Between Dec 19, 2024 and Jan 2, 2025, datasets can be submitted to DRUM but will not be processed until after the break. Staff will not be available to answer email during this period, and will not be able to provide DOIs until after Jan 2. If you are in need of a DOI during this period, consider Dryad or OpenICPSR. Submission responses to the UDC may also be delayed during this time.

Browsing by Subject "Collision avoidance"

Now showing 1 - 10 of 10
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    ALX : Autonomous Vehicle Guidance for Roadway Following and Obstacle Avoidance
    (Minnesota Department of Transportation, 1996-10) Du, Yu-feng; Schiller, William; Krantz, Don; Shankwitz, Craig; Donath, Max
    This report presents results of the research performed on the Autonomous Land Experimental Vehicle (ALX) at the University of Minnesota. ALX autonomously follows roadways through the use of visual perception, and executes obstacle detection and collision avoidance through the use of ultrasonic sonar range sensors. This report describes the ALX embedded real-time control system based on a multi-processor, multi-tasking architecture, and presents algorithms used for visual perception, path tracking, position estimation, obstacle detection, and collision avoidance. Computer simulation and experimental results also are presented.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Collision Avoidance: Smart Trucks on Rural Roads
    (Minnesota Department of Transportation, 1995-03) Shankwitz, Craig; Donath, Max
    With interest in collision avoidance technology for highway vehicles on the rise, this report presents an overview of current collision avoidance technology, the technical work required to bring these systems to a commercially viable product, and the societal issues that need addressing before wide-scale deployment can occur. Many questions remain about the benefits of deploying such systems, the costs, the effect of these systems on drivers, and the steps necessary to effectively regulate vehicles equipped with such systems. In addition to technical aspects, the report also discusses the issues that society will face during development and deployment of these systems, which may prove bigger impediments to deployment than technical issues. The report also recommends a research plan to perform fair, unbiased evaluations of emerging collision avoidance technology.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Evaluation of Radar for Snowplows: Initial Results
    (Minnesota Department of Transportation, 1998-04) Gorjestani, Alec; Pham, Thanh; Bajikar, Sundeep; Donath, Max
    Heavy or blowing snow often causes poor visibility for snowplows. This report presents the results of a one-year preliminary study to evaluate the performance of an off-the-shelf radar unit for improved detection of objects under snow and blizzard conditions. Researchers developed a geometrical computer model of radar range and closure rate measurement to provide a baseline for comparison with experimental results. They varied parameters such as radar orientation, location, and differential vehicle speed to determine their effect on radar performance. The radar's accuracy improves as the speed differential between vehicles increases, according to the research findings. Furthermore, slight deviations in orientation and location do not seem to greatly influence the radar's ability to detect other vehicles. The radar also was tested under falling snow conditions. The radar effectively detected target vehicles under 'light' and 'moderate' snow conditions with visibility down to less than one half mile. However, the very small number of snow events in the winter of 1997-98 limits the ability to make conclusions about the radar's performance under such conditions. Since the study began, commercially available radar technology has improved significantly, and researchers recommend testing the improved radar units in the future.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Impending Box Impact Warning System for Prevention of Snowplow-Bridge Impacts: A Final Report of Investigations
    (University of Minnesota Center for Transportation Studies, 2009-02) Lindeke, Richar R.; Katmale, Hilal; Verma, Ravi
    Each year, three or four Mn/DOT snowplows suffer bridge/box collisions while plowing. These collisions can shear off the box and frame damage to the truck. The box then falls onto the road surface where it becomes an immediate life-threatening hazard to traffic. In some cases, the integrity of the bridge may also be compromised. A typical collision of this type requires expenditures of $30,000 to $40,000 and results in potentially dangerous delays in achieving clean pavement status along the affected snowplowing route. Feasibility of linking on-board GPS technology for Automatic Vehicle Location with the current bridge information database at Mn/DOT, “BrInfo,” will be investigated, on a plow-route by route basis, to create collision maps. Collision avoidance then will use some primitive form of map matching. In addition, a prototype warning system that serves as a bridge proximity sensor will be developed to alert the snow plow driver that he/she is approaching a bridge with the box at a dangerous height. This warning system is integrated in an on-board box position sensor so that the driver can be alerted that the box must immediately be lowered. While realizing that additional means for box height control may complicate snowplow maintenance, any system that relieves the driver of cognitive overload, to reduce driver stress and fatigue during plowing operating, when running extended rural plow routes, needs to be implemented.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    MIMIC Sensor Technology for Highway Vehicle Applications: Potential and Challenges for the Future
    (Minnesota Department of Transportation, 1995-03) Shankwitz, Craig; Donath, Max
    Recent advances in MIMIC (MIllimeter Monolithic Integrated Circuit) radar technology play an important role in the development of automated highway systems and automated vehicle control systems. This report presents results of a preliminary investigation into MIMIC-based automotive radar technology and makes recommendations for hardware evaluation. MIMIC technology integrates much of the radar transmitted, receiver, and signal processing hardware onto a one- or two-piece chip set. Massive integration leads to lower manufacturing costs and lower product costs. Moreover, this integration reduces the size of hardware, allowing the radar components to be installed in the vehicle without the need for significant modifications. As radar systems become smaller and cheaper, the demand for these systems will increase. Radar systems affect both the vehicles so equipped and other vehicles within a reasonable proximity. Before vehicles equipped with radar systems travel on public roads, their effects on traffic flow and highway safety must be investigated so that proper regulations can be developed and enforced.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Radar Based Longitudinal Virtual Bumper Collision Avoidance System Implemented on a Truck
    (Minnesota Department of Transportation, 1999-02) Gorjestani, Alec; Donath, Max; Alexander, Lee
    In this report, we describe the implementation of the virtual bumper collision avoidance algorithm for highway vehicles.We describe the results from a series of experiments using the virtual bumper collision avoidance algorithm implemented on a Navistar tractor cab. The virtual bumper combines longitudinal and lateral collision avoidance capabilities to control a vehicle in normal and emergency situations. A programmable boundary, the virtual bumper, defines a personal space around the host vehicle. A radar and a laser range sensor were used to sense the location of vehicles in the region in front of the truck. Incursions into the personal space by target vehicles impose a virtual ‘force’ on the host, which in turn modifies the vehicle’s trajectory in order to avoid collisions with objects in the field of view. The virtual bumper longitudinal controller was tested under several driving situations and at several speeds. The experiments included several scenarios: Adaptive Cruise Control, the truck performing a critical stop when the target vehicle ahead is stationary, and situations in which the target suddenly slows down and speeds up and others which simulate stop and go traffic. Results from the virtual bumper longitudinal experiments were favorable. The algorithm demonstrated robustness to sensor noise and the ability to maintain a safe headway for both normal and emergency driving scenarios. We are presently improving the sensing technology and incorporating a road database which contains roadside features in order to greatly reduce, if not eliminate, false target detection.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Report on Programmatic Evaluation at the Human Factors Research Laboratory
    (Minnesota Department of Transportation, 1995-03) Hancock, Peter A.; Shekhar, Shashi; Burrus, Max; Stephens, R.
    This report summarizes human factors research for IVHS/ITS projects and focuses on the following five tasks: The comparative evaluation of ITS in-vehicle information prototypes. This experiment compares drivers' reaction to the use of three forms of in-vehicle information systems in driving simulation: the Delco prototype, the Volvo Dynaguide prototype, and a procedure that presented a voice generation information system. It includes recommendations for in-vehicle device designs. , The evaluation of driver response to an in-vehicle ITS technology. This experiment evaluated drivers' responses to information presented on an in-vehicle ITS. Geographic databases for IVHS management. This work extends the concept of relational databases to model traffic information in an approach that uses abstract data types and triggers. • The improvement of simulation facilities. This task describes the acquisition and installation of equipment and software to improve simulation capabilities at the Human Factors Research Laboratory and its impact on research efforts. , In-vehicle collision avoidance warning systems for IVHS. This experiment examined the effects of presenting warnings of vehicle proximity on turn decisions.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Safe Multi-Agent Planning Under Time-Window Temporal Logic Specifications
    (2020-05) Peterson, Ryan
    This thesis addresses a multi-agent planning problem, where each agent aims to achieve an individual task while avoiding collisions with other agents in the environment. It is assumed that each agent's task is expressed as a Time-Window Temporal Logic (TWTL) specification defined over a 3D environment. A distributed receding horizon algorithm is introduced for online planning of trajectories. Under mild assumptions on the environment topology, the resulting agent trajectories are always safe (collision-free) and lead to the satisfaction of the TWTL specifications or their finite temporal relaxations. Accordingly, each agent is guaranteed to safely achieve its task while avoiding deadlocks. Performance of the proposed algorithm is demonstrated via numerical simulations and through experiments with quadrotors.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Simulation Validation: Evaluating Driver Performance In Simulation and the Real World
    (Minnesota Department of Transportation, 1998-07) Wade, Michael G.; Hammond, Curtis
    Simulation offers a cost-effective way to conduct research on collision avoidance and accident prevention. To be effective, simulated performance must be a valid measure of real world performance. This project sought to validate real world driving performance based on the performance of individuals driving in simulation. The study presents performance data on 14 male and 12 female volunteer subjects who drove a route adjacent to the University of Minnesota campus and then performed in a similar computer-generated driving route. Generally, subjects reported the simulated driving test comfortable and realistic; performance and characteristics of driving in the simulator closely paralleled the real world; the qualitative pattern of driving was similar; and errors and the control parameters of driving performance suggested acceptable reliability between both driving worlds. Researchers concluded that the simulator performed reliably and provided a valid set of performance data that could be used to better understand driving behavior, especially as it related to accident prevention and collision avoidance.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    The Virtual Bumper: A Control Based Collision Avoidance System For Highway Vehicles
    (Minnesota Department of Transportation, 1997-10) Schiller, William; Donath, Max
    This report summarizes research on a new collision avoidance strategy, the 'virtual bumper.' The research involves development and simulation testing of the virtual bumper, a two-dimensional control strategy that provides steering, throttle, and braking actuation to maneuver a vehicle in a dynamic environment with the goal of avoiding obstacles and other vehicles. The concept applies to both normal and emergency driving conditions. Under all circumstances, the virtual bumper incorporates vehicle dynamic limits to ensure that the control commands are within safe levels. The virtual bumper will attempt to avoid a collision and will, at least, minimize the magnitude of an unavoidable collision. To test the functionality of the virtual bumper, researchers evaluated several driving scenarios. The scenarios consider both normal driving situations and emergency driving conditions. The normal driving scenarios demonstrated that the control algorithm operates the vehicle similar to the way a human would. This is important because a comfortable and predictable (i.e., intuitive) system response is required for achieving driver acceptance. The emergency scenarios demonstrated that the strategy is capable of reacting appropriately while maintaining safe acceleration/deceleration levels for the vehicle. This evaluation showed that the virtual bumper can provide safe vehicle control for a broad range of driving situations.