SURROGATE FOR CONCRETE DIVIDER

• US 20190309491A1
• Filed: 09/27/2018
• Published: 10/10/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/09/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Indiana University, Ohio State Innovation Foundation (Ohio State University), Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Indiana University, Ohio State Innovation Foundation (Ohio State University), Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America Incorporated (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Sherony, Rini, Chien, Stanley Yung-Ping, Yi, Qiang, Lin, Jun, Saha, Abir, Chen, Yaobin, Chen, Chi-Chih
• Granted Patent: US 10,597,835 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: E01F 13/02 free-standing; portable, e.g. for guarding open manholes E01F9/688 takes precedence; Portable signs or signals specially adapted for fitting to portable barriers
• CPC Class Codes: E01F 15/0438 Spacers between rails and posts, e.g. energy-absorbing means E01F15/0415 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: E01F 15/0446 Concrete rails E01F15/0476 takes precedence; safety kerbs or walls E01F15/08
• CPC Class Codes: E01F 15/0461 Supports, e.g. posts roadside posts in general E01F9/60
• CPC Class Codes: E01F 15/0476 Foundations
• CPC Class Codes: E01F 15/086 using plastic, rubber or synthetic materials
• CPC Class Codes: E01F 9/669 for fastening to safety barriers or the like
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2021/1793 Remote sensing
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/06 Systems determining position data of a target
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/4813 Housing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/18 Status alarms G08B21/02 takes precedence

Abstract

Surrogates for roadside objects, such as concrete dividers, can be used for vehicle testing. A surrogate for a concrete divider can have substantially the same size and/or shape as the concrete divider that the surrogate is mimicking. The surrogate can be configured to exhibit substantially the same characteristics as their actual counterpart concrete divider when sensed by one or more vehicle sensors (e.g., cameras, radar sensors, and/or LIDAR sensors). Such surrogates can be used to test autonomous vehicles, one or more vehicle sensors, a vehicle sensor system, and/or one or more vehicle system (e.g., a road departure mitigation system). The surrogates can be configured to withstand being crashed into by a test vehicle without being damaged and without damaging the test vehicle.

Claims

1. A concrete divider surrogate comprising:

a main body, the main body configured to be substantially the same size and shape as a main body of a concrete divider, the main body including a core and a skin attached to the core, the skin covering at least a portion of the core, the skin being configured to exhibit substantially the same characteristics to one or more vehicle sensors as the main body of the concrete divider.

2. The concrete divider of claim 1, wherein the main body is made of a plurality of main body segments, and wherein the main body segments are operatively connected in an end to end manner.

3. The concrete divider of claim 1, wherein the one or more vehicle sensors include a camera, a LIDAR sensor, or a radar sensor.

4. The concrete divider surrogate of claim 1, wherein the core is made of a foam material.

5. The concrete divider surrogate of claim 1, wherein the skin is made of a plurality of layers.

6. The concrete divider surrogate of claim 5, wherein an outermost layer of the plurality of layers is configured to exhibit substantially the same characteristics as a concrete divider relative to a camera or a LIDAR sensor.

7. The concrete divider surrogate of claim 5, wherein the plurality of layers is configured to collectively exhibit substantially the same characteristics as a concrete divider relative to a RADAR sensor.

8. The concrete divider surrogate of claim 5, wherein a first layer of the plurality of layers of the skin is a mixture of paint and cement.

9. The concrete divider surrogate of claim 8, wherein the first layer defines an outermost layer of the plurality of layers of the skin.

10. The concrete divider surrogate of claim 5, wherein at least one layer of the plurality of layers of the skin includes a mixture of acrylic paint and conductive carbon paint.

11. The concrete divider surrogate of claim 5, wherein at least one layer of the plurality of layers includes polycarbonate film.

12. The concrete divider surrogate of claim 1, further including one or more support elements operatively connected to the main body.

13. A concrete divider surrogate comprising:

a main body, the main body including a core and a skin attached to the core, the skin covering at least a portion of the core, the skin is made of a plurality of layers, the main body being configured to exhibit substantially the same characteristics of a concrete divider relative to one or more vehicle sensors; and

one or more support elements operatively connected to the main body, the main body and the one or more support elements being separable from each other.

14. The concrete divider surrogate of claim 13, wherein a first layer of the plurality of layers of the skin includes a mixture of paint and cement, and wherein a second layer of the plurality of layers of the skin includes a mixture of acrylic paint and conductive carbon paint.

15. The concrete divider surrogate of claim 14, wherein the first layer defines an outermost layer of the skin, and wherein the second layer defines an innermost layer of the skin.

16. The concrete divider surrogate of claim 15, further including an intermediate layer between the outermost layer and the innermost layer.

17. The concrete divider surrogate of claim 16, wherein the intermediate layer includes a polycarbonate film.

18. The concrete divider surrogate of claim 14, wherein the main body is made of a plurality of segments, and wherein the segments are operatively connected in an end to end manner.

19. The concrete divider surrogate of claim 14, wherein the skin is configured to exhibit substantially the same radar cross-section as a main body of a concrete divider for at least one of 24 GHz radar or for 77 GHz radar.

20. The concrete divider surrogate of claim 14, wherein the skin is configured to exhibit substantially the same infrared reflectivity as a main body of a concrete divider a reflectance angle of from substantially 0 degrees to substantially 70 degrees.