US-12623673-B2 - Systems and methods of detecting fluid release

Abstract

Fluid release detection is provided. A vehicle can determine, via a first sensor, a flow rate of a first fluid, such as a headspace gas, between an environment and a reservoir of the vehicle. The vehicle can receive a fluid consumption rate for a second fluid, such as a hydrocarbon fuel associated with the reservoir. The vehicle can detect, based on the flow rate and the fluid consumption rate, a fluid release of the reservoir. The vehicle can execute an action responsive to the detection of the fluid release.

Inventors

• Joseph FOX-RABINOVITZ
• Walter GRIGG

Assignees

• TORC ROBOTICS, INC.

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20230629

Claims (20)

1. 1 . A vehicle, comprising: a vision sensor having a field of view comprising a reservoir for a vehicle; and one or more processors in communication with a memory and configured to: receive sensor data comprising an indication of a fluid exterior to the reservoir; determine a reflectivity profile of the fluid exterior to the reservoir; compare the reflectivity profile of the fluid exterior to the reservoir to a model reflectivity profile of a fluid associated with the reservoir, the model reflectivity profile stored in the memory; detect, based on the comparison to the model reflectivity profile, a fluid release including a fluid type of the fluid exterior to the reservoir; and execute an action responsive to the detection of the fluid release.
2. 2 . The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the vehicle is configured to detect an indication of foreign objects or debris on a roadway, and determine the fluid release based on the indication.
3. 3 . The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the action comprises a navigational action.
4. 4 . The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the fluid is a hydrocarbon fuel.
5. 5 . The vehicle of claim 4 , wherein the indication of the fluid exterior to the reservoir comprises the hydrocarbon fuel and water from tire spray or rainfall.
6. 6 . The vehicle of claim 1 , comprising: an energy source to project a signal to the fluid exterior to the reservoir, wherein the vision sensor is configured to sense a reflection of the signal.
7. 7 . The vehicle of claim 6 , wherein: the energy source comprises: a first emitter configured to convey a first portion of the signal at a first frequency; and a second emitter configured to convey a second portion of the signal at a second frequency, at a different time than the first portion of the signal.
8. 8 . The vehicle of claim 6 , wherein the energy source is a light source.
9. 9 . The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the model reflectivity profile comprises a reflection intensity corresponding to a plurality of frequencies.
10. 10 . The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein: the model reflectivity profile includes temporal elements; and the detection of the fluid release is based on a time-series filter.
11. 11 . A method, comprising: receiving, by one or more processors in communication with a memory, sensor data comprising an indication of a hydrocarbon fuel exterior to a reservoir; determining, by the one or more processors, a reflectivity profile of the hydrocarbon fuel exterior to the reservoir; comparing, by the one or more processors, the reflectivity profile of the hydrocarbon fuel exterior to the reservoir to a model reflectivity profile associated with the hydrocarbon fuel, the model reflectivity profile stored in the memory; detecting, by the one or more processors, a hydrocarbon fuel release based on the comparison to the model reflectivity profile including a fluid type of the hydrocarbon fuel exterior to the reservoir; and executing, by the one or more processors, an action responsive to the detection of the hydrocarbon fuel release.
12. 12 . The method of claim 11 , comprising: projecting, by an energy source, a signal to the hydrocarbon fuel exterior to the reservoir, wherein a vision sensor is configured to sense a reflection of the signal.
13. 13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the projection comprises: projecting, by a first emitter, a first portion of the signal at a first frequency; and projecting, by a second emitter, a second portion of the signal at a second frequency, at a different time than the first portion of the signal.
14. 14 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the energy source is a light source.
15. 15 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the model reflectivity profile comprises: a reflection intensity corresponding to a plurality of frequencies; and temporal elements.
16. 16 . A system, comprising: a vision sensor having a field of view comprising a reservoir; and one or more processors in communication with a memory and configured to: receive sensor data comprising an indication of a fluid exterior to the reservoir; determine a reflectivity profile of the fluid exterior to the reservoir; compare the reflectivity profile of the fluid exterior to the reservoir to a model reflectivity profile of a fluid associated with the reservoir, the model reflectivity profile stored in the memory; detect, based on the comparison to the model reflectivity profile, a fluid release including a fluid type of the fluid exterior to the reservoir; and execute an action responsive to the detection of the fluid release.
17. 17 . The system of claim 16 , comprising: an energy source to project a signal to the fluid exterior to the reservoir, wherein the vision sensor is configured to sense a reflection of the signal.
18. 18 . The system of claim 17 , wherein: the energy source comprises: a first emitter configured to convey a first portion of the signal at a first frequency; and a second emitter configured to convey a second portion of the signal at a second frequency, at a different time than the first portion of the signal.
19. 19 . The system of claim 16 , wherein the model reflectivity profile comprises a reflection intensity corresponding to a plurality of frequencies.
20. 20 . The system of claim 16 , wherein the model reflectivity profile includes temporal elements.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates generally to vehicle control systems and, more specifically, detections of fluid egress. BACKGROUND The use of autonomous vehicles has become increasingly prevalent in recent years, with the potential for numerous benefits. However, autonomous vehicles face many of the road hazards faced by human piloted vehicles. For example, road debris or corrosion may interfere with a vehicle, such as by perforating fuel tanks, oil pans, coolant systems, and the like. Human operators may detect such perforations according to a sound, smell, or other indication of the vehicle condition. However, sensors which are present in current autonomy systems, such as forward or rear facing cameras, time of flight sensors, and the like, may not be positioned, specified, or otherwise configured to detect such conditions. Moreover, perforations, un-seated fluidic connectors, or other sources of fluid release can originate from various portions of the vehicle. SUMMARY The detection of unplanned releases from vehicle fluid reservoirs can reduce environmental discharge, increase vehicle availability, and increase vehicle reliability. For example, the vehicle can be flagged for service. In some instances, a release may be indicative of an unplanned siding for the vehicle (e.g., due to an impending inoperability of the vehicle, or to avoid discharging fluids over a roadway). Systems and methods of the present disclosure can compare a rate of fluid consumption (e.g., diesel) to a rate of discharge from a fluid reservoir to determine a deviation therebetween or detect a visual indication of fluid loss from a moving vehicle. The vehicle can determine a confidence level for a fluid release based on one or more instances of the systems described herein. For example, a vehicle can include a vision system disposed within a fluid reservoir, a vision system disposed exterior to a fluid reservoir to detect a reflectivity profile of a released fluid, a pressure system to determine a flow rate between a fluid reservoir and an environment, and components of a perception system to determine a presence of road debris corresponding to fluid releases. The vehicle can determine a confidence of a release based on indications from one or more of the vehicle systems. According to the systems and methods disclosed herein, a vehicle can detect a reflectivity profile of a fluid in a field of view of a sensor. The vehicle can compare the reflectivity profile to one or more predefined reflectivity profiles. For example, the predefined reflectivity profiles can include rain, tire spray of water (e.g., water containing oil or other spillage). In some embodiments, the reflectivity profiles can include vehicle fluids such as brake fluid, oils, engine or battery coolant, or hydrocarbon fuels such as diesel or gasoline. The vehicle can determine a match between a reflectivity profile and a fluid to determine a release of that fluid, or that the fluid is indicative of a benign condition such as rain. As indicated above, the vehicle can determine the fluid release based on further vehicle systems. For example, forward or rearward looking cameras can observe foreign objects or debris (FOD) over a roadway, or an auditory system can detect an indication of a collision between FOD and the vehicle. In some embodiments, the vehicle can impose a time-series or other filter to increase a confidence of a fuel release prior to taking an action. According to the systems and methods disclosed herein, a vehicle can detect an interior surface of a fluid reservoir such as a fuel tank. For example, a vision system can detect a fluid line separating a headspace from a fluid, or a depth of the fluid. In some embodiments, the fluid line may be detected with known features of a reservoir such as the location of the sensor, or makings integral to or disposed over the interior surface of the reservoir. The vehicle can detect a change in the volume which is greater than a threshold. For example, the threshold can be a single predefined threshold, indicative of a breach of the fuel tank, or can be based on a rate of fluid consumption (e.g., fuel). Based on the rate of change (e.g., a difference between a rate of change of the fluid and a consumption of the fluid), the vehicle can determine a release. Likewise, a pressure system can monitor a flow rate of a headspace gas to determine a change in fluid volume, and determine the breach based on such sensor data. The systems and methods herein can cause a vehicle to take an action responsive to a fluid release based on a fluid amount, type, vehicle location, and so forth. For example, the systems and methods herein can interface with a vehicle autonomy system to shutoff or reduce loading to an engine, cause the vehicle to exit from a roadway, or flag the vehicle for service. An embodiment of the present is directed to a vehicle. The vehicle can include one or more processors. The one or more processors