Hand-free cruise system and method for single-lane auxiliary driving

Abstract

The invention discloses a hand-free cruise system and method for single-lane auxiliary driving, and belongs to the field of vehicle control. The system comprises a sensor module, an auxiliary driving domain controller, an intelligent cockpit domain module and an actuator, and the auxiliary driving domain controller is connected with the sensor module, the intelligent cockpit domain module and the actuator and used for judging whether the cruise can be carried out without hands or not according to road and environment information uploaded by the sensor module and the intelligent cockpit domain module. According to a judgment result, a user is reminded to cruise or take over the vehicle through the intelligent cabin domain module, and meanwhile, a control signal is sent to an actuator to drive the vehicle during the cruise; the sensor module comprises a driver monitoring camera DMS and is used for monitoring whether the sight of a driver is out of the forward direction or not. According to the invention, intelligent judgment of hand-free cruise is realized, and long-time single-lane hand-free cruise is allowed to be carried out under the monitoring of a driver during hand-free cruise.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the field of vehicle control, and in particular, relates to a hands-free cruise control system and method for single-lane assisted driving. Background Art

[0002] In existing assisted driving systems, if the driver cruises hands-free for a long time, the vehicle will remind the driver to take over in different levels; if the driver has not taken over by the deadline of the last reminder (i.e. the highest level of reminder), the intelligent driving function will exit or the emergency lights will be turned on and the vehicle will gradually slow down to a stop.

[0003] This means that the existing assisted driving system does not allow the driver to cruise hands-free for a long time. Even if the road conditions on the highway or expressway are good, the curvature and slope of the road are not large, and the weather is fine, it does not allow the driver to cruise hands-free for a long time in a single lane under the driver's supervision. This cannot free the driver's hands for long-term driving, and long-term driving can easily lead to physical fatigue and decreased concentration, thereby increasing the risk of accidents.

[0004] To this end, the present application proposes a hands-free cruise system and method for single-lane assisted driving, which allows the driver to cruise hands-free for a long time under the preset hands-free cruise conditions. Summary of the invention

[0005] The present invention aims to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art and proposes a single-lane assisted driving hands-free cruise system and method to achieve the following objectives: to realize intelligent judgment of hands-free cruise and to allow long-term single-lane hands-free cruise under driver monitoring during hands-free cruise.

[0006] In order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is: a single-lane assisted driving hands-free cruise system, the system comprising a sensor module, an assisted driving domain controller, an intelligent cockpit domain module, and an actuator, wherein the assisted driving domain controller is respectively connected to the sensor module, the intelligent cockpit domain module, and the actuator, and is used to determine whether the vehicle can currently cruise hands-free based on the road and environmental information uploaded by the sensor module and the intelligent cockpit domain module, and to remind the user through the intelligent cockpit domain module that the hands-free cruise can be carried out or the takeover can be carried out based on the judgment result, and at the same time, send a control signal to the actuator to drive the vehicle when the hands-free cruise is possible; the sensor module includes a driver monitoring camera DMS, which is used to monitor whether the driver's line of sight is out of the forward direction and feed back to the assisted driving domain controller for judging whether the hands-free cruise can be carried out.

[0007] Preferably, the sensor module includes a front monocular camera module and a front millimeter-wave radar, which are respectively connected to the assisted driving domain controller, and the front monocular camera module and the front millimeter-wave radar are used to monitor the road and obstacle conditions in front of the vehicle and send them to the assisted driving domain controller.

[0008] Preferably, the sensor module also includes a angular millimeter-wave radar and a panoramic image digital high-definition camera, which are respectively connected to the assisted driving domain controller, and the panoramic image digital high-definition camera cooperates with the angular millimeter-wave radar to complete the left, right and rear blind spots of the front monocular camera module and the front millimeter-wave radar.

[0009] Preferably, the smart cockpit domain module includes a smart cockpit domain controller, a human-computer interaction system, and an ADAS map navigation system, wherein the smart cockpit domain controller is connected to the assisted driving domain controller, the human-computer interaction system, and the ADAS map navigation system, respectively, wherein the human-computer interaction system is used to remind the user that hands-free cruising is possible or that takeover is required; the ADAS map navigation system is used to provide map information and upload it to the assisted driving domain controller through the smart cockpit domain controller for determining whether hands-free cruising is possible.

[0010] Preferably, the human-computer interaction system includes a vehicle instrument screen and a voice system, which are respectively connected to the smart cockpit domain controller. The vehicle instrument screen is used to remind the user through different display screens that hands-free cruising is possible or that takeover is required; wherein the voice system is used to remind the user through voice when the vehicle cannot cruise hands-free and takeover is required.

[0011] Preferably, the smart cockpit domain module also includes a wireless communication module T-box, and the smart cockpit domain controller is connected to the cloud big data platform through the wireless communication module T-box to obtain weather conditions and traffic accident situations from the cloud and send them to the assisted driving domain controller for judging whether hands-free cruising is possible.

[0012] Preferably, the smart cockpit domain module also includes a torque sensor arranged on the steering wheel, and the torque sensor is connected to the smart cockpit domain controller to monitor whether the driver's hands are on the steering wheel and feed back to the auxiliary driving domain controller through the smart cockpit domain controller.

[0013] Preferably, the actuator includes a braking system, a steering system, and a drive system, wherein the braking system, the steering system, and the drive system are respectively connected to the assisted driving domain controller, and the braking system is used for performing a brake reminder according to a signal sent by the assisted driving controller when the hands-free cruising condition is not met and the driver does not take over the vehicle for a long time, until the driver takes over or brakes to stop and turns on the emergency lights; the steering system is used for controlling the vehicle to always drive in a single lane according to the control signal of the assisted driving controller during the hands-free cruising process; and the drive system is used for driving the vehicle during the hands-free cruising process.

[0014] Preferably, the conditions for the assisted driving domain controller to determine whether the vehicle can currently cruise hands-free include: the current road is a highway or expressway; the curvature radius of the road within the current and front preset distances is greater than a preset curvature radius threshold; the slope of the road within the current and front preset distances is less than a preset slope threshold; there are no traffic accidents on the road within the current and front preset distances; there are no lane splits or merges on the road within the current and front preset distances; the weather in the area where the vehicle is located is sunny; the driver's line of sight is in the forward direction; only when the above conditions are all met, the assisted driving domain controller determines that the vehicle can cruise hands-free; when any of the above conditions is not met, the assisted driving domain controller determines that the vehicle cannot cruise hands-free.

[0015] At the same time, the present application also proposes a single-lane assisted driving hands-free cruise method, which is applied to the above-mentioned single-lane assisted driving hands-free cruise system, and the method includes the following steps:

[0016] Step S1, obtaining road information of the current road where the vehicle is located and the road within a preset distance ahead, weather information of the area where the vehicle is located, and driver's line of sight information;

[0017] Step S2, determining whether hands-free cruising is possible; the determination conditions include: the current road is a highway or expressway; the curvature radius of the road within the current and forward preset distances is greater than a preset curvature radius threshold; the slope of the road within the current and forward preset distances is less than a preset slope threshold; there are no traffic accidents on the road within the current and forward preset distances; there are no lane splits or merges on the road within the current and forward preset distances; the weather in the area where the vehicle is located is sunny; the driver's line of sight is in the forward direction; only when all of the above conditions are met, is it determined that the vehicle can be cruised hands-free; when any of the above conditions is not met, it is determined that the vehicle cannot be cruised hands-free.

[0018] Step S3: When it is determined that the vehicle can cruise hands-free, the auxiliary driving domain controller combines radar, camera, ADAS map navigation, and the vehicle's current state parameters to send a control signal to the actuator to achieve hands-free cruising; when it is determined that the vehicle cannot cruise hands-free, the intelligent cockpit domain module notifies the driver to take over in time.

[0019] The technical effect of the present invention is that, under the premise of ensuring safe driving and full driver monitoring, the present invention allows the driver to perform long-term single-lane hands-free cruising on highways or expressways that meet the conditions. Compared with traditional L2 intelligent cruise, it further frees the driver's hands and greatly relieves the driver's fatigue during long-distance driving. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] Figure 1 A structural diagram of a hands-free cruise control system for single-lane assisted driving provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 2 A flow chart of a hands-free cruising method for single-lane assisted driving provided by an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] The following is a further detailed description of the specific implementation of the present invention by describing the embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, with the purpose of helping those skilled in the art to have a more complete, accurate and in-depth understanding of the inventive concept and technical solution of the present invention and to facilitate its implementation. In order to make the technical solution of the present invention clearer, the present invention is explained by the following embodiments.

[0023] This embodiment provides a single-lane assisted driving hands-free cruise control system, such as Figure 1 As shown, the system includes a sensor module, an assisted driving domain controller, an intelligent cockpit domain module, and an actuator, wherein:

[0024] The sensor module is used to collect road and obstacle information ahead and feed it back to the auxiliary driving domain controller.

[0025] The intelligent cockpit domain module is used to obtain road information, environmental information, etc. of highways, urban / intercity expressways covered by the on-board ADAS map navigation and feed it back to the assisted driving domain controller.

[0026] The actuator is used to perform driving, steering, braking and other operations of the vehicle according to the control signal of the auxiliary driving domain controller to achieve hands-free cruising.

[0027] The auxiliary driving domain controller is connected to the sensor module, the smart cockpit domain module, and the actuator respectively, and is used to determine whether the vehicle can currently cruise hands-free based on the road and environmental information uploaded by the sensor module and the smart cockpit domain module, and to remind the user through the smart cockpit domain module that the hands-free cruise can be taken over or taken over based on the judgment result. At the same time, a control signal is sent to the actuator to drive the vehicle when the hands-free cruise is possible. In this embodiment, the sensor module includes a driver monitoring camera DMS, which is connected to the auxiliary driving domain controller through an LVDS bus, and is used to monitor whether the driver's line of sight is out of the forward direction and to feed back to the auxiliary driving domain controller for judging whether the hands-free cruise can be performed. In order to ensure the safety of long-term hands-free cruising, the driver's line of sight is required to be in the forward direction during the hands-free cruising process.

[0028] Among them, the conditions for the assisted driving domain controller to determine whether the vehicle can currently cruise hands-free include: the current road is a highway or expressway; the curvature radius of the road within the current and front preset distances (the preset distance in this embodiment is 2km, the same below) is greater than the preset curvature radius threshold; the slope of the road within the current and front preset distances is less than the preset slope threshold; there are no traffic accidents on the road within the current and front preset distances; there are no lane splits or merges on the road within the current and front preset distances; the weather in the area where the vehicle is located is sunny; the driver's line of sight is in the forward direction; only when the above conditions are all met, the assisted driving domain controller determines that the vehicle can cruise hands-free; when any of the above conditions is not met, the assisted driving domain controller determines that the vehicle cannot cruise hands-free.

[0029] The curvature radius threshold and the slope threshold can be calibrated through experiments and actual needs during system development, so as to set the road curvature threshold and slope threshold for hands-free cruising according to the vehicle's own cornering performance and uphill / downhill capabilities. In this embodiment, the curvature radius threshold is 250m and the slope threshold is 30%.

[0030] Therefore, when the road conditions on the expressway or freeway are good, the curvature and slope of the road are not large, and the weather is fine, the present invention allows the driver to cruise in a single lane for a long time without losing sight of the direction of travel, which ensures safety and greatly relieves the driver's fatigue during long-distance driving.

[0031] Specifically, the sensor module of this embodiment includes a front monocular camera module and a front millimeter-wave radar, and the front monocular camera module and the front millimeter-wave radar are respectively connected to the auxiliary driving domain controller through the CANFD bus. The front monocular camera module and the front millimeter-wave radar are used to monitor the road and obstacles in front of the vehicle and send them to the auxiliary driving domain controller.

[0032] At the same time, in order to further ensure the safety of hands-free cruising, the sensor module of this embodiment also includes 4 corner millimeter-wave radars and 4 panoramic image digital high-definition cameras. The corner millimeter-wave radars are connected to the auxiliary driving domain controller via the CANFD bus, and the panoramic image digital high-definition cameras are connected to the auxiliary driving domain controller via the LVDS bus. The panoramic image digital high-definition camera provides all-round images around the vehicle, and cooperates with the corner millimeter-wave radar to perceive the surrounding conditions of the vehicle, which is used to complete the left, right and rear blind spots of the front monocular camera module and the front millimeter-wave radar, so as to better control the acceleration and deceleration of the vehicle and ensure the stability of hands-free cruising.

[0033] In this embodiment, the smart cockpit domain module includes a smart cockpit domain controller, a human-computer interaction system, and an ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System) map navigation system, wherein the smart cockpit domain controller is connected to the auxiliary driving domain controller via a CANFD bus, and the smart cockpit domain controller is also connected to the human-computer interaction system and the ADAS map navigation system respectively. The judgment result of whether the auxiliary driving domain controller can cruise hands-free is forwarded to the human-computer interaction system through the smart cockpit domain controller, and the human-computer interaction system is used to remind the user that the hands-free cruise is possible or the takeover is required according to the judgment result; the ADAS map navigation system is used to provide map information (including whether the current or front road is a highway, a city / intercity expressway, whether there is a traffic accident, etc.) and upload it to the auxiliary driving domain controller through the smart cockpit domain controller for judgment on whether the hands-free cruise is possible.

[0034] Among them, the human-computer interaction system of this embodiment includes a vehicle instrument screen and a voice system, and the vehicle instrument screen and the voice system are respectively connected to the smart cockpit domain controller. The vehicle instrument screen is used to remind the user through different display screens that hands-free cruising is possible or that takeover is required. For example, when the hands-free cruising conditions are met, the instrument screen needs to have obvious changes: a full-screen single background color with a large steering wheel icon can be used for indication; when the hands-free cruising conditions are not met, the instrument screen returns to the normal interface. The voice system is used to remind the user through voice when the vehicle cannot be cruised hands-free and takeover is required.

[0035] The smart cockpit domain module of this embodiment also includes a wireless communication module T-box, through which the smart cockpit domain controller is connected to the cloud big data platform to obtain weather conditions and traffic accident conditions from the cloud and send them to the auxiliary driving domain controller for judging whether hands-free cruising is possible. The smart cockpit domain controller and the wireless communication module T-box establish communication via Ethernet ETH.

[0036] When the hands-free cruising condition is not met and the driver needs to take over, it is necessary to identify whether the driver has taken over. It is generally considered that the driver takes over when the driver holds the steering wheel again. Therefore, the smart cockpit domain module of this embodiment also includes a torque sensor arranged on the steering wheel, and the torque sensor is connected to the smart cockpit domain controller to monitor whether the driver's hands are on the steering wheel and feedback to the auxiliary driving domain controller through the smart cockpit domain controller. According to the information of the torque sensor, the smart cockpit domain controller can identify the situation that the hands-free cruising condition is not met and the driver does not take over the vehicle for a long time (the time can be judged by setting a time threshold) and send it to the auxiliary driving domain controller. At this time, the auxiliary driving domain controller sends a control signal to the actuator to remind the driver by braking until the driver takes over or brakes to stop and turns on the emergency lights.

[0037] The intelligent cockpit domain module of this embodiment can remind the driver through vision, hearing, and touch (brake tap) that it is time to cruise hands-free or to take over, which is convenient for users and ensures safety.

[0038] The actuator of this embodiment includes a braking system, a steering system, and a drive system, wherein the braking system, the steering system, and the drive system are respectively connected to the auxiliary driving domain controller via a CANFD bus. When the hands-free cruising condition is met, the auxiliary driving domain controller sends a control signal to the braking system, the steering system, and the drive system in combination with the radar, the camera, the ADAS map navigation, and the current state parameters of the vehicle to achieve hands-free cruising. Among them, the braking system is used to provide a brake reminder according to the signal sent by the auxiliary driving controller when the hands-free cruising condition is not met and the driver does not take over the vehicle for a long time, until the driver takes over or brakes to stop and turns on the emergency lights. The steering system is used to control the vehicle to always drive in a single lane with the control signal of the auxiliary driving controller during the hands-free cruising process; the drive system is used to drive the vehicle during the hands-free cruising process.

[0039] At the same time, the present application also proposes a single-lane assisted driving hands-free cruise method, which is applied to the above-mentioned single-lane assisted driving hands-free cruise system, such as Figure 2 As shown, the method comprises the following steps:

[0040] Step S1, obtaining road information of the current road where the vehicle is located and the road within a preset distance ahead, weather information of the area where the vehicle is located, and driver's line of sight information;

[0041] Step S2, determining whether hands-free cruising is possible; the determination conditions include: the current road is a highway or expressway; the curvature radius of the road within the current and forward preset distances is greater than a preset curvature radius threshold; the slope of the road within the current and forward preset distances is less than a preset slope threshold; there are no traffic accidents on the road within the current and forward preset distances; there are no lane splits or merges on the road within the current and forward preset distances; the weather in the area where the vehicle is located is sunny; the driver's line of sight is in the forward direction; only when all of the above conditions are met, is it determined that the vehicle can be cruised hands-free; when any of the above conditions is not met, it is determined that the vehicle cannot be cruised hands-free.

[0042] Step S3: When it is determined that the vehicle can cruise hands-free, the auxiliary driving domain controller combines radar, camera, ADAS map navigation, and the vehicle's current state parameters to send a control signal to the actuator to achieve hands-free cruising; when it is determined that the vehicle cannot cruise hands-free, the intelligent cockpit domain module notifies the driver to take over in time.

[0043] Under the premise of ensuring safe driving and full driver monitoring, the present invention allows the driver to perform long-term single-lane hands-free cruising on highways or expressways that meet the conditions. Compared with traditional L2 intelligent cruise control, it further frees the driver's hands and greatly relieves the driver's fatigue during long-distance driving.

[0044] The present invention is described above by way of example in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the specific implementation of the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned methods. As long as various non-substantial improvements are made using the method concept and technical solution of the present invention; or the above concept and technical solution of the present invention are directly applied to other occasions without improvement, they are all within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A hands-free cruise control system for single-lane assisted driving, characterized in that: The system includes a sensor module, an assisted driving domain controller, an intelligent cockpit domain module, and an actuator, wherein the assisted driving domain controller is connected to the sensor module, the intelligent cockpit domain module, and the actuator respectively, and is used to determine whether the vehicle can currently cruise hands-free based on the road and environmental information uploaded by the sensor module and the intelligent cockpit domain module, and to remind the user through the intelligent cockpit domain module that hands-free cruising or taking over is possible based on the judgment result, and at the same time, send a control signal to the actuator to drive the vehicle when hands-free cruising is possible; the sensor module includes a driver monitoring camera DMS, which is used to monitor whether the driver's line of sight is out of the forward direction and feed back to the assisted driving domain controller for determining whether hands-free cruising is possible.

2. The single-lane assisted driving hands-free cruise control system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The sensor module includes a front monocular camera module and a front millimeter-wave radar, which are respectively connected to the assisted driving domain controller. The front monocular camera module and the front millimeter-wave radar are used to monitor the road and obstacles in front of the vehicle and send them to the assisted driving domain controller.

3. The single-lane assisted driving hands-free cruise control system according to claim 2, characterized in that: The sensor module also includes a corner millimeter-wave radar and a panoramic image digital high-definition camera, which are respectively connected to the assisted driving domain controller. The panoramic image digital high-definition camera cooperates with the corner millimeter-wave radar to complete the left, right and rear blind spots of the front monocular camera module and the front millimeter-wave radar.

4. The single-lane assisted driving hands-free cruise control system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The smart cockpit domain module includes a smart cockpit domain controller, a human-computer interaction system, and an ADAS map navigation system, wherein the smart cockpit domain controller is connected to the assisted driving domain controller, the human-computer interaction system, and the ADAS map navigation system respectively, wherein the human-computer interaction system is used to remind the user that hands-free cruising is possible or that takeover is required; the ADAS map navigation system is used to provide map information and upload it to the assisted driving domain controller through the smart cockpit domain controller for determining whether hands-free cruising is possible.

5. The single-lane assisted driving hands-free cruise control system according to claim 4, characterized in that: The human-computer interaction system includes a vehicle instrument screen and a voice system, which are respectively connected to the smart cockpit domain controller. The vehicle instrument screen is used to remind the user through different display screens that hands-free cruising is possible or that takeover is required; wherein the voice system is used to remind the user through voice when the vehicle cannot be hands-free cruising and takeover is required.

6. The single-lane assisted driving hands-free cruise control system according to claim 4, characterized in that: The smart cockpit domain module also includes a wireless communication module T-box. The smart cockpit domain controller is connected to the cloud big data platform through the wireless communication module T-box to obtain weather conditions and traffic accident situations from the cloud and send them to the assisted driving domain controller for judging whether hands-free cruising is possible.

7. The single-lane assisted driving hands-free cruise control system according to claim 4, characterized in that: The smart cockpit domain module also includes a torque sensor arranged on the steering wheel, which is connected to the smart cockpit domain controller to monitor whether the driver's hands are on the steering wheel and feed back to the auxiliary driving domain controller through the smart cockpit domain controller.

8. The single-lane assisted driving hands-free cruise control system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The actuator includes a braking system, a steering system, and a drive system, wherein the braking system, the steering system, and the drive system are respectively connected to the assisted driving domain controller. The braking system is used to provide a braking reminder according to a signal sent by the assisted driving controller when the hands-free cruising conditions are not met and the driver does not take over the vehicle for a long time, until the driver takes over or brakes to stop and turns on the emergency lights; the steering system is used to control the vehicle to always drive in a single lane according to the control signal of the assisted driving controller during the hands-free cruising process; the drive system is used to drive the vehicle during the hands-free cruising process.

9. The single-lane assisted driving hands-free cruise control system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The conditions under which the assisted driving domain controller determines whether the vehicle can currently cruise hands-free include: the current road is a highway or expressway; the curvature radius of the road within the current and front preset distances is greater than the preset curvature radius threshold; the slope of the road within the current and front preset distances is less than the preset slope threshold; there are no traffic accidents on the road within the current and front preset distances; there are no lane splits or merges on the road within the current and front preset distances; the weather in the area where the vehicle is located is sunny; the driver's line of sight is in the forward direction; only when all of the above conditions are met, the assisted driving domain controller determines that the vehicle can cruise hands-free; when any of the above conditions is not met, the assisted driving domain controller determines that the vehicle cannot cruise hands-free.

10. A hands-free cruising method for single-lane assisted driving, characterized in that: The method is applied to a single-lane assisted driving hands-free cruise control system according to any one of claims 1 to 9, and the method comprises the following steps: Step S1, obtaining road information of the current road where the vehicle is located and the road within a preset distance ahead, weather information of the area where the vehicle is located, and driver's line of sight information; Step S2, determining whether hands-free cruising is possible; the determination conditions include: the current road is a highway or expressway; the curvature radius of the road within the current and forward preset distances is greater than a preset curvature radius threshold; the slope of the road within the current and forward preset distances is less than a preset slope threshold; there are no traffic accidents on the road within the current and forward preset distances; there are no lane splits or merges on the road within the current and forward preset distances; the weather in the area where the vehicle is located is sunny; the driver's line of sight is in the forward direction; only when all of the above conditions are met, is it determined that the vehicle can be cruised hands-free; when any of the above conditions is not met, it is determined that the vehicle cannot be cruised hands-free. Step S3: When it is determined that the vehicle can cruise hands-free, the auxiliary driving domain controller combines radar, camera, ADAS map navigation, and the vehicle's current state parameters to send a control signal to the actuator to achieve hands-free cruising; when it is determined that the vehicle cannot cruise hands-free, the intelligent cockpit domain module notifies the driver to take over in time.

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