Vehicle Assistance Control for Loads Carried by Working Machines
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle assistance systems fail to effectively prevent vehicles from passing under obstacles, particularly loads carried by heavy machines that protrude into the driving route, which poses a hazard to occupants and could result in falling loads.
Innovation Solution
A method and device for a vehicle assistance system that, in autonomous driving mode, prevent passage under obstacles by determining if they are loads carried by heavy machines, using sensors and image processing to assess the hazard and either brake the vehicle or re-plan its trajectory to avoid the load, ensuring safety by maintaining a safe distance or engaging emergency braking.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the vehicle assistance system allows passage under obstacles with sufficient passage height, then the productivity and efficiency of autonomous driving is improved, but the safety risk increases when the obstacle is a load carried by a heavy machine that protrudes into the driving route
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary identification of heavy machines and their carried loads before the vehicle reaches the obstacle. By detecting the heavy machine, determining its movement direction, and identifying the load position in advance, the system can proactively prevent passage under the load by adjusting the trajectory or braking, thus eliminating the safety risk before it materializes while maintaining efficient autonomous operation
Solution Approach 2:
The control unit acts as an intermediary between the autonomous driving system and the obstacle environment. It receives data from sensor systems about heavy machines and loads, processes this information to determine hazard levels, and mediates the vehicle's response by either allowing passage (when safe) or preventing passage through trajectory adjustment or braking (when hazardous), thus resolving the contradiction between efficiency and safety
2Reliability
If the vehicle assistance system prevents passage under all obstacles regardless of passage height, then the safety of occupants is improved, but the productivity and efficiency of autonomous driving deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies different safety strategies to different obstacle types rather than using a uniform approach. For ordinary obstacles with sufficient passage height, the system allows passage to maintain efficiency. For obstacles identified as loads carried by heavy machines that protrude into the driving route, the system applies strict prevention measures regardless of passage height. This localized differentiation resolves the contradiction by tailoring the safety response to the specific hazard level of each obstacle
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the safety parameter (passage permission) based on the identified characteristics of the obstacle. When the obstacle is classified as a non-hazardous object with sufficient passage height, the passage permission parameter is set to allow. When the obstacle is classified as a load carried by a heavy machine protruding into the driving route, the passage permission parameter is changed to prevent, regardless of passage height measurement, thus optimizing both safety and efficiency
Data Source
AI summary
A method for operating a vehicle assistance system is described. In one embodiment, when the vehicle is in the autonomous driving mode, encountering an obstacle is prevented independent of the passage height, due to a control unit if is determined that the obstacle is a load supported by a working machine, where the load projects into a driving corridor of the vehicle or moves in the driving corridor. Also described is a device for carrying out the method and to a vehicle having such a device.