Industrial Vehicle Trajectory Prediction for Collision Speed Limiting

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing engine-type industrial vehicles, such as forklifts, struggle to avoid contact with objects in their setting range effectively, leading to potential collisions.

Innovation Solution

The implementation of an engine-type industrial vehicle equipped with a main controller, obstacle detection device, and warning system, which uses stereo cameras and machine learning algorithms to predict the vehicle's trajectory and automatically decelerate or stop when an object is detected within the predicted path.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If the vehicle stops immediately when an object is detected within the setting range, then collision avoidance is achieved, but the stopping distance becomes excessively long and operational efficiency decreases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecollision avoidanceVSAvoidoperational efficiency
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The control system dynamically adjusts the stopping strategy based on real-time conditions. When an object is detected, the controller first issues a stop instruction, then monitors whether the object enters the vehicle's stopping distance. If the object remains outside the stopping distance, the vehicle continues moving; if it enters, then full stopping is executed. This dynamic adaptation resolves the contradiction between ensuring collision avoidance and maintaining operational efficiency.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The system continuously monitors the position of detected objects relative to the vehicle's stopping distance and adjusts control actions accordingly. The controller receives feedback about object position and dynamically modifies the stopping behavior - proceeding with stop only when necessary (when object enters stopping distance), otherwise maintaining motion. This feedback mechanism enables the system to balance safety and efficiency based on actual conditions.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

2Productivity

If the vehicle speed is increased to improve productivity, then operational efficiency increases, but the stopping distance increases and collision avoidance becomes more difficult

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveoperational efficiencyVSAvoidcollision avoidance
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The controller issues a stop instruction in advance when an object is detected in the setting range, before the vehicle actually needs to stop. This preliminary action allows the vehicle to begin deceleration early, accommodating higher speeds while maintaining adequate stopping distance. The system prepares for stopping proactively rather than reactively, enabling faster operation without compromising collision avoidance capability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentEP4011818B1Engine-type industrial vehicle
Publication Date: 2025.01.22 TOYOTA INDUSTRIES CORP
  • EP4011818B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4011818B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP4011818B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

An engine-type industrial vehicle (10) includes a power transmission (70); a main controller (31); an object detector (51) configured to detect a position of an object; a predicted trajectory calculator (31) configured to derive a predicted trajectory (T) followed by a vehicle body (11); and a vehicle-speed upper-limit setter (31) configured to impose a vehicle speed limitation on the vehicle body (11) by setting a vehicle-speed upper-limit value when the detected object is positioned on the predicted trajectory (T) and a traveling direction of the vehicle body (11) is a direction toward the object. The main controller (31) is configured to prevent a vehicle speed of the vehicle body (11) from exceeding the vehicle-speed upper-limit value by performing at least one of a control so that a force acts in a direction in which movement of the vehicle body (11) is prevented or a control so that the driving force to driving wheel (12, 13) is cut off.