Scout Vehicle Trajectory Sharing for Following Car Safety
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing automated vehicle control systems lack sufficient redundancy for safe operation without a driver, particularly in scenarios with defective sensors or unusual traffic situations, leading to potential system malfunctions.
Innovation Solution
A method and system where a scout vehicle generates and follows a trajectory, recording actual data which is then used to create a setpoint trajectory for a following vehicle, enabling automatic control only if the trajectories and environmental data show sufficient similarity, ensuring high redundancy and safety.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a large number of sensors are installed in the vehicle to provide high redundancy, then the reliability of automatic control is improved, but the device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the sensing functions of multiple vehicles into a unified system. The lead vehicle's sensors detect environmental data and trajectory information, which are then shared with and utilized by following vehicles. This combining approach achieves system-level redundancy without requiring each individual vehicle to be equipped with complete sensor suites, thereby improving reliability while controlling device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The sensor system is designed with multi-functionality, where the same sensors in the lead vehicle serve multiple purposes: detecting environmental obstacles, mapping the trajectory, and providing data for multiple following vehicles simultaneously. This universal use of sensing resources achieves redundancy benefits across the entire platoon without proportionally increasing device complexity in each vehicle.
2Productivity
If extensive automation is implemented to increase efficiency and safety, then the productivity is improved, but the reliability decreases due to potential system malfunctions
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements continuous feedback mechanisms where following vehicles monitor the lead vehicle's trajectory and environmental data in real-time. The control system compares detected conditions against planned trajectories and automatically adjusts or aborts the automated journey when discrepancies indicate potential malfunctions or unsafe conditions. This feedback loop enables extensive automation while maintaining reliability through continuous verification.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary verification of the automated driving path by having the lead vehicle scout and map the trajectory ahead of time. Environmental data and trajectory feasibility are assessed in advance before following vehicles commit to automated following. This preliminary action allows extensive automation to proceed with higher confidence while maintaining reliability through pre-validated path planning.
Data Source
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Figure 3A~3B
AI summary
The invention relates to a method for automatic control of at least one following vehicle (1) wherein a scout trajectory is generated for a scout vehicle (2), the scout vehicle (2) is guided (201) along an actual trajectory, wherein the actual trajectory (201) of the scout vehicle (2) and environmental data of the scout vehicle (202) are detected by means of sensors (11) of the scout vehicle (2). A target trajectory (204) is generated for the following vehicle (1) and environmental data (203) of the following vehicle are detected by means of sensors (21) of the following vehicle (1). The scout trajectory and environmental data (202) of the scout vehicle are transferred to the following vehicle (1) and, if the detected actual trajectory (201) and the generated target trajectory (204) each have at least a certain trajectory similarity to the generated scout trajectory and if the environmental data of the following vehicle (203) have at least a certain environmental data similarity to the environmental data of the scout vehicle (203), an automatic control of the following vehicle (1) is activated along the target trajectory (204). The invention further relates to a system for automatic control of at least one following vehicle (2) by a scout vehicle (1).