Robotic Vehicle Collision Avoidance With Autonomous Hard Stop
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Solution Overview
Problem
Autonomously or remotely operating robotic assets pose collision hazards to nearby personnel due to reliance on safety observers for hard stops, which are prone to human error, loss of Line of Sight, radio communication issues, and congestion from chase vehicles.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle agnostic collision avoidance system (CAS) that uses a combination of wearable and vehicle modules to detect imminent collisions and autonomously initiate a hard stop via a Vehicle Safety Transponder, employing redundant positioning technologies and fail-safe designs to prevent collisions without human intervention.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If safety observers are employed to manually stop robotic vehicles, then collision prevention is achieved, but human error and loss of Line of Sight increase safety risks
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic vehicle autonomously detects collisions and executes stop commands without human intervention. The system uses onboard sensors to detect obstacles and automatically triggers the emergency stop function, making the vehicle self-protecting and eliminating reliance on human observers.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the manual mechanical observation and stopping system with an automated sensor-based detection and control system. Electronic sensors and processors substitute for human observers, providing continuous monitoring and instantaneous response without human limitations.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If chase vehicles and hard stop personnel are deployed, then collision hazards are mitigated, but congestion and operational complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the safety function from external personnel and vehicles, integrating it directly into the robotic vehicle itself. The emergency stop capability is built into the vehicle's control system, eliminating the need for separate chase vehicles and hard stop operators.
Solution Approach 2:
The robotic vehicle independently performs collision detection and stopping operations without requiring external assistance. The system monitors its own environment and autonomously executes safety maneuvers, reducing operational complexity.
3Ease of operation
If radio communication is used for hard stop commands, then remote control is achieved, but communication reliability decreases due to spectrum saturation and antenna orientation
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic vehicle autonomously detects obstacles and executes stop commands without requiring external communication. The system uses onboard sensors to detect collisions and automatically triggers the emergency stop function, eliminating communication dependencies.
Solution Approach 2:
The system proactively detects potential collisions before they occur and autonomously executes preventive stopping maneuvers. By anticipating hazards and acting in advance, the system eliminates the need for reactive communication-based emergency commands.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure provides vehicle collision avoidance system (CAS) that includes a first CAS module for a robotic vehicle that includes an interface to a first network; a hard stop interface communicatively coupled to the robotic vehicle; one or more computer processors; one or more computer readable storage media; and program instructions stored on the one or more computer readable storage media for execution by at least one of the one or more computer processors, the stored program instructions including instructions to: determine a relative position of a second CAS module based on information from the first network; responsive to determining that the second CAS module is within a first distance from the first CAS module, issue an alert; and responsive to determining that the second CAS module is within a second distance from the first CAS module, transmit a hard stop signal to the robotic vehicle.