Portable Autonomous Driving Controller with Universal Vehicle Port
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current autonomous driving technologies integrated into vehicles become obsolete due to rapid technological advancements, are costly to produce, and pose liability issues, as they are custom-made for each vehicle model and not frequently used by most drivers.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising common electronic communication ports in vehicles and universal portable autonomous driving controllers that can be easily plugged in and updated, allowing for efficient and cost-effective autonomous driving capabilities without permanent hardware installation, decoupling liability from automotive OEMs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If autonomous driving systems are permanently integrated into vehicles, then the system reliability and control precision are improved, but the manufacturing cost increases and the system becomes obsolete rapidly due to technological advancements
Solution Approach 1:
The autonomous driving system is divided into two segments: a permanent communication port integrated into the vehicle and a separate portable controller. This segmentation allows the vehicle to maintain reliable connectivity while the autonomous driving functionality is provided by an external, upgradable controller that can be manufactured independently at lower cost.
Solution Approach 2:
The autonomous driving controller is extracted from the vehicle's permanent structure and placed in a portable external device. This extraction eliminates the need for expensive custom integration into each vehicle model while maintaining system reliability through standardized communication protocols.
2Measurement precision
If autonomous driving systems are permanently integrated into vehicles, then the measurement precision and control accuracy are improved, but the adaptability decreases as technology rapidly evolves
Solution Approach 1:
The portable controller is designed to be dynamically replaceable and upgradable. Users can swap controllers or update software to keep pace with technological advancements, ensuring the system remains adaptable while maintaining high control accuracy through standardized interfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The communication port is designed with universal standards that can work with multiple generations of portable controllers. This universality ensures that the vehicle's communication infrastructure remains adaptable while the portable controller can be optimized for specific technological requirements.
3Stability of the object's composition
If autonomous driving systems are permanently integrated into vehicles, then the system stability is improved, but the device complexity and customization requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system is segmented into a stable, simple communication port integrated into the vehicle and a separate portable controller containing all complex autonomous driving components. This reduces the complexity of the permanent vehicle integration while maintaining system stability through standardized connections.
4Reliability
If autonomous driving systems are permanently integrated into vehicles, then the reliability is improved, but the ease of operation decreases since most drivers do not frequently use autonomous driving
Solution Approach 1:
The portable controller enables periodic or on-demand autonomous driving operation rather than permanent activation. Users can insert the controller when autonomous driving is needed and remove it when not needed, making the system as convenient to use as periodic maintenance tasks while maintaining reliability when active.
5Measurement precision
If autonomous driving systems are custom-made for each vehicle model, then the measurement precision and vehicle-specific optimization are improved, but the manufacturing cost and production time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The portable controller uses universal communication protocols that can interface with multiple vehicle models without customization. This allows mass production of a single controller design while maintaining vehicle-specific optimization through software configuration rather than hardware customization.
Data Source
AI summary
This invention includes an autonomous driving system for automobiles, comprising: one or more common electronic communication ports of autonomous driving (communication ports) that are built-in on the automobiles; and one or more universal autonomous driving portable controllers (portable controllers) that are to be plugged-in to the said communication ports that are built-in on the automobiles. The interfaces of the communication ports and the portable controllers are both standardized such that the portable controllers can be plugged-in universally to all of the automobiles that are equipped with the built-in communication ports. The communication ports comprise electronic communication of all relevant electronic control units (ECUs) and feedback information of the automobiles, dedicated for the said portable controllers to communicate with and to control the automobiles. In addition to the portable controllers, the communication ports comprise a buffer that is designed to execute a short duration of controls to make emergency stops, in case of loss of connection with the portable controllers due to accidents or other failure conditions. The portable controllers comprise a central control unit (CCU), and a plurality of sensors and processors, and a plurality of data storages, and a plurality of data links, and a Global Positioning System (GPS). The portable controllers have standardized interfaces that match with that of the communication ports. The invention disclosed herein enables all automobiles to be ready for autonomous driving with minimal cost, provided that the said communication ports are adapted to the automobiles. The said portable controllers integrate all the hardware and software relevant to autonomous driving as standalone devices which can share the components, simplify the systems, reduce parasitic material and components, and most importantly, will be safer when multiple sensors and processors that are based on different physics are grouped together to detect objects and environment conditions. A method of compound sensor clustering (CSC) is introduced herein. The CSC method makes the sensors and processors to self-organize and to address real-world driving conditions. The portable controllers can be mass-produced as standard consumer electronics at lower cost. The portable controllers can also be more easily updated with the latest technologies since that they are standalone devices, which would be otherwise hard to achieve when the hardware and software are built-in permanently as part of the automobiles. The invention disclosed herein is more efficient, since that the portable controllers can be plugged-in to the automobiles when there are needs for autonomous driving, comparing with current methods of integrating autonomous driving control hardware and software that are built-in to automobiles permanently, which may not be used for autonomous driving frequently. The system also decouples the liability from automotive manufactures in case of accidents. The portable controllers can be insured by insurance companies independently, much like insuring human drivers.