Vehicle collision detection method and system, storage medium and controller

Abstract

The invention discloses a vehicle collision detection method and system, a storage medium and a controller, an elastic wave sensor and a distance measuring sensor are arranged on a vehicle, and the method comprises the steps that elastic wave signals and distance measuring signals captured by the elastic wave sensor and the distance measuring sensor respectively are received; according to the signal intensity of the elastic wave signal, a sensor signal adopted for obtaining a vehicle collision detection result is determined, and the vehicle collision detection result is determined through the corresponding sensor signal; the sensor signal is selected from the elastic wave signal and the ranging signal.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This article relates to vehicle collision detection technology, and more particularly to a vehicle collision detection method, system, storage medium, and controller. Background Technology

[0002] In low-speed driving scenarios (such as automatic parking, narrow road traffic, and congested following), vehicles typically rely on ranging sensors (such as ultrasonic radar, millimeter-wave radar, or lidar) for environmental perception and obstacle detection.

[0003] However, distance sensors have detection blind spots due to their physical characteristics (such as beam angle, transmission frequency, and installation position), especially in areas such as the lower part of the vehicle body, the edge of the bumper, and low obstacles, where they are prone to missed detections. They are also susceptible to environmental interference. In environments with rain, snow, strong noise, high reflection, or strong absorbing materials, distance sensors are easily interfered with and prone to false alarms. If the sensor surface is covered with snow or mud, or when there is high-speed vibration or extreme temperature changes, the accuracy and reliability of the distance sensor will decrease significantly, affecting system reliability and user experience. They cannot confirm whether an actual collision has occurred, so the braking strategy is conservative and the response is delayed in very close distances or when there is obstruction. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This application provides a vehicle collision detection method, system, storage medium, and controller.

[0005] The vehicle collision detection method provided in this application embodiment includes an elastic wave sensor and a ranging sensor installed on the vehicle. The method includes: receiving elastic wave signals and ranging signals captured by the elastic wave sensor and the ranging sensor respectively; determining the sensor signal used to obtain the vehicle collision detection result based on the signal strength of the elastic wave signal, and determining the vehicle collision detection result using the corresponding sensor signal; the sensor signal is selected from the elastic wave signal and the ranging signal.

[0006] The controller provided in this application includes: a storage module configured to store computer program instructions that can run on a processor; and a processing module configured to execute the computer program instructions to implement the method described in the previous embodiment.

[0007] The vehicle collision detection system provided in this application includes: One or more active collision detection circuits containing ranging sensors; One or more passive collision detection circuits that include elastic wave sensors; A controller as described in the previous embodiment that communicates with each active collision detection circuit and each passive collision detection circuit.

[0008] The technical solution described in this embodiment selects the required sensor signal from the elastic wave signal and the ranging signal based on the intensity of the elastic wave signal when determining the vehicle collision detection result. It can combine the advantages of the elastic wave sensor for passive collision detection and the ranging sensor for active collision detection, and achieve highly reliable detection of object contact and close-range obstacles.

[0009] Other features and advantages of this application will be set forth in the following description, and will be apparent in part from the description, or may be learned by practicing the application. Other advantages of this application can be realized and obtained by means of the embodiments described in the description and the accompanying drawings. Attached Figure Description

[0010] The accompanying drawings are used to provide an understanding of the technical solutions of this application and constitute a part of the specification. They are used together with the embodiments of this application to explain the technical solutions of this application and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions of this application.

[0011] Figure 1 A flowchart of a vehicle collision detection method provided in this application embodiment; Figure 2 A controller module diagram provided for an embodiment of this application; Figure 3 A vehicle collision detection system module diagram provided in this application embodiment; Figure 4 This is an example diagram of a vehicle collision detection system provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0012] This application describes several embodiments, but these descriptions are exemplary and not limiting, and it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many more embodiments and implementations are possible within the scope of the embodiments described herein. Although many possible combinations of features are shown in the drawings and discussed in the detailed description, many other combinations of the disclosed features are also possible. Unless specifically limited, any feature or element of any embodiment may be used in combination with, or may replace, any feature or element of any other embodiment.

[0013] This application includes and contemplates combinations of features and elements known to those skilled in the art. The embodiments, features, and elements disclosed in this application can also be combined with any conventional features or elements to form unique inventive solutions. Any feature or element of any embodiment can also be combined with features or elements from other inventive solutions to form another unique inventive solution. Therefore, it should be understood that any feature shown and / or discussed in this application can be implemented individually or in any suitable combination. Therefore, the embodiments are not limited except by the limitations imposed by the appended claims and their equivalents. Furthermore, various modifications and changes can be made within the scope of the appended claims.

[0014] Furthermore, in describing representative embodiments, the specification may have presented methods and / or processes as a specific sequence of steps. However, the method or process should not be limited to the specific order of steps described herein, to the extent that it does not depend on such a specific order. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, other sequences of steps are also possible. Therefore, the specific order of steps set forth in the specification should not be construed as a limitation of the claims. Moreover, the claims concerning the method and / or process should not be limited to the steps performed in the written order, and those skilled in the art will readily understand that these orders can be varied and still remain within the spirit and scope of the embodiments of this application.

[0015] This application provides a vehicle collision detection method, wherein the vehicle is equipped with an elastic wave sensor and a ranging sensor, and the method is as follows: Figure 1 As shown, it includes the following steps: Step S101 receives the elastic wave signal and the distance measurement signal captured by the elastic wave sensor and the distance measurement sensor respectively; The number of elastic wave sensors is one or more; the number of ranging sensors is one or more; The ranging sensor can be of the type of ultrasonic radar, millimeter-wave radar, infrared sensor, lidar, etc.; when there are multiple ranging sensors installed on the vehicle, the types of ranging sensors can be the same or different. The ranging signal from the ranging sensor is used to measure the distance between the vehicle and its surrounding obstacles; the ranging signal can be used for distance warning, such as when the distance between the vehicle and its surrounding obstacles is determined to be less than a first distance threshold (e.g., 30cm) based on the ranging signal, an audible and visual alarm is triggered. The elastic wave sensor and the ranging sensor can work synchronously or asynchronously. For example, the asynchronous operation of the elastic wave sensor and the ranging sensor includes: activating the elastic wave sensor circuit (which includes an elastic wave sensor and an elastic wave signal processing circuit, since the elastic wave sensor is usually activated by vibration, activating the elastic wave sensor circuit means activating the elastic wave signal processing circuit) when the distance between the vehicle and the surrounding obstacles is determined to be less than a set second distance threshold based on the ranging signal. The second distance threshold may be the same as or different from the first distance threshold. Step S102 determines the sensor signal used to obtain the vehicle collision detection result based on the signal strength of the elastic wave signal, and uses the corresponding sensor signal to determine the vehicle collision detection result; the sensor signal is selected from the elastic wave signal and the ranging signal.

[0016] The technical solution described in this embodiment selects the required sensor signal from the elastic wave signal and the ranging signal based on the intensity of the elastic wave signal when determining the vehicle collision detection result. It can combine the advantages of the elastic wave sensor for passive collision detection and the ranging sensor for active collision detection, and achieve highly reliable detection of object contact and close-range obstacles.

[0017] In an exemplary embodiment, determining the sensor signal used to obtain the vehicle collision detection result based on the signal strength of the elastic wave signal, and determining the vehicle collision detection result using the corresponding sensor signal, includes at least one of the following: The signal strength of the elastic signal is greater than or equal to a preset first threshold and less than or equal to a preset second threshold. The result of vehicle collision detection is determined by the elastic wave signal and the ranging signal in concert. The preset second threshold is greater than the preset first threshold. The signal strength of the elastic wave signal is greater than a preset second threshold, and the vehicle collision detection result is determined based on the elastic wave signal.

[0018] The situation where the signal strength of the elastic wave signal is less than the preset first threshold can be due to extremely minor collisions (such as light rain, splashing water on the road, etc.), vehicle interior noise (such as continuous tire noise during driving, engine idling vibration, fan rotation, window raising and lowering, etc.), or environmental noise (such as large vehicles passing by, honking of surrounding vehicles, etc.). The preset first threshold and the preset second threshold can be obtained based on experimental data.

[0019] In this embodiment, the signal strength of the elastic wave signal is greater than a preset second threshold. The vehicle collision detection result can be directly determined based on the elastic wave signal. This can avoid missed detections or false detections and ensure the accuracy of collision detection when the ranging sensor is not working properly (such as when the ranging sensor is blocked, or when the ranging sensor is located in its working blind zone, or when the ranging sensor's measurement accuracy decreases due to weather conditions).

[0020] When the signal strength of the elastic wave signal is greater than or equal to a preset first threshold and less than or equal to a preset second threshold, the vehicle may or may not collide with its surrounding obstacles. The vehicle collision detection result is determined by the elastic wave signal and the ranging signal in tandem. Compared with using a single sensor signal, this can improve the accuracy of collision detection.

[0021] In one exemplary embodiment, the method of jointly determining the result of vehicle collision detection by the elastic wave signal and the ranging signal includes: The vehicle collision detection result and the distance detection result are determined based on the elastic wave signal and the distance measurement signal, respectively. The vehicle collision detection result obtained from the elastic wave signal is corrected by the ranging detection result obtained from the ranging signal, and the corrected result is taken as the final vehicle collision detection result.

[0022] In the collaborative working mode of the elastic wave sensor and the ranging sensor, considering that the elastic wave signal is only generated when there is "vibration", is not sensitive to electromagnetic, radio frequency, temperature and humidity, and the elastic wave sensor has no exposed window, so it will not fail to work due to obstruction or damage by external objects, the collision detection result obtained from the elastic wave signal is the main one, and the ranging detection result obtained from the ranging sensor is the auxiliary one. This is conducive to ensuring the stable execution of the collision detection operation and the accuracy of the collision detection result.

[0023] In one exemplary embodiment, the vehicle collision detection result obtained based on the elastic wave signal is corrected using the ranging detection result obtained based on the ranging signal, and the corrected result is used as the final vehicle collision detection result, including at least one of the following: The vehicle collision detection result obtained from the elastic wave signal is no collision. If no obstacle is detected approaching the vehicle within a first specified time period based on the ranging signal, the final vehicle collision detection result is determined to be no collision. The first specified time period is the end time when no collision is determined, and the duration is a specified duration t1; t1 > 0. For example, the method for determining whether there is a collision based on the elastic wave signal includes: determining whether there is a collision based on the characteristics of the elastic wave signal; the signal characteristics of the elastic wave signal include at least one of time domain characteristics and frequency domain characteristics; for example, determining whether there is a collision based on the similarity comparison between the obtained elastic wave signal signal characteristics and the pre-stored signal characteristics of elastic signals generated by collisions; judging whether there is a collision based on signal characteristics has stronger anti-interference ability and a lower probability of misjudgment compared to judging whether there is a collision based on signal strength; in this embodiment, no obstacle is detected approaching the vehicle, including the case where no obstacle is detected and the case where an obstacle is detected but does not approach the vehicle.

[0024] If the vehicle collision detection result obtained from the elastic wave signal is no collision, and if an obstacle is detected approaching the vehicle based on the ranging signal within the first specified time period, then the final vehicle collision detection result is determined to be a collision. This scheme can reduce the probability of missed detection or false detection caused by collision detection based on the signal characteristics of the elastic wave signal. If the vehicle collision detection result obtained from the elastic wave signal indicates a collision, and no obstacle is detected approaching the vehicle within a second specified time period based on the ranging signal, then the final vehicle collision detection result is determined to be no collision. The moment when a collision is determined within the second specified time period is the end time, and the duration is a specified duration t2; t2 > 0; t1 and t2 can be the same or different. This scheme can avoid false detections in cases where stones are flying or hail hits the vehicle. If the vehicle collision detection result obtained from the elastic wave signal indicates a collision, and if an obstacle is detected approaching the vehicle based on the ranging signal within the second specified time period, then the final vehicle collision detection result is determined to be a collision.

[0025] In an exemplary embodiment, determining the sensor signal used to obtain the vehicle collision detection result based on the signal strength of the elastic wave signal, and determining the vehicle collision detection result using the corresponding sensor signal, includes: If the signal strength of the elastic signal is less than a preset first threshold, and an obstacle is detected approaching the vehicle based on the ranging signal within a third specified time period, the vehicle collision detection result is determined to be no collision. The third specified time period ends at the moment when no collision is determined based on the elastic wave, and the duration is a specified duration t3; t3 > 0. For example, a slight contact between the vehicle and a low shrub on the roadside while reversing, or a slight contact between the vehicle and a pedestrian's clothing, is determined to be no collision.

[0026] In an exemplary embodiment, a method for detecting an obstacle approaching a vehicle based on a ranging signal during the first specified time period or the second specified time period includes: Based on the ranging signal, it is determined that there is an obstacle within a preset range of the vehicle during the first or second specified time period, and the distance between the obstacle and the vehicle is gradually decreasing, thus confirming that an obstacle is approaching the vehicle.

[0027] In this embodiment, while obtaining the vehicle collision detection result based on the elastic wave signal, it is necessary to obtain and cache the ranging signal in order to determine the approach trend of the distance between the obstacle and the vehicle.

[0028] In one exemplary embodiment, the vehicle collision detection method further includes: If the sensor signal used to obtain the vehicle collision detection result is determined based on the signal strength of the elastic wave signal, and the vehicle collision detection result is determined to be a collision using the corresponding sensor signal, then the collision intensity is determined based on the elastic wave signal, and a collision warning is issued based on the collision intensity. For example, for a minor collision, a warning is issued; for a significant collision, the braking system is activated; and for a severe collision, the safety protection device is activated.

[0029] The vehicle collision detection method described in this application can be applied to various scenarios, such as automatic parking scenarios, where the ranging sensor and the elastic wave sensor work in different modes to confirm whether the vehicle has been scratched; narrow road passage scenarios, where the ranging sensor and the elastic wave sensor work in different modes to confirm the collision between the vehicle and roadside obstacles; and pedestrian avoidance scenarios, where the ranging sensor and the elastic wave sensor work in different modes to confirm the collision between the vehicle and pedestrians.

[0030] This application also provides a non-transient computer-readable storage medium storing one or more program instructions that can be executed by one or more processors to implement the vehicle collision detection method as described in any of the preceding embodiments.

[0031] This application also provides a controller, such as... Figure 2 As shown, the controller includes: Storage module 201 is configured to store computer program instructions that can be executed on a processor; The processing module 202 is configured to execute the computer program instructions to implement the vehicle collision detection method as described in any of the preceding embodiments.

[0032] This application also provides a vehicle collision detection system, such as... Figure 3As shown, the system includes: One or more active collision detection circuits 301 including ranging sensors; the ranging sensors may be ultrasonic radar, millimeter-wave radar, infrared sensors, lidar, etc.; in addition to the ranging sensors, the active collision detection circuits 301 also include ranging signal driving circuits and ranging signal detection circuits. One or more passive collision detection circuits 302 including elastic wave sensors; the passive collision detection circuit 302 includes elastic wave sensors and also includes an elastic wave signal detection circuit. A controller 303 as described in the previous embodiment communicates with each active collision detection circuit 301 and each passive collision detection circuit 302.

[0033] In one exemplary embodiment, at least some of the active collision detection circuit and the passive collision detection circuit are arranged in pairs, and each pair of the active collision detection circuit and the passive collision detection circuit is integrated into a main-passive collision detection circuit.

[0034] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of an active and passive collision detection circuit is shown, which is integrated with an active collision detection circuit and a passive collision detection circuit; the active collision detection circuit includes a ranging sensor, and the passive collision detection circuit includes an elastic wave sensor. Figure 4 The ranging sensor is an ultrasonic sensor, and the MCU is the controller. An active collision detection circuit is used to actively transmit and receive ultrasonic signals, and to perform signal modulation, demodulation, amplification, and noise reduction on the received ultrasonic signals. A passive collision detection circuit is used to receive elastic wave signals, and to perform noise reduction, amplification, and feature extraction on the received elastic wave signals.

[0035] In this embodiment, the ultrasonic signal driving circuit is used to transmit high-voltage pulses to the ultrasonic sensor; the ultrasonic sensor is used to vibrate its own transducer under the high-voltage pulse to emit ultrasonic signals to the surrounding environment, and to receive ultrasonic signals reflected back from obstacles, and to send the received ultrasonic signals to the ultrasonic detection circuit; the ultrasonic detection circuit is used to process the received ultrasonic waves and send them to the MCU; the elastic wave sensor is used to monitor elastic wave signals caused by structural vibration within its detection range and send the elastic wave signals to the elastic wave detection circuit; the elastic wave detection circuit processes the elastic wave signals and sends them to the MCU; the MCU is used to determine whether to execute the vehicle collision detection method as described in any of the previous embodiments based on the intensity of the elastic wave signals.

[0036] In an exemplary embodiment, when the vehicle collision detection system includes multiple active collision detection circuits, in order to avoid waveform superposition and interference caused by multiple active detection circuits simultaneously transmitting and receiving ultrasonic signals, the multiple active collision detection circuits can operate in turn in a predetermined order.

[0037] In the case where the vehicle collision detection system includes multiple passive collision detection circuits, the multiple passive collision detection circuits can operate simultaneously. The MCU is used to determine whether to execute the vehicle collision detection method as described in any of the previous embodiments based on the intensity of the elastic wave signals received from the multiple passive detection circuits. For example, when the intensity of a preset number of elastic wave signals (the preset number can be one or more) from the multiple passive detection circuits is greater than the preset first threshold, it is determined that vehicle collision detection should be performed. In the process of the MCU executing the vehicle collision detection, the collision detection can be performed using a corresponding number of elastic wave signals based on the layout of the elastic wave sensors. For example, collision detection can be performed based on each elastic wave signal individually (e.g., different elastic wave sensors are set in different areas of the vehicle, such as the bumper, fender, and door), or it can be performed based on the combined signal of multiple elastic wave signals (e.g., different elastic wave sensors are set in the same area of ​​the vehicle).

[0038] The vehicle collision detection system provided in this application embodiment can operate based on a single active and passive collision detection circuit or multiple active and passive collision detection circuits, thereby improving the vehicle collision detection system's ability to perceive the environment.

[0039] It will be understood by those skilled in the art that all or some of the steps, systems, or apparatuses disclosed above, and their functional modules / units, can be implemented as software, firmware, hardware, or suitable combinations thereof. In hardware implementations, the division between functional modules / units mentioned above does not necessarily correspond to the division of physical components; for example, a physical component may have multiple functions, or a function or step may be performed collaboratively by several physical components. Some or all components may be implemented as software executed by a processor, such as a digital signal processor or microprocessor, or as hardware, or as an integrated circuit, such as an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). Such software may be distributed on a computer-readable medium, which may include computer storage media (or non-transitory media) and communication media (or transient media). As is known to those skilled in the art, the term "computer storage medium" includes volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storing information (such as computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data). Computer storage media include, but are not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technologies, CD-ROM, digital versatile disc (DVD) or other optical disc storage, magnetic cartridges, magnetic tape, disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store desired information and can be accessed by a computer. Furthermore, it is well known to those skilled in the art that communication media typically contain computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in modulated data signals such as carrier waves or other transmission mechanisms, and may include any information delivery medium.

Claims

1. A vehicle collision detection method, wherein the vehicle is equipped with an elastic wave sensor and a ranging sensor, the method comprising: Receive elastic wave signals and distance signals captured by the elastic wave sensor and the distance sensor respectively; The sensor signal used to obtain the vehicle collision detection result is determined based on the signal strength of the elastic wave signal, and the vehicle collision detection result is determined using the corresponding sensor signal; the sensor signal is selected from the elastic wave signal and the ranging signal.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The step of determining the sensor signal used to obtain the vehicle collision detection result based on the signal strength of the elastic wave signal, and determining the vehicle collision detection result using the corresponding sensor signal, includes at least one of the following: The signal strength of the elastic wave signal is greater than a preset second threshold, and the vehicle collision detection result is determined based on the elastic wave signal. The signal strength of the elastic signal is greater than or equal to a preset first threshold and less than or equal to a preset second threshold. The result of vehicle collision detection is determined by the elastic wave signal and the ranging signal in concert. The preset second threshold is greater than the preset first threshold.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The determination of the vehicle collision detection result by the coordinated use of the elastic wave signal and the ranging signal includes: The vehicle collision detection result and the distance detection result are determined based on the elastic wave signal and the distance measurement signal, respectively. The vehicle collision detection result obtained from the elastic wave signal is corrected using the ranging detection result obtained from the ranging signal, and the corrected result is used as the final vehicle collision detection result.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The vehicle collision detection result obtained from the elastic wave signal is corrected using the ranging detection result obtained from the ranging signal, and the corrected result is used as the final vehicle collision detection result, including at least one of the following: The vehicle collision detection result obtained from the elastic wave signal is no collision, and the distance measurement signal does not detect any obstacle approaching the vehicle, so the final vehicle collision detection result is determined to be no collision. If the vehicle collision detection result obtained from the elastic wave signal is no collision, and if the distance measurement signal detects an obstacle approaching the vehicle, then the final vehicle collision detection result is determined to be a collision. If the vehicle collision detection result obtained from the elastic wave signal is a collision, and if no obstacle is detected approaching the vehicle based on the ranging signal, then the final vehicle collision detection result is determined to be no collision. If the vehicle collision detection result obtained from the elastic wave signal is a collision, and if the distance measurement signal detects an obstacle approaching the vehicle, then the final vehicle collision detection result is determined to be a collision.

5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The step of determining the sensor signal used to obtain the vehicle collision detection result based on the signal strength of the elastic wave signal, and determining the vehicle collision detection result using the corresponding sensor signal, includes: The signal strength of the elastic signal is less than a preset first threshold. Based on the ranging signal, an obstacle is detected approaching the vehicle, and the vehicle collision detection result is determined to be no collision.

6. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, A method for detecting an obstacle approaching a vehicle based on a ranging signal during the first specified time period or the second specified time period includes: If, based on the ranging signal, it is determined that an obstacle exists within a preset range from the vehicle during the first or second specified time period, and the distance between the obstacle and the vehicle gradually decreases, then it is determined that an obstacle is approaching the vehicle.

7. A controller, characterized in that, The controller includes: A storage module is configured to store computer program instructions that can be executed on a processor; The processing module is configured to execute the computer program instructions to implement the method as described in any one of claims 1-6.

8. A vehicle collision detection system, characterized in that, The system includes: One or more active collision detection circuits containing ranging sensors; One or more passive collision detection circuits that include elastic wave sensors; The controller as described in claim 7 communicates with each active collision detection circuit and each passive collision detection circuit.

9. The system according to claim 8, characterized in that, At least some of the active collision detection circuits and the passive collision detection circuits are arranged in pairs, and each pair of active collision detection circuits and the passive collision detection circuits is integrated into a main-passive collision detection circuit.

10. The system according to claim 8, characterized in that, The system includes at least one of the following: Multiple active collision detection circuits, which operate in turn in a predetermined order; Multiple passive collision detection circuits, which operate simultaneously.

Images