Coordinated Vehicle Lighting for Virtual Connection Awareness
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Solution Overview
Problem
The lack of awareness about virtual vehicular connections, such as hitchless towing or platooning configurations, leads to confusion among other road users, potentially causing unsafe situations.
Innovation Solution
A light control system that coordinates the illumination of exterior lighting elements on vehicles in a virtual connection to indicate the connection visually and, optionally, audibly, using patterns, colors, and projected images.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If vehicles operate in virtual connection mode without physical coupling, then operational flexibility and coordination efficiency are improved, but awareness among other road users deteriorates leading to confusion and unsafe situations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies color changes by using different colored light patterns from exterior lighting elements to indicate various virtual connection states. The system can display specific colors or color combinations to communicate the virtual connection status to surrounding road users, making the invisible virtual connection visually apparent without physical coupling.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs periodic action through coordinated light patterns that flash, pulse, or illuminate in specific sequences. These periodic light signals from exterior lighting elements create attention-grabbing visual cues that communicate the virtual connection status to other road users, solving the awareness problem while maintaining operational flexibility.
2Loss of information
If exterior lighting elements are used to indicate virtual connection, then awareness among road users is improved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses periodic or intermittent illumination rather than continuous lighting to indicate virtual connection status. By activating exterior lighting elements only when needed (e.g., during virtual connection operations or when detected by other vehicles), the system maintains effective communication while significantly reducing overall energy consumption compared to constant illumination.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by selectively activating specific exterior lighting elements rather than illuminating all lights simultaneously. The system can target particular lighting zones or individual light elements based on the virtual connection context, directing energy only where needed to communicate the connection status effectively while conserving energy.
Data Source
AI summary
System, methods, and other embodiments described herein relate to indicating a vehicle virtual connection to users in an environment surrounding the virtually-connected vehicles. In one embodiment, a system includes a processor and a memory storing machine-readable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to 1) detect that a first vehicle and a second vehicle are in a virtual connection mode and 2) based on the first vehicle and the second vehicle being in the virtual connection mode, control an exterior lighting element of the first vehicle to illuminate in a particular pattern and in coordination with the second vehicle to indicate a virtual connection between the first vehicle and the second vehicle.