Passing Feasibility Check Using Virtual Road Users
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing driver assistance systems sometimes incorrectly indicate that a passing process is possible when it is not, due to limitations in detecting road users and road conditions, leading to potential safety hazards.
Innovation Solution
A method that evaluates the passing possibility condition by determining if the required driving distance for passing is shorter than the detectable stretch of road by a safety interval, considering road users, virtual road users, and road conditions, using sensors like radar and cameras to ensure the condition is only fulfilled if passing is likely, and providing driver instructions or interventions accordingly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the passing possibility is determined based on detected road users and radar range, then the passing recommendation is provided to assist the driver, but false positives occur where passing is recommended when it is actually unsafe
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by introducing a virtual road user concept before actual road users become detectable. The system pre-calculates potential trajectories and positions of road users that could emerge from blind zones, creating hypothetical obstacle models in advance. This allows the passing possibility evaluation to account for undetectable road users before they actually enter the sensor range, preventing false positive passing recommendations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses virtual road users as an intermediary between the limited sensor detection capability and the passing safety evaluation. These virtual entities serve as a mediator that bridges the gap between what sensors can detect and what must be considered for safe passing. By introducing this intermediary layer of hypothetical road users with predicted trajectories, the system can evaluate passing safety more comprehensively without being constrained by sensor detection limits.
2Reliability
If the detection range of surroundings sensors is extended to improve safety, then more road users can be detected, but the device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies copying by creating virtual representations of road users instead of physically detecting every actual road user. Rather than extending sensor ranges to cover all possible road users, the system generates copy models of potential road users based on limited detection data, traffic patterns, and trajectory predictions. These virtual copies allow comprehensive safety evaluation without requiring proportional increases in physical sensor coverage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes parameters by transforming physical detection limitations into computational parameters. Instead of increasing sensor range to improve detection coverage, the system converts the detection gap into a set of computational variables representing potential road user positions, speeds, and trajectories. This parameter transformation allows the system to evaluate passing safety across extended spatial ranges using mathematical models rather than physical sensor extension.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enhances the robustness of passing recommendations by accurately assessing passing feasibility, reducing false positives and ensuring safer driving decisions through precise evaluation of road conditions and user presence.
Implementation Method 1
Vehicles to pass and oncoming vehicles are located by means of a radar unit
Implementation Method 2
surroundings data relating to a stretch of road ahead are detected by means of at least one surroundings sensor
Data Source
AI summary
The discloser relates to a method for checking a passing possibility condition, which is fulfilled if a passing process for the passing of a preceding vehicle by a motor vehicle is presumably possible, wherein ego data relating to the driving operation of the motor vehicle and, by means of at least one surroundings sensor of the motor vehicle, surroundings data relating to a stretch of road ahead are detected, whereupon preceding-vehicle data relating to the preceding vehicle are ascertained on the basis of the surroundings data, whereupon on the basis of the preceding-vehicle data and the ego data, a piece of passing information is ascertained, which describes a minimum required driving distance of the motor vehicle along the stretch of road under specific boundary conditions, which is required for passing the preceding vehicle, whereupon the passing possibility condition is evaluated on the basis of the passing information and, if the presence of a road user in a passing lane usable in conjunction with the passing process is ascertained from the surroundings data, on the basis of a piece of road user information describing said road user, wherein when no road user is detected in the passing lane, the passing possibility condition is fulfilled only if the required driving distance is shorter by a shortening amount than the length of a stretch section of the stretch of road detectable by the surroundings sensor.