Vehicle Control System Acoustic Confirmation Interface
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current railway vehicle control systems require manual confirmation for safety-critical measures, which can be distracting and prone to misunderstandings, and lack secure authorization mechanisms for voice-activated releases.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle control system with an interface device that uses speech recognition to confirm actions acoustically, ensuring only authorized personnel can initiate actions by matching voice inputs with predetermined targets, allowing for minimal distraction and enhanced security through dual recognition and independent operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual confirmation buttons are used for safety-critical measures, then authorization control is achieved, but driver distraction and operation complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual button pressing (mechanical interaction) with voice-based acoustic confirmation. The interface device captures acoustic signals from the driver, processes them through speech recognition, and uses them to authorize safety-critical actions. This substitution eliminates the need for physical control input while maintaining secure authorization through voice pattern matching.
2Ease of operation
If voice recognition is implemented for action confirmation, then driver distraction is reduced, but system complexity and security requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The interface device is designed to perform multiple functions: it captures acoustic signals, processes speech recognition, verifies driver authorization, and triggers safety-critical actions. By consolidating these functions into a single multi-functional device, the patent manages complexity through integration rather than separate components for each function.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary processing layer between the driver's voice input and the safety-critical action trigger. This intermediary includes speech recognition processing and authorization verification that mediates the interaction, ensuring secure and accurate interpretation of driver intent without requiring direct mechanical control input.
3Productivity
If acoustic confirmation is used instead of manual input, then operation speed is improved, but measurement precision and understanding accuracy may deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates feedback mechanisms where the speech recognition process continuously monitors and verifies acoustic inputs against expected patterns. The authorization verification provides feedback to confirm proper driver identification, and the system only triggers actions when recognition accuracy thresholds are met, ensuring precise interpretation despite the speed of voice-based input.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates, inter alia, to a vehicle control system (10). According to the invention, an interface device (20) of the vehicle control system (10) comprises: a prompt device (21) for generating a prompt signal (Sa) with which, prior to the initiation of an action, the vehicle operator (P) is prompted to provide acoustic confirmation, thereby authorizing the initiation of the action; a microphone (22a) for receiving an acoustic input signal (Se) and generating a receive signal (E1); a first speech recognition device (23a) that evaluates the receive signal (E1) and detects a speech input (SPE1) contained therein; a first comparison device (24a) downstream of the first speech recognition device (23a) that compares the speech input (SPE1) for conformity with a target speech input (SSPE); and a triggering unit (25) that makes the initiation of the action at least also dependent on this.that within a specified time period after the issuance of the request signal (Sa), the receipt of a speech input (SPE1) matching the target speech input (SSPE) has been confirmed by the first comparator (24a).