Design of Highway Maintenance Unmanned Vehicles Based on the Double-Circulation Double-Diamond Model

The objective of this study is to construct a “Double-Circulation Double-Diamond” model integrating AHP, QFD, and TRIZ. This will enable the resolution of contradictions between user requirements and technical solutions in the design of highway maintenance unmanned vehicles. The construction of an efficient, safe, and iterative systematic design framework will be achieved by following these steps. The model incorporates both internal and external feedback loops into the conventional Double-Diamond framework, thereby establishing a dynamic closed-loop process of “requirement identification—technical transformation—contradiction resolution—feedback optimization.” AHP is employed to conduct a hierarchical analysis of user requirements; QFD is utilized to map these requirements to technical characteristics; and TRIZ is integrated to facilitate innovative problem-solving and solution generation. The proposed model has been demonstrated to be an effective means of achieving requirement hierarchy decomposition, technical translation, and resolution of key contradictions. MATLAB R2025b (version 25.2.0) simulations were employed to verify the role of the external feedback loop in scheme iteration and optimization. This confirmed the A* algorithm as the optimal path planning approach, which achieves a balance between efficiency and safety. The fuzzy comprehensive evaluation yielded a score of 3.142, indicating performance between “well achieved” and “fully achieved”. In comparison with conventional linear development methodologies, the “Double-Circulation Double-Diamond” model has been shown to markedly enhance the systematicness and dynamic adaptability of complex equipment design through the utilization of cross-phase feedback and methodological coupling. This approach provides a transferable design framework applicable to highway maintenance, unmanned vehicles, and other complex engineering systems.