Autonomous Vehicle Priority Path Control Using Moving Position-Targets
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing transportation systems face challenges in efficiently navigating autonomous vehicles while minimizing traffic jams, collisions, and integrating with non-autonomous vehicles, particularly when higher-priority vehicles such as emergency or mass-transit vehicles are involved, often leading to inflexible control schemes that compromise system efficiency and user experience.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a moving position-target vehicle control scheme that assigns autonomous vehicles to virtual targets along roadways, adjusting their speed and heading to maintain safe distances, and dynamically reassigning position targets to avoid interference with higher-priority vehicles, allowing for flexible lane usage and integration with non-autonomous vehicles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If autonomous vehicles follow fixed moving position-targets, then traffic flow control is simplified, but collisions and interference with higher-priority vehicles cannot be avoided
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts moving position-targets based on real-time detection of higher-priority vehicles. When a higher-priority vehicle is detected, the system modifies existing position-targets or creates new ones to redirect autonomous vehicles away from potential conflict zones, transforming static trajectory control into adaptive dynamic control.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors the roadway for higher-priority vehicles and uses this feedback to adjust moving position-targets in real-time. This closed-loop control ensures that autonomous vehicles receive updated navigation instructions that prevent interference with emergency vehicles, mass-transit vehicles, or human-operated vehicles while maintaining overall traffic flow efficiency.
2Productivity
If autonomous vehicles maintain strict lane discipline, then traffic organization is improved, but flexibility to accommodate higher-priority vehicles is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables dynamic lane usage by allowing autonomous vehicles to deviate from their assigned lanes when higher-priority vehicles are present. Moving position-targets are adjusted to guide vehicles into alternative lanes or temporary holding areas, providing the flexibility needed to accommodate emergency response vehicles, mass-transit vehicles, or human-operated vehicles while maintaining organized traffic flow through centralized control.
3Reliability
If the system prioritizes higher-priority vehicles by creating exclusion areas, then safety is improved, but traffic disturbances and delays increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the roadway into zones affected by higher-priority vehicles and uses moving position-targets to guide autonomous vehicles around these segments rather than stopping entirely. By dividing the avoidance maneuver into sequential position adjustments rather than complete stops, the system maintains safety through exclusion areas while minimizing overall traffic delay.
Solution Approach 2:
The system proactively adjusts moving position-targets before autonomous vehicles would naturally enter exclusion areas created by higher-priority vehicles. By predicting potential conflicts and redirecting vehicles in advance, the system prevents traffic disturbances rather than reacting to them, reducing delays while maintaining safety through preemptive route adjustments.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, apparatuses, and systems for navigating vehicles along a roadway are described. A transportation system can control a set of autonomous vehicles navigating along a section of a roadway by providing a set of moving position-targets. The set of autonomous vehicles includes a first vehicle following a first moving position-target. The system determines a priority path for a second vehicle having a right-of-way priority along the section of the roadway, and associated with an exclusion area. The system then determines, based on location information for the first vehicle, that the first vehicle interferes with the exclusion area. A revised moving position-target is configured to remove the first vehicle from the exclusion area. The system then transmits, to the first vehicle, route information corresponding to the revised moving position-target, causing the first vehicle to avoid the exclusion area.