Off-Road Rut Guidance Control for Vehicle Ground Clearance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Navigating off-road terrain with deep ruts poses challenges due to the need for coordinated propulsive and braking torque, limited steering authority, and the risk of getting stuck or reducing fuel efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle control system with a mode selector for off-road driving assistance, a sensor network to assess rut characteristics, and a controller that generates guidance instructions to maintain increased ground clearance and prevent contact with rutted terrain.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If coordinated propulsive and braking torque is applied to navigate off-road terrain, then vehicle control and traversal capability are improved, but system complexity and control difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses the vehicle's own sensor network and control algorithms to automatically detect rut characteristics and adjust torque application, eliminating the need for external assistance devices and reducing driver burden while maintaining reliable traversal capability
Solution Approach 2:
The control system continuously receives feedback from sensors monitoring rut depth, vehicle position, and terrain characteristics, then automatically adjusts propulsive and braking torque in real-time to navigate ruts effectively without requiring complex manual coordination
2Reliability
If auxiliary devices such as sand ladders or recovery boards are used to traverse deep ruts, then vehicle traversal capability is improved, but device complexity and operational difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The vehicle system autonomously detects when rut depth exceeds traversal thresholds and automatically generates guidance instructions for auxiliary device placement, eliminating the need for drivers to manually assess conditions and position recovery equipment
Solution Approach 2:
The control system acts as an intermediary between the vehicle and auxiliary devices, providing automated guidance instructions that simplify the operation of recovery boards or sand ladders by telling drivers exactly where and how to place them
3Reliability
If vehicle positioning strategy is adjusted to maintain increased ground clearance relative to ruts, then risk of getting stuck is reduced, but fuel efficiency may be impacted
Solution Approach 1:
The vehicle positioning strategy dynamically adjusts ground clearance requirements based on real-time sensor data about rut depth and characteristics, maintaining increased clearance only when necessary to avoid getting stuck while returning to normal positioning when ruts are shallow, thereby optimizing fuel efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the positioning parameter (ground clearance) based on detected rut characteristics, adjusting the vehicle's vertical position relative to ruts only when rut depth exceeds thresholds that would cause the vehicle to get stuck, thus avoiding unnecessary energy consumption
Data Source
AI summary
A method of providing vehicle guidance for traversal of rutted terrain may include employing a sensor network to determine characteristics of ruts in the rutted terrain, and determining a proximity value between a portion of a body of the vehicle and the rutted terrain based on the determined characteristics. The method may further include, responsive to the proximity value being below a proximity threshold, defining a strategy for positioning the vehicle at a point of increased ground clearance relative to the ruts, and providing a guidance instruction to the vehicle according to the defined strategy.