A control method for autonomous vehicle formation

Abstract

The present invention relates to a control method for an autonomous driving vehicle formation, which is used to achieve overtaking between two vehicle formations. The method comprises: a lead vehicle C0 of a rear vehicle formation C sends an overtaking request to a lead vehicle B0 of a front vehicle formation B. After lead vehicle B0 responds to the overtaking request, both lead vehicle B0 and lead vehicle C0 broadcast driving information to the following vehicles in the formation. The following vehicles of the front vehicle formation B and the rear vehicle formation C respectively determine the driving lane and the overtaking lane based on the driving information and simultaneously perform lane switching. The rear vehicle formation C then accelerates to overtake. The method has high traffic efficiency and can plan the formation and driving lanes of the vehicle formation in advance, effectively improving road traffic capacity, alleviating traffic congestion, and reducing traffic accidents.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of autonomous driving technology, and in particular to a control method for a formation of autonomous driving vehicles. Background Art

[0002] At present, the level of intelligence of automobiles is becoming higher and higher. Technologies such as human-computer interaction, vehicle-road collaboration, vehicle-to-vehicle collaboration, and air-ground collaboration are developing rapidly. With the support of the development of communication technologies such as 5G and in-vehicle Ethernet, automobiles are moving towards autonomous driving and platooning.

[0003] CN115273450A discloses a lane-changing method for vehicles entering a platoon in a connected, autonomous driving environment. The method first uses advanced sensing equipment and technology to acquire environmental information about the road section where the platoon is passing. Based on safe lane-changing conditions, the method determines the position where the lane-changing vehicle will insert into the platoon. The method then calculates the acceleration and deceleration of the lane-changing vehicle and the two adjacent vehicles at its insertion position, the total longitudinal control adjustment time, the lateral and longitudinal control accelerations of the lane-changing vehicle, the lane-changing time, the total adjustment time of the new platoon, and the acceleration and deceleration times of the corresponding vehicles. This method enables the lane-changing vehicle to enter an existing platoon and re-form, ensuring platoon safety and improving traffic efficiency.

[0004] CN113570845A discloses a connected vehicle platooning method and system. This system platoons vehicles with similar paths and uses vehicle networking technology to achieve real-time platooning. Once the driver enters their destination, the system quickly finds platooning vehicles through the vehicle networking technology to enable following. This alleviates urban traffic congestion and improves driving safety. This invention uses vehicle-to-vehicle communication to control vehicle movement, optimizing vehicle spacing and speeds and reducing the risk of traffic accidents.

[0005] In summary, the relevant technologies only study technical solutions such as how autonomous vehicles change lanes when joining a platoon and how to follow the platoon to reach the destination. They do not address the actual driving conditions of autonomous vehicle platoons that require lane changes and overtaking between platoons, which are low in efficiency and may cause traffic congestion or even traffic accidents. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a control method for a platoon of autonomous driving vehicles, which can enable lane changing and overtaking between platoons of autonomous driving vehicles during driving, so as to improve traffic efficiency.

[0007] In order to achieve the above object, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is as follows:

[0008] A control method for an autonomous vehicle platoon, for achieving overtaking between two vehicle platoons, comprises the following steps:

[0009] The lead car C0 of platoon C at the rear sends an overtaking request to the lead car B0 of platoon B at the front. The lead car B0 determines whether to agree to the overtaking request. If it disagrees, the lead car B0 provides feedback to the lead car C0 of platoon C and does not perform subsequent avoidance procedures. If it agrees to overtake, the lead car B0 of platoon B maintains the current lane and broadcasts the driving information of the lead car B0 to the following cars of platoon B, and provides feedback to the lead car C0 indicating that it agrees to overtake.

[0010] Following vehicles in formation B confirm their driving lanes based on the driving information of lead vehicle B0. If the following vehicles in formation B are not in the driving lane, they will change lanes in turn. Once the lane change is complete, lead vehicle B0 sends a completion avoidance message to lead vehicle C0.

[0011] The lead vehicle C0 determines the overtaking lane based on the overtaking consent information and broadcasts the lead vehicle C0's driving information to the following vehicles in formation C. All vehicles in formation C then change to the overtaking lane. After completing the lane change, if the lead vehicle C0 receives the avoidance completion information, it starts to overtake. If it does not receive the information, it waits for the vehicles in formation B to complete the avoidance until it receives the avoidance completion information.

[0012] It is determined whether the overtaking is completed. If the overtaking is completed, the pilot car B0 and the pilot car C0 end the corresponding control program.

[0013] Furthermore, the driving information of the pilot vehicle B0 and the information on consent to overtake both include lane information of the pilot vehicle B0 and speed information of the pilot vehicle B0 , and the driving information of the pilot vehicle C0 includes lane information of the pilot vehicle C0 and speed information of the pilot vehicle C0 .

[0014] Furthermore, in the driving lane determined according to the driving information of the pilot car B0, the driving lane is determined to be the lane where the pilot car B0 is located.

[0015] Furthermore, the pilot car C0 determines, in the overtaking lane determined according to the overtaking consent information, that a lane different from the lane where the pilot car B0 is located is the overtaking lane.

[0016] Furthermore, all vehicles in the formation C are shifted to the overtaking lane, including:

[0017] If the lead car C0 is not in the overtaking lane, it changes lanes. When the lead car C0 is in the overtaking lane, it broadcasts the driving information of the lead car C0 to the following cars in the formation C.

[0018] The following vehicles of formation C determine the target lane based on the driving information of the lead vehicle C0. If the following vehicles are not in the target lane, they change lanes to the target lane in turn.

[0019] Furthermore, the following vehicle of the formation C determines a target lane based on the driving information of the lead vehicle C0 , and the target lane is determined to be the lane where the lead vehicle C0 is located, that is, the overtaking lane.

[0020] Furthermore, after completing the lane change, if the lead vehicle C0 receives the avoidance completion information, it starts to overtake. The overtaking method is: all vehicles in formation C accelerate according to the speed information of the lead vehicle B0 and the speed information of the lead vehicle C0 so that the speed is greater than the speed of the vehicles in formation B, thereby completing the overtaking of formation B.

[0021] Furthermore, the method for determining whether overtaking is completed is as follows: when the last following vehicle in formation C exceeds the lead vehicle B0 of formation B and reaches a safe distance in the longitudinal direction, it is determined that overtaking is completed.

[0022] Furthermore, the safety distance is a pre-set distance in the range of 50-100 meters.

[0023] Furthermore, there are no less than two vehicles in the formation C and the formation B. The first vehicles of the formation C and the formation B are the lead vehicle C0 and the lead vehicle B0 respectively, and the remaining vehicles are following vehicles.

[0024] Beneficial effects of the present invention:

[0025] The present invention uses the lead car in the self-driving car formation to monitor and control the entire formation in real time, thereby realizing adaptive following between vehicles, and coordinated driving and overtaking between formations by sharing driving information in real time. When overtaking is required, the leading vehicle formation and the following vehicle formation respectively determine the driving lane and the overtaking lane according to the driving information and change lanes at the same time, and then the following vehicle formation accelerates to overtake. This method has high traffic efficiency and can plan the formation and driving lanes of the car formation in advance, which can effectively improve road traffic capacity, alleviate traffic congestion, and reduce traffic accidents. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] Figure 1 It is a flow chart of a control method for overtaking between car formations;

[0027] Figure 2 is a flow chart of a method for a car platoon to change to a passing lane;

[0028] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the driving state when requesting to overtake;

[0029] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the driving state when preparing to overtake after completing the position change;

[0030] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the driving status when overtaking is completed. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] The following will describe the embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings and preferred embodiments. Those skilled in the art will be able to understand other advantages and effects of the present invention from the contents disclosed in this specification. The present invention can also be implemented or applied through other different specific embodiments, and the details in this specification can also be modified or changed in various ways based on different viewpoints and applications without departing from the spirit of the present invention. It should be understood that the preferred embodiments are only for the purpose of illustrating the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0032] It should be noted that the illustrations provided in the following embodiments are merely schematic illustrations of the basic concept of the present invention. The illustrations only show components related to the present invention and are not drawn according to the number, shape, and size of components in actual implementation. In actual implementation, the type, quantity, and proportion of each component may be changed arbitrarily, and the component layout may also be more complex.

[0033] like Figure 1 As shown, this embodiment provides a control method for an autonomous driving vehicle formation, which is used to achieve overtaking between two vehicle formations, including the following steps:

[0034] The driving status of S1, formation B and formation C is as follows Figure 3 As shown, the lead car C0 of the formation C at the rear sends an overtaking request to the lead car B0 of the formation B at the front. The lead car B0 determines whether to agree to the overtaking request. If it does not agree to overtake, the lead car B0 feedbacks to the lead car C0 of the formation C and does not perform the subsequent avoidance procedure. If it agrees to overtake, the lead car B0 of the formation B maintains the current lane, broadcasts the driving information of the lead car B0 to the following cars of the formation B, and feedbacks the information of agreeing to overtake to the lead car C0.

[0035] In the embodiment of the present invention, there are no less than two vehicles in the formation C and the formation B. The first vehicles of the formation C and the formation B are the lead vehicle C0 and the lead vehicle B0 respectively, and the remaining vehicles are following vehicles.

[0036] In an embodiment of the present invention, the driving information of the lead vehicle B0 and the information on consent to overtake are both the lane information of the lead vehicle B0 and the speed information of the lead vehicle B0. The speed information of the lead vehicle B0 broadcast to the following vehicle of formation B is used by the following vehicle to control its own speed to maintain the integrity of the formation.

[0037] S2. Following vehicles in formation B confirm their driving lanes based on the driving information of lead vehicle B0. If the following vehicles in formation B are not in the driving lane, they change lanes in turn. Once the lane change is complete, lead vehicle B0 sends a completion avoidance message to lead vehicle C0.

[0038] In the embodiment of the present invention, the driving lane is determined to be the lane where the pilot vehicle B0 is located.

[0039] S3: The leading vehicle C0 determines the overtaking lane based on the consent information and broadcasts the driving information of the leading vehicle C0 to the following vehicles in formation C. All vehicles in formation C change to the overtaking lane. After completing the lane change, if the leading vehicle C0 receives the avoidance completion information, it starts to overtake. At this time, the driving status of formations B and formations C is as follows: Figure 4 If not received, wait for the vehicle in formation B to complete the avoidance until the avoidance completion information is received;

[0040] In the embodiment of the present invention, the pilot car C0 determines that a lane different from the lane where the pilot car B0 is located is an overtaking lane.

[0041] like Figure 2 As shown, in this embodiment of the present invention, all vehicles in the formation C are transferred to the overtaking lane, including the following steps:

[0042] S31. If the lead vehicle C0 is not in the overtaking lane, the lead vehicle C0 changes lanes. When the lead vehicle C0 is in the overtaking lane, the lead vehicle C0's driving information is broadcast to the following vehicles in the formation C.

[0043] The driving information of the pilot car C0 includes the lane information and speed information of the pilot car C0 , and the target lane is determined to be the lane where the pilot car C0 is located, that is, the overtaking lane.

[0044] S32. The following vehicles of formation C determine the target lane according to the driving information of the lead vehicle C0. If the following vehicles are not in the target lane, they change lanes to the target lane in sequence.

[0045] In the embodiment of the present invention, the overtaking method is as follows: all vehicles in formation C accelerate according to the speed information of the lead vehicle B0 and the speed information of the lead vehicle C0 to make their speed greater than that of the vehicles in formation B, thereby completing the overtaking of formation B. At this time, the driving status of formation B and formation C is as follows: Figure 5 shown.

[0046] S4. Determine whether the overtaking is completed. If the overtaking is completed, the pilot car B0 and the pilot car C0 end the corresponding control program.

[0047] In an embodiment of the present invention, the method for determining whether overtaking is complete is as follows: overtaking is determined to be complete when the last following vehicle in formation C passes the lead vehicle B0 of formation B and reaches a safe distance in the longitudinal direction. The safe distance is a pre-set distance, such as 50 meters, 100 meters, or the like.

[0048] After that, the lead vehicles of formation B and formation C can send control commands to the formation to maintain the current formation or change to other formations according to their respective needs.

[0049] The present invention uses the lead car in the self-driving car formation to monitor and control the entire formation in real time, thereby realizing adaptive following between vehicles, and coordinated driving and overtaking between formations by sharing driving information in real time. When overtaking is required, the leading vehicle formation and the following vehicle formation respectively determine the driving lane and the overtaking lane according to the driving information and change lanes at the same time, and then the following vehicle formation accelerates to overtake. This method has high traffic efficiency and can plan the formation and driving lanes of the car formation in advance, which can effectively improve road traffic capacity, alleviate traffic congestion, and reduce traffic accidents.

[0050] The above embodiments are only preferred embodiments for fully illustrating the present invention, and the protection scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any equivalent substitution or modification made by those skilled in the art based on the present invention is within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A control method for a platoon of autonomous vehicles, characterized in that: The method for overtaking between two platoons includes the following steps: The lead car C0 of platoon C at the rear sends an overtaking request to the lead car B0 of platoon B at the front. The lead car B0 determines whether to agree to the overtaking request. If it disagrees, the lead car B0 provides feedback to the lead car C0 of platoon C and does not perform subsequent avoidance procedures. If it agrees to overtake, the lead car B0 of platoon B maintains the current lane and broadcasts the driving information of the lead car B0 to the following cars of platoon B, and provides feedback to the lead car C0 indicating that it agrees to overtake. Following vehicles in formation B confirm their driving lanes based on the driving information of lead vehicle B0. If the following vehicles in formation B are not in the driving lane, they will change lanes in turn. Once the lane change is complete, lead vehicle B0 sends a completion avoidance message to lead vehicle C0. The lead vehicle C0 determines the overtaking lane based on the overtaking consent information and broadcasts the lead vehicle C0's driving information to the following vehicles in formation C. All vehicles in formation C then change to the overtaking lane. After completing the lane change, if the lead vehicle C0 receives the avoidance completion information, it starts to overtake. If it does not receive the information, it waits for the vehicles in formation B to complete the avoidance until it receives the avoidance completion information. Determine whether the overtaking is completed. If the overtaking is completed, the pilot car B0 and the pilot car C0 end the corresponding control program; The driving information of the pilot vehicle B0 and the information of consent to overtake each other include the lane information and speed information of the pilot vehicle B0, and the driving information of the pilot vehicle C0 includes the lane information and speed information of the pilot vehicle C0; In determining the driving lane according to the driving information of the pilot car B0, the driving lane is determined to be the lane where the pilot car B0 is located; The pilot car C0 determines, according to the overtaking consent information, a lane different from the lane where the pilot car B0 is located as the overtaking lane; The process of shifting all vehicles in formation C to the overtaking lane includes the following steps: If the lead car C0 is not in the overtaking lane, it changes lanes. When the lead car C0 is in the overtaking lane, it broadcasts the driving information of the lead car C0 to the following cars in the formation C. The following vehicles of formation C determine the target lane based on the driving information of the lead vehicle C0. If the following vehicles are not in the target lane, they change lanes to the target lane in turn.

2. The control method of the autonomous driving vehicle formation according to claim 1, characterized in that: The following vehicle of the formation C determines a target lane based on the driving information of the lead vehicle C0 , and the target lane is determined to be the lane where the lead vehicle C0 is located, that is, the overtaking lane.

3. The control method of the autonomous driving vehicle formation according to claim 1, characterized in that: After completing the lane change, if the leading vehicle C0 receives the avoidance completion information, it starts to overtake. The overtaking method is: all vehicles in formation C accelerate according to the speed information of the leading vehicle B0 and the speed information of the leading vehicle C0 so that the speed is greater than the speed of formation B, thereby completing the overtaking of formation B.

4. The control method of the autonomous driving vehicle formation according to claim 1, characterized in that: The method for determining whether overtaking is completed is as follows: when the last following vehicle of the formation C exceeds the leading vehicle B0 of the formation B and reaches a safe distance in the longitudinal direction, it is determined that overtaking is completed.

5. The control method of the autonomous driving vehicle formation according to claim 4, characterized in that: The safety distance is a pre-set distance in the range of 50-100 meters.

6. The control method for an autonomous driving vehicle formation according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: There are no less than two vehicles in the formation C and the formation B. The first vehicles of the formation C and the formation B are the lead vehicle C0 and the lead vehicle B0 respectively, and the remaining vehicles are following vehicles.

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