Method for controlling a vehicle and system for guiding a vehicle

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for controlling at least one vehicle on an infrastructure, wherein an occupancy map is created based on measurement data of a sensor system on the infrastructure side, based on the created occupancy map, a control unit determines an area in which at least one vehicle can travel collision-free, starting from the position obtained from the sensor system of at least one vehicle and the determined area in which collision-free travel is possible, the control unit calculates a release for the at least one vehicle and transmits it to the at least one vehicle via a communication connection, according to the release, the area in which collision-free travel is possible is traveled by at least one vehicle, the vehicle control device inside the vehicle checks the deviation of the at least one vehicle from the release, and in the case where the vehicle control device determines that the at least one vehicle deviates from the release, the at least one vehicle is placed in a safe state. The present invention also relates to a corresponding system.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for controlling at least one vehicle on an infrastructure and a system for guiding at least one vehicle under the protection of the infrastructure. Background Art

[0002] In a parking garage with so-called AVP (Automated Valet Parking) capabilities, information on the parking garage infrastructure is transmitted to the vehicle to be parked automatically. In known AVP implementations, the infrastructure assumes most of the system intelligence. The infrastructure monitors the vehicle to be parked and the environment of the vehicle to be parked through sensors installed in the parking garage. Such sensors can be, for example, cameras.

[0003] The information obtained based on the sensors is processed outside the vehicle, and control signals are sent to the vehicle to be parked through a wireless communication connection. The vehicle to be parked preferably should have as few additional components as possible, and these additional components are used to execute control commands and to implement the parking process. Therefore, the additional costs for manufacturing vehicles with AVP capabilities or for corresponding retrofits can be kept very low.

[0004] The vehicle can move in the parking garage without its own sensing device and is always guided by the current information of the parking garage infrastructure. Due to the lack or small number of vehicle internal safety systems, very high safety requirements are imposed on such AVP systems. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The task on which the present invention is based may be to provide a method and a system for reliably preventing an automatically driving vehicle from colliding.

[0006] This task is solved by the technical solution of the present invention. Advantageous configurations of the present invention are various preferred embodiments.

[0007] According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for controlling at least one vehicle on an infrastructure. In one step, an occupancy map is created based on measurement data of a sensor system on the infrastructure side.

[0008] Based on the created occupancy map, a control unit determines an area in which at least one vehicle can travel without collision.

[0009] Next, starting from the position determined by the sensor system of the at least one vehicle and from the determined collision-free driving area, a driving authorization for the at least one vehicle is calculated by the control unit and transmitted to the at least one vehicle via a communication connection. The driving authorization can be configured, for example, in the form of a control instruction that has defined actuator parameters for the vehicle. Here, the defined actuator parameters can be matched to the safe and permitted operating area to comply with the collision-free driving area.

[0010] Based on the transmitted driving authorization, the collision-free driving area is traversed by the at least one vehicle. During the vehicle's compliance with the control instruction or driving authorization, the deviation of the at least one vehicle from the driving authorization is checked by the path control within the vehicle. If it is determined by the path control that the at least one vehicle deviates from the driving authorization, the at least one vehicle is placed in a safe state. Alternatively or additionally, the path control can be configured as an internal monitoring function. The current actuator parameters are compared with the actuator parameters transmitted along with the driving authorization by the internal monitoring function of the vehicle. If it is determined by the monitoring function that the actuator parameters of the at least one vehicle deviate, the at least one vehicle is placed in a safe state.

[0011] By means of the method according to the invention, it can be ensured that during the infrastructure-controlled operation of an AVP vehicle without a driver, the vehicle, for example, does not collide with static or movable objects and obstacles. The infrastructure can be, for example, a parking lot, a pick-up zone, a drop-off zone, a charging station, etc.

[0012] For autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicles, safety is an important topic. Since the vehicle to be parked by the AVP system drives through the parking garage without a driver and with few sensing devices, such a vehicle may pose a risk of accidents and injuries. By means of the monitoring function integrated into the at least one vehicle, effective monitoring and surveillance devices can be used, which ensure that the at least one vehicle to be parked is placed in a safe state in a timely manner in the sense of increased safety requirements. Thereby, cases of personal injury can be excluded first or at least minimized. Alternatively or additionally, the vehicle to be parked can also be controlled or guided to a target location without the intention of parking. For example, the vehicle can be a transport vehicle that can be guided by the infrastructure to different target locations.

[0013] The method enables the generation of an occupancy map on the infrastructure side, i.e., the parking garage side. The occupancy map can, for example, be a grid map with marked obstacles. The unmarked grids can potentially be driven through collision-free. The obstacles and the occupancy map are determined based on the measurement data of the sensor system on the infrastructure side and are preferably only valid for a limited period of time.

[0014] The sensor system can consist of multiple sensors, such as cameras, radar sensors, lidar sensors, gratings, ultrasonic sensors, etc. These sensors are directly or via an interface coupled to the control unit on the infrastructure side. Here, the sensor system can also have its own controller, which is used to generate the occupancy map and to predict the future movement trajectories of dynamic objects. Alternatively, the control unit can completely analyze and evaluate the measurement data obtained by the sensor system.

[0015] Based on the "free" or unoccupied grids by obstacles, clearances for different vehicles can be generated and then wirelessly transmitted to the individual vehicles.

[0016] In each vehicle, the clearance can be interpreted by the vehicle-side path control device and converted into vehicle movement by directly or indirectly controlling the actuators. The process from creating the occupancy map to generating the control instructions and transmitting the control instructions to the vehicle can be repeated at defined time intervals.

[0017] The clearance can be sent via a wireless communication connection to at least one vehicle. The wireless communication connection is preferably encrypted or secured, so as to reduce the risk of unauthorized access. The wireless communication connection can be based on wireless communication standards such as WLAN, UMTS, LTE, GSM, etc.

[0018] Due to the simple structure of the action chain (Wirkkette) of this method, safety-related components can be mathematically proven and practically verified in a simple manner, because the method is deterministic. Only a simple monitoring logic on the vehicle side is required, which can be easily implemented in an embedded controller. The actual path control (automated vehicle guidance) of at least one vehicle can be implemented or applied in a manner decoupled from the monitoring logic.

[0019] If the monitoring logic determines a deviation of the vehicle from the clearance, the vehicle is directly placed in a safe state. Such a deviation can be, for example, a steering angle (Lenkeinschlag) or speed that exceeds the boundary values of the clearance. In addition, the deviation can consist in the expiration of the validity of a control command before the new control command of the control unit is sent to at least one vehicle. Furthermore, the components of the regulation chain for automated vehicle guidance can be decoupled both in the infrastructure or parking garage and in the vehicle or can be independent of the safety-related monitoring chain. Thus, the method can be configured independently of the architecture of the vehicle motion regulation of different vehicle manufacturers.

[0020] The complex calculation for generating the clearance containing the operationally reliable actuator parameters is carried out on the parking garage side and can preferably be executed on a control unit configured as a server with high computing power. The clearance signal or control instruction directly represents the physical degrees of freedom of at least one vehicle. Thus, the potentially traversable area is clearly defined at any point in time.

[0021] Here, the at least one vehicle can be a passenger car, a truck, a forklift, a transport robot, etc. Here, the method is not limited to parking garages, parking lots or parking surfaces, but can be applied analogously in automated halls or areas, such as in warehouses.

[0022] According to one embodiment of the invention, an emergency braking operation is carried out by the at least one vehicle during the transfer of the at least one vehicle to the safe state. A stationary vehicle can be defined as the safe state of the AVP system. This state and the transfer to the safe state can be called the so-called "safe stop".

[0023] Preferably, the safe state can be triggered by a path control device. Here, the path control device can be implemented as a hardware or software component that is separate or integrated into the vehicle controller. With the clearance, the vehicle can obtain boundary values or an operating framework that the vehicle must comply with in order to remain in the collision-free driving area. By continuously comparing the actual operation or actuator movement implemented by the vehicle with the operating framework of the clearance, full braking can be initiated when a value, such as the steering angle or speed, is exceeded or fallen below.

[0024] The driving task and vehicle guidance or clearance of at least one vehicle are preferably functionally and / or spatially separated from each other and configured independently of each other. Here, at least one vehicle responds to the driving permit or clearance created on the infrastructure side and assumes the path control chain internally. Thus, it is possible to reliably and precisely control the vehicle by the infrastructure without a permit for highly automated driving based on precise infrastructure sensors.

[0025] According to another embodiment of the method, the release has a steering angle range, a speed to be observed by at least one vehicle, and a time specification. Thereby, the release can have a small number of information and can be transmitted quickly and reliably with a small bandwidth. For example, the maximum allowable steering rotation angle in one direction, the maximum allowable steering rotation angle in the opposite direction, the speed, and the time specification or the maximum validity of the control command can be transmitted to at least one vehicle in the form of the release. Here, the maximum steering rotation angle can be configured in the form of the allowable curvature range when generating the release based on the occupancy map. The steering angle range and the corresponding release preferably take into account both front-axle steering and rear-axle steering.

[0026] According to another embodiment of the method, the release has a gear travel range or a rotation range of the steering motor and the number of wheel rotations or the distance traveled. Alternatively, the release can influence or define the action parameters of the actuator or the odometer based on the physical vehicle model stored in the control unit. Thereby, the vehicle trajectory can be controlled more precisely or remotely controlled by the control unit.

[0027] According to another embodiment of the method, the release has a curvature range. Thereby, the release area can be abstracted and clearly defined from the perspective of the infrastructure in order to define the boundaries for the allowable steering angle actuators. Here, the vehicle can convert the maximum and minimum curvature ranges into the corresponding maximum and minimum steering angles inside the vehicle, so that the type of the specific vehicle steering mechanism does not have to be known on the infrastructure side.

[0028] According to another embodiment of the method, the area that can be traveled by at least one vehicle is calculated based on the vehicle model stored in the control unit. The vehicle model can be, for example, a simplified physical vehicle model or the vehicle model of the vehicle clearly identified by the sensor system. Based on the vehicle model, the operating boundaries or the actuator boundaries of the release can be calculated such that the vehicle can travel collision-free based on the release.

[0029] According to another embodiment of the method, the release and / or the area that can be traveled collision-free has a time-limited validity. The collision-free movement area of the vehicle within a limited time range is calculated based on the occupancy map or the occupancy grid. Here, the occupancy map can be a simple or extended occupancy map that takes into account dynamic objects. Here, the time range can be one second or several seconds or less than one second. If the area that can be traveled collision-free by the vehicle is found by the sensor system or the algorithm of the control unit, then a time-limited release is granted based on this and wirelessly transmitted to the vehicle. Otherwise, no release is granted. The vehicle initiates full braking in the absence of a release and remains in a safe state until a release is obtained.

[0030] According to another embodiment of the method, before the expiration of the time-limited validity, a new occupancy map is created by a sensor system on the infrastructure side, and the collision-free drivable area is determined by a control unit based on the new occupancy map. According to the repetition frequency of the method, within a defined time interval, an updated new occupancy map with a corresponding matching release is created on the infrastructure side and sent to the vehicle in the form of a release. Thereby, at least one vehicle can be gradually guided to a target location by the infrastructure. Here, each step provides a time period or a defined and bounded road section in a direction with a defined possible steering deviation.

[0031] According to another embodiment of the method, after the expiration of the validity in terms of time, the at least one vehicle is placed in a safe state. Thereby, damage caused by the vehicle can be prevented in the case of an incorrect communication connection between the at least one vehicle and the infrastructure or the parking lot. Without a current release, the vehicle remains in the safe state.

[0032] According to another embodiment of the method, when creating the occupancy map, the movement of dynamic obstacles is considered by the sensor system through estimation or execution of a simulation. Thereby, both static obstacles or objects and dynamic and movable objects, such as other vehicles or persons, can be considered when creating the occupancy map.

[0033] When transmitting to the parking garage server or the control unit, the occupancy map only contains the objects statically sensed at time point t0. The possible movement range of dynamic obstacles within a time period t, for example 1 second, can preferably be calculated and entered into the occupancy map or considered when determining the collision-free drivable area there. For example, the dynamic obstacles can be enlarged in a defined direction or in multiple directions, and thus other cells or grids of the occupancy map can be marked as "occupied".

[0034] According to another embodiment of the method, the collision-free drivable area is bounded on at least two sides by the same or different shaped curvature radii or clothoids. Depending on the speed of the vehicle to be controlled, the curvature radius can be selected to be larger or smaller starting from the vehicle center point or the vehicle steering axis. On a straight section, the curvature radius can be oriented away from the vehicle contrary to the defined maximum steering rotation angle. For driving on a curve, the curvature radius can be pointed in the same direction and preferably corresponding to the curve direction. By using a clothoid as the time-limited effective collision-free drivable area or the so-called "safety zone", these areas can be physically realized more precisely.

[0035] According to another embodiment of the method, the curvature radius of the collision-free driving area or the shape of the clothoid is adjusted according to the speed of at least one vehicle or the distance traveled during the validity of the control command. Thus, a collision-free driving area that is optimally matched to the road section direction and the vehicle speed can be obtained and generated in the form of a release.

[0036] Alternatively or additionally, the release can be configured as a parking request in the form of an alternative configuration. Here, correction and braking commands can be sent to at least one vehicle on the infrastructure side. In addition, a plurality of control instructions or releases can be sent to at least one vehicle, thereby implementing a defined control process, such as a steering movement or a braking process, more precisely and in a continuously graded manner.

[0037] According to another aspect of the present invention, a system for infrastructure-assisted guidance of at least one vehicle is provided. The system has an infrastructure with a sensor system for observing and measuring the infrastructure environment and for creating an occupancy map of the infrastructure environment. The control unit of the system is used to calculate the collision-free driving area for each vehicle and to create a vehicle-specific release. The system has at least one communication device for establishing a wireless communication connection with at least one vehicle and for transmitting control instructions to at least one vehicle. In addition, the system has at least one vehicle with a path control device for receiving and complying with the release.

[0038] Thereby, a system for guiding at least one vehicle to at least one target location along a freely drivable area can be realized. The system implements all computationally intensive planning tasks and computational tasks on the infrastructure side and provides the vehicle with the minimum number of necessary information. These information can be quickly and uncomplicatedly checked by the path control device on the vehicle side, and the vehicle can be placed in a safe state when checking whether the release is timed. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0039] Hereinafter, the preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail according to highly simplified schematic diagrams. Shown herein are:

[0040] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a parking lot having a system according to an embodiment of the present invention,

[0041] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of different safety zones according to an embodiment of the present invention, and

[0042] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0043] In the drawings, the same structural elements have the same reference numerals respectively. Detailed Description of the Invention

[0044] In Figure 1 a schematic view of the parking lot 1 or a schematic view of a floor of the parking garage 1 is shown, and the floor of the parking lot or the parking garage serves as the infrastructure 1 with the system 2 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In particular, the infrastructure 1 is shown overlapping with the occupancy map B, so that the method of the present invention can be intuitively explained.

[0045] The trajectory T of the vehicle 4 to be parked is shown. In addition, a safety zone 6 or a collision-free driving area 6 is shown, and the area guides the vehicle 4 with a curve. The walls or boundaries of the parking lot 1 and the stationary vehicles are static obstacles 8 and are correspondingly marked as occupied grids 8, 10 in the occupancy map B. Behind the curve, the dynamic obstacle 10 in the form of a vehicle being parked is retrieved by the numbered sensor system marked in Figure 3 and the predicted trajectory of the dynamic obstacle 10 is estimated by the sensor system. Based on this, the occupancy map B is provided with additional occupied grids 8, 10.

[0046] Figures 2a to 2c Schematic views of different safety zones 6 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The corresponding safety zone 6 or the collision-free driving area 6 is bounded laterally from the point at the vehicle 4 by two radii of curvature 11, 12. The two radii of curvature 11, 12 define the maximum steering rotation angle of the vehicle 4, and the steering rotation angle has been transmitted by release. It can be intuitively seen that the radii of curvature 11, 12 become larger and larger as the speed gradually increases or the release time gradually increases, or the collision-free driving area 6 becomes longer. Here, the wall is shown as a static obstacle 8 by way of example. Figure 2a The calculated safety zone 6 during the normal straight-line driving of the vehicle 4 at distances of 2.77 m, 5 m and 15 m during the release time period is shown. Figure 2b Illustrates the safety zone 6 calculated within the scope of route correction, Figure 2c Illustrates the possible safety zone 6 calculated during normal curved driving.

[0047] In Figure 3 a schematic view of the system 2 according to an embodiment of the present invention is intuitively explained. In particular, safety-related components are shown. The system 2 has an infrastructure 1, which has a sensor system 14 and a control unit 16 that is communicatively connected to the sensor system 14.

[0048] The sensor system 14 can, for example, observe and measure relevant parts of the infrastructure 1, such as drivable areas and carriageways. Preferably, the sensor system 14 has a plurality of distributed sensors, such as radar sensors, lidar sensors or cameras. Thus, the sensor system 14 can detect at least one vehicle 4, static obstacles 8 and dynamic obstacles 10 and take them into account within the framework of generating an occupancy map B.

[0049] The created occupancy map B is transmitted to the control unit 16. The control unit 16 can create a clearance based on the unoccupied cells of the occupancy map B and transmit the clearance according to this embodiment via a secure WLAN connection as the wireless communication connection 18.

[0050] In the vehicle 4, the control instructions are interpreted by the vehicle control device 20 and converted into actuator actuations. Here, the boundaries defined in the clearance are continuously monitored, which are based on the collision-free drivable area 6. If the vehicle 4 leaves or crosses the defined safety zone 6, then an emergency brake is applied by the vehicle control device 20, which places the vehicle 4 in a safe state.

Claims

1. A method for controlling at least one vehicle (4) on an infrastructure (1), wherein: - An occupancy map (B) is created based on measurement data of a sensor system (14) on the infrastructure side; - Based on the created occupancy map (B), an area (6) in which at least one vehicle (4) can travel collision - free is determined by a control unit (16) on the infrastructure side, wherein the collision - free travel area (6) is bounded on at least two sides (11, 12) by curvature radii (11, 12) or clothoids of the same or different shapes; - Starting from the position of the at least one vehicle (4) determined by the sensor system (14) and from the determined collision - free travel area (6), the control unit (16) calculates an authorization for the at least one vehicle (4) and transmits the authorization to the at least one vehicle (4) via a communication connection (18); - According to the authorization, the collision - free travel area (6) is traveled by the at least one vehicle (4), wherein, by means of the authorization, the at least one vehicle can obtain boundary values or an operating framework that the at least one vehicle must comply with in order to stay within the collision - free travel area; - A vehicle control device (20) inside the vehicle checks the deviation of the at least one vehicle (4) from the authorization; - In the case where the vehicle control device (20) determines that the at least one vehicle (4) deviates from the authorization, the at least one vehicle (4) is placed in a safe state.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein An emergency braking operation is performed by the at least one vehicle (4) during the transfer of the at least one vehicle (4) to the safe state.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, The authorization has a steering angle range, a speed to be complied with by the at least one vehicle (4), and a time indication.

4. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, The authorization has a gear travel range or a rotation range of a steering motor and a wheel rotation number or a distance.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein, The authorization has a curvature range.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein The area (6) in which at least one vehicle (4) can travel collision - free is calculated based on the vehicle model stored in the control unit (16).

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein The authorization and / or the collision - free travel area (6) have a time - limited validity.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein, Before the expiration of the time - limited validity, a new occupancy map (B) is created by the sensor system (14) on the infrastructure side, and the collision - free travel area (6) based on the new occupancy map (B) is determined by the control unit (16).

9. The method according to claim 7 or 8, wherein The at least one vehicle (4) is placed in a safe state after the expiration of the validity in time.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein, When creating the occupancy map (B), the sensor system (14) takes into account the movement of dynamic obstacles (10) by estimation or by performing a simulation.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The shape of the curvature radii (11, 12) or the shape of the clothoid of the collision - free travel area (6) is adjusted according to the speed of the at least one vehicle (4) or according to the distance traveled by the at least one vehicle during the validity period of a control command.

12. A system (2) for infrastructure-assisted guidance of at least one vehicle (4) and for performing the method according to any one of the preceding claims, the system having: - an infrastructure (1) having a sensor system (14) for observing and measuring the infrastructure environment and for creating an occupancy map (B) of the infrastructure environment, - a control unit (16) on the infrastructure side for vehicle-specific calculation of a collision-free drivable area (6) and for creating a vehicle-specific release, - at least one communication device for establishing a wireless communication connection (18) with at least one vehicle (4) and for transmitting the release to the at least one vehicle (4), and - at least one vehicle (4) having a vehicle control device (20) for receiving and complying with the release.

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