Vehicle Lateral Positioning Through Lane Widening Splits
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle lateral positioning assistance systems struggle to accurately determine the end of a lane widening zone, leading to incorrect vehicle positioning and potential collisions, especially when the marking separating lanes is not detected by environmental perception organs.
Innovation Solution
A method that partitions the lane widening zone into two sub-zones based on the lateral distance between reference paths and edges, allowing for adaptive selection of reference paths. In the first sub-zone, the vehicle can automatically change lanes without driver intervention, while in the second sub-zone, the driver must take control of the steering wheel to change reference paths.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the vehicle uses environmental perception organs to detect lane markings, then the system can identify lane divisions, but the determination of the end of the widening zone becomes impossible when markings are not detected
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by determining the end of the widening zone in advance based on the detected start position and pre-stored widening zone length information, rather than waiting for marking detection. This allows the system to prepare the reference path before the vehicle actually reaches the end of the widening zone, eliminating the information loss problem.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary element - the pre-stored widening zone length information - that mediates between the detected start of widening zone and the determination of its end. This intermediary allows the system to calculate the end position without relying on marking detection, thus resolving the contradiction between detection reliability and information completeness.
2Ease of operation
If the vehicle positions itself at the median of the lane edges as reference path, then the positioning is simple to implement, but the vehicle will be incorrectly positioned at the end of the lane widening zone
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the reference path based on the vehicle's position within the widening zone. In the first sub-zone, the reference path follows the median for simple positioning. In the second sub-zone, the reference path is dynamically modified to account for the lane division, ensuring accurate final positioning. This dynamic adjustment resolves the contradiction between implementation simplicity and positioning accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The widening zone is segmented into two sub-zones with different reference path strategies. The first sub-zone uses the simple median-based approach, while the second sub-zone uses the adjusted reference path that accounts for lane division. This segmentation allows the system to maintain simplicity where applicable while achieving accuracy where required.
3Ease of operation
If the vehicle takes a fixed distance from the edge of the traffic lane as reference path, then the positioning is easy to maintain, but the selected path may not be the path desired by the driver
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by determining multiple possible reference paths in advance - both the fixed distance path and the adjusted path that accounts for lane division. The driver is given the opportunity to select their preferred path before the vehicle reaches the critical decision point, allowing the system to adapt to driver preferences while maintaining ease of operation through pre-calculated options.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a method and a device for assisting with the lateral positioning of a vehicle (101), said vehicle being able to be driven by a driver in an automated manner along a reference path in a traffic lane (201), said traffic lane being bounded by two edges (202, 203). The method comprises steps of detecting (301) an upcoming split in the traffic lane, determining a widened area in the traffic lane, and determining a plurality of reference paths (212, 213).