Autonomous Vehicle Secondary Collision Control via Virtual Safety Area

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional secondary collision avoidance systems for autonomous vehicles face challenges in maintaining vehicle stability post-primary collision due to sensor and actuator damage, and uncertainty in driver input patterns, leading to a higher risk of secondary collisions.

Innovation Solution

The method involves an autonomous driving controller that selects collision candidate vehicles, estimates the vehicle's moving path, and calculates secondary collision probabilities. It then requests acceleration or deceleration from surrounding vehicles to create a safety area, allowing the autonomous vehicle to move into this area without causing a secondary collision.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Stability of the object's composition

If post-control is used to secure vehicle stability through steering and braking cooperative control after primary collision, then vehicle stability is improved, but the system reliability deteriorates due to sensor and actuator damage from impact

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvevehicle stabilityVSAvoidsensor and actuator reliability

Core Design Contradiction:

Stability of the object's compositionVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary identification of collision candidate vehicles and pre-calculates secondary collision risks before the actual collision occurs. By anticipating potential collision scenarios and preparing avoidance strategies in advance, the system reduces reliance on post-collision sensor data and actuator responses that may be compromised by impact damage.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system introduces an autonomous driving controller as an intermediary that coordinates communication between multiple vehicles involved in a collision scenario. This mediator facilitates cooperative control by transmitting control commands to surrounding vehicles, enabling collective avoidance of secondary collisions without requiring the damaged sensors and actuators of the primary vehicle to function perfectly.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Productivity

If post-control is applied to manage vehicle behavior after primary collision, then collision response is improved, but the system adaptability deteriorates due to uncertainty in driver input patterns

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecollision response efficiencyVSAvoiddriver input pattern adaptability

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The system enables surrounding vehicles to autonomously adjust their own driving behavior in response to the collision scenario. Each vehicle serves itself by automatically implementing speed adjustments and position changes based on received control commands, eliminating the need to predict or adapt to uncertain driver inputs. The autonomous driving controllers directly manage vehicle responses without relying on driver decision-making.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

3Measurement precision

If conventional secondary collision avoidance systems are used, then collision detection is improved, but the harmful factors increase due to inability to prevent secondary collisions from lane breach

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecollision detection accuracyVSAvoidsecondary collision risk

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The system expands the collision avoidance approach from single-vehicle reactive control to multi-vehicle cooperative control in spatial and temporal dimensions. By involving surrounding vehicles in the avoidance maneuver through coordinated speed and position adjustments, the system creates a multi-dimensional safety zone that prevents secondary collisions even when the primary vehicle breaches its lane, thereby reducing harmful factors beyond what conventional detection systems can achieve.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

Data Source

PatentUS20250033631A1Secondary collision avoidance control method of autonomous vehicle

Publication Date: 2025.01.30 HYUNDAI MOTOR CO LTD

AI summary

A secondary collision avoidance control method of an autonomous vehicle includes: selecting, by an autonomous driving controller, a collision candidate vehicle based on sensor signals, estimating, by the autonomous driving controller, a moving path of the autonomous vehicle using the sensor signals, upon determining that collision of the autonomous vehicle with the collision candidate vehicle occurs, estimating, by the autonomous driving controller, secondary collision occurrence probabilities of the autonomous vehicle with the other vehicles, upon determining that the autonomous vehicle breaches an adjacent lane, confirming, by the autonomous driving controller, positions of additional collision candidate vehicles traveling in the lane breached by the autonomous vehicle, and calculating safety distances between the autonomous vehicle and the additional collision candidate vehicles, and controlling, by the autonomous driving controller, steering, driving torque, and braking torque of the autonomous vehicle so as to move the autonomous vehicle to a virtual safety area.