Vehicle Control Command Screening for Future Safety Maneuvers
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicles face challenges in executing situation avoidance maneuvers (SAMs) safely, particularly when sensor failures occur, as they may be unable to transition into a safe state due to factors like excessive speed, making it difficult to determine allowable vehicle state spaces for successful maneuver execution.
Innovation Solution
A method is developed to determine if a vehicle control command allows for a future SAM by obtaining safe sets representing successful maneuver initialization ranges, predicting future vehicle states based on current states and commands, and comparing these predictions to the safe sets, thereby assessing whether the command precludes a successful SAM.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the vehicle travels at high speed, then transport efficiency is improved, but the ability to execute situation avoidance maneuvers safely deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary assessment of whether future SAMs can be successfully executed by checking if the predicted future vehicle state falls within pre-computed safe sets. This preliminary check prevents entering states where SAM execution would be unsafe, allowing the vehicle to maintain relaxed control requirements during normal operation while ensuring safety capability is preserved.
2Ease of operation
If relaxed drive control system requirements are implemented, then ease of operation is improved, but the risk of unsafe vehicle states increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously monitors vehicle states by predicting future states and comparing them against safe sets. This feedback mechanism provides real-time information about whether the vehicle is in a state from which safe maneuvers can be executed, enabling relaxed control requirements during safe operation while automatically detecting when safety margins are compromised.
3Reliability
If situation avoidance maneuvers are executed frequently, then safety is improved, but transport efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies partial monitoring by checking only whether future SAMs can be successfully executed, rather than continuously executing SAMs or imposing full autonomous control requirements. This partial action approach provides sufficient safety assurance to enable relaxed drive control system requirements while avoiding excessive intervention that would reduce transport efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for determining if a vehicle control command for controlling a vehicle (1) associated with a current vehicle state precludes a future situation avoidance maneuver (SAM) by the vehicle. The method comprises obtaining one or more safe sets, wherein each safe set represents a range of vehicle states from which a future SAM can be initialized with prospect for success. The method also comprises obtaining the current vehicle state and the control command and predicting a future vehicle state based on the current vehicle state and on the control command. The method comprises comparing the predicted future vehicle state to the one or more safe sets and determining that the control command precludes the future SAM if the predicted future vehicle state is not comprised in any of the one or more safe sets.