute and to define the path of the vehicle and to store it, said data of the path reproducing a series of points of said path, that is to say a virtual computerized image of the coloured strip (10) of the path taken. The on-board computer (2) thus uses the virtual computerized strip to follow its path if the coloured strip (10) is no longer visible.