Autonomous Vehicle Lighting Control With Driver Command Priority
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current autonomous vehicle lighting control systems struggle to prioritize driver-initiated commands over autonomous driving system (ADS) commands, leading to potential safety conflicts and regulatory non-compliance during autonomous operation.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a controller area network (CAN) architecture that allows for the prioritization of driver-initiated lighting commands over ADS commands, using a parallel, series, or dual-CAN interface to resolve conflicts and ensure safe and compliant operation by integrating driver inputs directly into the vehicle's lighting control system.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If the autonomous driving system (ADS) controls lighting without driver input prioritization, then automation level is improved, but safety and regulatory compliance deteriorate due to potential conflicts between ADS and driver commands
Solution Approach 1:
The lighting control system dynamically adjusts the source of lighting commands based on operational context. The ECU monitors driver inputs and ADS commands in real-time, dynamically switching between ADS-controlled mode (for automation) and driver-controlled mode (for safety and compliance). This dynamic adaptation allows the system to maintain high automation levels when appropriate while ensuring safety and regulatory compliance when driver input is required.
Solution Approach 2:
The ECU acts as an intermediary between the ADS and the lighting system. It receives both ADS-generated lighting commands and driver-initiated lighting commands, prioritizes them according to predefined rules, and transmits the appropriate command to the lighting system. This intermediary role resolves the contradiction by ensuring that automation commands are processed while maintaining the ability to override with driver commands for safety and compliance.
2Reliability
If driver-initiated commands are prioritized over ADS commands, then safety and regulatory compliance are improved, but automation efficiency deteriorates due to potential interruptions
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically determines when driver commands should take priority based on the specific lighting scenario and operational context. Rather than always prioritizing driver commands (which would reduce automation efficiency), the ECU intelligently evaluates each situation and only interrupts ADS control when necessary for safety or compliance, thereby maintaining high automation efficiency while ensuring safety and regulatory compliance when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The ECU changes the priority parameter of lighting commands based on the type of command and operational context. ADS commands and driver commands are assigned different priority levels that can be dynamically adjusted. This parameter change allows the system to maintain automation efficiency for routine lighting operations while ensuring safety and regulatory compliance when driver-initiated commands require prioritization.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a parallel CAN architecture is used to integrate both ADS and driver commands, then adaptability and conflict resolution are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The lighting control system is segmented into distinct functional modules: an ADS command input module, a driver command input module, a priority determination module (ECU), and a lighting system output module. This segmentation allows the parallel CAN architecture to handle multiple command sources independently while the ECU systematically processes and prioritizes commands, improving adaptability and conflict resolution while managing complexity through modular design.
Data Source
AI summary
Devices, systems and methods for controlling an exterior and dashboard lights of an autonomous vehicle are described. One example of a method for controlling one or more exterior lights includes receiving, from an autonomous driving system (ADS) of the vehicle, an input to control one or more exterior lights that are part of a lighting system of the vehicle, and transmitting, based on the input, a message to a controller area network (CAN) bus of the lighting system, the message being further based on a driver command upon a determination that a driver-initiated message is received. In an example, the lighting system of the vehicle further comprises a plurality of dashboard lights.