Parked Vehicle Sensor Data Sharing for Blind Spot Detection

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

The high cost of deploying and maintaining infrastructure-based Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) for traffic safety, particularly in areas like city streets and parking lots, limits their availability and effectiveness, leaving vulnerable road users at risk due to the inability to detect pedestrians or objects obstructed by parked vehicles.

Innovation Solution

A method where parked vehicles can dynamically determine when to use their sensors and communicate with moving vehicles to provide sensor data for blind spots, optimizing power usage and reducing costs by leveraging vehicle-to-vehicle communications, with requests for sensor information being sent via unicast or broadcast messages, and responses processed to enhance safety and traffic efficiency.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If infrastructure-based ITS systems are deployed to detect pedestrians and improve traffic safety, then road safety and traffic efficiency are improved, but deployment and maintenance costs increase significantly

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveroad safetyVSAvoiddeployment cost
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The patent enables parked vehicles to autonomously provide sensor data to moving vehicles through vehicle-to-vehicle communication. The parked vehicles self-activate their sensors and transmit data without requiring infrastructure deployment, thereby improving road safety while avoiding high infrastructure costs

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The patent makes parked vehicles serve dual functions: their primary parking function and a secondary safety monitoring function. By utilizing the existing sensors in parked vehicles for detecting pedestrians and obstacles, the system achieves infrastructure-like safety coverage without additional infrastructure deployment

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

2Reliability

If sensors in parked vehicles are continuously activated to provide safety data, then detection reliability is improved, but battery consumption increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedetection reliabilityVSAvoidbattery consumption
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements periodic activation of sensors in parked vehicles based on detected conditions. Sensors are activated only when a moving vehicle requests data or when potential hazards are detected, rather than continuous operation, thereby maintaining detection reliability while significantly reducing battery consumption

Inventive Principle:
Principle #19Periodic action

Solution Approach 2:

The system uses feedback mechanisms where moving vehicles broadcast requests for sensor data and parked vehicles respond based on current conditions. This feedback-driven activation ensures sensors are only powered when needed, optimizing the balance between detection reliability and energy consumption

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Data Source

PatentEP3531391B1Method and system for use of sensors in parked vehicles for traffic safety
Publication Date: 2023.01.04 BLACKBERRY LTD
  • EP3531391B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3531391B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3531391B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A method at computing device associated with a parked vehicle, the method including receiving a request for sensor information from an external computing device, the request including an area of interest; activating sensors of the parked vehicle; obtaining sensor data for the area of interest; and providing a response to the external computing device.