Teleoperations Guidance for Autonomous Vehicle Path Selection
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Solution Overview
Problem
The inefficiency of dedicated teleoperations systems and resources in managing large fleets of autonomous vehicles, where vehicles often require unnecessary remote operator intervention despite being capable of autonomous operation, leading to resource misallocation and impractical maintenance.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a teleoperations indirect control arrangement that allows vehicles to request guidance from an external source to identify alternate paths around obstacles, enabling continued autonomous operation and efficient resource allocation by leveraging autonomy systems whenever possible.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a dedicated teleoperations system is assigned to each autonomous vehicle, then the vehicle can receive immediate remote operator assistance when needed, but the system complexity and resource requirements increase substantially
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a shared teleoperations indirect control arrangement that serves multiple autonomous vehicles simultaneously. Instead of dedicating separate teleoperations systems to each vehicle, a single multi-functional control arrangement handles supervisory requests from various vehicles, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining availability of remote assistance when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The autonomy system is enhanced to independently evaluate whether it can handle situations without remote operator intervention. The system autonomously determines when to generate supervisory requests and can self-manage certain operations, reducing the need for constant teleoperations support while maintaining reliability for genuinely complex situations.
2Reliability
If remote operators continuously monitor all autonomous vehicles, then safety and operational reliability improve, but the resource consumption and operational overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of continuous monitoring of all vehicles by remote operators, the system applies partial action by only engaging teleoperations resources when the autonomy system determines it cannot independently handle a situation. This selective intervention approach maintains safety for critical issues while improving resource utilization efficiency by avoiding unnecessary operator involvement in routine operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where the autonomy system continuously assesses its own operational status and generates supervisory requests only when needed. This feedback loop enables the system to self-regulate the level of remote monitoring required, improving both safety through appropriate intervention and resource efficiency by avoiding excessive operator engagement.
3Productivity
If the autonomy system independently handles all situations, then resource utilization improves and teleoperations overhead is reduced, but the system's ability to handle complex or unexpected situations may be insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The system prepares for potential complex situations by having the teleoperations indirect control arrangement pre-configured and available. The autonomy system can quickly generate supervisory requests when encountering situations beyond its independent handling capability, ensuring that remote assistance is readily accessible without compromising autonomous operation efficiency during normal conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The teleoperations indirect control arrangement serves as an intermediary between the autonomy system and remote operators. It receives supervisory requests from the autonomy system, coordinates the appropriate response, and manages the interaction with remote operators, thereby enhancing the autonomy system's capability to handle complex situations while maintaining efficient autonomous operation for routine matters.
Data Source
AI summary
According to one aspect, a method includes obtaining a first supervisory request at a teleoperations indirect control arrangement that is originated by a first vehicle that has an autonomy system. The method also includes identifying a first situation associated with the first supervisory request. A first mitigation for the first situation is identified, and it is determined whether the first mitigation includes providing a point-of-intent to the autonomy system. When the first mitigation includes providing the point-of-intent to the autonomy system, the point-of-intent is provided. In response to providing the point-of-intent, a first plurality of potential paths between a current location of the first vehicle and the point-of-intent is obtained. A first potential path of the first plurality of potential paths is selected by the teleoperations indirect control arrangement, and a first indication that the first vehicle is to use the first potential path is provided to the first vehicle.