Autonomous Vehicle Work Zone Routing With Teleoperation Handoff
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Solution Overview
Problem
Autonomous vehicles face challenges in navigating through work zones, such as construction areas, where they may need to request human intervention due to the inability to safely operate autonomously, and existing systems lack efficient methods for identifying and responding to these zones.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a system where autonomous vehicles use sensors to identify work zones and determine if they can continue operating safely, requesting assistance from a teleoperations monitor arrangement if necessary, which can assign a teleoperations operator to remotely control the vehicle to navigate around or past the zone.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If autonomous vehicles operate autonomously through work zones, then productivity is improved, but safety deteriorates due to inability to safely operate autonomously
Solution Approach 1:
A teleoperations monitor arrangement is introduced as an intermediary between the autonomous vehicle and human operators. The system receives supervisory requests from vehicles encountering work zones, processes them through a queue management system, and routes them to appropriate teleoperations operators who can remotely assist the vehicle through the challenging zone, thereby maintaining safety while preserving operational continuity
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by establishing a teleoperations infrastructure before vehicles encounter problems. Monitor arrangements are pre-positioned and operators are on standby to receive and process supervisory requests, enabling rapid response when vehicles need assistance in work zones without requiring real-time human monitoring of all vehicles
2Reliability
If teleoperations operators remotely control vehicles through work zones, then safety is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The teleoperations system is segmented into distinct functional components: monitor arrangements that receive and process supervisory requests, queue management systems that prioritize and route requests, and operator interfaces that enable remote vehicle control. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently and facilitates modular deployment
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables self-service by allowing autonomous vehicles to autonomously generate and transmit supervisory requests when they detect work zones. The vehicles self-identify their needs and self-route through the teleoperations infrastructure, reducing the burden on operators and automating the request initiation process
3Reliability
If autonomous vehicles request human intervention in work zones, then safety is improved, but loss of time increases
Solution Approach 1:
Teleoperations monitor arrangements and operators are prepared in advance, with systems pre-configured to receive and process supervisory requests. This preliminary preparation eliminates setup delays when vehicles need assistance, enabling immediate response to safety-critical situations
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback loops where vehicles continuously monitor their environment for work zones, automatically generate supervisory requests when needed, and receive real-time status updates on request processing. This feedback mechanism ensures that vehicles are promptly notified when teleoperations assistance is being provided, reducing uncertainty and wait time
Data Source
AI summary
According to one aspect, a method includes autonomously operating a vehicle along a first path, identifying a work zone, and determining whether the vehicle is able to continue operating along the first path after identifying the work zone. When it is determined that the vehicle is not able to continue operating along the first path, it is determined whether an autonomy system is able to identify a second path that routes around the work zone. When the autonomy system is able to identify the second path, the vehicle is autonomously operated along the second path. When the autonomy system is unable to identify the second path, the method includes requesting assistance from a teleoperations monitor arrangement. The vehicle is configured to obtain, from the teleoperations monitor arrangement, a waypoint or a first indication of a teleoperations operation arrangement assigned to remotely operate the vehicle around the work zone.