Crowdsourced Virtual Traffic Simulation for Driver Assistance Testing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Testing driver assistance systems for autonomous driving poses a challenge in balancing testing effort and coverage, as critical scenarios with high danger potential occur infrequently, making it difficult to validate these systems within realistic development cycles without sufficient real-world data.
Innovation Solution
A computer-implemented method generates scenario data by simulating virtual traffic situations with user-controlled and AI-controlled road users, capturing user inputs, and extracting scenario data to recreate critical driving scenarios without real test drives, using a crowdsourcing approach and simulation physics to mimic real-world conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If real test drives are used to collect sufficient critical scenarios for validation, then testing coverage is improved, but testing effort and time requirements become prohibitive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates virtual copies of real-world driving scenarios through simulation environments. Instead of conducting extensive real test drives, the system generates synthetic scenario data that replicates critical driving situations, allowing comprehensive validation without the time constraints of physical testing.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary generation of scenario data through simulations before actual testing begins. By pre-generating diverse critical scenarios including rare edge cases in a virtual environment, the patent enables subsequent real-world testing to focus on validated scenarios, significantly reducing overall testing time while maintaining comprehensive coverage.
2Reliability
If the range of scenarios is expanded to cover all possible driving situations, then testing coverage is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the vast space of possible driving scenarios into manageable categories and parameters. The simulation system divides scenarios into different dimensions (road conditions, weather, traffic patterns, vehicle states) that can be independently controlled and combined, making comprehensive scenario generation systematic rather than overwhelming.
Solution Approach 2:
The virtual simulation environment serves multiple functions simultaneously: it generates scenario data, validates driver assistance systems, identifies critical edge cases, and provides a controlled testing platform. This multi-functional approach consolidates what would otherwise require separate complex systems into a single unified platform.
3Reliability
If more critical scenarios are tested, then reliability of driver assistance system is improved, but testing effort increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses virtual replicas of critical scenarios to test driver assistance systems extensively without the resource constraints of real-world testing. By copying dangerous or rare scenarios in a safe simulation environment, the system can perform numerous repetitions and variations that would be impractical or unsafe in reality, thereby improving reliability assessment while maintaining testing efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a system for generating scenario data for the testing of a driver assistance system of a vehicle and a corresponding method, where the system comprises: means for simulating a virtual traffic situation, where at least one first road user can be controlled by a first user and simulation data is generated during the simulation; a first user interface for outputting a virtual environment of at least one first road user to the first user on the basis of the virtual traffic situation; a second user interface for capturing inputs of the first user for controlling the at least one first road user in a virtual environment of the first road user; means for checking the generated simulation data for the occurrence of scenarios; means for extracting scenario data related to the scenario; and a data storage for recording the scenario data for testing the driver assistance system.