Vehicle surface impact detection
AssigneeGM Cruise Holdings LLC
InventorsAmanda Lind, Gabriel Andrew Rodriguez
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Systems and methods are provided for using sensors and signal processing to detect vehicle surface impacts. In particular, a sensor and signal processing approach is provided for detecting impacts, with the results having a low false positive rate. The approach reduces operator costs by reducing operator involvement through improved automated detection technology. Additionally, systems and methods are provided for distinguishing chassis-driven fascia vibration from impact-driven fascia vibration.
Claims20
A system for detecting an impact on a vehicle, comprising:
- a first transducer configured to generate a first input signal;
- a second transducer configured to generate a second input signal;
- a coherence module configured to:
- receive the first input signal and the second input signal,
- determine first spectra for the first input signal for each of a plurality of time windows,
- determine second spectra for the second input signal for each of the plurality of time windows, and
- determine a coherence measurement for each of the plurality of time windows based on respective first spectra and respective second spectra;
- and
- a filter module configured to:
- detect a subset of the plurality of time windows for which a respective coherence measurement equals one,
- identify a subset of first spectra corresponding to the subset of the plurality of time windows,
- identify a subset of second spectra corresponding to the subset of the plurality of time windows,
- filter out the subset of first spectra and the subset of second spectra, and generate a filtered transducer signal.
A method for detecting an impact on a vehicle, comprising:
- receiving a first input signal from a first transducer positioned on the vehicle;
- receiving a second input signal from a second transducer positioned on the vehicle;
- determining first spectra for the first input signal for each of a plurality of time windows;
- determining second spectra for the second input signal for each of the plurality of time windows;
- determining a coherence measurement for each of the plurality of time windows based on respective first spectra and respective second spectra;
- detecting a subset of the plurality of time windows for which the respective coherence measurement equals one;
- identifying a subset of first spectra corresponding to the subset of the plurality of time windows;
- identifying a subset of second spectra corresponding to the subset of the plurality of time windows;
- filtering out the subset of first spectra and the subset of second spectra;
- generating a filtered transducer signal;
- and
- detecting an impact on the vehicle based on the filtered transducer signal.
A vehicle having an impact detection system, comprising:
- a plurality of transducers, including a first transducer configured to generate a first input signal and a second transducer configured to generate a second input signal;
- and
- an onboard computing system, comprising:
- a coherence module configured to:
- receive the first input signal and the second input signal,
- determine first spectra for the first input signal for each of a plurality of time windows,
- determine second spectra for the second input signal for each of the plurality of time windows, and
- determine a coherence measurement for each of the plurality of time windows based on respective first spectra and respective second spectra;
- a filter module configured to:
- filter out a subset of first spectra and a subset of second spectra based on the coherence measurement, and
- generate a filtered transducer signal;
- and
- an impact detection module configured to detect an impact on the vehicle based on the filtered transducer signal.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.