Vehicular Traffic Coordination via Discretized Task Allocation
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Solution Overview
Problem
In underground mines, concurrent movements of multiple vehicles often result in conflicts such as collisions and blockages due to limited space, and generating a conflict-free schedule is labor-intensive and computationally demanding.
Innovation Solution
A vehicular coordination and guidance system that includes a central controller to allocate tasks among vehicles based on their capacities and statuses, determining allowable actions to ensure economic objectives are met without collisions or blockages, using spatial and velocity discretization to manage vehicle movements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a schedule is generated to restrict movements of vehicles to locations and times, then conflicts between vehicles are reduced, but the scheduling process becomes labor intensive and requires significant computational power
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the continuous movement space and time into discrete segments (locations and time slots). Vehicles are assigned to specific segments rather than allowing continuous movement, which simplifies conflict resolution while maintaining operational efficiency. This segmentation transforms a complex continuous scheduling problem into a more manageable discrete assignment problem.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamic task allocation where vehicles can bid for tasks and receive real-time instructions from a central controller. The system continuously monitors vehicle positions, task completion status, and updates allocations dynamically, allowing the schedule to adapt to changing conditions without requiring complete re-scheduling.
2Ease of operation
If individual operators control vehicles independently, then operational flexibility is maintained, but conflicts between vehicles increase due to operators being unaware of other vehicle movements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a central controller as an intermediary between vehicle operators and the task allocation system. The controller receives bids from operators, processes them against system constraints and other vehicle positions, and issues coordinated instructions. This intermediary ensures operational flexibility is maintained while preventing conflicts through centralized awareness and coordination.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements continuous feedback loops where operators submit bids for tasks, the system responds with allocations, and vehicle positions are continuously monitored. This feedback mechanism allows operators to make informed decisions while the system maintains overall coordination, balancing individual operational flexibility with system-wide conflict prevention.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method for guiding and coordinating vehicular traffic determine tasks to be completed by vehicles in a transportation network in order to complete an objective, allocate the tasks among the vehicles, and determine sets of allowable actions for the vehicles based on the allocation of the tasks. The sets of allowable actions dictate plural different allowable actions that the vehicles are allowed to perform in order to complete the tasks allocated to the vehicles. The allowable actions are determined such that the vehicles are scheduled to complete the tasks and complete the objective without the vehicles colliding or blocking movement of each other. The allowable actions are communicated to the vehicles such that the vehicles are permitted to select one or more of the allowable actions and prohibited from performing one or more other actions during performance of the tasks allocated to the vehicles.