1:5 Scale Autonomous Vehicle Research Platform
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current autonomous vehicle research faces challenges in replicating real-world driving conditions due to high costs and safety concerns with full-scale vehicles, and scaled platforms lack adequate sensing and computing capabilities for state-of-the-art algorithms, leading to unreproducible results and limited testing capabilities.
Innovation Solution
A robust autonomous vehicle research system featuring a 1:5 scale RC truck platform with a sensing, control, and data logging unit, capable of wireless communication and autonomous operation, equipped with a protective enclosure and standard consumer computing components for enhanced payload capacity and performance, allowing for remote and autonomous control modes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If full-scale vehicles are used for autonomous driving research, then the testing realism and data accuracy are improved, but the cost and safety risks increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses scaled-down vehicle models (1:10 to 1:5 scale) as copies of full-scale vehicles to conduct autonomous driving research. These scaled models replicate the essential dynamics and control characteristics of full-scale vehicles while eliminating safety risks and reducing costs. The system includes scaled vehicles with integrated sensors, processors, and actuators that mimic full-scale vehicle behavior, allowing researchers to gather meaningful data without the hazards of testing actual autonomous vehicles.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If scaled vehicles are used for autonomous driving research, then the cost and safety risks are reduced, but the sensing and computing capabilities are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the scale parameter of the vehicle system to 1:10 or 1:5 of full-scale vehicles, which allows the vehicle to be small enough for safety and cost-effectiveness while large enough to carry adequate sensors and computing hardware. This parameter optimization enables the scaled vehicle to support state-of-the-art sensing and computing algorithms while maintaining manageable size and weight, thus resolving the contradiction between payload capacity and safety/cost constraints.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If 1:10 scale vehicles are used, then the cost and safety are improved, but the vehicle dynamics differ significantly from full-scale vehicles
Solution Approach 1:
The patent optimizes the scale parameter from 1:10 to 1:5 of full-scale vehicles to improve dynamic similarity. The larger 1:5 scale vehicles better preserve the mass, inertia, and aerodynamic properties of full-scale vehicles, resulting in more accurate dynamic behavior. This parameter adjustment allows the scaled vehicles to exhibit dynamics closer to full-scale vehicles while still maintaining safety and cost advantages, thus resolving the contradiction between scale reduction and dynamic fidelity.
4Ease of manufacture
If scaled platforms are used for autonomous driving research, then the accessibility and cost are improved, but the reproducibility of results deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal scaled vehicle platform with standardized components, sensors, and control systems that can be used across multiple research studies and institutions. The system includes reusable hardware modules and standardized interfaces that enable different research groups to replicate experiments consistently. This universal platform design allows the system to serve multiple research purposes while ensuring reproducible results, resolving the contradiction between accessibility and reproducibility.
Data Source
AI summary
An autonomous vehicle research system includes a vehicle having an attached frame and an engine. A sensing, control and data logging unit, mounted on the frame and in control communication with the engine senses vehicle operational parameters, controls the engine and to steering, and transmits operational data and log operational data. An operator control unit in communication with the sensing, control and data logging unit receives operational data from the sensing, control and data logging unit and presents visual real time display of the operational data. The operator control unit includes a manual cut-off switch that causes the engine to cease moving the vehicle. A remote control unit is manually switchable between a remote control mode and an autonomous control mode. In the remote control mode, the user controls the vehicle remotely. In the autonomous mode, the sensing, control and data logging unit controls the vehicle autonomously.