Predictive Threat Warning for Occluded Road User Collisions
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Solution Overview
Problem
Autonomous vehicles face challenges in detecting and mitigating collisions with pedestrians or other road users who are outside the field of view of trailing vehicles, due to occlusions or blind spots, which can lead to increased collision risks.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a predictive threat warning system that uses sensors and communication signals to detect potential collisions and alert both the autonomous vehicle and the trailing vehicle, including visual, audio, and V2V/V2X alerts, to prevent or mitigate collisions by modifying alert characteristics based on factors like time to collision, severity, and probability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If sensors are mounted at specific locations on the autonomous vehicle to detect road users, then collision detection capability is improved, but blind spots and occlusions remain that prevent detection of all potential threats
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses the autonomous vehicle itself as an intermediary to detect occluded road users and transmit warning signals to trailing vehicles. The autonomous vehicle's sensors detect road users that are occluded from the trailing vehicle's view, and this information is communicated to the trailing vehicle through V2V communication, enabling the trailing vehicle to take preventive action.
2Reliability
If the autonomous vehicle provides warning signals to trailing vehicles about occluded road users, then safety of trailing vehicles is improved, but communication system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The warning signal system is designed to be multi-functional, serving both as a safety warning mechanism and as information sharing infrastructure. The same V2V communication platform can be used for various types of threat warnings, not just occlusion-related threats, reducing the need for dedicated specialized communication systems.
3Reliability
If multiple alert characteristics are used (visual, audio, V2V/V2X) to warn trailing vehicles, then effectiveness of collision prevention is improved, but system complexity and energy consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The alert system dynamically selects and adjusts the type and intensity of warnings based on the specific threat situation, distance to potential collision, and responsiveness of the trailing vehicle. The system can escalate from subtle V2V warnings to more prominent visual and audio alerts as the situation deteriorates, optimizing energy usage while maintaining effectiveness.
4Reliability
If the autonomous vehicle monitors and predicts collision risks for trailing vehicles, then collision mitigation capability is improved, but computational load and processing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The autonomous vehicle performs preliminary detection and assessment of potential collision risks before they become immediate threats. By continuously monitoring the environment and predicting potential hazards in advance, the system can issue early warnings to trailing vehicles, giving them more time to respond and take preventive actions.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and techniques are provided for vehicle safety technologies. An example method can include determining, based on sensor data captured by an autonomous vehicle, a first position of a different vehicle and a second position of one or more objects; determining, based on the first position of the different vehicle and the second position of the one or more objects, a risk of a collision between the different vehicle and the one or more objects; and based on a determination that the risk of the collision exceeds a threshold, outputting an alert representing a warning of the collision between the different vehicle and the one or more objects, the alert being directed to at least one of the different vehicle and the one or more objects.