Autonomous Warning Triangles for CMVs

CAV Technology

Autonomous Warning Triangle System (aWTS)

This Innovation Research Phase-I NSF project focuses on developing a low-cost autonomous Warning Triangle System (aWTS) that assists Commercial Motor Vehicles (CMVs) during emergency stops. All CVMs need to comply with traffic safety regulations and deploy emergency warning devices, such as reflective triangles, in the event of an emergency stop. Without the presence of a human driver, an automated CMV should also be able to automate emergency device placement. Furthermore, proper placement of these warning devices can be very challenging and unsafe for human drivers of non-automated vehicles on a highway. The proposed system will automate emergency device deployment without requiring any human assistance. aWTS consists of three low-cost autonomous triangle reflector devices which are planned to optimally fit in a charging dock/enclosure where they would be safely stored on stand-by mode. When activated by the emergency signal transmitted from the CMV, the autonomous triangles are designed to move successively to their pre-determined destinations on the highway

Motivation

The proposed innovative solution, autonomous Warning Triangle System (aWTS) technology, automates emergency device deployment without requiring any human assistance, hence reduces the risk of traffic incidents due to emergency stopping. With the growing autonomous trucking industry, such technology would be essential since it removes the need for a driver to carry out this important task

Problem

Despite federal regulations, compliance with the requirement for commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers to place traffic warning devices during emergency stops is not sufficient, and the current manual approach increases the risk of secondary crashes

Solution

This proposed high-impact innovation will result in the design, research, and development of an affordable, after-market, reliable, and safe autonomous Warning Triangle System (aWTS) to ensure the safety of automated and semi-automated CMVs during an emergency stop without requiring human assistance

The proposed innovation has multiple components interacting with each other. CMV communicates with aWTS through a CAN (Controller Area Network) module; and the controller unit in the enclosure will assign destination points to the autonomous triangles, then will activate the triangle release mechanism. The on-board computer will calculate the optimal path planning strategy by processing information from the navigation module (GPS), inertial measurement unit (IMU), camera, and other sensors

Description of the Innovation

Expected Outcomes

aWTS aims to automate the deployment of traffic warning devices for CMVs in case of emergency stops without requiring human assistance. The primary benefit of this technology is two-fold: First, it will increase the safety of external drivers by preventing chain accidents in the case of vehicle malfunction and stop at any part of the highway. Second, it will also protect the safety of drivers of non-automated and/or semiautomated vehicles by assisting the deployment of emergency warning triangles on high-speed highways. As a secondary benefit, the autonomous CMV technologies could promote productivity in the supply chain by increasing system capacity with nearly 24/7 operation and doubling the range of transportation. The most notable driving force behind their adoption is due to their almost 30% or more per-mile cost reduction with less labor cost, enhanced driving range, flexibility in freight schedules, and improved fuel efficiency in supply chain operations

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