Lane Change Timing Determination Using Nearby Vehicle Acceleration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing lane change assistance systems do not effectively determine when a nearby vehicle has conceded space for a safe lane change, relying on inter-vehicle distance and time-to-collision, and fail to consider vehicles ahead, leading to inefficiencies in lane changing operations.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle system that includes a surroundings information acquisition device to gather data on nearby vehicles and an electronic control unit to compute distances and determine lane change permission, switching from 'not permitted' to 'permitted' when a nearby vehicle decelerates or accelerates, allowing for quick lane changes when space is opened up, even if the distance is initially below a threshold.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If lane change permission is determined solely based on inter-vehicle distance and time-to-collision, then the determination process is simple, but the system fails to detect when a nearby vehicle has conceded space, reducing lane change efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary detection of the nearby vehicle's acceleration state before making the lane change permission determination. By monitoring whether the nearby vehicle is accelerating or decelerating in advance, the system can identify when space is being conceded, enabling timely lane change permission without requiring complex real-time calculations during the decision moment.
Solution Approach 2:
The determination criteria dynamically adjust based on the nearby vehicle's motion state. When the nearby vehicle is accelerating (conceding space), the system permits lane change even if the distance is below the standard threshold. This dynamic adaptation allows the system to respond flexibly to changing conditions rather than relying on fixed distance thresholds.
2Speed
If the system uses a fixed distance threshold for lane change permission, then the determination is straightforward, but it prevents quick lane changes when nearby vehicles decelerate to concede space
Solution Approach 1:
The lane change permission determination dynamically adjusts the distance threshold based on the nearby vehicle's acceleration state. When the nearby vehicle is detected to be accelerating or decelerating, the system temporarily relaxes the distance threshold requirement, allowing lane changes at shorter distances. This dynamic adjustment enables quick response to conceded space while maintaining safety through continuous monitoring of the nearby vehicle's motion trends.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors the nearby vehicle's acceleration state and uses this feedback to adjust lane change permission in real-time. By incorporating feedback about whether the nearby vehicle is accelerating or decelerating, the system can adaptively permit or deny lane changes based on the current spatial situation, ensuring both responsiveness and safety.
3Ease of operation
If the system monitors all nearby vehicles continuously, then comprehensive safety is ensured, but unnecessary information is presented to the driver, reducing convenience
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies different monitoring intensities to different nearby vehicles based on their local characteristics. Instead of uniformly monitoring all nearby vehicles, the system focuses its attention on vehicles that are accelerating or decelerating - those that are actively conceding or claiming space. This localized quality approach ensures relevant information is captured while filtering out unnecessary data from vehicles in stable states.
Solution Approach 2:
The system extracts and focuses on the critical attribute of nearby vehicles - their acceleration state. By specifically detecting and responding to vehicles that are accelerating or decelerating, the system separates the relevant information (vehicles changing speed) from the irrelevant information (vehicles maintaining constant speed), presenting only the necessary alerts to the driver.
Data Source
AI summary
In a vehicle or a lane change timing determination method, when a distance from a vehicle to a nearby vehicle is outside of a first distance threshold value, lane changing is determined to be permitted. When the distance is within the first distance threshold value, lane changing is determined not to be permitted. After determining lane changing to be not permitted, lane changing not being permitted is switched to lane change being permitted when the nearby vehicle decelerates or accelerates to move further away from the vehicle than a second distance threshold value, even if the distance is still within the first distance threshold value.