Emergency Vehicle Passage Planning via ADS Coordination
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Solution Overview
Problem
Emergency vehicles often face delays due to road users failing to give way in time, leading to inefficient passage through traffic, as not all vehicles along the route are equipped with connectivity or Automated Driving Systems (ADS) to react proactively to approaching emergency vehicles.
Innovation Solution
An EV passage planning system that determines the approach of an emergency vehicle and uses sensor data from ADS-equipped vehicles to identify a preferred passage, instructing these vehicles to maneuver and influence other road users to clear the path, ensuring a safe and efficient passage for the emergency vehicle.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If road users manually respond to emergency vehicles using sirens and warning lights, then the emergency vehicle can be alerted, but the response time is delayed and passage efficiency is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by notifying ADS-equipped vehicles of the approaching emergency vehicle before the emergency vehicle arrives. The notification is sent in advance, allowing the notified vehicles to proactively clear the passage route ahead of time, rather than waiting for manual reaction to sirens and lights.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces an intermediary communication mechanism between the emergency vehicle and ADS-equipped vehicles. The passage planning system acts as a mediator, receiving information from the emergency vehicle and transmitting notifications to relevant ADS-equipped vehicles, enabling automated coordination without relying on manual human response.
2Productivity
If all vehicles are equipped with connectivity and ADS to react proactively, then passage efficiency improves, but the system complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies partial action by notifying only a selected subset of ADS-equipped vehicles that are relevant to the emergency vehicle's route, rather than broadcasting to all vehicles. This selective notification approach achieves efficient passage clearance without requiring universal vehicle connectivity or ADS deployment.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements local quality by providing automated emergency vehicle notification specifically to ADS-equipped vehicles in the vicinity of the emergency vehicle's route. Different vehicles receive different notifications based on their location and relevance to the passage route, rather than a uniform approach to all vehicles.
3Reliability
If the emergency vehicle waits for manual lane changes by road users, then safety is maintained, but the passage time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback by continuously monitoring the passage clearance status through sensor data from ADS-equipped vehicles. The passage planning system receives updates on whether the passage route has been cleared and adjusts the emergency vehicle's passage timing accordingly, ensuring safety while minimizing delay.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary clearance actions by notifying ADS-equipped vehicles in advance to move out of the passage route before the emergency vehicle arrives. This preliminary maneuvering maintains safety by ensuring the path is clear while reducing the waiting time for the emergency vehicle.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present disclosure relates to a method performed by an EV passage planning system (1) for supporting free passage past road users for an approaching emergency vehicle, EV. The EV passage planning system determines (1001) that an EV (3) along its planned route is approaching a set of vehicles (2) respectively equipped with an Automated Driving System, ADS (21), wherein the set of vehicles has a field of view combined covering a continuous dynamic zone along the route; obtains (1002) sensor data of surroundings comprising the dynamic zone captured with support from one or more surrounding detecting sensors (22); determines (1003) based on surrounding and/or situational conditions in the dynamic zone derived from evaluating the sensor data, a preferred passage for the EV through the dynamic zone deemed having potential to be cleared from all traffic; and instructs (1004) the set of ADS-equipped vehicles to act according to a schema influencing road users (6) in the dynamic zone to maneuver such that the preferred passage is cleared in time for arrival of the EV. The disclosure also relates to an EV passage planning system in accordance with the foregoing, an arrangement - for instance at least a first ADS-equipped vehicle and/or a centralized entity (4) such as at least a first cloud and/or cloud server - comprising such an EV passage planning system, and a respective corresponding computer program product and non-volatile computer readable storage medium.