Vehicle Safety Control Envelope Formation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current safety control systems for vehicles, especially driverless systems, face challenges in accurately determining the current speed vector due to ambiguities in the traffic environment, leading to potential selection of incorrect protective fields and increased safety risks, particularly in environments with few distinguishable features.
Innovation Solution
A device and method that determine possible speed vectors with a certain probability and select individual protective fields to form an envelope-based protective field, ensuring safe operation by considering multiple probable speed vectors and their corresponding protective fields, thereby reducing the impact of environmental ambiguities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a single speed vector is used to select protective fields, then the system complexity is reduced and measurement is simplified, but safety is compromised due to ambiguities in the surrounding scene leading to incorrect speed vector selection
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the protective field selection into multiple discrete fields, each corresponding to a specific speed vector. Instead of relying on a single speed vector measurement, the system divides the possible speed vectors into distinct categories (e.g., first speed vector, second speed vector) and assigns a separate protective field to each. This segmentation allows the system to handle ambiguities by selecting from multiple predefined fields rather than relying on one potentially incorrect measurement.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-calculating and storing multiple protective fields corresponding to different speed vectors before the vehicle operates. During operation, when speed vector ambiguities occur, the system can immediately switch between pre-computed protective fields without needing to recalculate them in real-time. This preliminary preparation ensures safety is maintained while avoiding the complexity of real-time recalculation under ambiguous conditions.
2Measurement precision
If multiple redundant encoders are used to measure speed, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical encoder-based speed measurement system with an optical measurement system. Instead of using multiple redundant mechanical encoders on vehicle wheels, the system uses optical sensors (such as laser scanners or cameras) to detect surrounding objects and calculate speed vectors optically. This substitution eliminates the need for mechanical contact and reduces the complexity associated with multiple redundant mechanical components while maintaining or improving measurement precision.
3Reliability
If the protective field is enlarged to account for speed vector ambiguities, then safety is improved, but system availability decreases due to false positives in environments with few distinguishable features
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating different protective field configurations for different local conditions (speed vectors). Instead of using one uniformly enlarged protective field that would cause false positives, the system defines specific protective fields tailored to each speed vector scenario. Each protective field is optimized for its corresponding speed vector, providing appropriate safety coverage without unnecessary enlargement that would trigger false alarms in environments with few distinguishable features.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a device for the safety control of a vehicle, in particular a driverless vehicle, comprising at least one optical object sensor for detecting objects in a protective field and a control unit for evaluating the signals from the at least one object sensor and for generating control signals for the vehicle, in particular braking signals. According to the invention, the control unit includes a determination unit for identifying those possible vehicle velocity vectors whose probability exceeds a threshold value. A selection unit serves to select those individual protective fields that are assigned to the possible velocity vectors thus determined. A protective field formation unit serves to form a protective field from the individual protective fields, preferably by forming the envelope.A signal generation device serves to generate a switching signal when an object is detected in the protective field thus formed. The invention further relates to a method for the safety control of a vehicle, which can be carried out with a device according to the invention.