Fleet Coordination System for Autonomous Vehicles
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Solution Overview
Problem
Autonomous and partially autonomous vehicles lack the capability to coordinate their movements with other vehicles in a fleet, limiting their ability to operate in a coordinated manner based on the movements of surrounding vehicles.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle system equipped with sensors and processors that capture data, plan routes, navigate, and coordinate the movement of other vehicles within a fleet, allowing for the maintenance of formation, velocity, and distance based on detected positions and road conditions, with the option to switch between leading, following, and independent modes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a vehicle operates independently without fleet coordination capability, then the vehicle system complexity is reduced, but the productivity and efficiency of fleet operations deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The fleet management system is segmented into individual vehicle units, each capable of independent operation and self-coordination. Each vehicle contains its own fleet management system with sensors, processors, and communication modules, allowing distributed control rather than centralized management. This segmentation enables vehicles to autonomously coordinate with fleet mates while maintaining operational independence.
Solution Approach 2:
The vehicle control system is designed with multi-functionality, serving both individual vehicle navigation and fleet coordination purposes. The same sensors, processors, and communication systems used for basic vehicle operation are also employed for detecting fleet mate positions, calculating coordinated movement paths, and maintaining formation geometry, eliminating the need for separate dedicated fleet coordination hardware.
2Productivity
If vehicles in a fleet maintain coordinated formations and movements, then the productivity and efficiency improve, but the adaptability to changing road conditions deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The fleet formation and coordination parameters are made dynamic rather than static. Vehicles continuously adjust their positions, velocities, and formation geometries based on real-time road conditions detected by sensors. The system can transition between different formation configurations (e.g., platoon, echelon, dispersed) depending on traffic conditions, road geometry, and environmental factors, enabling adaptive coordination.
Solution Approach 2:
The fleet management system incorporates continuous feedback loops where each vehicle monitors its own position, speed, and acceleration, as well as the positions and states of fleet mates. This feedback information is used to dynamically adjust coordination commands, maintain safe distances, and adapt formation geometry in response to changing road conditions, ensuring both efficiency and adaptability.
3Productivity
If a vehicle coordinates movement with multiple fleet mates, then the productivity improves, but the difficulty of detecting and measuring positions and maintaining coordination increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple detection and communication functions into a unified fleet coordination system. Vehicles use combined sensor suites (cameras, LIDAR, radar, V2V communication) to simultaneously detect positions, velocities, and intentions of multiple fleet mates. The processing system integrates data from all sources to calculate coordinated movement commands, reducing the overall complexity compared to separate systems for each function.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces virtual coordination parameters and standardized communication protocols as intermediaries between vehicles. Rather than directly processing raw sensor data from multiple fleet mates, vehicles exchange standardized position, velocity, and intent messages through a defined communication protocol, simplifying the detection and measurement process while maintaining accurate coordination.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided herein is a system and method for fleet coordination in a vehicle. The system comprises one or more sensors, one or more processors, and a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to perform, capturing current data associated with the vehicle, planning a route of the vehicle based on the captured current data, navigating the vehicle in accordance with the planned route, detecting an instant position of the vehicle while navigating the vehicle, and coordinating a movement of another vehicle with the vehicle based on the detected instant position of the vehicle.