Vehicle Control Device Blind Area Check
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle control devices fail to ensure that no other vehicles are present in the driver's blind area when switching from autonomous driving to manual driving, potentially leading to unrecognized vehicles and increased risk.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle control device that includes units for recognizing other vehicles, determining their presence in the blind area, and controlling the host vehicle's speed and position to remove them from the blind area before switching to manual driving, or warning the driver if removal is not possible.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the driving state is switched from autonomous driving to manual driving without checking blind areas, then the switching operation is simple and quick, but the driver cannot recognize other vehicles in the blind area leading to safety risks
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary detection of blind areas before the driving state switching occurs. The detection unit identifies other vehicles in blind areas diagonally behind the host vehicle before the switching position is reached, and the control unit prepares appropriate control actions (speed adjustment, lateral position adjustment, or driver warning) in advance, ensuring safety before the actual switching happens.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces an intermediary detection and control mechanism between autonomous and manual driving modes. The detection unit acts as an intermediary to identify blind area vehicles, and the control unit serves as an intermediary to mediate the switching process by adjusting vehicle parameters or alerting the driver, thus bridging the gap between autonomous operation and manual takeover.
2Reliability
If the host vehicle adjusts speed or lateral position to remove other vehicles from blind area, then driver safety is improved, but the travel efficiency and route adherence may deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies partial adjustments to speed or lateral position only when necessary to remove other vehicles from blind areas, rather than continuously adjusting. The control unit determines the minimum necessary adjustment to achieve safety while minimizing impact on travel efficiency and route adherence.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts vehicle parameters (speed and lateral position) based on real-time detection of blind area conditions. The control unit modifies these parameters temporarily during the switching preparation phase, then restores them after safe switching is achieved, allowing adaptive response to changing environmental conditions.
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle control device is capable of switching a driving state of a host vehicle between manual driving and autonomous driving, and determines whether or not another vehicle exists in a driver's blind area set in advance diagonally behind the host vehicle in a case where the driving state of the host vehicle is autonomous driving and when the host vehicle reaches a check timing set in advance. In addition, the vehicle control device executes the control in a case where it is determined that the other vehicle exists in the driver's blind area and when the other vehicle exists, which can be removed from the driver's blind area by the control of at least one of a vehicle speed of the host vehicle and a lateral position of the host vehicle.