Method for determining the position and / or orientation of a sensor

Abstract

Method for determining a target position and / or a target orientation of at least one sensor for monitoring traffic on a traffic route, wherein the method comprises the following steps: a) Providing information for the identification (2) of the traffic route to be monitored in a data processing facility, wherein the information includes a name of the traffic route and / or geo-coordinates, b) Identifying the traffic route using the information provided in the data processing facility, c) Providing technical data and beam lobe shapes of the sensor, d) Querying and providing data on the traffic route to be monitored from a database (4), wherein the data provided includes information on the structure of the traffic route, for example, lanes of the traffic route, in particular number and main direction of travel, stop lines, pedestrian crossings and / or turning lanes, e) Determine (8) at least one possible target position and / or target orientation using the data provided.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a method for determining a target position and / or a target orientation of at least one sensor for monitoring traffic on a traffic route.

[0002] Such sensors have long been established technology and are used, for example, for traffic monitoring on busy roads, such as intersections. In principle, these sensors can also be used to monitor waterways, such as canals or locks, or to monitor railway lines. Typically, a transmitter within the sensor emits a signal, which can be radar radiation, for example. At least a portion of this signal is reflected by road users on the monitored section of the roadway and then reaches a receiver within the sensor. This allows the receiver to detect a portion of the reflected signal, enabling the determination of the position and speed of the road user from whom the signal was reflected.

[0003] To optimally monitor intersections, which may have multiple lanes for each direction of travel, several of these conventional sensors are often required. To minimize the number needed and to ensure that even a single sensor can optimally cover the section of the road to be monitored, the optimal positions and orientations of these sensors are determined, for example, using a three-dimensional model of the road.

[0004] Today's sensors are capable of monitoring traffic on a road in a variety of ways. For example, the number and direction of travel of detected vehicles, and of course their speed, can be recorded for statistical purposes. If the number and layout of the lanes, as well as the main direction of travel along each lane, are known, wrong-way drivers, for instance, can also be identified. However, for this to work, the sensor needs access to data about the road it is monitoring, such as the layout, width, and number of lanes, as well as the main directions of travel along these lanes. It also requires information about the sensor's position and its orientation relative to the lanes. Currently, all this information is manually entered into the sensor's data storage.This is done, for example, by using an aerial image of an intersection or part of the road to be monitored, to manually trace the lane markings and thus store the position and number of lanes in the sensor's data memory. However, this presents the challenge that aerial images are often distorted because they do not represent a 100% vertical view. Furthermore, the lane information must be stored in the sensor so that it can assign detected vehicles to one or more of the lanes. This is only possible if the sensor's data memory contains information about its target position and orientation relative to the lanes. This often can only be determined by physically inspecting the road to be monitored.

[0005] German patent DE 10 2008 016 311 A1 deals with a method and control of antennas for increasing the communication range of a vehicle. It concerns a vehicle antenna whose antenna characteristics are controlled based on information about the further course of a road to be traveled.

[0006] From DE 10 2013 002 994 A1, a method for determining a target position of at least one sensor is known, in which a traffic route is to be monitored by the sensor. This is modeled by a 3D model, into which the sensor is first virtually placed.

[0007] DE 10 2011 050 660 A1 describes a method for aligning and checking the alignment of a traffic monitoring device with the edge of the roadway. It is intended to verify whether a deployed monitoring device assumes and / or maintains the specified target position.

[0008] The invention is therefore based on the objective of providing a method for determining a target position and / or a target orientation of at least one sensor for monitoring traffic on a road, which is simple, fast and reliable.

[0009] The invention solves the stated problem by means of a generic method comprising the following steps: a) Providing information for the identification of the traffic route to be monitored in a data processing facility, wherein the information includes a name of the traffic route and / or geo-coordinates, b) Identifying the traffic route using the information provided in the data processing facility, c) Providing technical data and beam lobe shapes of the sensor, d) Querying and providing data on the traffic route to be monitored from a database, wherein the data provided includes information on the structure of the traffic route, in particular the number and main direction of travel, stop lines, pedestrian crossings and / or turning lanes, e) Determine at least one possible target position and / or target orientation using the provided data.

[0010] This method offers numerous advantages over previously known methods. The user, who wishes to determine the optimal target position and / or orientation of at least one sensor, must first provide information to a data processing unit to identify the traffic route to be monitored. Advantageously, this information includes, for example, at least the name of one of the traffic routes involved. However, specifying geographic coordinates (latitude, longitude) is also possible. In this way, it is possible, for example, to uniquely identify an intersection to be monitored by naming the two intersecting roads.In a particularly simple implementation of the procedure for the user, aerial photographs or digital maps are already stored in the data processing device, so that the user of the procedure, for example, clicks on a specific point on such a graphically displayed map or aerial photograph using a pointing device, such as a mouse. Advantageously, the individual geographic coordinates of different points shown on the aerial photograph or digital map are stored in the data memory of the data processing device, so that the information for identifying the traffic route to be monitored can be provided in this way.

[0011] The identification of the traffic route from the input information is achieved through processing of the information within the data processing unit. This involves, for example, a database query to extract the data and information required for route identification from the input data. This can be done locally within the data processing unit or by accessing an external database or data processing program. The specific processing of the input information depends largely on the information and data formats required by the database accessed in the second step of the process.

[0012] Once the traffic route to be monitored has been clearly identified in the data processing unit, the unit accesses a database. This database may be located in the data processing unit's local data storage or, for example, in a network such as the World Wide Web. The database contains, in particular, position data and traffic flow data for the traffic route to be monitored. This data is made available for further processing upon querying by the data processing unit.

[0013] After any necessary processing and editing of the data provided from the database, at least one possible target position and / or target orientation is determined using this data.

[0014] Consequently, the user of the system no longer needs to manually enter lanes and other local characteristics of the traffic route to be monitored into the data processing unit, as was common practice in the prior art. Instead, the user only needs to identify the traffic route to be monitored, allowing the data processing unit to automatically retrieve the necessary traffic data from the database. This significantly speeds up the process, increases accuracy, and reduces the potential for errors. In particular, if the user is not personally familiar with the traffic route to be monitored, the uncertainties associated with manually entering information such as directions are reduced or eliminated by the fact that the database contains monitored and verified data.This reduces the likelihood of errors and thus increases road safety.

[0015] Using the provided data, the desired target position and / or orientation can be determined in a variety of ways. One option is to display the data graphically and manually determine the desired positions, including the beam paths of the individual transmitters and / or receivers. Of course, this step can also be automated, for example, by a computer. Conditions can be defined that the target position and / or orientation of each sensor must meet. These could include a minimum and / or maximum size and / or length of the area to be monitored, a minimum number of sensors, or other conditions.The computer can determine the desired target positions and / or orientations from data provided to it regarding possible positions and / or orientations of a sensor, and optionally from information about the sensor's technical specifications and beam patterns. However, it should be expressly emphasized that this is merely an advantageous embodiment, not a necessity for carrying out the method. Determining the target position and / or orientation manually is also expressly included in a method according to the invention.

[0016] A sensor whose target position and / or orientation is to be determined using the method described here can be designed in a variety of ways. So-called "stand-alone" sensors are known, which, in addition to a transmitter and receiver for transmitted radiation (which can be radar radiation, for example), also include electronic data processing and further process the data acquired by the sensor. Alternatively or additionally, sensors can be used that are only capable of detecting vehicles or other road users, but do not process the acquired data further. Typically, for example, traffic monitoring at an intersection comprises several such sensor heads that communicate with a central data processing unit.The sensor heads, whose target position and / or orientation can be determined using the method described here, collect data about road users and transmit it to an intersection control unit, which serves as the central system. The methods described here are not limited to any specific sensor type or operating principle of the individual sensors. It is possible to perform data processing entirely within the sensor or entirely in the central data processing unit. However, it is also possible to run only a portion of the algorithms required for data processing within the sensor or sensor head, with the pre-processed data then being forwarded to a central data processing device, such as a Traffic Management Interface Board (TMIB). This allows for consideration of the different requirements of the various algorithms.Algorithms that can be executed with a relatively small amount of data on a relatively low-powered chip can, for example, be implemented in the sensor or the sensor head, while algorithms that need to process large amounts of data, for example in real time, or require a large amount of working memory, are advantageously executed in the central data processing unit. Regardless of the sensor variant chosen, the target position and / or the target orientation can be determined using the method described here.

[0017] In a preferred embodiment, the at least one target position and / or target orientation determined by the described method is subsequently displayed on a screen or other display device. This is particularly preferably done using an aerial photograph or a map of the traffic route to be monitored, on which the target position of the at least one sensor is marked. Particularly preferably, a monitoring area within which the sensor can monitor traffic can also be displayed, so that the user of the method can easily and unambiguously verify whether the area of ​​the traffic route of interest to them can be monitored by the at least one sensor in the possible target position and / or target orientation.

[0018] According to the invention, the data provided from the database contains information about the structure of the traffic route, for example, the number of lanes and their respective main directions of travel, stop lines, pedestrian crossings, and / or turning lanes. This includes, in particular, the position of the traffic route elements that constitute the structure. Alternatively or additionally, the provided data contains information about the course of at least one of the lanes and, for example, its width. All this information can be used to achieve the most optimal target position and / or orientation of the at least one sensor. This can be done, for example, by defining boundary conditions that specify, for instance, which area of ​​the traffic route is to be monitored and for what purpose.For example, if the only objective is to statistically record the number of trucks in a lane, a different positioning and orientation of the at least one sensor may be required than if, for instance, an intersection of two bicycle paths is to be monitored. A cyclist has a significantly different reflection signature of the emitted radiation than, for example, a truck. This naturally influences the optimal position and orientation of the sensor, and possibly also the type of sensor chosen.

[0019] Therefore, it is advantageous if, in addition to information about the traffic route to be monitored, information about the sensor to be used, such as transmit and receive beam lobes, maximum range and other relevant information, is also entered into the data processing device.

[0020] Preferably, the data retrieved and provided from the database also includes information about the structural features on, at, and around the traffic route to be monitored. These can include, for example, houses and buildings, but also lighting or traffic light poles, electrification poles (e.g., for trams), or traffic signs. The more detailed the data provided from the database about these structural features along and around the traffic route, the better an optimal target position and / or orientation for at least one sensor can be determined. Therefore, it is no longer necessary, for example, to determine suitable sensor locations by walking around an intersection, as this information can now simply be downloaded from the database.

[0021] Advantageously, to determine the at least one target position and / or target orientation, a detection range for the at least one sensor is defined within which the sensor can monitor traffic on the roadway when it is positioned in the target position and / or target orientation. This can optionally be determined using an iterative process, in which a test position and / or test orientation of the sensor is first assumed, and then a detection range is determined that can be calculated for the predetermined sensor in this test position and test orientation. If the potentially specified boundary conditions are not met in this way, the test position and / or test orientation is changed and the detection range is redefined using routines known in principle from the prior art.This process is repeated iteratively until all predefined boundary conditions for the optimal target position and / or orientation are met. Naturally, such optimization can also be performed with regard to other parameters, such as the type of sensor to be selected, its transmit or receive beam, or the type of emitted beams.

[0022] Advantageously, a target alignment includes a target elevation angle and a target azimuth angle, where the elevation angle specifies an angle of inclination, for example, to the horizontal or, if known, to the direction of the traffic route, while the azimuth angle specifies, for example, an angle to a certain cardinal direction, such as north.

[0023] Advantageously, multiple target positions and / or orientations are defined for multiple sensors. This allows even large intersections and other major traffic routes to be monitored optimally while adhering to specified constraints. The iterative process can be performed either for each sensor individually and sequentially, or simultaneously for the entire traffic route to be monitored. In the latter case, the number of sensors used can also be optimized and used as a variation parameter.

[0024] The invention further solves the stated problem by a method for setting up a sensor for monitoring traffic on a road, wherein the sensor has a data storage device or can access a data storage device, characterized in that, after carrying out a method described herein, information about the road, target position, and / or target orientation is stored in the sensor's data storage device. In this way, an electronic control system of the sensor can access all important data from the data storage device, such as the course, width, and number of lanes, the preferred direction of travel, and the position and orientation of the sensor relative to these lanes. Since the required information was extracted from the data queried from the database, this method can be carried out quickly, easily, cost-effectively, and yet reliably.A walk-through of the traffic route or a manual transfer of the data is no longer necessary.

[0025] Advantageously, the stored information therefore contains data about the course and / or the number and / or the main direction of travel of at least one lane of the road to be monitored.

[0026] One possible database suitable for the method according to the embodiments of the present invention is the so-called "OSM" database (OSM "OpenStreetMap"). This is freely available on the internet, for example, which further simplifies the method, reduces process costs, and ensures the method's availability virtually worldwide. Other databases, such as "Nokia Maps," "Google Maps," or "Microsoft Maps," can also be used. It is therefore advantageous if the data provided in process step b) is available in this standard data format and can be processed accordingly easily.

[0027] With the aid of the accompanying drawing, an embodiment of the present invention will be explained in more detail below. The drawing shows Fig. 1 - a schematic flowchart of the procedure according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0028] First, the traffic route to be monitored is identified. In the first step of the process, information is provided by the data processing unit, from which the traffic route or the section of the traffic route to be monitored can be uniquely identified. The information about the traffic route thus identified is then transmitted to a database, from which information about the traffic routes or the traffic route to be monitored is queried and provided. In the next step of the process, this data undergoes filtering and processing. This is necessary, for example, when using the "OpenStreetMap" database because the data is not available in the required format.

[0029] The next step involves determining a possible target position and / or orientation. This process step can contain a multitude of individual steps. Iterative methods can be used to find the optimal target position and orientation for the optimal number of required sensors. In particular, input and predefined boundary conditions are used as criteria, as these must be adhered to.

[0030] Subsequently, the at least one target position and / or target orientation is visualized, for example, on a display or other display device. This can be done, for instance, by overlaying the determined detection areas onto an aerial photograph or a map. In this way, the user can easily see which section of the road is being monitored by which of the potentially multiple sensors and whether all the boundary conditions of interest to the user are being met. The data and information about the target position and target orientation, as well as the necessary information about the section of the road being monitored, are then stored in the sensor's data memory. This ensures that the sensor is equipped with all the information required to guarantee its full functionality and performance. Reference symbol list 2 Identification 4 Database 6. Filtration and processing 8 Determine 10 Visualization 12. Save

Claims

[1] Method for determining a target position and / or a target orientation of at least one sensor for monitoring traffic on a traffic route, the method comprising the following steps: a) Providing information for the identification (2) of the traffic route to be monitored in a data processing facility, wherein the information includes a name of the traffic route and / or geo-coordinates, b) Identifying the traffic route using the information provided in the data processing facility, c) Providing technical data and beam lobe shapes of the sensor, d) Querying and providing data on the traffic route to be monitored from a database (4), wherein the data provided includes information on the structure of the traffic route, for example, lanes of the traffic route, in particular number and main direction of travel, stop lines, pedestrian crossings and / or turning lanes, e) Determine (8) at least one possible target position and / or target orientation using the data provided. [2] Method according to claim 1, characterized by that at least one determined target position and / or target orientation is displayed on a screen. [3] Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by that the data provided contains information about the course of at least one lane of the road. [4] Method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized by, that in order to determine at least one target position and / or target orientation, a detection range of a sensor is determined in which the sensor can monitor the traffic on the roadway when it is arranged in the target position and / or target orientation. [5] Method according to any of the foregoing claims, characterized by that a plurality of target positions and / or target orientations are determined for a plurality of sensors. [6] Method for setting up a sensor for monitoring traffic on a traffic route, wherein the sensor has a data storage device or can access a data storage device, characterized by , that after carrying out the method according to one of the preceding claims, information about the traffic route, the target position and / or the target orientation is stored in the data storage. [7] Method according to claim 6, characterized bythat the stored information contains data about the course and / or number and / or main direction of travel of at least one lane of the road.

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