Rear-Facing Vehicle Warning with Stereo Vision and Haptic Alerts
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Solution Overview
Problem
Bicycles and electric bikes face safety hazards due to environmental obstacles and vehicles, with existing safety systems failing to provide adequate warnings to riders in a timely and effective manner.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a protective warning system that includes object sensors and haptic devices in handlebars and seats to provide directional feedback, combined with long-range and stereoscopic cameras to detect objects and trigger visual and auditory notifications based on urgency levels, enhancing rider awareness and response time.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If object sensors and haptic devices are integrated into the vehicle, then rider awareness and safety are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple safety components (object sensors, haptic devices in handlebars and seats, visual notifications, and auditory notifications) into an integrated protective warning system. The controller coordinates all these components to work together, merging detection, feedback, and notification functions into a unified system that enhances rider safety while managing complexity through systematic integration.
Solution Approach 2:
The controller serves multiple functions within the system: it processes sensor data, determines object detection, controls haptic feedback devices, manages visual notifications, and coordinates auditory alerts. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate control units and simplifies the overall system architecture while maintaining comprehensive safety coverage.
2Loss of information
If multiple notification devices are added to provide comprehensive warnings, then rider awareness is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The notification system is segmented into distinct channels: haptic feedback through handlebars and seat, visual notifications, and auditory notifications. Each channel serves a specific purpose and can be activated independently based on the situation. This segmentation allows comprehensive rider awareness while keeping each notification component relatively simple and manageable.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates haptic feedback devices that provide tactile warnings to the rider based on detected objects. This feedback mechanism creates a direct sensory connection between the sensor detection and rider awareness, improving information delivery while using simple vibratory or resistive haptic elements rather than complex notification interfaces.
3Measurement precision
If haptic devices are integrated into handlebars and seats, then directional feedback is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Haptic devices are placed at specific locations (handlebars and seat) where they can provide localized directional feedback corresponding to the direction of detected objects. The handlebar haptic devices provide lateral directional information, while the seat haptic device provides longitudinal or general warning feedback. This local placement optimizes directional precision without requiring a complex distributed haptic array.
Data Source
AI summary
A protective warning system for a vehicle is provided. A device comprises: a long-range camera and a stereoscopic camera positioned in a housing to image external objects in a rear-facing direction when the housing is mounted to a vehicle. A controller detects, using images from the long-range camera, an external object in the rear-facing direction and processes stereoscopic images from the stereoscopic camera to determine when the external object is located within a first zone or a second zone extending in the rear-facing direction, the second zone being closer to the stereoscopic camera than the first zone. In response to determining that the external object is located within the first zone or the second zone, the controller controls the one or more notification devices to provide one or more first or second notifications associated with a first or second urgency level.