Autonomous Vehicle Start Control Using Collective Passenger Readiness
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Solution Overview
Problem
Autonomous vehicles lack a trigger mechanism that ensures all passengers are ready before transitioning from a stopped state to a running state, as existing systems either rely on a single passenger's action or passenger count comparisons rather than collective readiness.
Innovation Solution
An autonomous vehicle system that determines whether to start based on the number of passengers, maximum capacity, and passenger readiness indicators, using non-contact and contact-type detectors to ensure all passengers are seated and ready, allowing for a collective trigger for starting the vehicle.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the vehicle starts when one passenger presses a start button, then the vehicle can be started quickly, but the readiness of all passengers cannot be ensured
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the passenger readiness verification into individual segments by providing each seat with a separate readiness indicator (button, sensor, or display). Each passenger's readiness is detected independently, and the system aggregates these individual states to determine overall readiness. This segmentation allows the system to verify all passengers are ready without requiring a single centralized action, thus maintaining reliability while enabling efficient start procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where readiness indicators provide real-time information about each passenger's state. The autonomous driving controller continuously monitors the readiness status of all passengers and provides feedback through displays or notifications. This feedback loop ensures the vehicle only starts when all passengers indicate readiness, resolving the contradiction between quick start and reliability by making the readiness verification process transparent and automatic.
2Ease of operation
If the vehicle uses passenger count comparison to determine start, then the system is simple to operate, but it cannot determine if all passengers are ready
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service mechanisms where passengers automatically indicate their readiness state through sensors (weight sensors, proximity sensors, or button presses) without requiring manual input. The system autonomously collects readiness information from all passengers and processes it to determine whether the vehicle should start. This approach maintains ease of operation by requiring minimal passenger action while preventing loss of readiness information through automated detection and aggregation.
Solution Approach 2:
The readiness indicator system is designed to be universal, working across all seat types and passenger configurations. The same readiness detection mechanism (sensors, buttons, or displays) is applied to every seat, allowing the system to handle varying numbers of passengers and seat arrangements. This universality enables the system to maintain operational simplicity while comprehensively gathering readiness information from all passengers regardless of configuration.
3Reliability
If the vehicle requires all passengers to individually indicate readiness, then all passengers are ensured ready, but the starting process becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges individual readiness indicators into a unified readiness determination system. Each passenger's readiness input (from buttons, sensors, or seat occupancy detection) is combined by the autonomous driving controller into a single overall readiness state. This merging approach ensures collective readiness confirmation while reducing control complexity by consolidating multiple individual inputs into one centralized decision-making process, eliminating the need for complex coordination between individual passenger actions.
Data Source
AI summary
An autonomous vehicle, including a vehicle body, a wheel supported by the vehicle body, a steering mechanism configured to change a travel direction, a driving/braking force generating device configured to generate a driving force or a braking force to drive or decelerate the autonomous vehicle, a plurality of seats each configured to be sat on by a passenger, and an autonomous driving controller configured to control the steering mechanism and the driving/braking force generating device to autonomously drive the autonomous vehicle without any driver's manipulation. The autonomous driving controller is configured to determine whether or not to control the driving/braking force generating device to change the autonomous vehicle from a stopped state to a run state, based on (1) at least one of a number of passengers, a maximum capacity, or a scheduled number of passengers, and (2) at least one of a number of sitting passengers or a number of ready-state-expressing passengers.