Virtual Autonomous System Testing With Dynamic Collision Buffers
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Solution Overview
Problem
In autonomous, distributed manufacturing systems, there is a risk of collisions between autonomous components and human workers, necessitating an effective method for testing the safety of these systems without causing harm to humans.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the creation of a virtual image of the autonomous system, where a virtual human operator and autonomous components interact within a virtual environment, using a dynamically sized buffer zone to simulate movements and collisions, allowing for the evaluation of safe paths and reaction data to prevent actual collisions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If physical testing of autonomous systems is conducted with real human workers, then safety evaluation can be performed, but risk of human injury increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates virtual copies (digital twins) of human workers, autonomous components, and the entire system environment. These virtual replicas enable safety testing without exposing real humans to danger, while maintaining realistic interaction dynamics. The virtual human operator and virtual autonomous components interact in a simulated environment that mirrors real-world physics and behavior patterns.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs safety testing in the virtual environment before deploying autonomous components to work with real human workers. By evaluating collision risks, movement patterns, and interaction scenarios beforehand, the system identifies and resolves safety issues proactively, preventing harmful situations from occurring in the physical workspace.
2Reliability
If extensive safety testing is performed in the virtual environment, then system safety improves, but computational resources and time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements a layered testing approach where critical safety scenarios are tested with higher fidelity and more thorough evaluation, while less critical scenarios use simplified models. The buffer zone methodology provides a computationally efficient approximation that captures essential safety dynamics without requiring full-precision simulation of all system parameters, balancing accuracy with resource consumption.
3Device complexity
If a fixed buffer zone is used in the virtual environment, then collision detection is simplified, but accuracy in predicting actual collisions decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The buffer zone is implemented as a dynamic entity that adapts its size and shape based on the velocity, direction, and type of moving objects. As objects move faster or change direction, the buffer zone expands accordingly to maintain accurate collision prediction. This dynamic adjustment preserves measurement precision while keeping the computational model manageable through rule-based adaptation rather than complex continuous calculation.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a method for testing an autonomous system of which a virtual image exists, the virtual image including at least one virtual image of an autonomous component including the following steps:a) Acquiring of component data providing information in relation to a movement of the at least one virtual image of the autonomous component;b) Creating, in the virtual image, at least one virtual object;c) Generating, in the virtual image, a corpus around the at least one virtual object or/and the virtual image of the at least one component;d) Representing, in the virtual image, a movement of the at least one virtual object or/and the virtual image of the at least one autonomous component;e) Acquiring reaction data in relation to the movement of the at least one virtual object or/and the virtual image;f) Evaluating a feasible course of movement considering the reaction data.