Vehicle Steering Assistance for Road Track Avoidance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Vehicles create tracks on roads due to repeated travel in the same areas, leading to uneven road wear, increased fuel consumption, and reduced tire efficiency, especially on wet or slippery surfaces.
Innovation Solution
A computer system uses sensors to detect road tracks and issues steering instructions to guide vehicles away from these tracks, maintaining alignment with edges or at a safe distance to prevent tire cooling and improve road wear.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If vehicles drive in the same area of the road, then the vehicle maintains a stable trajectory and easy steering control, but tracks emerge causing uneven road wear and reduced tire efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses sensors to detect the position of tracks on the road and provides feedback to the steering arrangement. The processing circuitry continuously monitors the vehicle's position relative to detected tracks and adjusts steering commands accordingly, creating a closed-loop control system that prevents track formation while maintaining stable trajectory.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces purely mechanical steering control with an automated system that uses sensors, processing circuitry, and electronic steering commands. This substitution allows the system to detect tracks and adjust steering position automatically without relying solely on mechanical feedback from the driver.
2Ease of operation
If vehicles drive on wet roads in tracks, then the vehicle maintains stable steering, but tires are cooled down increasing fuel consumption
Solution Approach 1:
The system detects track positions using sensors and provides continuous feedback to adjust steering away from wet track areas. This prevents tires from contacting water-filled tracks, maintaining tire temperature and reducing rolling resistance, thereby lowering fuel consumption while preserving steering stability.
3Ease of operation
If vehicles drive on snowy or muddy tracks, then the vehicle maintains trajectory, but control is reduced due to low friction surface
Solution Approach 1:
The system detects snowy or muddy track conditions using sensors and provides feedback to adjust steering away from these low-friction surfaces. By avoiding tracks with poor surface conditions, the system maintains both trajectory stability and vehicle control reliability.
4Manufacturing precision
If automated steering systems maintain precise trajectory, then the vehicle follows the road accurately, but more tracks are created in the road
Solution Approach 1:
The automated steering system uses sensor feedback to detect track positions and adjusts the steering command to intentionally deviate from the center of tracks. This allows the system to maintain accurate trajectory relative to the road while avoiding the harmful effect of creating additional tracks.
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies different steering control strategies to different locations on the road. When tracks are detected, the system adjusts steering to avoid track centers while maintaining road alignment. This localized adjustment prevents track creation without compromising overall trajectory accuracy.
Data Source
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AI summary
A computer system (600) comprising processing circuitry (602) configured to assist in steering a vehicle (1) travelling on a road (100) is provided. The processing circuitry (602) is further configured to obtain, as measured by one or more sensors (20) of the vehicle (1), an indication of one or more tracks (10) on the road (100). The processing circuitry (602) is further configured to obtain, a position of the vehicle (1) with respect to the one or more tracks (10) on the road (100). The processing circuitry (602) is further configured to issue a steering instruction to a steering arrangement (50) of the vehicle (1) to apply a turning force to turn the vehicle (1) based on the position of the vehicle (1) with respect to the one or more tracks (10) on the road (100) such that the vehicle (1) steers away from the one or more tracks (10).