Follower Vehicle Behavior Models for Doors and Elevators
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional self-driving vehicles lack the ability to cooperatively navigate through various structural elements like doors and elevators in a manner that mimics human behavior, leading to unnatural interactions with human leaders and potential obstructions.
Innovation Solution
A self-driving follower vehicle equipped with behavior models that use sensors and computer instructions to execute actions such as pausing, waiting, and proceeding through structural elements in synchronization with human leaders, allowing it to navigate cooperatively and efficiently.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If traditional self-driving vehicles navigate through structural elements, then they can maintain basic autonomous functionality, but they create obstructions and fail to cooperate with human leaders
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the copying principle by creating behavior models that replicate human navigation patterns through structural elements. The system observes and records how human leaders naturally interact with doors, elevators, and other structural features, then copies these behaviors into executable models that guide the follower vehicle. This allows the vehicle to mimic human-like pausing, waiting, and proceeding actions, eliminating obstructions while maintaining autonomous navigation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-establishing behavior models before the follower vehicle encounters structural elements. These models are developed through prior observation and analysis of human behavior patterns. When the vehicle approaches a door or elevator, the appropriate pre-coded behavior is automatically executed, allowing the vehicle to anticipate and prepare for cooperative navigation scenarios rather than reacting in real-time.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the follower vehicle executes complex behavior models, then cooperative navigation improves, but computational requirements and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing complex navigation scenarios into discrete, manageable behavior models for specific structural elements. Instead of one monolithic complex system, the patent creates separate behavior models for doors, elevators, and other individual features. Each model handles a specific interaction type, making the overall system more modular, easier to manage, and simpler to execute despite comprehensive cooperative capabilities.
Data Source
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AI summary
Provided is a method of modeling behavior for a self-driving vehicle, e.g., as a follower vehicle. Also provided is a vehicle configured to execute the behavior model to cooperatively navigate at least one structural element in an environment. The structural element can be or include a door, a vestibule, and/or an elevator, as examples. The behavior model can be formed by a method that includes tracking and measuring leader-follower interactions and actions with at least one structural element of an environment, representing the leader behaviors and the follower behavior in a behavior model, and electronically storing the behavioral model. The leader-follower interactions and actions can include leader behaviors and follower behaviors, including starts, stops, pauses, and movements of the leader, follower vehicle, and/or objects.