On-Demand Roadway Crossing via Connected Vehicle Coordination
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Urban and rural areas often lack infrastructure for safe pedestrian crossing of high-traffic roadways, relying on manual compliance of drivers and pedestrians with traffic signals, which is not guaranteed, especially in non-urban areas where crosswalks are scarce or absent.
Innovation Solution
A method and system using connected vehicles and a cloud-hosted program that determines the presence, distance, and speed of vehicles at a requested geo-location, instructing them to reduce speed or stop to create a safe on-demand crosswalk, allowing pedestrians to cross safely through communication with smart devices and vehicle sensors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional crosswalk infrastructure is installed in urban areas, then pedestrian safety is improved, but device complexity and infrastructure cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the crosswalk control function from fixed infrastructure (traffic signals, crosswalk markings) and relocates it to mobile vehicles through V2X communication. Connected vehicles receive instructions to stop or slow down at requested crossing locations, eliminating the need for permanent crosswalk infrastructure while maintaining pedestrian safety.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a cloud-based server as an intermediary that coordinates between pedestrians requesting crossings and connected vehicles. The server receives crossing requests, identifies approaching vehicles, sends stop/slow instructions to vehicles, and confirms when it is safe for pedestrians to cross, mediating the interaction without requiring direct vehicle-pedestrian communication infrastructure.
2Ease of manufacture
If manual compliance with traffic signals is relied upon, then infrastructure cost is reduced, but reliability of pedestrian safety deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback loop where the server continuously monitors vehicle positions and speeds, sends real-time stop/slow instructions to connected vehicles, and receives confirmation of compliance. This active feedback mechanism ensures vehicles actually stop or slow down rather than relying on driver compliance, significantly improving safety reliability while keeping infrastructure costs low.
3Reliability
If connected vehicles are instructed to reduce speed or stop, then pedestrian safety is improved, but productivity of roadway traffic deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic crossing opportunities where pedestrians can request crossings at specific intervals. The server manages these requests and coordinates vehicle stops/slow-downs in a periodic manner rather than continuously, allowing traffic to flow normally between crossing requests while providing safe crossing opportunities when needed, thus balancing safety with traffic productivity.
Data Source
AI summary
In response to receiving a request from a user device for an on-demand crossing of a roadway at a geo-location, a method determines whether connected vehicles on the roadway are approaching the geo-location. A wait-to-cross-the-roadway message is sent to the user's device. In response to determining connected vehicles are approaching the geo-location, a direction, distance, and speed of connected vehicles relative to the geo-location are determined. Instructions are sent to the connected vehicles to reduce speed and allow the user to cross the roadway, including a message to the user device explaining a purpose of the instructions. In response to determining the one or more connected vehicles comply with the instructions, the one or more processors send a safe-to-cross message to the user, and upon detecting successful roadway crossing of the user device, instructing the connected vehicles to resume travel.