Vehicle Route Control via Discrete Segment Assignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for controlling transport vehicles in systems fail to effectively avoid collisions, particularly in dynamic environments where vehicles need to navigate through shared spaces efficiently and safely.
Innovation Solution
The method involves segmenting the traversing range into discrete segments, where each vehicle is assigned a specific segment at each time step, ensuring no overlap and allowing only one vehicle per segment, with central control determining routes and positions to prevent collisions, and prioritizing higher-priority vehicles for faster paths.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If routes are determined without collision avoidance mechanisms, then productivity is improved by allowing free movement, but collisions occur reducing safety
Solution Approach 1:
The traversing range is divided into discrete segments that are assigned to vehicles at each time step. This segmentation allows the system to manage vehicle positions in a structured manner, ensuring that no two vehicles occupy the same segment simultaneously, thereby preventing collisions while maintaining systematic control.
Solution Approach 2:
Routes are determined in advance by the central controller before vehicles begin movement. By pre-calculating routes and assigning time-step-specific segments, the system proactively prevents potential collisions rather than reacting to them, ensuring safety while allowing vehicles to follow predetermined paths.
2Reliability
If real-time position monitoring and route recalculation are implemented, then collision avoidance is improved, but use of energy and communication resources increases
Solution Approach 1:
Position detection and transmission occur cyclically at defined time intervals rather than continuously. This periodic monitoring approach maintains adequate collision avoidance capability while significantly reducing the energy consumption and communication overhead associated with continuous real-time tracking.
Solution Approach 2:
Routes are pre-calculated and assigned by the central controller before vehicles need to execute them. This preliminary route determination reduces the need for frequent real-time recalculations, thereby lowering the computational energy requirements and communication frequency while maintaining effective collision avoidance.
3Device complexity
If segments are made large to accommodate vehicles, then device complexity is reduced, but measurement precision of vehicle position decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the traversing range into discrete units that are sized to accommodate vehicles while maintaining sufficient resolution for collision avoidance. This segmentation provides a practical balance between system complexity and position tracking precision, allowing effective route management without requiring overly fine-grained divisions.
Solution Approach 2:
By pre-assigning specific segments to vehicles at each time step, the system ensures precise position control through centralized planning. This preliminary assignment compensates for the coarser segment granularity, maintaining adequate position tracking precision through intelligent route allocation rather than requiring extremely fine segment divisions.
4Productivity
If priority levels are assigned to vehicles, then productivity is improved by optimizing traffic flow, but device complexity increases due to priority management
Solution Approach 1:
Priority levels are assigned to individual vehicles based on their specific requirements and current state, allowing differential treatment where needed while maintaining uniform segment-based collision avoidance for all vehicles. This localized quality approach optimizes traffic flow for high-priority vehicles without complicating the fundamental segment assignment mechanism for the entire system.
Solution Approach 2:
Priority assignments and route determinations are made in advance by the central controller, allowing the system to plan efficient traffic flow patterns before vehicles begin movement. This preliminary planning integrates priority management into the route calculation process, avoiding the need for complex real-time priority arbitration during vehicle operation.
Data Source
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AI summary
According to the method, routes of the vehicles are determined, the route of each vehicle being displayed using a chronological sequence of segments. In the process, a respective segment is paired with each time step, and each route runs from a respective start segment to a destination segment. Each segment is a segment of the driving area of the vehicles. In particular, the segment is a linear segment, a flat segment, or a spatial segment, and each segment is extended such that each vehicle has a discrete and finite period of time to traverse the segment. The segments do not overlap, and no more than a single vehicle is located in one of the segments at any time step. In particular, each vehicle has a position detecting system, and a data transmission connection to a central control unit is provided in the system. In particular, the positions of the vehicles are detected repeatedly in a cyclical manner and transmitted to a central control unit.