Predictive Traffic Analysis for Heavy Equipment Collision Avoidance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing traffic analysis systems for heavy equipment on worksites, such as minesites, are inadequate as they do not account for future predicted positions of machines and often generate false alarms due to transient presence of other machines, leading to unnecessary operator alerts and failing to assess unsafe conditions effectively.
Innovation Solution
A system that uses a locating device and controller to determine the projected position of a machine based on its velocity and yaw rate, identifying a predicted zone and assessing the presence of other machines within it, thereby determining if an unsafe condition exists by analyzing the distance between machines in real-time.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If predefined areas are set in front of a vehicle to detect other vehicles, then collision warning is provided, but false alarms occur when other vehicles transiently enter the area without posing real collision threat
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by predicting the future position of the host vehicle based on current velocity and yaw rate before evaluating other vehicles' positions. This allows the system to set dynamic monitoring zones that account for where the vehicle will be, not just where it is now, reducing false alarms while maintaining collision warning accuracy
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies dynamics by making the monitoring zone dynamic rather than static. The predicted zone changes continuously based on the host vehicle's velocity and yaw rate, allowing the monitoring area to adapt to the vehicle's movement trajectory. This dynamic adjustment reduces false alarms by only alerting when other vehicles are in positions that will actually pose a collision risk
2Device complexity
If static predefined areas are used for monitoring, then system complexity is reduced, but future predicted positions of the machine are not taken into account
Solution Approach 1:
The system calculates the host vehicle's projected position in advance using current velocity and yaw rate data before determining which zones to monitor. This preliminary calculation of future position enables the system to proactively identify potential collision risks rather than reactively responding to vehicles entering static zones
Solution Approach 2:
The system adds a temporal dimension to the monitoring by incorporating future predicted positions. Instead of monitoring only the current spatial position, the system evaluates positions along the vehicle's trajectory over time, creating a four-dimensional monitoring approach (three spatial dimensions plus time) that captures future collision risks
3Reliability
If alarm is triggered as soon as another machine enters predefined area, then safety warning is provided, but unnecessary operator alerts occur when no real collision threat exists
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary evaluation by determining the host vehicle's projected position before triggering alerts. It only warns operators when other vehicles are in predicted zones that will actually pose a collision risk, filtering out transient entries that won't lead to collisions and thus reducing unnecessary alerts while maintaining safety
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses feedback by continuously updating the predicted zone based on real-time velocity and yaw rate data. This closed-loop approach ensures alerts are only generated when the dynamic prediction indicates a genuine collision risk, improving the accuracy of safety warnings and reducing operator fatigue from false alerts
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method of analyzing traffic in a vicinity of a first machine is disclosed. The method may include determining, by one or more computer processors, a projected position of the first machine based on a yaw rate and velocity of the first machine. The method may further include determining, by the one or more computer processors, a predicted zone in the vicinity of the first machine based on the projected position of the first machine. The method may further include determining whether a second machine is present in the predicted zone. In response to determining that the second machine is present in the predicted zone, the method may further include determining whether an unsafe condition exists between the first machine and the second machine.