Vehicle-Mounted Sensor Arrangement for Trailer Blind Spot Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current vehicle systems lack reliable rearview coverage, particularly for trailers, which is essential for advanced autonomous driving features like automatic lane changing, as conventional sensors fail to detect objects behind or beside the trailer effectively.
Innovation Solution
A sensor arrangement with sensors mounted on the vehicle to capture signals from underneath the trailer, combined with a control unit that processes these signals to confirm the presence of objects and distinguish them from trailer components, providing alerts and distance calculations, and potentially using multiple sensors for enhanced accuracy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional forward-looking sensors are used, then the vehicle can detect objects in front, but the rear area of the trailer remains a blind spot
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor is positioned to detect objects from a different spatial dimension - by mounting the sensor on the vehicle to view underneath the trailer, the system creates a new detection dimension that eliminates the traditional blind spot behind the trailer, enabling comprehensive rearview coverage
2Reliability
If sensors are mounted on the trailer, then rear detection is improved, but the system complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor arrangement uses the vehicle's existing sensor infrastructure to perform multiple functions - the same sensor system used for forward detection is repurposed to detect objects underneath the trailer, eliminating the need for trailer-specific sensors and reducing overall system complexity
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of installing physical sensors on the trailer, the system creates a virtual copy of the trailer's rearview perspective by processing sensor data from the vehicle-mounted sensor, allowing the driver to see behind the trailer without physical sensors on the trailer itself
3Loss of information
If the sensor field of view covers underneath the trailer, then blind spot coverage is improved, but signal processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor arrangement applies local quality by directing the sensor's field of view specifically underneath the trailer where the blind spot exists, rather than requiring omnidirectional coverage. This localized approach reduces the overall signal processing complexity while still eliminating the critical blind spot
Data Source
AI summary
A sensor arrangement for detecting an object in a surrounding of a trailer when towed by a vehicle, the sensor arrangement including: at least one sensor mountable at a rear side of the vehicle with a field of view underneath the trailer and configured to capture a detection signal from the object; and a control unit configured to receive a sensor signal from the at least one sensor, wherein the sensor signal is indicative of the object and the control unit is configured to confirm a presence of the object behind or at a side of the trailer.