Dynamic Safety Distance Control for Reverse Motion in Bunched Traffic
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Solution Overview
Problem
Automated vehicles often maintain an insufficient safety distance from preceding vehicles at bunched traffic sites with poor visibility, such as intersections or exits, which can prevent reverse motion and increase the risk of collisions.
Innovation Solution
A method and control device that adjust the safety distance between vehicles by evaluating sensor data from various sources, including the vehicle, other traffic participants, and infrastructure, to enable safe reverse motion by maintaining a suitable safety distance, even in areas with limited visibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If automated vehicles maintain a small safety distance from preceding vehicles, then productivity and traffic flow are improved, but the ability to enable reverse motion at bunched traffic sites deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The safety distance is made dynamic rather than static. The control device continuously adjusts the safety distance based on real-time sensor data about the traffic situation. At bunched traffic sites with poor overview, the system automatically increases the safety distance to enable reverse motion, while in normal conditions it maintains a smaller distance for better traffic flow. This dynamic adaptation resolves the contradiction between productivity and reverse motion capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the parameter of safety distance based on the detected traffic situation. When a bunched traffic site is detected through sensor evaluation, the safety distance parameter is increased from its normal value to a larger value that allows reverse motion. This parameter change enables the vehicle to adapt to different operational requirements without manual intervention.
2Reliability
If a larger safety distance is maintained to enable reverse motion, then adaptability and safety are improved, but productivity and traffic flow deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the safety distance only when necessary. By using sensor data to detect bunched traffic sites with poor overview, the system increases the safety distance selectively rather than maintaining a consistently large distance. This ensures high safety at critical locations while maintaining better traffic flow in other conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The larger safety distance is applied locally at specific locations (bunched traffic sites with poor overview) rather than uniformly along the entire driving path. The control device identifies specific problem areas through sensor evaluation and adjusts the safety distance only in those local zones, minimizing the impact on overall traffic flow while ensuring safety where needed.
3Measurement precision
If sensor data from multiple sources is evaluated to detect bunched traffic sites, then measurement precision and reliability are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control device merges data from multiple sensor sources (first sensor unit of the automated vehicle, second sensor unit of the preceding vehicle, and infrastructure sensor units) into a unified evaluation process. By combining these sensor inputs, the system achieves high detection accuracy for bunched traffic sites. The merged sensor information is processed together to make a single control decision about safety distance adjustment.
Solution Approach 2:
The control device performs multiple functions: it processes data from various sensor types, detects bunched traffic sites, evaluates traffic situations, and controls the safety distance. This multi-functional approach consolidates what could be separate complex systems into a single integrated control unit, managing complexity while maintaining high measurement precision through multi-source sensor evaluation.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for adjusting a safety distance between a first vehicle and a second vehicle preceding the first vehicle at a bunched traffic site by at least one control device is disclosed which includes receiving measurement data of at least one sensor unit with the at least one control device. The method includes evaluating the measurement data of the at least one sensor unit with the at least one control device to identify a bunched traffic site in front of the second vehicle and identifying a safety distance of the first vehicle from the second vehicle, wherein the identified safety distance accounts for a possible reverse motion of the second vehicle. The method further includes establishing the identified safety distance with the at least one control device based upon the identified bunched traffic site. A control device, a computer program and a machine-readable storage medium are further disclosed.