Road Train Dolly Collision Avoidance via Tractor-Only Sensing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing collision avoidance systems for road trains, particularly those involving trailers or dollies, face challenges in detecting obstacles outside the tractor's trajectory due to practical and geometrical constraints, making it difficult to install sensors on trailers or use rearview mirrors effectively.
Innovation Solution
A collision avoidance system for road trains that relies on sensors installed on the tractor, using exteroceptive and proprioceptive sensors to detect environmental data, compute trajectories, and determine potential collisions, with an interface to alert the operator or actuate autonomous braking/trajectory planning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If sensors are installed on trailers or dollies to detect obstacles, then collision detection capability is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the sensing function from the trailers/dollies and concentrates all sensors on the tractor only. The tractor's sensors detect obstacles, and the processor computes trajectories for all trailers/dollies using mathematical models, eliminating the need for sensors on each trailer or dolly while maintaining collision detection capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The tractor serves multiple functions: it acts as the primary sensing platform for all trailers/dollies, the computing platform for trajectory prediction, and the control center for the entire road train system. This universal approach allows one vehicle to perform what would traditionally require multiple distributed sensors across the entire articulated vehicle.
2Loss of information
If rearview mirrors are used to view trailers, then operator awareness is improved, but geometrical constraints prevent effective coverage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical rearview mirror system with an electronic computing system. Instead of using mirrors to physically reflect images to the operator, the system uses sensors to detect obstacles and a processor to compute whether trailers/dollies will intersect with detected objects, providing awareness that mirrors cannot geometrically achieve.
3Reliability
If trailers and dollies are made visible to the operator, then collision awareness is improved, but practical constraints prevent sensor installation on dollies
Solution Approach 1:
The sensing function is extracted from the dollies and centralized on the tractor. This allows the system to achieve collision avoidance effectiveness without the practical installation constraints that would require modifying each individual dolly with sensors.
4Measurement precision
If trajectory computation is performed for each dolly individually, then collision detection accuracy is improved, but computational complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary computation by calculating the trajectory of each dolly in advance using mathematical models based on the tractor's motion and the coupling geometry. This preliminary trajectory computation allows the system to assess collision risk before actual collision occurs, improving detection accuracy while managing computational complexity through efficient modeling.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
A collision avoidance system for road trains that relies strictly on sensors installed on the tractors yet is effective at avoiding collisions between the dollies and obstacles and a method for operaing the system are disclosed. The collision avoidance system includes at least one exteroceptive sensor mounted to the tractor and configured to acquire environmental data, at least one proprioceptive sensor mounted to the tractor and configured to acquire a tractor direction, a tractor speed and/or a tractor velocity, and at least one processor configured to detect objets based on the environmental data, compute a trajectory of each of the at least one dolly based on dimensions of the tractor, dimensions of the at least one dolly, a number of the at least one dolly, the tractor direction, the tractor speed and/or the tractor velocity, and determine whether the trajectory intersects a boundary of one of the objects.