Traffic Controller Speed Band Coordination for Roundabout Fuel Efficiency
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Solution Overview
Problem
Roundabouts present unique challenges for vehicle speed management due to events and obstructions, where existing technologies fail to efficiently coordinate vehicle speeds to ensure safe and fuel-efficient traversal without compromising obstacle avoidance.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle system that includes an electric machine and a traffic controller, which adjusts vehicle speed through regenerative braking or propulsion based on a predetermined acceleration band and priority, using a remote controller to issue speed requirements to ensure vehicles enter the roundabout within a defined speed band, avoiding events and optimizing fuel efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If vehicle speed is strictly controlled within a predetermined band for fuel efficiency, then fuel efficiency improves, but the ability to respond to unpredictable events and obstructions in roundabouts deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The speed band is made dynamic rather than static. The controller adjusts the predetermined speed band in real-time based on detected events and obstructions in the roundabout, allowing the system to maintain fuel efficiency through speed control while adapting to changing conditions that require deviation from the optimal speed range
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback by continuously monitoring the roundabout environment for events and obstructions, then using this information to adjust speed requirements. The controller receives information about roundabout conditions and modifies speed band parameters accordingly, creating a closed-loop system that balances fuel efficiency with safety responsiveness
2Productivity
If centralized traffic control is implemented to coordinate vehicle speeds in roundabouts, then traffic flow coordination improves, but system complexity and communication requirements worsen
Solution Approach 1:
A centralized traffic controller acts as an intermediary between vehicles and the roundabout environment. This mediator receives speed requests from vehicles, determines appropriate speed bands based on roundabout conditions, and issues speed requirements back to vehicles, simplifying the control architecture while enabling coordinated traffic flow
Solution Approach 2:
The control system is segmented into distinct functional components: vehicle units that generate speed requests, a centralized traffic controller that processes requests and determines speed bands, and communication interfaces. This segmentation allows each component to perform its function independently, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining coordination capability
3Speed
If vehicles are allowed to request speeds outside the predetermined band for urgent situations, then responsiveness to urgent situations improves, but fuel efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes the speed band parameters dynamically based on vehicle priority and detected events. When a vehicle requests speed outside the predetermined band, the controller evaluates the request against current roundabout conditions and vehicle priority, adjusting the speed band parameters to allow or deny the request accordingly, thus balancing responsiveness with fuel efficiency
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system effectively orchestrates fuel-efficient roundabout traversal by coordinating vehicle speeds, ensuring safe entry and obstacle avoidance, while maintaining optimal fuel efficiency by dynamically adjusting speeds based on priority and situational factors.
Implementation Method 1
The vehicle includes a controller configured to adjust a speed of the vehicle via regenerative braking or propulsion of the electric machine
Data Source
AI summary
A traffic controller includes a controller configured to reject a request and issue a speed requirement based on a priority to cause a speed of a one of a plurality of vehicles to be within a speed band before entering a road. The rejection is responsive to receiving the speed request from the one approaching the road having priority less than a predetermined threshold and outside of a speed band and a predetermined acceleration band of vehicles on the road.