Autonomous Transport Corridor Control for Obstacle-Aware Speed Adjustment

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing autonomously driving transport systems face inefficiencies due to inflexible environmental sensors that lead to emergency stops or slowed travel times when encountering immobile or dynamically changing obstacles, limiting their productivity and safety.

Innovation Solution

The system divides the monitoring area into a driving corridor and secondary corridors, adjusting driving parameters based on object location and properties within these zones to enhance safety and efficiency, allowing for adaptive speed adjustments and route redefinition.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If environmental sensors monitor protective fields continuously, then safety is improved, but productivity deteriorates due to emergency stops and slowed travel times

Engineering Contradiction:
ImprovesafetyVSAvoidproductivity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The monitoring area is segmented into multiple zones (first monitoring zone, second monitoring zone, third monitoring zone) with different safety requirements. Objects in the third zone (furthest from the driving path) trigger only speed reduction, objects in the second zone trigger moderate speed reduction or stopping, and objects in the first zone (closest to the driving path) trigger emergency stops. This segmentation allows the system to maintain high safety standards while avoiding unnecessary complete stops for distant objects, thereby improving productivity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Different safety responses are applied to different spatial locations within the monitoring area. The system applies localized quality control by making the safety response dependent on the object's position relative to the driving path and the vehicle. This allows the system to be highly responsive to critical threats while being more lenient with distant or less critical objects, optimizing both safety and productivity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

2Adaptability or versatility

If protective fields are switched depending on vehicle movement and surroundings, then adaptability is improved, but device complexity increases and flexibility is limited by maximum number of configurations

Engineering Contradiction:
ImproveadaptabilityVSAvoiddevice complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system dynamically adjusts the monitoring zones and safety responses based on real-time vehicle movement and surrounding conditions. The zones are not fixed but adapt to the vehicle's current state, allowing the system to respond flexibly to changing environments without requiring pre-programmed configurations for every possible scenario. This dynamic approach simplifies the control logic compared to managing multiple fixed protective field configurations.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The system changes parameters such as zone boundaries, speed reduction values, and response thresholds based on vehicle movement and environmental conditions. By dynamically adjusting these parameters, the system achieves high adaptability to different situations without requiring complex switching logic between fixed configurations, thereby reducing device complexity while maintaining versatility.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

Data Source

PatentEP4575697B1Autonomously driving transport system and a method for operating such autonomously driving transport system
Publication Date: 2026.01.21 SICK AG
  • EP4575697B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4575697B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP4575697B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

An autonomously driving transport system (1) with a control device (7), an obstacle detection device (8), and a drive unit (5), wherein the drive unit (5) is designed to move the autonomously driving transport system (1) along a travel route (11) with a specific travel parameter. The obstacle detection device (8) is designed to detect an object (10) in a monitoring area (9) and to transmit corresponding object information to the control device (7). The control device (7) is designed to divide the monitoring area (9) into a travel corridor (12) and at least one first secondary corridor (13). The control device (7) is designed to determine, based on the object information, whether the detected object (10) is located in the travel corridor (12) or in the at least one first secondary corridor (13).The control device (7) is designed to adapt a driving parameter differently when the object (10) is located in the first secondary corridor (13) than when the object (10) is located in the driving corridor (12).