Vehicle Safety System Threshold Control for Pedestrian Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle safety systems face challenges in accurately anticipating and responding to potential collisions with pedestrians or cyclists, often resulting in false-positive deployments due to misinterpretation of signals from pre-crash sensors, which can lead to inappropriate activation of external airbags and hood lifters.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle safety system that integrates pre-crash sensors (radar, vision, and infrared systems) with in-crash sensors, using object classification and speed analysis to set specific thresholds for activating the external safety system, thereby reducing false triggers and ensuring precise deployment based on the type and speed of the approaching object.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If deployment thresholds are lowered to ensure timely airbag activation, then response time is improved, but inappropriate activation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary classification and validation of detected objects before triggering deployment. By pre-processing sensor data to identify and classify objects as pedestrians or non-pedestrians, and by pre-calculating deployment parameters based on object characteristics, the system enables rapid response when a true pedestrian is detected while preventing inappropriate activation through advance verification.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediate processing stage between sensor detection and airbag deployment that includes object classification, validation, and decision logic. This intermediary layer acts as a mediator that can rapidly process validated pedestrian detections while blocking inappropriate triggers, thus maintaining fast response times for legitimate cases while filtering out false positives.
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
The system effectively reduces false-positive deployments by using combined sensor data to classify objects and adjust thresholds, ensuring timely and appropriate activation of safety measures, thereby enhancing pedestrian protection and reducing the risk of injury.
Implementation Method 1
Radar sensing systems also have applicability in deploying external airbags. Radar sensors provide a number of valuable inputs, including the ability to detect the range to the closest object with a high degree of accuracy (e.g. 5 cm). They can also provide an output enabling measurement of closing velocity to a target with high accuracy.
Implementation Method 2
A further alternative object detection system for a vehicle comprises an infrared camera for gathering an image of at least a part of the surroundings of the vehicle; and a processor for applying an algorithm to at least a part of the image gathered by the camera, the algorithm identifying non-relevant hot or warm objects detected by the camera
Data Source
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Figure 2b
AI summary
The present invention relates to a vehicle safety system comprising an external safety system for protecting a pedestrian, and a device for activating the external safety system (13, 14)the device being connected to a pre-crash sensor system (10, 11) and an in-crash sensor system(16). The device is arranged to perform an object classification of a first signal (A1) from the pre-crash sensor system (10, 11). The device is further arranged to determine a threshold (T1, T2) for the in-crash sensor system(16) as a function of the object classification; where the device is arranged to set a first threshold(T1)as a function of a first signal (A1) indicating no object detected or an object classified as a pedestrian; and to set a second threshold(T2), higher than the first threshold (T1), as a function of a first signal (A1) indicating an object classified as a non-pedestrian; and that the device is arranged to compare a second signal (A2) from the in-crash sensor system (16) withthe threshold (T1, T2), whereby the external safety system (13, 14)is activated if the set threshold (T1, T2) is exceeded.