Vehicle Assistance System Sensor Masking Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle assistance systems fail to account for normal operating states that could impact the functionality of parking and collision avoidance, particularly when distance sensors are obstructed by vehicle parts, leading to potential collisions during parking or exiting processes.
Innovation Solution
An assistance system that detects when distance sensors are obscured by vehicle parts, such as sliding doors, and automatically deactivates or prevents steering interventions, ensuring all sensors have a clear view of obstacles before initiating semi-automatic parking or exiting, while allowing manual continuation once the obstruction is resolved.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the assistance system performs automatic steering intervention for parking, then parking efficiency is improved, but collision risk increases when sensors are obscured
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs a preliminary check of sensor availability and vehicle state (concealment detection) before initiating automatic parking steering intervention. This preliminary action ensures that automatic parking only occurs when sensors are unobscured, preventing collisions while maintaining efficiency when conditions are favorable.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors sensor status and vehicle state during the parking process, providing feedback to the control unit. When sensors become obscured during parking, the system detects this change and responds by deactivating further automatic steering intervention, thereby maintaining safety while allowing efficient parking when conditions permit.
2Extent of automation
If the assistance system activates steering intervention, then parking process is automated, but safety is compromised when distance sensors are covered
Solution Approach 1:
Before activating automatic steering intervention, the system checks whether distance sensors are unobscured and the vehicle is in a safe state. This preliminary verification prevents activation of automation when sensor coverage is compromised, eliminating the harmful collision risk while preserving automation benefits when conditions are appropriate.
Solution Approach 2:
The system extracts and evaluates critical safety parameters (sensor coverage status, vehicle concealment state) separately from the main parking control function. By isolating these safety checks, the system can selectively enable or disable automatic steering intervention based on sensor availability, removing the harmful element (automation) when sensors are covered while retaining it when they are not.
3Reliability
If the system deactivates steering intervention when sensors are covered, then collision protection is improved, but parking process is interrupted
Solution Approach 1:
The system prepares for potential sensor obstruction by having a predefined response protocol ready. When sensors become covered, the system smoothly transitions from automatic to manual control mode rather than abrupt interruption, cushioning the impact on parking process continuity while maintaining collision protection. The system also provides user notification to prepare the driver for taking control.
4Ease of operation
If the system allows parking with covered sensors, then parking space can be measured, but automatic steering intervention becomes unsafe
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the parking function into two independent parts: parking space measurement/detection and automatic steering intervention. This segmentation allows the vehicle to perform safe parking space detection even with partially covered sensors, while simultaneously preventing unsafe automatic steering intervention when sensor coverage is insufficient. Each function has its own safety thresholds and activation conditions.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
AI summary
The method involves detecting a masking condition of a vehicle (10) automatically, in which a distance measuring sensor of the assistance system is masked from a portion of the vehicle. A steering engagement of the assistance system is automatically deactivated or prevented in a steering of the vehicle when the masking condition exists. Independent claims are also included for the following: (1) a method for preventing a collision of a vehicle using an assistance system; and (2) an assistance system with a controller.