Vehicle Periphery Recognition Using Speed Control for Sensor Abnormality

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing vehicle lane change systems face difficulties in continuing lane change processes when abnormalities occur in detection systems, as they fail to effectively estimate the presence of objects in undetectable areas due to sensor failures or anomalies.

Innovation Solution

A periphery recognition apparatus that includes multiple detectors and a vehicle controller to estimate the presence of objects in undetectable areas by using information from adjacent detectors, allowing for speed control and lane change scheduling even when an abnormality is detected in one of the detectors.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If the system uses multiple detectors to monitor peripheral areas for lane change safety, then the reliability of object detection is improved, but the system complexity increases and the difficulty of detecting and measuring abnormalities worsens

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveobject detection reliabilityVSAvoidabnormality detection difficulty
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDifficulty of detecting and measuring

Solution Approach 1:

The peripheral detection area is divided into multiple distinct areas (first area, second area, third area) monitored by separate detectors (first detector, second detector, third detector). This segmentation allows the system to isolate and identify which specific detector is abnormal while maintaining overall monitoring coverage, thus managing the complexity of abnormality detection in multi-detector systems.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs preliminary speed control actions (acceleration or deceleration) to move the vehicle such that objects in the third area become detectable by the first or second detector. This preliminary action enables the system to proactively gather information about objects in the abnormal detector's area before making lane change decisions, improving reliability while managing the complexity through structured information gathering.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Reliability

If the system halts lane change processes when detector abnormalities are detected, then safety is improved, but the productivity of lane change operations deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
ImprovesafetyVSAvoidlane change efficiency
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

When the third detector is abnormal, the system performs preliminary speed control (acceleration or deceleration) to reposition the vehicle so that the first or second detector can observe objects previously in the third area. This preliminary action enables continuous lane change monitoring without halting the process, maintaining both safety and productivity by proactively compensating for the detector failure.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system dynamically adjusts the vehicle's traveling speed based on the detector abnormality. By controlling speed to enable alternative detection paths, the system adapts the lane change process to the degraded sensor configuration, allowing lane changes to continue safely rather than halting entirely, thus maintaining productivity while ensuring safety.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

3Loss of information

If the system uses speed control to enable alternative detection paths, then the ability to estimate object presence in undetectable areas is improved, but the complexity of control operations increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveinformation completenessVSAvoidcontrol system complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of informationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary speed control actions (acceleration or deceleration) to reposition the vehicle and enable the first or second detector to observe objects in the third area. This structured preliminary action systematically recovers information that would otherwise be lost due to detector abnormality, improving information completeness while managing control complexity through a defined decision framework.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system uses feedback from detector outputs to determine whether speed control actions are needed. By monitoring the abnormal detector's output and comparing it with data from other detectors, the system intelligently decides when to adjust speed for alternative detection paths, improving information recovery while managing control complexity through feedback-driven decision-making.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Data Source

PatentEP3722175B1Periphery recognition apparatus and periphery recognition method
Publication Date: 2022.04.13 DENSO CORP
  • EP3722175B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3722175B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3722175B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A periphery recognition apparatus (4) includes a detection portion (41) and an estimation portion (42). The detection portion detects an abnormality in at least a third detector from among a first detector (12, 15), a second a detector (14, 17), and the third detector (13, 16). When the detection portion detects the abnormality in the third detector, the estimation portion performs speed control, which is control of traveling speed of a vehicle, and uses information obtained from at least one of the first detector or the second detector to estimate whether an object is present in a third area.