Vehicle Wheel Radius Estimation Using Iterative Sensor Fusion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for determining the radius of a motor vehicle's wheels are complex, computationally intensive, and require additional sensors, making them costly and inefficient for use in autonomous driving applications.
Innovation Solution
An iterative method using existing driving direction and incremental sensor units to detect straight line travel, slide-free conditions, and calculate wheel radii without additional sensors, leveraging inertial, yaw rate, and steering angle sensors for reliable radius determination.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If kinematic or dynamic models are used to determine wheel radii, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity and computational intensity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex kinematic/dynamic mechanical calculation models with a simplified iterative computational approach using basic sensor data (wheel rotation counts and vehicle distance), significantly reducing computational intensity while maintaining measurement precision
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses existing vehicle sensors (wheel speed sensors and position sensors) to determine wheel radii without requiring additional measurement devices, making the system self-sufficient and reducing overall device complexity
2Measurement precision
If additional sensors are installed to detect pressure loss or improve measurement accuracy, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes existing multi-functional sensors serve additional purposes: wheel speed sensors and position sensors are used not only for their primary functions but also for determining wheel radii, eliminating the need for dedicated radius measurement sensors
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses existing vehicle sensors to determine wheel radii without requiring additional measurement devices, making the system self-sufficient and reducing overall device complexity
3Measurement precision
If complex calculation models are used to determine wheel radii, then measurement precision is improved, but processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex kinematic/dynamic mechanical calculation models with a simplified iterative computational approach using basic sensor data (wheel rotation counts and vehicle distance), significantly reducing computational intensity and runtime
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary measurements of wheel rotation counts and vehicle distance during normal operation, so that when radius determination is needed, the data is already available and only simple iterative calculations are required
Data Source
AI summary
A method comprises checking whether a motor vehicle is driving based on the incremental sensor units, checking whether the motor vehicle is driving in a straight line based on a driving direction sensor unit, checking whether each wheel is slide-free and slip-free based on the incremental sensor units, determining the distance driven by each wheel based on the sensor value of the respective incremental sensor unit and the radius to be iteratively determined of the wheel of a previous iteration, determining the distance driven by the motor vehicle based on the distance driven by each wheel, determining the radius to be iteratively determined of the wheel based on the distance traveled by the motor vehicle and the sensor value of the respective incremental sensor unit, verifying that a validation condition is met and then repeating the aforementioned steps.