Vehicle Trailer Warning System Using Path Prediction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current vehicle warning systems fail to effectively determine whether a host vehicle may enter an area surrounding a remote vehicle and its trailer, leading to potential contact and safety hazards.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle warning system equipped with a wireless communicator and electronic controller that receives data on the area surrounding the vehicle and trailer, determines the travel path of the host vehicle, and generates a warning signal when entry into the area is predicted, using GPS and vehicle-to-vehicle communication to calculate a potential contact zone and predict the path of the tractor-trailer system.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If vehicle warning systems use basic wireless communication to detect remote vehicles, then vehicle-to-vehicle communication capability is provided, but the system fails to accurately determine whether a host vehicle may enter the area surrounding the remote vehicle and trailer
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by receiving and storing data about the remote vehicle's position, trailer position, and area of interest before the host vehicle actually enters the danger zone. The electronic controller pre-calculates the area of interest based on the trailer's position and the remote vehicle's travel path, allowing the system to warn the driver in advance before contact becomes imminent.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from two-dimensional detection (simple presence detection) to three-dimensional spatial analysis by calculating the area of interest surrounding both the remote vehicle and trailer. The electronic controller determines whether the host vehicle's predicted path intersects with this three-dimensional volume, providing more accurate contact zone determination.
2Measurement precision
If the system calculates the area of interest surrounding the vehicle and trailer to improve safety, then warning accuracy is improved, but the computational complexity and processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the monitoring task into distinct components: the wireless communicator receives data about remote vehicle position and trailer position separately, the electronic controller calculates the area of interest based on these segmented inputs, and the path determination function operates independently on the host vehicle's travel path. This segmentation allows for more precise measurement while managing computational complexity through modular processing.
3Reliability
If the system provides timely warning alerts to prevent accidents, then driver safety is enhanced, but the response time for processing vehicle data and generating warnings must be minimized
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary calculations of the area of interest and continuously monitors the host vehicle's position relative to this pre-calculated zone. By having the area of interest determined in advance based on the remote vehicle and trailer positions, the system can immediately generate warnings when the host vehicle enters the zone, minimizing processing time while maintaining high reliability.
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle warning system includes a wireless communicator and an electronic controller. The wireless communicator is configured to receive data related to an area surrounding a vehicle and a trailer being towed by the vehicle, the data representing points of interest on the vehicle and on the trailer. The electronic controller is configured to determine a travel path of a host vehicle different from the vehicle, and generate a warning signal upon determining that the travel path indicates entry of the host vehicle into the area.