Follow-Up Command Control for Safer Autonomous Work Vehicle Convoys
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current technologies for autonomously driving work vehicles on public roads are limited in stability and safety, particularly in handling obstacles and maintaining follow-up travel without increasing the vehicle's cost.
Innovation Solution
An information processing apparatus that generates and sends follow-up commands to a work vehicle with a follow-up travel function, including the ability to detect instability and obstacles, and send stop commands accordingly, while allowing the work vehicle to follow an autonomous vehicle or unmanned aircraft.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If additional sensors are added to improve obstacle detection and stability, then safety and stability improve, but vehicle cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
An information processing apparatus acts as an intermediary between the autonomous vehicle and the work vehicle. This central system processes data from the autonomous vehicle's sensors and generates follow-up commands for the work vehicle, eliminating the need for the work vehicle to have its own expensive obstacle detection and navigation sensors while maintaining safety through the intermediary's processing capabilities
Solution Approach 2:
The information processing apparatus serves multiple functions: it processes sensor data from the autonomous vehicle, detects obstacles, generates follow-up travel commands, and provides stability control. By consolidating these multiple functions into a single universal system rather than distributing them across multiple sensors on the work vehicle, the solution improves safety without increasing vehicle cost
2Stability of the object's composition
If complex obstacle detection and control systems are implemented, then stability and safety improve, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The complex obstacle detection and stability control functions are extracted from the work vehicle and placed in the information processing apparatus. The work vehicle's control system remains simple, only needing to execute follow-up commands received from the information processing apparatus, while the apparatus itself handles all complex processing including obstacle detection and stability monitoring
Solution Approach 2:
The information processing apparatus serves as a mediator that centralizes all complex control logic. It receives data from the autonomous vehicle, processes obstacle information, generates appropriate follow-up commands, and sends them to the work vehicle. This intermediary approach maintains stability and safety while keeping the work vehicle's onboard system complexity low
3Reliability
If manual operation is required for obstacle handling, then safety improves, but productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The information processing apparatus continuously monitors the follow-up travel status and compares it against safety thresholds. When obstacles are detected or instability is identified, the system automatically provides feedback by generating stop commands or limp home mode commands, enabling autonomous safety responses without requiring manual intervention while maintaining continuous safety monitoring
Solution Approach 2:
The work vehicle's autonomous control system performs self-service by automatically detecting obstacles through the information processing apparatus and executing appropriate safety responses. The system monitors its own follow-up travel stability and autonomously decides when to stop or activate limp home mode, maintaining safety without requiring external manual operation while preserving autonomous productivity
Data Source
AI summary
A processor included in an information processing apparatus is configured to generate a follow-up command to perform follow-up travel to follow an autonomous vehicle with an autonomous driving function or an unmanned aircraft. The processor is configured to send the follow-up command to a work vehicle with a follow-up travel function.