Vehicle Travel Path Estimation Using Stationary Object Geometry
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing vehicle travel path estimating devices face accuracy issues due to errors in sensor output values, particularly when a yaw rate sensor is not used, leading to inaccurate path estimation.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus that utilizes an object detection device to determine stationary objects ahead of the vehicle, calculates an approximate straight line and orthogonal line from temporal positional data, and estimates the vehicle's travel path by averaging the yaw rate from multiple stationary objects to reduce error influence.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a yaw rate sensor is not used and sensor output values are utilized instead, then the device complexity is reduced, but the measurement precision of the travel path estimation deteriorates due to error accumulation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces stationary objects detected by the object detection device as an intermediary reference frame. By using the positional data of these stationary objects as a mediator, the system can calculate the vehicle's travel path without relying on potentially erroneous sensor outputs, thus maintaining measurement precision while avoiding the need for additional sensors like yaw rate sensors
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a virtual reference system by detecting and tracking stationary objects in the environment. Instead of directly measuring vehicle orientation with physical sensors, the system copies the positional information of stationary objects over time to infer vehicle travel path, replacing physical sensor measurements with computational geometry based on environmental references
2Reliability
If multiple stationary objects are detected and yaw rate values are averaged, then the reliability of the estimation is improved, but the calculation complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges data from multiple stationary objects to calculate multiple yaw rate values, then combines these values through averaging. This merging approach improves reliability by reducing the impact of individual measurement errors or abnormal values, while the mathematical operation remains straightforward
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses feedback by detecting abnormal values in the calculated yaw rate data and responding by excluding those abnormal values from the averaging calculation. This feedback mechanism ensures that outliers or erroneous measurements do not compromise the overall estimation accuracy, maintaining reliability while using a simple conditional logic rather than complex algorithms
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for estimating a travel path of a vehicle is mounted on the vehicle; and includes: an object detection device that detects an object lying ahead of the vehicle; a stationary object detection device that determines whether a detected object is a stationary object; a device that calculates an approximate straight line indicating a path of the stationary object from the temporal positional data for the stationary object projected on two-dimensional coordinates using a vehicle position as a starting point; a device that calculates a orthogonal line which passes through a midpoint in the temporal positional data for the stationary object and goes straight with respect to the approximate straight line on the two-dimensional coordinates; and a device that calculates a vehicle turning radius from an intersection point where the orthogonal line intersects with a x axis.