Capacitive smart road for vehicle localization
A system including a plurality of first wires and a plurality of second wires is disclosed. Each second wire overlaps over one or more first wires at a respective overlapping area of one or more first wires. A dielectric material is disposed in a vertical gap at each respective overlapping area forming a capacitance sensor including a first electrode corresponding to a first wire and a second electrode corresponding to a second wire. The first and second electrodes are connected to a positive bias and a negative bias of at least one voltage source, respectively. The system includes at least one processor configured to periodically measure change in respective electric field of each capacitance sensor of a subset of capacitance sensors of a plurality of capacitance sensors, and store data corresponding to periodically measured change in the respective electric field of each capacitance sensor of the subset of capacitance sensors.
1 . A capacitive road system for a road, the capacitive road system comprising:
a plurality of first wires;
a plurality of second wires, each of the plurality of second wires overlapping over one or more wires of the plurality of first wires at a respective overlapping area of each of the one or more wires of the plurality of first wires;
a dielectric material disposed in a vertical gap between a wire of the plurality of first wires and a wire of the plurality of second wires forming each respective overlapping area, the dielectric material, a first electrode, and a second electrode forming a capacitance sensor of a plurality of capacitance sensors, wherein the first electrode corresponds to the wire of the plurality of first wires at each respective overlapping area and the second electrode corresponds to the wire of the plurality of second wires at each respective overlapping area,
wherein the plurality of capacitance sensors are embedded at designated intervals into the road;
at least one voltage source having a positive bias connected to the first electrode of the capacitance sensor and a negative bias connected to the second electrode of the capacitance sensor; and
at least one processor configured to:
periodically measure change in respective electric field of each capacitance sensor of a subset of capacitance sensors of the plurality of capacitance sensors, the periodically measured change corresponding to one or more objects on the surface of the road and usable to locate the one or more objects on the road relative to the designated intervals;
determine locations of the one or more objects on the road, based on geolocations of the first electrode and the second electrode; and
store data corresponding to periodically measured change in the respective electric field of each capacitance sensor of the subset of capacitance sensors.
2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of first wires and the plurality of second wires are laid out to run diagonally in opposite directions while overlapping.
3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of first wires or each of the plurality of second wires has a width of a predetermined value.
4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the vertical gap at each respective overlapping area filled with the dielectric material has a height of a predetermined value.
5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the dielectric material includes one of plastics, ceramic, or paper.
6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of first wires and the plurality of second wires are laid out as separated by a predetermined horizontal distance.
7 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the subset of capacitance sensors of the plurality of capacitance sensors is selected corresponding to a size of an object causing change in the respective electric field of each capacitance sensor of the subset of capacitance sensors.
8 . The system of claim 7 , wherein the subset of capacitance sensors of the plurality of capacitance sensors is selected based on a dimension of a vehicle configured to drive on the road.
9 . A grid of a plurality of capacitance sensors for a capacitive road system for a road, the grid comprising:
a plurality of first wires;
a plurality of second wires, each of the plurality of second wires overlapping over one or more wires of the plurality of first wires at a respective overlapping area of each of the one or more wires of the plurality of first wires;
a dielectric material disposed in a vertical gap between a wire of the plurality of first wires and a wire of the plurality of second wires forming each respective overlapping area, the dielectric material, a first electrode, and a second electrode forming a capacitance sensor of the plurality of capacitance sensors, wherein the first electrode corresponds to the wire of the plurality of first wires at each respective overlapping area and the second electrode corresponds to the wire of the plurality of second wires at each respective overlapping area, each wire of the plurality of first wires having a first width and each wire of the plurality of the second wires having a second width,
wherein the plurality of capacitance sensors are embedded at designated intervals into the road;
at least one voltage source having a positive bias connected to the first electrode of the capacitance sensor and a negative bias connected to the second electrode of the capacitance sensor; and
at least one processor configured to:
periodically measure change in respective electric field of each capacitance sensor of a subset of capacitance sensors of the plurality of capacitance sensors, the periodically measured change corresponding to one or more objects on the surface of the road and usable to locate the one or more objects on the road relative to the designated intervals;
determine locations of the one or more objects on the road, based on geolocations of the first electrode and the second electrode; and
store data corresponding to periodically measured change in the respective electric field of each capacitance sensor of the subset of capacitance sensors.
10 . The grid of claim 9 , wherein the plurality of first wires and the plurality of second wires are laid out to run diagonally in opposite directions while overlapping.
11 . The grid of claim 9 , wherein the first width is same as the second width.
12 . The grid of claim 9 , wherein the vertical gap at each respective overlapping area filled with the dielectric material has a height of a predetermined value.
13 . The grid of claim 9 , wherein the dielectric material includes one of plastics, ceramic, or paper.
14 . The grid of claim 9 , wherein the plurality of first wires and the plurality of second wires are laid out as separated by a predetermined horizontal distance.
15 . The grid of claim 9 , wherein the subset of capacitance sensors of the plurality of capacitance sensors is selected corresponding to a size of an object causing change in the respective electric field of each capacitance sensor of the subset of capacitance sensors.
16 . The grid of claim 15 , wherein the subset of capacitance sensors of the plurality of capacitance sensors is selected based on a dimension of a vehicle configured to drive on the road.
17 . A grid of a plurality of capacitance sensors for a capacitive road system for a road, the grid comprising:
a plurality of first wires each having a first width;
a plurality of second wires each having a second width and overlapping over one or more wires of the plurality of first wires at a respective overlapping area of each of the one or more wires of the plurality of first wires;
a dielectric material disposed in a vertical gap between a wire of the plurality of first wires and a wire of the plurality of second wires forming each respective overlapping area, the dielectric material, a first electrode, and a second electrode forming a capacitance sensor of the plurality of capacitance sensors, wherein the first electrode corresponds to the wire of the plurality of first wires at each respective overlapping area and the second electrode corresponds to the wire of the plurality of second wires at each respective overlapping area,
wherein the plurality of capacitance sensors are embedded at designated intervals into the road; and
at least one voltage source having a positive bias connected to the first electrode of the capacitance sensor and a negative bias connected to the second electrode of the capacitance sensor, wherein the grid is communicatively coupled to at least one processor that is configured to:
periodically measure change corresponding to one or more objects on the surface of the road and usable to locate the one or more objects on the road relative to the designated intervals; and
determine locations of the one or more objects on the road, based on geolocations of the first electrode and the second electrode.
18 . The grid of claim 17 , wherein the grid is communicatively coupled to the at least one processor that is further configured to:
periodically measure, as the change corresponding to the one or more objects on the surface of the road, change in the respective electric field of each capacitance sensor of a subset of capacitance sensors of the plurality of capacitance sensors; and
store data corresponding to periodically measured change in the respective electric field of each capacitance sensor of the subset of capacitance sensors.
19 . The grid of claim 17 , wherein the plurality of first wires and the plurality of second wires are laid out to run orthogonally while overlapping.
20 . The grid of claim 17 , wherein the first width is same as the second width.