Obstacle Determination Device Using Dynamic Reference Height
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Solution Overview
Problem
The accuracy of obstacle determination for vehicles decreases when encountering small solid objects, leading to potential erroneous collision avoidance maneuvers and disrupted vehicle travel.
Innovation Solution
An obstacle determination device that adjusts its reference height based on the relative positional relation between detected solid objects and the vehicle's travel lane boundaries, distinguishing between potential obstacles within the lane (e.g., road construction) and outside obstacles (e.g., curbs, guard rails) by setting different reference heights for inside and outside lane positions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a fixed reference height is used for obstacle determination, then the device complexity is reduced, but the measurement precision of obstacle detection deteriorates for small objects
Solution Approach 1:
The reference height is changed dynamically based on the detected position of the solid object relative to the separation line. When the object is detected outside the traveling lane, a first reference height is used; when inside, a second reference height is used. This dynamic adjustment resolves the contradiction by adapting the determination criterion to the spatial context, improving accuracy without requiring a single complex multi-criteria system.
Solution Approach 2:
Different reference heights are applied to different spatial zones: outside the traveling lane and inside the traveling lane. This local differentiation allows the system to use appropriate thresholds for each zone, improving measurement precision for small objects outside the lane while maintaining reasonable complexity through zone-based simplification.
2Measurement precision
If a lower reference height is used to detect small obstacles outside the lane, then the measurement precision improves, but the reliability of obstacle determination deteriorates due to increased false positives
Solution Approach 1:
The detection space is segmented into two distinct zones by the separation line: outside the traveling lane and inside the traveling lane. Each zone has its own reference height criterion. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by isolating the low-threshold detection to the outside-zone where small obstacles like curbs are expected, preventing false positives inside the lane where only significant obstacles should trigger warnings.
3Reliability
If a higher reference height is used to reduce false positives inside the lane, then the reliability improves, but the measurement precision deteriorates for small obstacles
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the detection space into inside-lane and outside-lane zones with different reference heights, the system achieves high reliability inside the lane (using higher threshold) while maintaining high precision for small obstacles outside the lane (using lower threshold). The segmentation allows each zone to have optimized criteria without compromising the other.
Solution Approach 2:
The reference height criterion is made local to the spatial zone rather than global. Outside the lane, a lower local threshold detects small curbs and guardrails; inside the lane, a higher local threshold filters false positives. This local quality adjustment resolves the contradiction between reliability and precision.
Data Source
AI summary
An obstacle determination device that determines whether a solid object present in a travelling direction of a subject vehicle is an obstacle that the vehicle should avoid, and determines the solid object is an obstacle by comparing the height of the solid object to a reference height. The reference height is set based on a relative positional relation between a separation line detected by a separation line detection unit and the solid object. And, when the separation line is present between the solid object and the subject vehicle, the reference height is set such that the solid object is more likely to be determined as an obstacle, as compared to when the separation line is not present between the solid object and the subject vehicle.