Forklift Load Path Overlay for Collision Avoidance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing driver assistance systems for industrial trucks, such as forklifts, fail to accurately display the travel path of loads transported, leading to unreliable estimation of load dimensions and potential collisions due to distortion of objects extending above the plane of the floor in the display.
Innovation Solution
A method that uses a camera, image processing device, and display system to superimpose the travel path of the load on the surrounding area images, allowing for a reliable calculation and display of load dimensions, including virtual models of loads and accessories, and considers the position and orientation of side shifters, providing a clear spatial reference for the driver.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a camera system is used to display the surrounding area and vehicle travel path, then the driver's awareness of the surrounding area is improved, but the display of load dimensions and travel path becomes distorted and unreliable
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the display information by separating the vehicle travel path display from the load travel path display. The camera captures the surrounding area while the system independently calculates and overlays both the vehicle's expected path and the load's expected path, allowing each to be displayed with appropriate accuracy without distortion from the other.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces an intermediary calculation layer between the camera input and the final display. Instead of directly displaying camera images with superimposed paths, the system uses geometric calculations based on vehicle parameters, steering angle, and load characteristics to generate accurate travel path predictions that are then overlaid on the camera feed, serving as a mediator that transforms raw visual data into precise predictive information.
2Device complexity
If the system displays only the vehicle's fixed contour travel path, then the display complexity is reduced, but the safety and maneuverability guidance for loads is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges multiple information layers into a single integrated display: the camera-captured surrounding area, the calculated vehicle travel path, and the calculated load travel path are combined into one unified visual presentation. This allows the driver to see all critical information simultaneously without managing multiple separate displays, maintaining simplicity while enhancing safety.
Solution Approach 2:
The system adds a predictive dimension to the display by showing not just the current vehicle position but the expected future positions of both the vehicle and load. By calculating and displaying travel paths that extend into the future based on current steering input, the system provides temporal dimensionality that helps drivers anticipate collisions before they occur.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for providing driver assistance for an industrial truck and an industrial truck, particularly a forklift, including capturing steering movement of a steering device of the industrial truck, capturing images of at least part of a surrounding area of the industrial truck using at least one camera, superimposing both a travel path of contours of the industrial truck and a travel path of contours of a load transported on the industrial truck corresponding to the captured steering movement on the captured images, and displaying the captured images having the superimposed travel paths of contours of the industrial truck and the load transported on the industrial truck on a display device disposed in a region of a driver's position of the industrial truck. The contours of the load are obtained from a measurement system of the industrial truck or from virtual models of loads stored in an image processing device.