Vehicle Travel Control for Lane-Shifted U-Turn Maneuvers
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing automatic driving control technologies fail to effectively manage U-turn traveling control at intersections, particularly when a vehicle is required to perform a U-turn in a lane opposite to its current direction, leading to potential safety issues and disruptions in traffic flow.
Innovation Solution
A traveling control apparatus equipped with a surrounding environment information acquisition device, map information acquisition device, and a traveling control unit that adjusts the vehicle's course and steering start point to facilitate safe U-turns by shifting the traveling lane laterally and setting the steering start point further ahead when a U-turn is scheduled, ensuring smooth traffic flow.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the vehicle performs U-turn travel at an intersection using ordinary automatic driving control, then the vehicle can reach the destination, but the vehicle may disrupt traffic flow and cause safety issues in the oncoming lane
Solution Approach 1:
The traveling control unit performs preliminary actions by setting the traveling course shifted by a predetermined distance in the lateral direction before the U-turn, and by setting the steering start point farther from the vehicle in the traveling direction. This advance preparation allows the vehicle to execute the U-turn smoothly without disrupting traffic flow in the oncoming lane.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention applies local quality by making specific adjustments only in the relevant areas: shifting the traveling course laterally within the current lane and positioning the steering start point at an optimal location. This localized adjustment ensures safe U-turn execution without affecting other parts of the traffic system.
2Reliability
If the vehicle shifts the traveling course laterally and sets the steering start point farther ahead for U-turn travel, then the U-turn can be performed safely without disrupting traffic, but the complexity of the traveling control system increases
Solution Approach 1:
The traveling control unit is designed to perform multiple functions: it manages both ordinary traveling control and specialized U-turn traveling control using the same hardware components. The control unit automatically determines whether to apply the shifted course and extended steering start point based on the recognized intersection type, making the system multi-functional without requiring separate dedicated hardware for U-turn control.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts the traveling course and steering start point based on real-time recognition of the intersection type and U-turn requirements. The control parameters are not fixed but are adaptively modified when U-turn traveling control is scheduled, allowing the system to maintain simplicity under normal conditions while providing enhanced safety features when needed.
3Reliability
If the vehicle uses a predetermined shifted traveling course for U-turn, then the vehicle maintains lane discipline and avoids collisions, but the vehicle requires more advanced navigation and control algorithms
Solution Approach 1:
The system preliminarily sets the traveling course shifted by a predetermined distance in the lateral direction within the traveling lane before the vehicle reaches the intersection. This advance calculation and setting of the shifted course allows the vehicle to maintain lane discipline throughout the U-turn maneuver without requiring complex real-time adjustments during the actual turn execution.
Data Source
AI summary
A surrounding environment information acquisition device acquires surrounding environment information. A map information acquisition device acquires road information. A traveling control unit causes the vehicle to travel along a preset target traveling route. When recognizing an intersection in which U-turn traveling control for performing a U-turn travel to an oncoming lane is scheduled to be performed on the target traveling route and in front of the vehicle, the traveling control unit performs one or both of: setting a traveling course laterally shifted by a predetermined distance in a direction opposite to the oncoming lane within a traveling lane of the vehicle; and setting a steering start point in the U-turn travel at a position farther from the vehicle in the traveling direction than a steering start point to be set when left/right turn traveling control to cross the oncoming lane at the intersection to enter a cross road.