Mine Traffic Control System for Manned and Autonomous Vehicle Separation
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Solution Overview
Problem
In mines, manned vehicles operating alongside autonomous haulage vehicles experience operator discomfort due to the larger size of autonomous vehicles, which existing traffic control systems fail to adequately address when vehicles travel together, especially when passing or sharing lanes.
Innovation Solution
A traffic control system that manages drive zones dynamically, allowing manned vehicles to avoid close proximity to autonomous vehicles by setting and managing travel-permitted zones on adjacent lanes, ensuring safe passage and operation through communication networks and navigation systems.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If autonomous haulage vehicles and manned vehicles travel together on the same road, then productivity is improved through efficient resource utilization, but operator comfort and safety are reduced due to the large size of autonomous vehicles causing oppressive feelings
Solution Approach 1:
The road is divided into multiple travel lanes, and the system segments the traffic flow by assigning specific lanes to autonomous vehicles and other vehicles at different times. This segmentation allows both types of vehicles to coexist efficiently while reducing the oppressive feeling operators experience when sharing the same space, thus maintaining productivity while improving operator comfort.
2Productivity
If autonomous vehicles use the oncoming lane to pass or share road space, then productivity is improved through better road space utilization, but the oppressive feeling of manned vehicle operators is intensified
Solution Approach 1:
The control server preliminarily determines travel lanes for autonomous vehicles before they need to pass or share road space. By pre-planning the route and notifying other vehicles in advance, the system enables efficient road space utilization while allowing manned vehicle operators to prepare mentally and physically, reducing the oppressive feeling caused by sudden proximity to large autonomous vehicles.
3Device complexity
If existing traffic control systems manage autonomous and manned vehicles together, then device complexity is reduced through unified control, but the system fails to adequately address operator discomfort from close proximity
Solution Approach 1:
The control server acts as an intermediary between autonomous vehicles and manned vehicles. It receives travel lane determination requests from autonomous vehicles, calculates appropriate routes considering the positions of other vehicles, and issues travel instructions that maintain safe distances. This intermediary approach maintains relatively simple unified control structure while specifically addressing operator comfort through coordinated lane assignment and distance management.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A~2C
Figure 3
AI summary
A traffic control system is configured of a manned vehicle, which is traveling on one of plural lanes arranged side by side in a mine, and a traffic control device connected with the vehicle. The traffic control device sets a zone of the lane, on which the vehicle is traveling, as a first travel-permitted zone with a travel permission given to the vehicle only. Upon receipt of a request from the vehicle for a travel-permitted zone of an another-lane with a travel permission given only to the vehicle on a lane adjacent the lane on which the vehicle is traveling, the device sets, as the travel-permitted zone of the another-lane, a zone including at least a part of a zone arranged on the adjacent lane side by side with the first travel-permitted zone, and transmits the travel-permitted zone of another-lane to the vehicle. On the vehicle, the travel-permitted zone of the another-lane is displayed on a display screen.