Neighborhood Driver Alerts for Road Impediment Detection
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Drivers often become complacent and fail to notice road impediments, especially in familiar areas, leading to potential accidents due to distracted or 'autopilot' driving.
Innovation Solution
A neighborhood area network system that uses detection devices like cameras to identify and alert drivers of impediments through a distributed ledger and communication network, ensuring timely and accurate information sharing among vehicles and residences.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If drivers rely on familiar routes and autopilot driving, then driving efficiency and routine are improved, but driver attention and hazard detection deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback by capturing images of the road environment with cameras, analyzing them to detect impediments, and providing real-time alerts to drivers through their vehicles. This closed-loop feedback mechanism compensates for the reduced driver attention during autopilot driving, maintaining hazard detection capability without compromising driving efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary system (automated detection and alert system) that acts as a mediator between the road environment and the driver. This intermediary performs the hazard detection function that would otherwise require direct driver attention, allowing the driver to maintain autopilot driving while still receiving critical safety information
2Reliability
If drivers pay full attention to the road, then hazard detection is improved, but driving becomes less routine and more mentally demanding
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces the mechanical/cognitive process of continuous driver attention with an automated detection system using cameras and image analysis algorithms. This substitution maintains high hazard detection reliability while freeing the driver from constant mental engagement, preserving driving routine and ease of operation
3Reliability
If a neighborhood area network system is implemented to detect and alert drivers of impediments, then driver awareness and safety are improved, but system complexity and infrastructure requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs multi-functional components that serve multiple purposes: cameras capture both security footage and road impediment data, resident computers function as both general-purpose devices and detection system nodes, and vehicle systems provide both entertainment/navigation and alert reception. This universality reduces overall system complexity by leveraging existing infrastructure
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements self-service through automated image analysis algorithms that independently process captured images to detect impediments, eliminating the need for manual monitoring. The distributed ledger automatically records and verifies alert information, and the system self-configures by identifying vehicles and residences within the neighborhood, reducing operational complexity
Data Source
AI summary
The disclosure generally pertains to systems and methods for providing driver alerts inside a neighborhood. In an example embodiment, a neighborhood area network of computers is used to convey to a driver in the neighborhood, a driver alert about a driving impediment present on a road outside a residence. The driving impediment, which may be, for example, a vehicle, a trash receptacle, or an individual, is detected by a detection device (a camera, for example). The detection device informs a computer located in the residence of the driving impediment. The computer then communicates via the neighborhood area network with a computer in the vehicle to alert the driver. In some implementations, information pertaining to driving impediments in the neighborhood may be entered into a distributed ledger by using a blockchain mode of operation. The computer in the vehicle can access the distributed ledger to obtain this information.