Trailer-Aware FCA Braking Control to Prevent Vehicle Jackknifing
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing systems for vehicle braking fail to effectively consider the dynamics of trailers, leading to secondary accidents like jackknifing due to inertial forces during emergency braking, as they rely on the driver's intuition and do not account for trailer conditions.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle system equipped with cameras and radars to detect trailer positions and angles, which uses a controller to adjust braking and warning signal timing based on trailer stability, weight, and road curvature to prevent jackknifing by optimizing deceleration and stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If emergency braking is performed to avoid collision, then collision avoidance is achieved, but jackknife phenomenon occurs due to trailer inertial force
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary detection of trailer presence and calculates optimal braking strategies before emergency braking occurs. The controller pre-computes braking force distributions that account for trailer dynamics, ensuring that when emergency braking is triggered, the pre-planned braking profile is applied to prevent jackknife while maintaining collision avoidance.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts braking parameters (braking force distribution, deceleration rate, timing) based on real-time trailer detection data. When a trailer is detected, the controller modifies the braking control parameters to reduce the braking force applied to the vehicle, thereby preventing the inertial force from causing jackknife phenomenon while still achieving effective collision avoidance.
2Speed
If standard braking control is applied without considering trailer dynamics, then braking response is fast, but trailer stability deteriorates causing secondary accidents
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously monitors trailer position, angle, and movement using cameras and radars, and feeds this information back to the controller in real-time. Based on the feedback, the controller dynamically adjusts the braking force and deceleration rate to maintain trailer stability throughout the braking process, preventing swing and jackknife phenomena while preserving fast braking response.
Solution Approach 2:
The braking control system transitions from a static, fixed braking profile to a dynamic, adaptive braking strategy. The controller continuously adjusts braking parameters based on real-time trailer state detection, modifying the braking force distribution and deceleration rate to match the actual trailer dynamics, thereby maintaining stability during braking.
3Reliability
If trailer detection and analysis systems are added to the vehicle, then trailer dynamics can be considered for braking control, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses existing multi-functional sensors (cameras and radars) that can serve both primary functions (environmental perception, obstacle detection) and trailer detection functions. The controller integrates trailer detection algorithms into the existing braking control system, allowing the same hardware to perform multiple functions without requiring entirely separate dedicated systems, thereby limiting the increase in device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system leverages the vehicle's existing sensor network and processing capabilities to perform trailer detection and analysis. Rather than requiring completely independent trailer monitoring equipment, the vehicle's own cameras and radars are utilized to detect trailers, and the existing controller processes the data and adjusts braking accordingly, making the system self-sufficient and avoiding additional complex external systems.
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle may include a camera configured to obtain image data associated with an image. The image may include a trailer being in proximity to the vehicle in an external field of view. The vehicle may further include a radar associated with a second external field of view of the vehicle and configured to obtain radar data associated with the trailer in the second external field of view, and a controller. The controller may be configured to determine whether the trailer is coupled to the vehicle by processing the image data and the radar data, perform at least one of: generating a warning signal or controlling a braking device based on a forward collision-avoidance assist (FCA) function, and change at least one of: a timing of the generating the warning signal or an operation of the controlling the braking device based on the trailer being coupled to the vehicle.