V2V Drafting Group Coordination for Fuel-Saving Vehicle Platoons

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Solution Overview

Problem

Vehicular drafting, which offers fuel savings through reduced wind resistance, poses safety risks for human drivers and lacks efficient communication protocols for autonomous vehicles to manage drafting operations effectively.

Innovation Solution

Implementing enhanced vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication protocols that enable autonomous vehicles to establish, manage, and discontinue drafting groups, sharing driving information and negotiating payment terms through secure communication channels, using autopilot processing platforms and sensors to ensure safety and efficiency.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Use of energy by moving object

If vehicles operate in close drafting groups to reduce wind resistance and save fuel, then energy efficiency is improved, but safety risks increase for human drivers

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvefuel savingsVSAvoidsafety risks

Core Design Contradiction:

Use of energy by moving objectVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The system enables vehicles to autonomously perform drafting operations through autopilot processing platforms that automatically establish, manage, and discontinue drafting groups without human intervention, allowing the vehicle system to serve itself in optimizing fuel efficiency while maintaining safety

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

V2V communication protocols provide continuous feedback between vehicles in the drafting group, enabling real-time exchange of driving information and coordinated control actions that maintain safe operating parameters while maximizing fuel savings

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

2Reliability

If V2V communication protocols are implemented for autonomous drafting operations, then coordination and safety are improved, but system complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedrafting operation safetyVSAvoidcommunication system complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The V2V communication system is designed to perform multiple functions including establishing drafting groups, exchanging driving information, negotiating payment terms, and discontinuing operations, thereby reducing the need for separate specialized systems and minimizing overall complexity while maintaining high reliability

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentUS11120693B2Providing inter-vehicle data communications for vehicular drafting operations

Publication Date: 2021.09.14 BLACKBERRY LTD

AI summary

Systems, methods, and software can be used to provide inter-vehicle data communications for drafting operations. In some aspects, a method is disclosed comprising: selecting, by a hardware processor of a first vehicle, a second vehicle as a candidate for a drafting group; receiving, from the second vehicle, a drafting capability indication; in response to receiving the drafting capability indication, transmitting, from the first vehicle to the second vehicle, a drafting request; receiving, from the second vehicle, a drafting response; determining, by the hardware processor of the first vehicle, to establish the drafting group including the first vehicle and the second vehicle; and transmitting, from the first vehicle to the second vehicle, a drafting confirmation, wherein the drafting confirmation indicates that the first vehicle agrees to establish the drafting group with the second vehicle.