Vehicle control system, device and method for narrow turning mode

Abstract

The present invention provides a vehicle control system, device, and method for narrow turn mode. The vehicle control device is configured to: receive environmental information surrounding the vehicle and vehicle status information; activate the narrow turn mode for autonomous driving upon determining that the vehicle in the narrow turn area presents a potential collision risk or upon receiving a driver's autonomous driving request; and, in the narrow turn mode, determine a planned path through the narrow turn area and, in the process of controlling the vehicle to achieve the planned path based on the environmental information and vehicle status information, dynamically adjust the vehicle speed request and steering request.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention generally relates to the technical field of vehicle control, and in particular to a vehicle control system, device, and method for a narrow turning mode. Background Art

[0002] Although road planning has been implemented, for example, based on the maximum utilization of existing roads, improvement measures are taken to achieve the integration of land use and urban and rural planning. However, there are inevitably scenarios where vehicles need to turn on narrow roads, such as winding country roads or complex urban roads. In such scenarios, even experienced drivers find it difficult to drive the vehicle through, let alone novice drivers. In addition, if such driving scenarios are encountered in bad weather or driving at night, the risk of dangerous accidents will increase. In the existing technology, there is no better solution for how to guide vehicles through narrow turning areas. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The following summary is provided to introduce selected concepts in a simplified form that are further described in the detailed description below. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.

[0004] According to one aspect of the present invention, a vehicle control device for a narrow turn mode is provided, which is configured to: receive environmental information surrounding a vehicle and vehicle status information; initiate an autonomous driving narrow turn mode upon determining that a vehicle in a narrow turn area presents a potential collision risk or upon receiving an autonomous driving request from a driver, wherein a narrow turn is defined as a lane width less than 1.5 times the vehicle body width and a lane turn greater than 70 degrees; and determine a planned path through the narrow turn area in the narrow turn mode, and in controlling the vehicle to achieve the planned path based on the environmental information and vehicle status information, dynamically adjust a vehicle speed request and a steering request so that some or all of the following items meet corresponding thresholds:

[0005] - the difference between the requested steering angle and the current vehicle yaw angle;

[0006] - requested steering speed;

[0007] - the difference between the currently requested steering angle and the last requested steering angle;

[0008] - Requested acceleration in the vehicle's direction of travel.

[0009] According to a possible implementation manner, the vehicle control device is configured to dynamically adjust the steering request and the vehicle speed request so that the larger the requested steering angle is, the smaller the requested vehicle speed is.

[0010] According to a feasible embodiment, the vehicle control device is further configured to: when it is determined based on the planned path and the predicted trajectory of the moving object that the vehicle will collide with the moving object, control the vehicle to slow down or stop to avoid collision with the moving object; and / or when it is determined based on the planned path and environmental information that a stationary object appears on the planned path, issue an object reminder message to the driver or adjust the planned path to avoid the stationary object.

[0011] According to a feasible implementation manner, the vehicle control device is configured to determine whether the following items are satisfied, and determine that the vehicle has a potential collision risk when at least one of the following items is satisfied:

[0012] -The distance between the vehicle and the potential collision object is less than the safety distance threshold;

[0013] - The conditions are not conducive to driving;

[0014] -The vehicle's operating behavior appears to be reciprocating.

[0015] According to a feasible implementation manner, the distance between the vehicle and the potential collision object being less than the safety distance threshold comprises at least one of the following:

[0016] - The sum of the distances between the potential collision object and both sides of the vehicle is less than the bilateral distance threshold;

[0017] - The distance between the left or right side of the vehicle and the potential collision object is less than the single-side distance threshold;

[0018] -Determining that the vehicle will collide with the moving object based on the planned path and the estimated trajectory of the moving object.

[0019] According to a feasible implementation manner, the environment unfavorable for driving includes a weather environment and a lighting environment unfavorable for driving.

[0020] According to a feasible implementation manner, the weather environment or lighting environment that is unfavorable for driving includes at least one of the following:

[0021] - There is fog, rain, snow or hail;

[0022] - Insufficient lighting or strong reflections.

[0023] According to a feasible implementation manner, the reciprocating running behavior of the vehicle includes at least one of the following:

[0024] - The vehicle turns left and right more than a predetermined number of times;

[0025] - The vehicle alternates forward in one direction and backward in an opposite direction more than a predetermined number of times.

[0026] According to a feasible embodiment, the vehicle control device is further configured to determine the planned path in the following manner: determining the scene of the narrow turning area based on environmental information, and selecting a planned path corresponding to the determined scene from a stored set of planned paths; or determining the planned path based on real-time environmental conditions, vehicle preferences and driver preferences, optionally using the real-time environmental conditions, vehicle preferences and driver preferences as input parameters of a machine learning model, and obtaining a model output containing the planned path.

[0027] According to a feasible implementation manner, the vehicle control device is further configured to: after turning on the narrow turning mode, before determining the planned path, determine whether the vehicle is in a position where there is insufficient space for passage; when the judgment result is affirmative, control the vehicle to return to the position at the beginning of entering the narrow turning area based on the vehicle driving trajectory record and the obstacle information record along the way.

[0028] According to a possible implementation manner, the narrow turning area includes a path with approximately right-angle turns.

[0029] According to another aspect of the present invention, a vehicle control system for a narrow turn mode is provided, comprising: sensors, including an environmental sensor for sensing the vehicle's surroundings and generating environmental information, and a vehicle state sensor for sensing the vehicle's state and generating vehicle state information; and a vehicle control device as described above, configured to communicate with the sensors and, upon determining that a vehicle in a narrow turn area presents a potential collision risk or upon receiving a driver's request for autonomous driving, initiate an autonomous driving narrow turn mode, wherein a narrow turn is defined as a lane width less than 1.5 times the vehicle body width and a lane turn greater than 70 degrees. In the narrow turn mode, a planned path through the narrow turn area is determined, and in controlling the vehicle to achieve the planned path based on the environmental information and vehicle state information, the vehicle speed request and steering request are dynamically adjusted so that some or all of the following items meet corresponding thresholds:

[0030] - The difference between the requested steering angle and the current body yaw angle.

[0031] - requested steering speed;

[0032] - the difference between the currently requested steering angle and the last requested steering angle;

[0033] - Requested acceleration in the vehicle's direction of travel.

[0034] According to a possible implementation manner, the environmental sensor includes a plurality of environmental sensors arranged around the vehicle.

[0035] According to a possible implementation manner, the plurality of environmental sensors include ultrasonic sensors and surround-view cameras.

[0036] According to a possible implementation, the ultrasonic sensor includes a plurality of ultrasonic sensors arranged at the front, rear, left and right sides of the vehicle, and the surround-view camera includes a plurality of surround-view cameras arranged at the left and right sides of the vehicle.

[0037] According to a possible embodiment, the number of sensors arranged on the left and right sides of the vehicle increases as the distance between the front and rear wheels of the vehicle increases.

[0038] According to another aspect of the present invention, a vehicle control method for a narrow turn mode is provided. Optionally, the method is performed by the vehicle control device and / or the vehicle control system as described above. The method includes: receiving environmental information and vehicle status information around the vehicle; upon determining that a vehicle in a narrow turn area has a potential collision risk or receiving a driver's automatic driving request, activating the narrow turn mode for automatic driving, wherein a narrow turn is defined as a lane width less than 1.5 times the vehicle body width and a lane turn greater than 70 degrees; and in the narrow turn mode, determining a planned path through the narrow turn area, and in the process of controlling the vehicle to achieve the planned path based on the environmental information and vehicle status information, dynamically adjusting a vehicle speed request and a steering request so that some or all of the following items meet corresponding thresholds:

[0039] - The difference between the requested steering angle and the current body yaw angle.

[0040] - requested steering speed;

[0041] - the difference between the currently requested steering angle and the last requested steering angle;

[0042] - Requested acceleration in the vehicle's direction of travel.

[0043] According to yet another aspect of the present invention, a machine-readable storage medium is provided, which stores executable instructions. When the instructions are executed, the machine is enabled to perform the vehicle control method described above. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0044] Implementations of the present invention are illustrated by way of example and not limitation in the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals designate identical or similar components, and in which:

[0045] Figure 1illustrates exemplary scenarios in which some implementations of the present invention may be implemented;

[0046] Figure 2 is a schematic block diagram of a vehicle control system according to a possible embodiment of the present invention;

[0047] Figure 3 Schematically shows Figure 2 An exemplary arrangement of some components of the vehicle control system in a vehicle; and

[0048] Figure 4 is a flow chart of a vehicle control method according to a possible embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0049] An embodiment of the present invention provides a vehicle control solution for narrow turning scenarios. When it is determined that a vehicle driven by a human driver has a potential collision risk in a narrow turning scenario or in response to the driver's automatic driving request, the automatic driving function of the narrow turning mode is turned on to assist the vehicle in passing through the narrow turning area with the help of electronic control, thereby improving vehicle safety.

[0050] According to an embodiment of the present invention, taking into account that the applicable situation is to use automatic driving when there are drivers and passengers on board, the functional design of the narrow turning mode does not only adopt "machine thinking" to pursue traffic efficiency, but fully considers the feelings of the drivers and passengers on board, and adopts a control strategy that improves comfort in vehicle control, thereby improving vehicle friendliness.

[0051] According to an embodiment of the present invention, while electronic control is used to manipulate vehicle behavior, the characteristics of the vehicle's mechanical system performing electronic control are taken into consideration, that is, the mechanical system is often unable to achieve sudden changes in behavior. In the process of implementing the planned path, the steering control request and the vehicle speed control request are adjusted in real time so that the vehicle can better follow the planned route. Even if deviations occur, they can be corrected without accumulating deviations in the direction of increasing the deviations.

[0052] Embodiments of the present invention primarily relate to vehicle control solutions for narrow turns. A narrow turn is defined as a lane width less than 1.5 times the vehicle body width and a lane turn greater than 70°. Narrow turns typically include paths with approximately right-angle turns.

[0053] See also Figure 1 , which illustrates a narrow turn scenario in which some implementations of the present invention may be implemented. Figure 1An example of the scenario is a road in an old city, where the road width is only slightly larger than the width of the vehicle body, and there are houses or complex obstacles on both sides of the road (for example, randomly placed trash cans, irregularly parked bicycles, pets that may run at any time, and people who suddenly walk out of the house). In addition, there are scenes where turns are required in the narrow road sections, especially right-angle turns or turns close to right-angle turns (for example, turns of 80° to 110°).

[0054] It is understandable that the narrow turning scenarios applicable to the present invention may also be other scenarios where a vehicle needs to turn on a narrow road, such as mountain bends, country roads, and narrow turning roads that were originally wide but have become narrow due to illegal parking.

[0055] Figure 2 The schematic diagram shows a vehicle control system 100 according to a feasible embodiment of the present invention, which mainly includes a sensor 10 and a vehicle control device 50. The sensor 10 may include an environmental sensor 20, a vehicle state sensor 30, and a communication unit 40 capable of exchanging information with the outside of the vehicle.

[0056] Environmental sensors 20 are used to sense the vehicle's surroundings and generate environmental information. Environmental sensors 20 can be located within or around the vehicle, i.e., implemented as on-board sensors. Environmental sensors 20 may include on-board cameras (single-target, multi-target, surround-view), laser radars, ultrasonic radars (such as millimeter-wave radars), and other sensors. On-board cameras can obtain environmental information through image or video analysis, such as the relative distance of the vehicle from the roadside or obstacles. Radars can determine the relative distance of the vehicle from the roadside or obstacles by analyzing point clouds.

[0057] The environmental sensor 20 may include a plurality of environmental sensors arranged around the vehicle body, and this arrangement takes safety redundancy into consideration, that is, ensuring that the environmental conditions around the vehicle can be fully collected, especially the environmental conditions on both sides of the vehicle.

[0058] See also Figure 3 In one embodiment, six ultrasonic sensors are provided at the front and rear of the vehicle (i.e., the head and tail). Six ultrasonic sensors 21A to 21F are provided at the front of the vehicle, and six ultrasonic sensors 22A to 22F are provided at the rear of the vehicle. Four ultrasonic sensors are provided at the left and right sides of the vehicle (four ultrasonic sensors 23A to 23D are provided at the left side of the vehicle, and four ultrasonic sensors 24A to 24D are provided at the right side of the vehicle). Furthermore, one surround-view camera is provided at each of the front, rear, left, and right sides of the vehicle (a front surround-view camera 21G, a rear surround-view camera 22G, a left surround-view camera 23E, and a right surround-view camera 24E).

[0059] It is understood that the above embodiments describe the arrangement positions and specific numbers of environmental sensors, and the number and arrangement of environmental sensors can be adaptively adjusted according to application examples.

[0060] In one embodiment, to enhance safety redundancy in monitoring the vehicle's two sides, the number of side sensors is determined based on the distance between the vehicle's front and rear wheels, ensuring that a sensor is installed at predetermined intervals (e.g., 60 cm) along the vehicle's sides. For example, if the distance between the front and rear wheels is less than or equal to 1.8 meters, three sensors are installed on each side of the vehicle; if the distance between the front and rear wheels is greater than 1.8 meters, four sensors are installed on each side of the vehicle.

[0061] In addition, in order to ensure the measurement effect of the vehicle side sensor, the side sensor can be installed on the side skirt and the distance from the ground should be greater than or equal to 200mm.

[0062] The vehicle state sensor 30 is used to sense the vehicle state and generate vehicle state information. The vehicle state sensor 30 may include a steering angle sensor, a vehicle speed sensor, a displacement sensor, a hydraulic pressure sensor, and the like. Vehicle state information may include information indicating the vehicle state, such as vehicle speed, vehicle acceleration, and vehicle yaw angle. This information may be directly measured by the vehicle state sensor or calculated from data sensed by the vehicle state sensor.

[0063] The communication unit 40 is used to receive or send information required for vehicle control from outside the vehicle to outside the vehicle. The communication unit 40 is, for example, a vehicle-mounted transceiver, which can determine environmental information by the time delay of receiving the signal or based on the timestamp information in the signal. With the help of the communication unit 40, the vehicle side can receive environmental information from sensors outside the vehicle. For example, when the vehicle is traveling on a narrow urban road, the camera at the roadside facility captures environmental information and sends the captured environmental information to the vehicle side via vehicle-to-everything communication (for example, V2X). With the help of the communication unit 40, the vehicle side can also receive environmental information from a cloud server. For example, the cloud server receives the location information reported by the vehicle side and sends the stored environmental information related to the location to the vehicle side.

[0064] The vehicle control device 50 is communicatively connected to the sensor 10, receives environmental information and vehicle status information from the sensor 10, processes and analyzes the information, and generates control signals for manipulating the vehicle, such as steering requests and vehicle speed requests, so that the vehicle steering system 200 and the vehicle body stability system 300 manipulate the vehicle according to the control signals from the vehicle control device 50.

[0065] The vehicle control device 50 may be provided in an electronic control unit (ECU) of the vehicle, that is, the control strategy according to the present invention is implemented by means of the ECU. The vehicle control device 50 may also be configured as a control device independent of the ECU and communicatively connected to the ECU.

[0066] The vehicle control device 50 may be implemented using hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware. For hardware-implemented components, these components may be implemented in one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, electronic units designed to perform their functions, or combinations thereof. For software-implemented components, these components may be implemented using microcode, program code, or code segments, and may be stored in a machine-readable storage medium such as a memory component.

[0067] In one embodiment, the vehicle control device 50 is implemented as a device comprising a memory and a processor. The memory contains instructions that, when executed by the processor, enable the processor to execute a control strategy / control method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0068] In one embodiment, the vehicle control device 50 is implemented as multiple software modules. One or more of the multiple software modules can be implemented in one chip or circuit, or can be provided in multiple chips or multiple circuits.

[0069] Figure 4 The vehicle control method 400 according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. The method 400 can be implemented in the vehicle control device 50 or the vehicle control system 100, and therefore, the above description is also applicable thereto.

[0070] In block 402 , the vehicle control device 50 receives environmental information and vehicle status information.

[0071] Environmental information and vehicle status information are collected by the sensor 10 and transmitted to the vehicle control device 50. Environmental information may include road information, obstacle information (e.g., obstacle type and status), distance between the vehicle and obstacles, and weather information. Vehicle status information may include vehicle speed information, acceleration information, vehicle yaw angle information, and steering speed information.

[0072] In block 404, the vehicle control device 50 determines that the vehicle is in a narrow turning area. The vehicle being in a narrow turning area includes the vehicle about to enter the narrow turning area, the vehicle being within the narrow turning path, and the vehicle having just exited the narrow turning path. The vehicle about to enter the narrow turning area means that the front of the vehicle is less than two vehicle body lengths away from the area. The vehicle having just exited the narrow turning path means that the rear of the vehicle is less than two vehicle body lengths away from the area.

[0073] In one embodiment, narrow turning scenes that the vehicle frequently passes through are pre-stored in the vehicle's storage device. The vehicle control device 50 can identify the scene the vehicle is currently in based on the received environmental information and match it with the stored narrow turning scenes, thereby determining that the vehicle has entered a narrow turning area.

[0074] In another embodiment, the judgment criteria for narrow turning scenarios, such as the road width range and the road turning angle range, are pre-stored in the vehicle's storage device. The vehicle control device 50 can analyze and process the received environmental information and determine that the vehicle has entered a narrow turning area when it determines that the current scenario in which the vehicle is located meets the judgment criteria.

[0075] Furthermore, when the vehicle control device 50 determines that the vehicle has entered a narrow turning area, it can control all vehicle-mounted environmental sensors to be activated to monitor the environment surrounding the vehicle. It is understood that in other scenarios, it may not be necessary to activate all vehicle-mounted environmental sensors; only those environmental sensors that are appropriate for the current scenario may be activated to save computing power.

[0076] In box 406, the vehicle control device 50 determines whether the vehicle has a potential collision risk or whether an automatic driving request is received from the driver.

[0077] In one embodiment, the vehicle control device 50 determines whether the vehicle has a potential collision risk by determining whether the following conditions (1) to (3) are satisfied, and determines that the vehicle has a potential collision risk when at least one of the following conditions (1) to (3) is satisfied.

[0078] (1) The distance between the vehicle and the potential collision object is less than the safety distance threshold. In other words, if the distance between the vehicle and the potential collision object is so close that it is less than the safety distance threshold, the vehicle is at risk of collision. This condition (1) can be determined by the following sub-conditions (1a) to (1b).

[0079] (1a) The sum of the distances between the vehicle and the potential collision object on either side is less than a two-sided distance threshold. For example, the sum of the distances between the left side of the vehicle and the obstacle on the left side, and the sum of the distances between the right side of the vehicle and the obstacle on the right side, is calculated. If this sum is less than a predetermined two-sided distance threshold, the distance between the vehicle and the potential collision object is determined to be less than a safety distance threshold. This ensures that there is a certain degree of redundancy in the road width relative to the vehicle body width.

[0080] (1b) The distance between the left or right side of the vehicle and the potential collision object is less than the single-side distance threshold. For example, the distance between the left side of the vehicle and the obstacle on the left side of the vehicle and the distance between the right side of the vehicle and the obstacle on the right side of the vehicle are calculated. If either of these two distances is less than the predetermined single-side distance threshold, it is determined that the distance between the vehicle and the potential collision object is less than the safety distance threshold. In this way, it can be ensured that there is a certain degree of redundancy between the left and right sides of the vehicle and the obstacle, respectively, so that there will be no collision or deviation from the road (on a small road without guardrails or curbs on the side of the road, it is very easy for the vehicle to deviate from the road if it is not driving in the middle of the road).

[0081] (1c) Determining that the vehicle will collide with a moving object based on the vehicle's planned path and the moving object's predicted trajectory. For example, if the potential collision object is a moving object (e.g., a moving pet or pedestrian), and the vehicle is not currently expected to collide with the moving object, the vehicle's planned path and the moving object's predicted trajectory indicate a potential collision between the vehicle and the moving object. The distance between the vehicle and the potential collision object is determined to be less than a safety distance threshold.

[0082] (2) The occurrence of an environment unfavorable for driving. An environment unfavorable for driving may include weather and lighting conditions that are unfavorable for driving. These unfavorable environmental factors can be quantitatively calibrated and judged by setting corresponding thresholds, thereby establishing a unified judgment standard and improving judgment accuracy.

[0083] In one embodiment, the weather environment unfavorable for driving may include fog, rain, snow, or hail. In addition, corresponding thresholds may be set for the weather conditions based on the weather information. For example, a visibility threshold may be set for foggy weather, and a rainfall threshold may be set for rainy weather. When the degree of unfavorable weather for driving reaches a certain level based on the corresponding thresholds, the weather environment unfavorable for driving is determined to be present.

[0084] In one embodiment, the lighting environment that is not conducive to driving may include insufficient light or strong reflection. In addition, a corresponding light intensity threshold can be set for the lighting environment. When the lighting is judged to be not conducive to driving to a certain extent based on the corresponding light intensity threshold, it is determined that the lighting environment that is not conducive to driving has occurred.

[0085] (3) The vehicle's behavior is reciprocating. Reciprocating vehicle behavior can be manifested as alternating left and right turns and / or forward and backward turns, indicating that the driver is repeatedly trying, most likely because the vehicle is stuck somewhere in a narrow turning area. The vehicle's behavior can be obtained by detecting the vehicle's trajectory or the driver's operating behavior.

[0086] When the driver feels that the narrow road or curve he is on is difficult to pass, the driver can issue an automatic driving request by pressing a button in the car or touching a virtual button on the touch screen in the car to request to start the automatic driving narrow turning mode, that is, requesting the automatic driving system to take over the vehicle and assist the vehicle to pass through the area through the automatic driving narrow turning mode function.

[0087] If the answer in box 406 is "No", that is, no driver's automatic driving request is received, and no determination is made that the vehicle has a potential collision risk, method 400 returns to box 402 to continue receiving environmental information and vehicle status information in order to monitor the vehicle's surrounding environment and vehicle status in real time.

[0088] If the answer in box 406 is “yes”, that is, the driver’s automatic driving request is received, or it is determined that the vehicle has a potential collision risk, the method 400 proceeds to box 408.

[0089] In box 408, the vehicle control device 50 turns on the narrow turn mode of the automatic driving.

[0090] In block 410 , it is determined whether the vehicle is in a position where there is insufficient passage space. A position where there is insufficient passage space can be understood as the vehicle being “stuck” somewhere on a narrow road and unable to directly plan a path from the current position to pass through the narrow turning area.

[0091] In a case where the determination in block 410 is “YES”, the vehicle control device 50 controls the vehicle to return to the position at the beginning of the vehicle entering the narrow turning area.

[0092] In one embodiment, the vehicle control device 50 controls the vehicle to return along the original path based on the recorded vehicle driving trajectory and obstacle information along the way. During the return process, the vehicle control device 50 determines whether there is a change between the newly acquired obstacle information and the recorded obstacle information based on the environmental information monitored in real time by the environmental sensor. The change is caused by, for example, a system error or a change in the obstacle position. If it is determined that the obstacle information has changed and the change is conducive to the passage of the vehicle (for example, the newly acquired obstacle position is further away from the recorded vehicle trajectory relative to the recorded position), the vehicle is controlled to return along the original trajectory. If it is determined that the obstacle information has changed and the change is not conducive to the passage of the vehicle (for example, the newly acquired obstacle position is closer to the recorded vehicle trajectory relative to the recorded position), the vehicle is controlled to adjust the return path or issue an obstacle prompt message to the driver.

[0093] It is understandable that when the vehicle is "stuck" somewhere and cannot be driven out, the vehicle control device 50 can generate a prompt message and present it to the driver in the form of voice, image or text. If possible, the driver can get out of the vehicle and move the obstacle; or, report the information that the vehicle is "stuck" somewhere to the remote server.

[0094] If the answer in block 410 is “no”, or if the vehicle has returned to the position at the beginning of the narrow turning area after passing block 412 , the method proceeds to block 414 .

[0095] In block 414 , the vehicle control device 50 plans a path for the vehicle so as to guide the vehicle through the narrow turning area.

[0096] In one embodiment, the vehicle control device 50 can plan a driving route through the narrow turning area based on driver preferences, vehicle preferences, and real-time environmental conditions. The vehicle control device 50 can implement such planning with the help of a machine learning model.

[0097] In another embodiment, a planned path set is stored on the vehicle, the planned path set including multiple planned paths corresponding to a scenario. The vehicle control device 50 identifies the scenario corresponding to the narrow turning area, selects a planned path corresponding to the identified scenario from the planned path set, and guides the vehicle through the narrow turning area using the planned path.

[0098] In box 416, the vehicle control device 50 plans the steering request and the vehicle speed request in real time, sends the steering request to the vehicle's steering system, and sends the vehicle speed request to the vehicle's stability system, thereby guiding the vehicle through the narrow turning area according to the planned path.

[0099] One purpose of real-time steering and speed request planning is to consider the feelings of the vehicle's occupants, preventing stop-and-go situations, abrupt speed changes, sharp turns, and sudden braking. While such situations might be the most efficient or consistent with the planned route from a purely machine perspective, they can cause discomfort to the occupants. Therefore, real-time steering and speed request planning is used to avoid these uncomfortable situations.

[0100] In the planning of steering requests and vehicle speed requests, some or all of the following conditions (1) to (5) are met. This allows the vehicle's mechanical system to better follow the planned route when performing actions under electronic control, and any deviations can be corrected rather than accumulated in the direction of increasing the deviation.

[0101] (1) The difference between the requested steering angle and the current vehicle body yaw angle is less than a predetermined angle difference threshold.

[0102] For example, the vehicle control device 50 obtains the current vehicle body yaw angle from the vehicle status information, determines the steering angle that the vehicle needs to perform at the current position based on the planned path, and adjusts the determined steering angle based on the angle difference threshold so that the difference between the requested steering angle sent to the steering system and the current vehicle body yaw angle is less than the angle difference threshold.

[0103] (2) The requested steering speed (ie, the speed of angle change) is less than a predetermined steering speed threshold.

[0104] For example, a turning speed for the vehicle to achieve the planned path is determined based on the planned path and the current vehicle speed, and the determined steering speed is adjusted based on a steering speed threshold so that the speed request issued to the steering system is less than the steering speed threshold, so that the driving route implemented by the vehicle can be as consistent as possible with the planned path, and at the same time the steering speed does not exceed the steering speed threshold.

[0105] (3) The difference between the current requested angle and the previous requested angle is less than a predetermined continuous angle change threshold.

[0106] For example, based on the frequency with which the system sends steering commands, the difference between the last requested steering angle and the immediately following currently requested steering angle cannot be too large, so that the vehicle behavior does not change abruptly, because the action of the vehicle's mechanical parts or the energy storage components therein (e.g., spring system, hydraulic system) are not suitable for performing sharp turns.

[0107] (4) The requested vehicle acceleration in the direction of travel is less than a predetermined acceleration threshold.

[0108] For example, the acceleration of the vehicle to achieve the planned path is determined based on the planned path and the current vehicle speed (the acceleration refers to the acceleration in the direction of vehicle travel. If accelerating, the acceleration is positive, and if decelerating, the acceleration is negative. The acceleration used for judgment can adopt the absolute value of the acceleration), and the determined acceleration is adjusted based on the acceleration threshold so that the driving route implemented by the vehicle can be as consistent as possible with the planned path, and at the same time, the change in vehicle speed will not be too sudden.

[0109] Additionally, the requested steering angle increment can be correlated with vehicle speed. In one embodiment, the requested steering angle increment is matched to the vehicle speed level, such that the greater the requested steering angle, the slower the vehicle speed. For example, when the steering increment is less than 50 degrees, the vehicle speed can be controlled at 10 km / h; when the steering increment is greater than 50 degrees but less than 100 degrees, the vehicle speed can be controlled at 5 km / h; and when the requested steering increment is greater than 100 degrees, the vehicle speed can be controlled at less than 3 km / h.

[0110] It is understandable that although the planned path is executed, it may fail, that is, the vehicle cannot pass through the narrow turn no matter what. For example, the width of a certain position on the road is smaller than the width of the vehicle body, there is an immovable obstacle in the middle of the road, etc. In this case, the vehicle can be controlled to pull over and report the situation to the remote server.

[0111] The present invention also provides a machine-readable storage medium storing executable instructions, which, when executed, enables a machine to perform the method 400 described above.

[0112] It will be understood that all operations in the method described above are merely exemplary, and the present invention is not limited to any operation in the method or the order of these operations, but should cover all other equivalent transformations under the same or similar concept.

[0113] It is understood that the control unit described above can be implemented in various ways, for example, as hardware, software, or a combination thereof.

[0114] The vehicle control device may include one or more processors. These processors can be implemented using electronic hardware, computer software or any combination thereof. Whether these processors are implemented as hardware or software will depend on specific application and the overall design constraints imposed on the system. As an example, the processor provided in the present invention, any part of the processor or any combination of processors can be implemented as a microprocessor, microcontroller, digital signal processor (DSP), field programmable gate array (FPGA), programmable logic device (PLD), state machine, gate logic, discrete hardware circuit and other suitable processing components configured for performing the various functions described in the present invention. The function of the processor provided in the present invention, any part of the processor or any combination of processors can be implemented as software performed by a microprocessor, microcontroller, DSP or other suitable platform.

[0115] Software can be broadly considered to represent instructions, instruction sets, codes, code segments, program codes, programs, subroutines, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, running threads, processes, functions, etc. Software can reside in a computer-readable medium. A computer-readable medium can include, for example, a memory, which can be, for example, a magnetic storage device (e.g., a hard disk, a floppy disk, a magnetic stripe), an optical disk, a smart card, a flash memory device, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable ROM (PROM), an erasable PROM (EPROM), an electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), a register, or a removable disk. Although memory is shown as being separated from a processor in the various aspects provided by the present invention, memory can also be located inside the processor (e.g., a cache or register).

[0116] The above description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to implement the various aspects described herein. Various modifications to these aspects will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects. Therefore, the claims are not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein. All structural and functional equivalents of the elements of the various aspects described herein that are known or to be known to those skilled in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be covered by the claims.

Claims

1. A vehicle control device for a narrow turning mode, configured to: Receive environmental information around the vehicle and vehicle status information; When it is determined that a vehicle in a narrow turning area has a potential collision risk or a driver's automatic driving request is received, the narrow turning mode of automatic driving is turned on, wherein: A narrow turn is defined as a lane width less than 1.5 times the vehicle width and a lane turn greater than 70°; and In the narrow turning mode, a planned path through the narrow turning area is determined, and in controlling the vehicle to achieve the planned path based on environmental information and vehicle state information, a vehicle speed request and a steering request are dynamically adjusted so that some or all of the following items meet corresponding thresholds: - the difference between the requested steering angle and the current vehicle yaw angle; - requested steering speed; - the difference between the currently requested steering angle and the last requested steering angle; - the requested acceleration in the direction of vehicle travel, Wherein, the vehicle control device is configured to determine that the vehicle has a potential collision risk when it is determined that the vehicle's running behavior is reciprocating; The reciprocating movement of the vehicle includes at least one of the following: - The vehicle turns left and right more than a predetermined number of times; - The vehicle alternates forward in one direction and backward in an opposite direction more than a predetermined number of times.

2. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein The vehicle control apparatus is configured to dynamically adjust the steering request and the vehicle speed request so that the larger the requested steering angle, the smaller the requested vehicle speed.

3. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein The vehicle control device is further configured to: When it is determined based on the planned path and the predicted trajectory of the moving object that the vehicle will collide with the moving object, controlling the vehicle to decelerate or stop to avoid collision with the moving object; and / or When it is determined based on the planned path and the environmental information that a stationary object appears on the planned path, an object reminder message is sent to the driver or the planned path is adjusted to avoid the stationary object.

4. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein The vehicle control device is configured to further determine whether the following items are satisfied, and determine that the vehicle has a potential collision risk when it is determined that the vehicle's running behavior is reciprocating and at least one of the following items is satisfied: -The distance between the vehicle and the potential collision object is less than the safety distance threshold; and -Unfavorable driving conditions occur.

5. The vehicle control device according to claim 4, wherein The distance between the vehicle and the potential collision object is less than the safety distance threshold, which includes at least one of the following: - The sum of the distances between the potential collision object and both sides of the vehicle is less than the bilateral distance threshold; - The distance between the left or right side of the vehicle and the potential collision object is less than the single-side distance threshold; -Determining that the vehicle will collide with the moving object based on the planned path and the estimated trajectory of the moving object.

6. The vehicle control device according to claim 4, wherein The environment that is not conducive to driving includes weather and lighting conditions that are not conducive to driving. Weather conditions or lighting conditions that are unfavorable for driving include at least one of the following: - There is fog, rain, snow or hail; - Insufficient lighting or strong reflections.

7. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein The vehicle control device is further configured to determine the planned path by: Determining a scenario of the narrow turning area based on environmental information, and selecting a planned path corresponding to the determined scenario from a stored set of planned paths; or The planned path is determined based on real-time environmental conditions, vehicle preferences and driver preferences. Optionally, the real-time environmental conditions, vehicle preferences and driver preferences are used as input parameters of a machine learning model, and a model output containing the planned path is obtained.

8. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein The vehicle control device is further configured to: After the narrow turning mode is activated, before determining the planned path, determining whether the vehicle is in a position where there is insufficient passage space; When the judgment result is affirmative, based on the vehicle driving trajectory record and the obstacle information record on the way, the vehicle is controlled to return to the position at the beginning of entering the narrow turning area.

9. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein The narrow turning area includes a path that turns approximately at a right angle.

10. A vehicle control system for a narrow turning mode, comprising: Sensors, including an environmental sensor for sensing the vehicle's surroundings and generating environmental information and a vehicle state sensor for sensing the vehicle's state and generating vehicle state information; as well as The vehicle control device according to any one of claims 1 to 9 is configured to be communicatively connected to the sensor and, upon determining that a vehicle in a narrow turning area presents a potential collision risk or receiving a driver's request for autonomous driving, initiate a narrow turning mode for autonomous driving, wherein a narrow turning is defined as a lane width less than 1.5 times the vehicle body width and a lane turn greater than 70 degrees; in the narrow turning mode, a planned path through the narrow turning area is determined, and in controlling the vehicle to achieve the planned path based on environmental information and vehicle state information, the vehicle speed request and steering request are dynamically adjusted so that some or all of the following items meet corresponding thresholds: - the difference between the requested steering angle and the current vehicle yaw angle; - requested steering speed; - the difference between the currently requested steering angle and the last requested steering angle; - the requested acceleration in the direction of vehicle travel, Wherein, the vehicle control device is configured to determine that the vehicle has a potential collision risk when it is determined that the vehicle's running behavior is reciprocating; The reciprocating movement of the vehicle includes at least one of the following: - The vehicle turns left and right more than a predetermined number of times; - The vehicle alternates forward in one direction and backward in an opposite direction more than a predetermined number of times.

11. The vehicle control system according to claim 10, wherein: The environmental sensor includes a plurality of environmental sensors arranged around the vehicle. The multiple environmental sensors include ultrasonic sensors and surround-view cameras.

12. The vehicle control system according to claim 11, wherein: The ultrasonic sensor includes a plurality of ultrasonic sensors arranged at the front, rear, left, and right sides of the vehicle, and the surround view camera includes a plurality of surround view cameras arranged at the left and right sides of the vehicle.

13. The vehicle control system of claim 10, wherein: The number of sensors arranged on the left and right sides of the vehicle increases as the distance between the front and rear wheels of the vehicle increases.

14. A vehicle control method for a narrow turning mode, comprising: Receive environmental information around the vehicle and vehicle status information; Upon determining that a vehicle in a narrow turning area presents a potential collision risk or receiving a driver's request for autonomous driving, the system activates the narrow turning mode of autonomous driving, where a narrow turning is defined as a lane width less than 1.5 times the vehicle body width and a lane turn greater than 70 degrees; and In the narrow turning mode, a planned path through the narrow turning area is determined, and in controlling the vehicle to achieve the planned path based on environmental information and vehicle state information, a vehicle speed request and a steering request are dynamically adjusted so that some or all of the following items meet corresponding thresholds: - the difference between the requested steering angle and the current vehicle yaw angle; - requested steering speed; - the difference between the currently requested steering angle and the last requested steering angle; - the requested acceleration in the direction of vehicle travel, The vehicle control device is configured to determine that the vehicle has a potential collision risk when it is determined that the vehicle's running behavior is reciprocating; The reciprocating movement of the vehicle includes at least one of the following: - The vehicle turns left and right more than a predetermined number of times; - The vehicle alternates forward in one direction and backward in an opposite direction more than a predetermined number of times.

15. A machine-readable storage medium storing executable instructions, which, when executed, causes a machine to perform the method according to claim 14.

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