Hierarchical Roadside Control for Connected Autonomous Highways
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current autonomous vehicle systems require expensive and complex on-board systems, making widespread implementation of connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) a significant challenge due to the need for detailed and time-sensitive control instructions for vehicle following, lane changing, and route guidance.
Innovation Solution
A comprehensive system that utilizes a hierarchical structure of traffic control centers and units, combined with Road Side Units and vehicle subsystems, to send vehicle-specific control instructions for CAVs, optimizing traffic operations and providing real-time data processing and communication across all levels of highway systems.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If expensive and complicated on-board systems are used for autonomous vehicles, then vehicle control and navigation capabilities are improved, but system cost and complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces Road Side Units (RSUs) as intermediary devices that perform sensing, data processing, and control signal delivery functions externally to the vehicle. These RSUs act as mediators between the traffic control centers and vehicles, providing autonomous driving capabilities without requiring complex on-board sensor suites in each vehicle.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the sensing and control functions from the vehicle on-board systems and relocates them to roadside infrastructure components. By taking out the expensive sensors and complex processing units from individual vehicles and placing them in RSUs and traffic control centers, the system achieves reliable vehicle control while reducing on-board system complexity and cost.
2Reliability
If detailed and time-sensitive control instructions are provided to each vehicle, then traffic flow optimization and safety are improved, but communication data volume and processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the traffic control system into a hierarchical structure with multiple levels: Traffic Control Centers (TCCs) for macroscopic network optimization, Traffic Control Units (TCUs) for segment-level control, and Road Side Units (RSUs) for individual vehicle control. This segmentation allows detailed control instructions to be generated and distributed efficiently through the hierarchy, reducing the communication burden on any single component while maintaining high traffic safety.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds a hierarchical dimension to the control system architecture, organizing control functions across multiple levels (macroscopic TCC, mesoscopic TCU, microscopic RSU). This dimensional organization enables efficient data processing and instruction distribution by handling different types of control tasks at appropriate hierarchical levels, thereby managing communication data volume effectively while providing comprehensive vehicle control.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a hierarchical traffic control system is implemented, then system scalability and coverage area are improved, but system architecture complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the traffic control system into hierarchical segments: macroscopic TCCs that manage large geographic areas and network-level optimization, mesoscopic TCUs that handle intermediate traffic corridors, and microscopic RSUs that control specific road segments and individual vehicles. This segmentation enables the system to scale from small to large deployments by simply adding more hierarchical levels without fundamentally changing the architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The hierarchical traffic control system is designed to be dynamic and adaptive, allowing the activation and deactivation of different hierarchical levels based on deployment scale and traffic conditions. The system can operate with full hierarchical complexity for large-scale deployments or simplify to only necessary levels for smaller implementations, providing scalability while managing architecture complexity through dynamic configuration.
Data Source
AI summary
This invention provides a system-oriented and fully-controlled connected automated vehicle highway system for various levels of connected and automated vehicles and highways. The system comprises one or more of: 1) a hierarchical traffic control network of Traffic Control Centers (TCC's), local traffic controller units (TCUs), 2) A RSU (Road Side Unit) network (with integrated functionalities of vehicle sensors, I2V communication to deliver control instructions), 3) OBU (On-Board Unit with sensor and V2I communication units) network embedded in connected and automated vehicles, and 4) wireless communication and security system with local and global connectivity. This system provides a safer, more reliable and more cost-effective solution by redistributing vehicle driving tasks to the hierarchical traffic control network and RSU network.