Vehicle Animal Collision Avoidance System
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Solution Overview
Problem
Collisions between vehicles and animals, such as deer, result in costly repairs and potential harm to passengers, highlighting the need for effective prevention methods.
Innovation Solution
A system utilizing an electronic processor to receive vehicle data, determine collision risk, adjust vehicle parameters, and perform automatic operations to avoid animal collisions, including detection using sensors and vehicle safety systems to prevent collisions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the vehicle operates at normal collision settings, then the vehicle maintains standard operational performance, but the vehicle and passengers are at risk of serious injury or death upon animal collision
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary detection of animals in the vehicle path using sensors before a collision occurs. The electronic processor identifies animal presence and triggers preventive actions (braking, steering) to avoid the collision entirely, rather than relying on post-collision safety features alone.
Solution Approach 2:
The system adjusts collision parameters beforehand by modifying brake pressure, steering angle, and other vehicle operations to minimize collision impact. When an animal is detected, the system prepares the vehicle's safety systems in advance to reduce the severity of potential collision effects on passengers.
2Reliability
If the vehicle implements advanced collision prevention systems, then passenger safety and collision prevention improve, but the system complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses existing vehicle sensors and electronic control units for multiple purposes - both for normal vehicle operation and for animal detection and collision prevention. This multi-functionality approach avoids adding entirely new complex subsystems while still achieving advanced collision prevention capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors vehicle data and sensor inputs, processes this information through the electronic processor, and automatically adjusts vehicle operations in real-time. This closed-loop feedback mechanism enables intelligent collision prevention without requiring overly complex manual control systems.
3Extent of automation
If the vehicle automatically performs operations to avoid animals, then collision risk reduces, but the extent of automation increases system complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables the vehicle to detect and respond to animal hazards autonomously without requiring driver intervention. The electronic processor automatically analyzes sensor data, determines animal presence, and executes appropriate vehicle operations (braking, steering) to avoid collisions, making the vehicle self-protecting against this specific hazard.
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces manual driver reaction and mechanical control with electronic sensing and automated control algorithms. Sensors detect animals and the electronic processor automatically translates this information into vehicle control actions, substituting human reflexes and mechanical linkages with faster, more precise electronic control systems.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and systems for reducing vehicle and animal collisions. One system includes an electronic processor configured to receive vehicle data. The electronic processor is also configured to determine a collision risk of the vehicle based on the vehicle data, the collision risk representing a probability of a collision between the vehicle and an animal. The electronic processor is also configured to adjust a collision parameter of the vehicle based on the collision risk. The electronic processor is also configured to identify when an animal is in a path of the vehicle based on the vehicle data. The electronic processor is also configured to, when an animal is identified in the path of the vehicle, automatically perform a vehicle operation based on the adjusted collision parameter.