Responder Vehicle Warning for Oncoming Move-Over Collision Risk
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Solution Overview
Problem
First responders at accident or disabled vehicle sites face risks from oncoming vehicles that fail to move over, posing a danger of collision, with existing systems failing to provide timely warnings or preventive measures.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle warning system mounted on responder vehicles uses sensors to detect approaching vehicles, determining their position, speed, and trajectory, and alerts responders through audio, visual, or tactile signals if a collision is likely, allowing for evasive action.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If sensors and processors are added to detect approaching vehicles and calculate collision risk, then responder safety is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the detection task into multiple independent sensor components (cameras, LIDAR, radar) that each capture specific aspects of approaching vehicles. The processor then segments the analysis into distinct steps: detecting vehicle presence, calculating trajectory, determining collision risk, and generating warnings. This modular segmentation improves reliability through redundant detection methods while managing complexity by organizing functions into separate processing stages.
Solution Approach 2:
The processor acts as an intermediary between the raw sensor data and the warning system. It receives multiple data streams from various sensors, processes this information through trajectory calculation algorithms, and translates the complex data into simple, actionable warning signals for responders. This intermediary function consolidates complexity in a centralized processing unit while delivering simplified, reliable safety warnings to end users.
2Measurement precision
If real-time trajectory calculation and collision risk assessment are performed, then warning accuracy is improved, but computational requirements and energy consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary detection of approaching vehicles and calculates their trajectories in advance, before a collision risk actually materializes. By continuously monitoring vehicle position, speed, and direction ahead of time, the system can predict potential collision paths and prepare warning signals. This preliminary action allows for accurate real-time risk assessment without requiring intensive computational processing at the critical moment, thereby reducing peak energy consumption while maintaining high detection accuracy.
3Ease of operation
If multiple alerting methods (audio, visual, tactile) are implemented, then warning effectiveness is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The alerting device is designed with multi-functionality, incorporating audio, visual, and tactile warning capabilities within a single integrated component or system. This universal alerting device can switch between different warning modes or activate multiple modes simultaneously based on the severity and type of collision risk detected. By consolidating multiple alerting functions into one device rather than using separate systems for each warning type, the patent improves warning effectiveness while minimizing the increase in overall system complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system effectively warns first responders of impending collisions, enabling them to take evasive actions and reducing the risk of accidents at crash or disabled vehicle sites.
Implementation Method 1
a sensor mounted to a rescue vehicle that is adapted to sense the position, speed and direction of movement of an approaching vehicle
Data Source
AI summary
A system for alerting a responder at a crash site to take evasive action to an on-coming motor vehicle move-over failure, having a processor, a sensor coupled to the processor, and an alerting device coupled to the processor. The sensor may be an imaging device, radar unit, or similar. The alerting device includes warning lights, a tactile device, and an audio unit for warning signals. The system detects an approaching vehicle, and with a longitudinal axis of a rescue vehicle determines a position angle line and spacing between the system and the approaching vehicle. Through a sequence of positions of the approaching vehicle, the processor determines the possibility of a collision based upon the change in the angle between the longitudinal axis and the position angle line and the approaching vehicle. A method of alerting a responder to a failure of an on-coming vehicle to move over is disclosed.