Autonomous Vehicle Intent Display for Obstructed Intersection Awareness
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Solution Overview
Problem
Autonomous vehicles face challenges in effectively communicating their state, intent, and context to other drivers and pedestrians, especially in scenarios where visual access to the roadway or intersection ahead is obstructed, leading to potential safety risks due to unclear intentions and states.
Innovation Solution
The method involves rendering visual representations of the vehicle's current and future states, as well as the state of the intersection or scene ahead, using rear- and front-facing displays, and processing sensor data to update these representations in real-time, allowing other road users to predict the vehicle's actions and understand the surrounding environment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If visual representations of vehicle state and intent are displayed on rear-facing displays, then other drivers and pedestrians can better understand the autonomous vehicle's intentions, but the device complexity increases due to additional display systems and sensor processing requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The rear-facing display system is designed to serve multiple functions: displaying current vehicle state, intended actions, and context information about the environment. This multi-functionality approach consolidates multiple communication needs into a single display system, reducing the need for separate communication devices and thereby managing device complexity while improving safety
Solution Approach 2:
The visual display system acts as an intermediary between the autonomous vehicle's internal state and external road users. By translating complex sensor data and vehicle intentions into simplified visual representations, the intermediary display reduces the cognitive load on other drivers and pedestrians, improving safety without requiring direct complex sensor-to-user communication
2Loss of information
If real-time sensor data processing is implemented to update visual representations, then the information provided to other road users is more accurate and timely, but the use of energy increases due to continuous processing requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements periodic updating of visual representations based on changes in sensor data rather than continuous processing. The display is updated at intervals or when significant changes occur in vehicle state or environment, maintaining information accuracy while reducing the continuous energy consumption associated with real-time processing
Solution Approach 2:
The system pre-processes sensor data to identify significant changes or events that warrant display updates. By preparing and filtering data in advance, the system can update displays only when necessary, reducing the energy burden of continuous real-time processing while maintaining accurate information delivery
3Ease of operation
If multiple visual representations (current state, future state, and context) are displayed simultaneously, then the cognitive load for other drivers is reduced by providing comprehensive information, but the area required for displays increases
Solution Approach 1:
The visual information is segmented into distinct representations: current vehicle state, intended future state, and environmental context. These segmented information elements are displayed in an organized manner on the rear-facing display, allowing comprehensive information delivery without requiring excessive display area, as each segment can be clearly distinguished and understood separately
Data Source
AI summary
One variation of a method for communicating state, intent, and context of an autonomous vehicle includes: at a first time, displaying a first icon representing a current state of a vehicle on a rear-facing visual display arranged on the vehicle; navigating toward an intersection; at a second time, detecting a state of the intersection ahead of the vehicle; rendering a second icon representing the state of the intersection at the second time on the rear-facing visual display; detecting a change in the state of the intersection at a third time succeeding the second time; selecting a next navigation action for the vehicle responsive to the change in the state of the intersection at the third time; prior to executing the next navigation action, rendering a third icon representing the next navigation action on the rear-facing visual display; and autonomously executing the next navigation action.