Shared Sensor Infrastructure for Autonomous Vehicle Navigation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional autonomous vehicles are limited by expensive and extensive sensor arrays with limited range and perspective, making them costly and unreliable for mass consumer use, as they cannot effectively navigate through complex environments or share sensor data efficiently.
Innovation Solution
A sensor assistance system comprising a sensor support structure to hold sensors above a pathway, capturing measurements and environmental data, which is then communicated to autonomous vehicles via a communication subsystem, allowing multiple vehicles to share the system and reducing costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional autonomous vehicles use extensive sensor arrays, then measurement precision and navigation capability are improved, but device complexity and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a shared sensor system as an intermediary infrastructure between the environment and autonomous vehicles. Instead of each vehicle carrying extensive sensors, a separate sensor system captures environmental data and transmits it to vehicles via communication subsystems. This mediator approach reduces individual vehicle sensor complexity while maintaining measurement precision through the shared infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
The shared sensor system serves multiple autonomous vehicles simultaneously, providing universal environmental measurement capabilities. A single sensor array can support numerous vehicles in the vicinity, making the measurement infrastructure multi-functional and reducing overall system complexity compared to each vehicle having its own extensive sensor array.
2Reliability
If each autonomous vehicle has its own sensor array, then measurement reliability is improved, but cost and device complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the sensor functions of multiple autonomous vehicles into a single shared sensor system. By combining measurement resources and pooling them into a common infrastructure, the system achieves reliable environmental perception without requiring each vehicle to maintain complex individual sensor arrays. The shared system's data is distributed to all participating vehicles.
3Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If extensive sensor arrays are used, then environmental detection capability is improved, but cost increases making it unsuitable for mass consumer use
Solution Approach 1:
The shared sensor system acts as an intermediary that provides advanced environmental detection capabilities without requiring each consumer vehicle to purchase expensive sensor arrays. The detection infrastructure is separated from the vehicles, allowing consumers to access sophisticated sensing capabilities through communication subsystems at a fraction of the cost of individual vehicle-mounted systems.
4Speed
If vehicle-mounted sensors are used, then real-time measurement is achieved, but measurement range and perspective are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The shared sensor system transitions from vehicle-centric localized sensing to a broader spatial perspective. Sensors can be positioned at elevated locations or strategic points in the environment, adding vertical and horizontal dimensions to the measurement coverage. This allows the system to detect objects and environmental conditions beyond the immediate vicinity of any single vehicle while maintaining real-time measurement capabilities through rapid data transmission.
Data Source
AI summary
Apparatuses and methods of operating the same are described. A sensor system including a sensor, a processor, and a communication subsystem. The sensor may measure a defined area of a path located below the sensor system to obtain a sensor measurement. The processor may be coupled to the sensor. The processor may determine at least one of environmental condition information within the defined area or characteristic information associated with an object within the defined area using the sensor measurement. The communication subsystem may be coupled to the processor. The communication subsystem may send at least one of the environmental condition information or the characteristic information to a communication system of a vehicle.