Vehicle Platooning Responsibility Agreement System
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Solution Overview
Problem
The formation of a vehicular platoon with semi-autonomous vehicles is hindered by ambiguity in vehicle responsibilities, making it difficult to establish clear control and trust among vehicles and manufacturers.
Innovation Solution
A platoon coordination system that creates a contract or agreement between lead and trailing vehicles, and manufacturers, using autonomous sensors and V2V communication to define and delegate responsibilities, ensuring responsive control and trust through wireless networked communication.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If semi-autonomous vehicles form a platoon without clear responsibility agreements, then fuel savings and operational efficiency are improved, but control ambiguity and trust issues worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the platoon control system into distinct responsibility zones: the lead vehicle retains control of navigation and route selection, while trailing vehicles autonomously manage their own braking, acceleration, and lane changes. This segmentation eliminates control ambiguity by clearly defining which vehicle is responsible for which functions, allowing fuel savings through automated trailing vehicle control without compromising overall platoon reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary communication protocol that establishes formal agreements between lead and trailing vehicles. This intermediary layer translates control intentions into explicit responsibility assignments, ensuring that trailing vehicles understand their autonomous control boundaries while maintaining trust through transparent communication of control decisions and status.
2Productivity
If trailing vehicles use automated driving systems, then operational efficiency is improved, but the ability to monitor road surface and events worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the sensing capabilities of trailing automated vehicles with the human monitoring capability of the lead vehicle driver. The lead vehicle's driver acts as a central monitoring point that aggregates road surface and event information, which is then communicated to trailing vehicles. This merging allows trailing vehicles to maintain automated operational efficiency while still benefiting from human road monitoring through the lead vehicle.
Solution Approach 2:
The lead vehicle serves multiple functions: it navigates the platoon route, monitors road conditions with human judgment, and communicates this information to trailing vehicles. This multi-functionality allows the platoon to achieve operational efficiency through automated trailing vehicles while maintaining reliable road monitoring through the lead vehicle's human driver, who compensates for the automated systems' limitations in interpreting complex road situations.
3Reliability
If clear responsibility agreements are established in platoon formation, then control reliability is improved, but system complexity worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The patent establishes responsibility agreements preliminarily during platoon formation, before the vehicles begin coordinated travel. The lead vehicle and trailing vehicles exchange and confirm their control responsibilities upfront, creating a formal agreement that governs their interaction. This preliminary action ensures control reliability is built into the system architecture from the start, while the agreement framework itself provides a structured approach that limits complexity by establishing clear boundaries before operational complexities arise.
Data Source
AI summary
The systems and methods described herein generally relate to semi-autonomous driving in a vehicular platoon. The lead vehicle initiates the platoon and identifies one or more trailing vehicle positions. Formation information is transmitted to at least one platoon-capable vehicle. A request for joining the platoon is received from the at least one platoon-capable vehicle, the request including acceptance of an agreement from the at least one platoon-capable vehicle, the agreement including lead vehicle responsibilities and trailing vehicle responsibilities. The lead vehicle then controls the platoon based on the lead vehicle responsibilities and delegates control based on the trailing vehicle responsibilities.