SBIR Phase I: Autonomous Warning Triangle System (aWTS) for Emergency Stopping

该小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的更广泛影响是确保商用汽车（CMV）中货物和/或乘客的安全转移，并防止商用汽车（CMV）在高速公路上紧急停车时发生二次事故的可能性。所有CMV都需要遵守交通安全法规，并部署紧急警告设备（例如，安全三角形）。在没有人类驾驶员的情况下，自动CMV也应该能够自动放置紧急报警设备。正确放置这些警告设备可以挽救高速公路上非自动驾驶车辆驾驶员的生命。拟议项目将通过防止与CMV故障导致的车道/路肩堵塞相关的任何二次事故来提高外部驾驶员的安全性，并通过协助在高速公路上部署紧急警告三角形来保护非自动和/或半自动车辆的驾驶员。该项目旨在消除由于缺乏标准化而阻碍更高层次自动化技术应用的障碍，设计、研究和开发一种价格合理、售后市场、可靠和安全的自动化警告三角系统（aWTS），以确保自动化和半自动化商用汽车（CMV）在紧急停车时的安全，而无需人工协助。aWTS由三个低成本的自主三角形反射器设备组成，这些设备计划以最佳方式安装在充电底座/外壳中，在待机模式下它们将被安全地存储。当被CMV发送的紧急信号激活时，自主三角形被设计成连续移动到高速公路上的预定目的地。第一阶段项目期间的研发活动包括但不限于：审查安全规范和法规，调查不同的公路场景和相关挑战，并进行计算机模拟;开发概念验证硬件，以证明拟议系统的技术可行性及其与自动化CMVs的集成;通过与汽车制造商合作，确定自主反射三角形的最佳放置和组装;调查潜在的网络安全风险，以开发CMV和aWTS之间的安全通信;该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to ensure the secure transfer of goods and/or passengers in commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) and prevent the likelihood of secondary incidents when a commercial motor vehicles (CMV) has made an emergency stop on a highway. All CMVs need to comply with traffic safety regulations and deploy emergency warning devices (e.g., safety triangles) during an emergency stop. Without the presence of a human driver, an automated CMV should also be able to automate emergency warning device placement. Proper placement of these warning devices can be life-saving for drivers of non-automated vehicles on a highway. The proposed project will increase the safety of external drivers by preventing any secondary incidents associated with the lane/shoulder blockage due to a CMV malfunction and protect drivers of non-automated and/or semi-automated vehicles by assisting in the deployment of emergency warning triangles on highways. This project aims to remove barriers to higher-order automated technology adoption due to lack of standardization.The project 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 the automated and semi-automated commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) during an emergency stop without requiring 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 will be safely stored during 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. The research and development activity during this Phase I project includes, but is not limited to: reviewing safety codes and regulations, investigating different highway scenarios and associated challenges, and performing computer simulations; developing proof-of-concept hardware that can demonstrate the proposed system’s technical feasibility and its integration to automated CMVs; determining the optimal placement and assembly of the autonomous reflective triangles by collaborating with auto manufacturers; investigating the potential cyber-security risks to develop secure communications between CMV and aWTS; and identifying the operational challenges and the design targets while considering the cost of deployment, lifecycle costs, functional use, and interoperability.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.