Method for determining a maneuver strategy for a vehicle traveling under automated driving operation

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for determining the action strategy of a vehicle (1) traveling under automatic driving operation when approaching a front vehicle (2) parked in its lane (F). According to the present invention, it is proposed that: the vehicle (1) stops behind the parked front vehicle (2) and waits to continue its driving operation until the front vehicle (2) starts, and when the waiting time of the vehicle (1) exceeds a predetermined waiting time, the vehicle (1) starts an overtaking action to overtake the front vehicle (2), requests the assistance of a remote operator and / or issues a request to take over the driving task to a vehicle user of the vehicle (1).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for determining a maneuver strategy for a vehicle travelling under automated driving operation when approaching a preceding vehicle parked in its lane. Background Art

[0002] A method for an unmanned vehicle is known from DE 10 2018 006 949 A1. When a traffic jam occurs, a possible traffic jam duration is predicted based on a situation analysis. In this case, if the predicted traffic jam duration of the traffic jam is greater than a predetermined duration or if the vehicle has to wait longer than the predicted traffic jam duration to resolve the traffic jam, support from a remote operator is requested. Summary of the invention

[0003] The object of the present invention is to provide a method for determining a maneuver strategy for a vehicle travelling under automated driving operation.

[0004] According to the invention, this object is achieved by a method having the features of claim 1 .

[0005] Advantageous embodiments of the invention are the subject matter of the dependent claims.

[0006] According to the present invention, a method for determining a maneuver strategy of a vehicle traveling under autonomous driving operation when approaching a leading vehicle parked in its lane is provided, wherein the vehicle stops behind the parked leading vehicle and waits to continue its driving operation until the leading vehicle starts. When the waiting time of the vehicle exceeds a predetermined waiting time, the vehicle initiates an overtaking action to overtake the leading vehicle, requests assistance from a remote operator and / or issues a takeover request for the driving task to a vehicle user of the vehicle.

[0007] By this method, the autonomous vehicle considers queuing at the intersection and waits there for a reasonable waiting time. First, during the waiting period, the vehicle does not make overtaking moves on the vehicle in front, so the vehicle does not face the risk of oncoming traffic because there are other vehicles waiting at the intersection in front of the vehicle that are not recognized by the vehicle.

[0008] In one embodiment, a waiting time is predetermined according to the vehicle's environmental conditions, so that, for example, when it is determined that there is no intersection ahead of the vehicle and the vehicle ahead, it can be assumed that the vehicle ahead is parked, and after a predetermined waiting time, the vehicle initiates an overtaking action.

[0009] In a refinement of the method, the surrounding situation is checked for indications that the vehicle ahead forms the end of a queue of other vehicles that have stopped, and the vehicle is therefore stopped due to the queue situation. Therefore, driving around the vehicle ahead is not initiated.

[0010] In another embodiment, when such an indication is found, a correction value for the waiting time is determined according to the indication found, and the waiting time of the vehicle is extended by the correction value. Thus, the vehicle joins the queue and does not initiate an overtaking maneuver of the vehicle relative to the vehicle in front, and the waiting time is adjusted to the existing indication according to the situation.

[0011] In particular, according to an improved solution of the method, the distance of the vehicle to the intersection is taken into account when determining the waiting time, based on which it is determined whether the vehicle ahead is in the queue at the intersection. If the vehicle ahead is at the end of the queue of other vehicles, the vehicle queues and does not initiate an overtaking maneuver to overtake the vehicle ahead.

[0012] In one possible improvement, the waiting time is determined based on traffic information available to the vehicle. For example, the traffic situation may include a traffic jam report so that the vehicle can adapt to a longer waiting time, contact a remote operator if appropriate, and / or request the vehicle user to take over the driving task.

[0013] In another possible improvement, information about the length of the queue of other waiting vehicles and / or the length of the predicted waiting time is sent to the vehicle by vehicle-to-vehicle communication and / or by vehicle-to-infrastructure communication. This predicted waiting time can then be stored on the vehicle. If it is detected that the vehicle ahead has not started after the predicted waiting time, for example plus a predetermined buffer time, has elapsed, a query about existing traffic information and / or about the length information of the queue of other vehicles can be performed again. Either the waiting time is corrected, or a remote operator is contacted and / or a takeover request is issued in the vehicle. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] Embodiments of the present invention are explained in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0015] in:

[0016] Figure 1 schematically illustrates a traffic situation with a waiting queue of vehicles approaching an intersection under automated driving operation, and

[0017] Figure 2 The traffic situation of vehicles heading towards a queue under automatic driving operation when using the method of the present invention is schematically shown.

[0018] In all the figures, parts which correspond to one another are provided with the same reference numerals. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] Figure 1The traffic situation of a vehicle 1 traveling under automatic driving operation is shown, and the vehicle 1 is traveling toward a front vehicle 2 parked in its lane F, and there is another vehicle 3 in front of the front vehicle. The other vehicle 3 and the front vehicle 2 are parked at an intersection K with priority right-of-way control and are waiting to pass through the intersection K.

[0020] Therefore, the vehicle 1 moves toward the stopped front vehicle 2 and stops. In this case, the vehicle 1 usually waits until the front vehicle 2 starts. However, if the predetermined waiting time is exceeded and the front vehicle 2 does not start, the vehicle 1 automatically starts an overtaking action to overtake the front vehicle 2, just as the front vehicle 2 usually does in its own lane F.

[0021] If the waiting time during which the vehicle 1 behind the preceding vehicle 2 waits for its start process is not adjusted according to the situation, problems may arise with the automatically driven vehicle 1 .

[0022] In particular, at intersections K with queues requiring a long waiting time, if vehicle 1 intends to bypass the preceding vehicle 2 after the predetermined waiting time has elapsed, this may cause problems for vehicle 1, because the other vehicle 3 waiting in front of the preceding vehicle 2 has not yet been detected by the sensors of vehicle 1. In this case, vehicle 1 ignores the queue, initiates an overtaking maneuver, and cannot insert itself into the queue in front of the preceding vehicle 2 due to the stopping of the other vehicle 3, and thus may be in oncoming traffic in certain situations, thus posing a significant traffic risk. For example, vehicle 1 then attempts to bypass the waiting other vehicle 3, thereby at least provoking the vehicle drivers of the other vehicle 3 to dislike vehicle 1.

[0023] A method for determining a maneuver strategy for a vehicle 1 traveling under automated driving operation when approaching a leading vehicle 2 parked in its lane F will be described below. In particular, the method provides for separately processing a maneuver strategy for bypassing the leading vehicle 2 .

[0024] Figure 2 The same traffic situation is shown with vehicle 1 approaching a parked vehicle ahead 2 .

[0025] In particular, for the stopped preceding vehicle 2 towards which the vehicle 1 is traveling, for the predetermined distance of the vehicle 1 and / or the preceding vehicle 2 to the intersection K, it is assumed that this is a platoon.

[0026] The queue extends from the vehicle in front 2 to a stop line H at a junction K where another vehicle 3 is waiting to let a crossing road user pass.

[0027] Based on the detected signals from the sensor system 1.1 of the vehicle 1, in some cases it is not possible to detect in a complete and reliable manner that there is a further vehicle 3 in front of the parked front vehicle 2. For example, the further vehicle 3 may be obscured by the front vehicle 2 for the sensor system 1.1 of the vehicle 1.

[0028] Therefore, it is necessary to check the surrounding conditions of the vehicle 1 to determine whether there is an indication that the vehicle 2 ahead is the end of the queue, ie the end of the parking queue of other vehicles 3 .

[0029] One possible indication is the distance of the vehicle 1 and / or the vehicle in front 2 to the intersection K. In general, when the distance between the vehicle 1 and the intersection K is relatively short, the probability of a queue increasing when the intersection K has to give the right of way. If the distance to the intersection K is below a predetermined threshold, it is assumed that the vehicle in front 2 and the vehicle 1 are also part of the queue. Therefore, without introducing any other measures, a longer waiting time for the vehicle 1 is accepted. In this case, the usual waiting time of the vehicle 1 waiting for the vehicle in front 2 to start is corrected by the correction value, thereby increasing the waiting time.

[0030] For example, in an embodiment of the method, vehicle 1 may collect information about the queue length and waiting time of queuing vehicles in a fleet to which vehicle 1 belongs at intersection K. Then, when approaching a stopped vehicle 2 ahead, this information about the length and waiting time is used to determine: whether it is a queue, and how long it may take for the vehicle ahead 2 to start or until vehicle 1 is able to pass intersection K.

[0031] For this purpose, the vehicle 1 can receive corresponding information from a computer unit which is data-coupled to the vehicle 1 .

[0032] In an alternative or additional embodiment, the waiting time is determined based on available traffic information for the vehicle 1. In particular, the length of the queue is determined based on traffic information, wherein the traffic information is sent to the vehicle 1, for example, by a traffic service and / or a map service. For this purpose, it can be provided that different traffic densities currently prevailing are sent to the vehicle 1 in a color-coded manner and these traffic densities are displayed accordingly in the vehicle 1. For example, red indicates a traffic jam, so that an adjustment may be required to accommodate longer waiting times. Currently, the traffic information provided by the traffic service and / or the map service can even have sufficient accuracy to display such a queue situation of the vehicles 1 to 3 almost in real time.

[0033] According to the method, the vehicle 1 joins the potential queue, assuming that the stopped vehicle 2 in front forms the end of the queue, resulting in an overtaking maneuver of the vehicle 1, in particular an overtaking maneuver for bypassing the vehicle in front 2, being suppressed according to the longest waiting time, and therefore no overtaking maneuver is initiated. The vehicle 1 joins the potential queue. However, if the vehicle 1 has to distinguish whether the vehicle in front 2 is only temporarily waiting or parked, the waiting time will be longer.

[0034] In addition, if the front vehicle 1 has a driving behavior according to a stop-and-go situation, it represents an indication for assuming that the front vehicle 2 currently forms the end of a queue. In addition, the stop-and-go situation of the front vehicle 2 can be regarded as a confirmation that there is a queue of other vehicles 3 waiting in front of the vehicle 1, that is, there is a queue.

[0035] If the vehicle 1 is accidentally queued behind a parked vehicle 2 ahead of which there is also a parked other vehicle 3, and the autonomous vehicle 1 is therefore in a relatively hopeless situation with regard to continuing to drive, the remote operator is contacted and requested to assist. The remote operator then examines the current situation and issues operating instructions to the vehicle 1 to enable it to resume its driving operation. In this case, the parked vehicle 2 ahead and the parked other vehicle 3 need to be recorded in the digital map in the form of a parking space in front of the intersection K and marked accordingly. Therefore, the assumption of the parked vehicles 2, 3 will also be used to determine and apply the appropriate action strategy for the vehicle 1 in this case.

Claims

1. A method for determining a maneuvering strategy of a vehicle (1) travelling under automated driving operation when approaching a preceding vehicle (2) parked in its lane (F), It is characterized in that - the vehicle (1) stops behind the parked leading vehicle (2) and waits to continue its driving operation until the leading vehicle (2) starts or until a predetermined waiting time has elapsed, - taking into account the distance of the vehicle (1) from the intersection (K) when determining the waiting time, assuming that there is a queue of other vehicles (3) in front of the front vehicle (2) when the distance to the intersection (K) is below a predetermined threshold, and increasing the predetermined waiting time if this assumption is made, - When the waiting time of the vehicle (1) exceeds a predetermined waiting time, the vehicle (1) initiates an overtaking action to overtake the vehicle (2) ahead, requests assistance from a remote operator and / or issues a request to take over the driving task to the vehicle user of the vehicle (1).

2. The method according to claim 1, It is characterized in that The waiting time is predetermined according to the environment of the vehicle (1).

3. The method according to claim 1, It is characterized in that Environmental conditions are checked for an indication that the leading vehicle (2) forms the end of a queue of other parked vehicles (3).

4. The method according to claim 3, It is characterized in that When such an indication is found, a correction value for the waiting time is determined according to the found indication, and the waiting time of the vehicle (1) is extended by the correction value.

5. The method according to any one of the preceding claims 1 to 4, It is characterized in that The waiting time is determined based on available traffic information for the vehicle (1).

6. The method according to claim 3 or 4, It is characterized in that Information about the length of a queue of other waiting vehicles (3) and / or the length of a predicted waiting time is sent to the vehicle (1) via vehicle-to-vehicle communication and / or via vehicle-to-infrastructure communication.

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