Virtual Area Collision Avoidance for Vehicle Braking Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional vehicle control systems lack a method to effectively avoid collisions between a vehicle and an oncoming vehicle by using a virtual object to control automatic braking when traversing an opposite lane.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle control device that includes an oncoming vehicle detection sensor and a controller to set a virtual area moving with the oncoming vehicle, extending towards the own vehicle, to automatically brake and prevent contact with the virtual area, thereby avoiding collisions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If automatic brake is controlled based on TTC with oncoming vehicle, then collision avoidance capability is improved, but when own vehicle traverses opposite lane the braking control becomes insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a virtual area as an intermediary object between the own vehicle and the oncoming vehicle. This virtual area serves as a mediator for brake control, allowing the system to handle opposite lane traversal scenarios indirectly by controlling the own vehicle's distance to the virtual area rather than directly to the oncoming vehicle, thus resolving the insufficiency of direct TTC-based control in this specific scenario.
Solution Approach 2:
The virtual area is designed to move dynamically with the oncoming vehicle, maintaining its position relative to the oncoming vehicle's rear end. This dynamic positioning allows the brake control system to adapt to changing relative positions and speeds, improving both reliability and adaptability of collision avoidance across different driving scenarios including opposite lane traversal.
2Reliability
If virtual area is set to extend toward own vehicle using rear end of oncoming vehicle as base point, then collision avoidance is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a virtual copy (virtual area) of the oncoming vehicle's spatial occupation and movement characteristics. Instead of directly calculating complex collision trajectories, the system simplifies the problem by copying the oncoming vehicle's rear end position and extending a virtual area from that point, making the brake control calculations more manageable while maintaining collision avoidance effectiveness.
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle control device includes an oncoming vehicle detection sensor that detects an oncoming vehicle approaching an own vehicle; and a controller configured to automatically apply brakes to the own vehicle to avoid a collision with the oncoming vehicle, detected by the oncoming vehicle detection sensor, under a condition that the own vehicle is at least partially in an opposite lane or a planned path of the own vehicle is at least partially in the opposite lane. The controller is further configured to set, between the own vehicle and the oncoming vehicle, a virtual area that moves with the oncoming vehicle and that extends toward the own vehicle using a rear end of the oncoming vehicle as a base point, and automatically brake the own vehicle to avoid the own vehicle coming into contact with the virtual area to avoid the collision between the own vehicle and the oncoming vehicle.