Vehicle control method, vehicle formation driving system and storage medium

Abstract

The invention discloses a vehicle control method, a vehicle formation driving system and a storage medium, and relates to the technical field of automatic driving. In the invention, the vehicle control method is applied to a vehicle formation comprising a plurality of vehicles, and the plurality of vehicles are arranged and run in sequence; the method comprises the following steps: evaluating whether an adverse factor exists in a pre-driving path based on real-time data; if yes, path re-planning is started, and a new driving path is calculated and obtained; and after a new driving path is obtained, all vehicles in the vehicle formation are informed of the new driving path. Therefore, the vehicle formation can efficiently and safely pass through complex road conditions.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of autonomous driving technology, and in particular to a vehicle control method, a vehicle platoon driving system and a storage medium. Background Art

[0002] With the development of autonomous driving technology, single-vehicle autonomous driving has been widely promoted and applied, which also provides a basis for the realization of autonomous driving platoon driving, which can effectively improve transportation efficiency. Autonomous driving platoon driving refers to two or more vehicles, based on technologies such as smart sensors, wireless communications and cloud platforms, through data sharing and collaborative decision-making, autonomous driving in the form of a queue in specific scenarios.

[0003] Existing vehicle platoon control systems usually rely on pre-set paths in complex road environments. However, as road and traffic conditions change, fixed paths may reduce platoon driving efficiency and even pose safety risks. Summary of the invention

[0004] The object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle control method, a vehicle platoon driving system and a storage medium, so that the vehicle platoon can efficiently and safely pass through complex road conditions.

[0005] In order to solve the above technical problems, an embodiment of the present invention provides a vehicle control method, which is applied to a vehicle formation including a plurality of vehicles, wherein the plurality of vehicles are arranged and travel in sequence; the method comprises:

[0006] Evaluate whether there are any unfavorable factors in the pre-driving path based on real-time data;

[0007] If it exists, then start path replanning, calculate and obtain the new driving path;

[0008] After the new driving path is acquired, all vehicles in the vehicle formation are notified of the new driving path.

[0009] An embodiment of the present invention further provides a vehicle platoon driving system, comprising: a plurality of vehicles communicating with each other, the plurality of vehicles being arranged and driving in sequence to form a vehicle platoon; the vehicles being used to execute the above-mentioned vehicle control method.

[0010] The present invention also provides a computer-readable storage medium, which is a non-volatile storage medium or a non-transient storage medium, on which a computer program is stored. When the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the vehicle control method as described above are executed.

[0011] In one embodiment, the real-time data collects road and environmental data in real time through vehicle-mounted sensors, and obtains real-time traffic information provided by a traffic management system through a vehicle-mounted communication system.

[0012] In one embodiment, the unfavorable factors include: obstacles, spilled objects, potholes on the ground, traffic accidents or road congestion in the pre-driving path; the obstacles include: vehicles, animals or people that suddenly insert into the path.

[0013] In one embodiment, the step of evaluating whether there are unfavorable factors in the pre-driving path based on the real-time data specifically includes one of the following information:

[0014] If any first vehicle among the plurality of vehicles detects that a front obstacle is less than a preset distance, then there is an unfavorable factor;

[0015] If any first vehicle among the plurality of vehicles detects a traffic accident, there are unfavorable factors;

[0016] If any first vehicle among the plurality of vehicles detects road congestion, there is a disadvantage.

[0017] In one embodiment, the step of calculating and acquiring a new driving path includes: using a dynamic path planning algorithm to calculate an optimal driving path based on real-time data.

[0018] In one embodiment, the optimal driving path takes into account at least one of the following conditions: maximum steering angle, maximum vehicle steering overturning centrifugal force, braking distance, minimum braking deceleration to avoid collision, and maximum braking deceleration to avoid rear-end collision with a rear vehicle.

[0019] In one embodiment, the path replanning specifically includes: partially changing the route or replanning the road ahead;

[0020] The local route replacement specifically includes the following steps:

[0021] Acquire a path segment on the pre-travel path that has risks;

[0022] Get alternative routes from mapping platforms;

[0023] Acquire the real-time traffic flow status and road congestion status in the alternative route from the traffic platform;

[0024] Scoring each alternative route based on the real-time traffic flow conditions and road congestion conditions;

[0025] The alternative route with the best score is selected as the optimal alternative route;

[0026] Replacing a risky path segment on the pre-travel path with an optimal alternative route;

[0027] When there is no optimal alternative route, the forward road replanning is performed, specifically including the following steps:

[0028] Acquire a nearby route of the pre-travel route from a map;

[0029] Obtain the traffic flow conditions of each nearby route from the traffic platform;

[0030] scoring each nearby route based on the traffic flow condition;

[0031] The nearby route with the best score is selected as the optimal route, and the optimal route is set as the optimal driving path.

[0032] In one embodiment, the step of notifying all vehicles in the vehicle formation of the new driving path comprises:

[0033] If any first vehicle among the plurality of vehicles takes a new driving path,

[0034] If the unfavorable factors cannot be avoided, an alarm message is sent to the remaining vehicles, and the remaining vehicles start self-route planning;

[0035] If the unfavorable factors are avoided by the new driving path, all vehicles adjust the driving direction and speed according to the received new driving path information, and continue to monitor on the new driving path to ensure that the vehicle formation can efficiently and safely pass through complex road conditions.

[0036] Compared with the prior art, the embodiments of the present invention can re-plan the path and obtain a new driving path based on the evaluation of adverse factors, so that the vehicle formation can pass through complex road conditions efficiently and safely. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0037] Figure 1 is a specific flow chart of the vehicle control method according to the first embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0038] In order to make the purpose, technical scheme and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the following will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that in the various embodiments of the present invention, many technical details are provided in order to enable the reader to better understand the present application. However, even without these technical details and various changes and modifications based on the following embodiments, the technical scheme claimed in the present application can be implemented.

[0039] In the following description, certain specific details are set forth for the purpose of illustrating various disclosed embodiments to provide a thorough understanding of the various disclosed embodiments. However, those skilled in the relevant art will recognize that the embodiments may be practiced without one or more of these specific details. In other cases, well-known devices, structures, and techniques associated with the present application may not be shown or described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the description of the embodiments.

[0040] Unless the context requires otherwise, throughout the specification and claims, the word "comprise" and variations such as "include" and "have" should be construed in an open, inclusive sense, ie, should be interpreted as "including, but not limited to."

[0041] The following will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings to provide a clearer understanding of the purpose, features and advantages of the present invention. It should be understood that the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, but are only intended to illustrate the essential spirit of the technical solution of the present invention.

[0042] References throughout the specification to "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" indicate that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. Thus, the appearances of "in one embodiment" or "in an embodiment" in various places throughout the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any manner in one or more embodiments.

[0043] As used in this specification and the appended claims, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. It should be noted that the term "or" is generally employed in its sense including "and / or" unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

[0044] In the following description, in order to clearly show the structure and working mode of the present invention, many directional words will be used for description, but the words "front", "back", "left", "right", "outside", "inside", "outward", "inward", "up", "down", etc. should be understood as convenient terms and should not be understood as restrictive terms.

[0045] Embodiments of the present invention are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0046] The first embodiment of the present invention relates to a vehicle control method, which is applied to a vehicle formation including multiple vehicles, wherein the multiple vehicles in the vehicle formation are arranged and travel in sequence; the vehicles in the vehicle formation can communicate with each other, namely V2V communication, and the vehicles communicate with each other using short-range radio technology (DSRC); for example, the vehicles communicate with each other through an on-board unit OBU (vehicle-to-vehicle), and the on-board unit can obtain information about the surrounding environment through on-board sensors, such as the speed, vehicle position, driving status warning and other information of the surrounding vehicles. The vehicles can realize real-time exchange of various information through V2V communication, and the exchanged information includes but is not limited to text, pictures, audio and video.

[0047] In addition, the vehicle platoon driving system architecture may also include a cloud platform, a roadside unit, and a V2X (Vehicle to Everything) wireless communication part, which refers to the technology for vehicles to exchange and communicate information with the surrounding environment (including other vehicles, pedestrians, road infrastructure, and networks, etc.), including: V2I (Vehicle-to-Infrastructure), V2C (Vehicle-to-Cloud), and the above-mentioned V2V wireless communication.

[0048] The vehicles in a vehicle formation include the lead vehicle and the following vehicles; the lead vehicle is generally the frontmost vehicle in the formation, and the following vehicles are the other vehicles behind the lead vehicle in the vehicle formation. During driving, the following vehicles can be switched to the lead vehicle as needed; the lead vehicle is the decision maker of the entire formation behavior (including formation creation, formation dissolution, vehicles joining the formation, and vehicles leaving the formation, etc.), and controls and makes decisions on the formation behavior. The following vehicles are all other vehicles behind the lead vehicle in the formation, and have the ability to maintain a reasonable safe distance from the vehicle in front.

[0049] The specific process of the vehicle control method of this embodiment is as follows: Figure 1 Among them, the pilot vehicle in the vehicle formation leads the entire formation to travel according to the set driving path, and the driving path can be the navigation path of the pilot vehicle from the departure point to the destination. The vehicle control method of this embodiment is applied to the on-board controller of the vehicle in the vehicle formation.

[0050] Step 100, evaluating whether there are any unfavorable factors on the pre-driving path based on real-time data;

[0051] If so, in step 200, path replanning is initiated to calculate and obtain a new driving path;

[0052] Step 300, after obtaining the new driving path, the new driving path is notified to all vehicles in the vehicle formation.

[0053] Specifically, in a vehicle formation, at least the lead vehicle is equipped with on-board sensors, and of course all vehicles may be equipped with on-board sensors. The on-board sensors include but are not limited to cameras, lidars, millimeter-wave radars, etc. During the normal driving of the vehicle formation, the following vehicles behind the lead vehicle all adopt tracking mode, that is, they follow the driving trajectory of the lead vehicle.

[0054] Vehicles in a platoon (whether they are pilot vehicles or follower vehicles) will collect road information ahead through on-board sensors during driving. Taking any first vehicle in a platoon as an example, the first vehicle can be a pilot vehicle or a follower vehicle; the first vehicle determines whether there are unfavorable factors ahead based on real-time data, where the ahead refers to the road ahead that the vehicle is about to pass. Specifically, real-time data collects road and environmental data in real time through on-board sensors, and obtains real-time traffic information provided by the traffic management system through the on-board communication system.

[0055] Further, the unfavorable factors include: obstacles, spilled objects, potholes, traffic accidents or road congestion in the pre-driving path. The obstacles may be pedestrians, animals, piles or temporarily inserted vehicles.

[0056] The type of on-board sensor installed on the first vehicle determines the different road ahead information collected by it, such as the camera collects image information and the radar collects point cloud information; if there are multiple on-board sensors, the first vehicle can use multi-sensor fusion technology to fuse and judge the road ahead information to detect whether there are obstacles, traffic jams or traffic accidents on the road ahead, such as performing image recognition on the road ahead image collected by the camera.

[0057] Furthermore, the step of evaluating whether there are unfavorable factors in the pre-driving path based on real-time data specifically includes one of the following information: (1) If any first vehicle among the multiple vehicles detects that the obstacle ahead is less than the preset distance, then there is an unfavorable factor; for example, a temporary vehicle enters in front of the first vehicle, and the first vehicle detects that the current distance is less than the preset distance, that is, it is not within the safe distance range. At this time, it is necessary to re-plan the route, and the re-planned route can be deceleration or pause waiting, or it can be lane change. (2) If any first vehicle among the multiple vehicles detects a traffic accident, then there is an unfavorable factor, and the re-planned route can be route change; (3) If any first vehicle among the multiple vehicles detects road congestion, then there is an unfavorable factor.

[0058] In addition, the step of calculating and obtaining a new driving path includes: using a dynamic path planning algorithm such as a Dijkstra algorithm to calculate an optimal driving path based on real-time data.

[0059] Furthermore, the optimal driving path considers at least one of the following conditions: shortest distance to the destination, shortest time and highest safety. That is, the optimal driving path considers at least one of the following conditions: maximum steering angle, maximum vehicle steering overturning centrifugal force, braking distance, minimum braking deceleration to avoid collision, and maximum braking deceleration to avoid rear-end collision.

[0060] Specifically, path replanning includes: partial route change or replanning of the road ahead.

[0061] The specific steps of partial route change are as follows:

[0062] Step 210, obtaining a path segment with risks on the pre-travel path; obtaining an alternative route from a map platform;

[0063] Step 220, obtaining real-time traffic flow conditions and road congestion conditions in alternative routes from the traffic platform;

[0064] Step 230, scoring each alternative route based on real-time traffic flow conditions and road congestion;

[0065] Step 240 , selecting the alternative route with the best score as the best alternative route; wherein the best score may be at least one of the following: the fastest speed, the safest, and the shortest journey for the alternative route.

[0066] Step 250, replacing the path segment with risk on the pre-travel path with the optimal alternative route;

[0067] When there is no optimal alternative route, road replanning is performed, which specifically includes the following steps:

[0068] Step 260, obtaining a route near the planned driving route from a map;

[0069] Step 270, obtaining the traffic flow conditions of each nearby route from the traffic platform;

[0070] Step 280, scoring each nearby route based on traffic flow conditions;

[0071] Step 290 , selecting the nearby route with the best score as the optimal route, and setting the optimal route as the optimal driving path.

[0072] In addition, the step of notifying all vehicles in the vehicle formation of the new driving path includes:

[0073] Step 400: If any first vehicle among the plurality of vehicles takes a new driving path,

[0074] If the unfavorable factors cannot be avoided, an alarm message is sent to the remaining vehicles, and the remaining vehicles start self-route planning;

[0075] If the unfavorable factors are avoided by the new driving path, all vehicles adjust the driving direction and speed according to the received new driving path information, and continue to monitor on the new driving path to ensure that the vehicle formation can efficiently and safely pass through complex road conditions.

[0076] From the above content, it can be seen that according to the assessment of adverse factors, the path can be replanned and a new driving path can be obtained, so that the vehicle formation can pass through complex road conditions efficiently and safely.

[0077] The step division of the above methods is only for the purpose of clear description. When implemented, they can be combined into one step or some steps can be split and decomposed into multiple steps. As long as they include the same logical relationship, they are all within the scope of protection of this patent; adding insignificant modifications to the algorithm or process or introducing insignificant designs without changing the core design of the algorithm and process are all within the scope of protection of this patent.

[0078] The second embodiment of the present invention relates to a vehicle platoon driving system, comprising: a plurality of vehicles communicating with each other, the plurality of vehicles being arranged and driving in sequence to form a vehicle platoon; the vehicles in the vehicle platoon are used to execute the vehicle control method in the first embodiment.

[0079] The vehicle platooning system may also include a cloud platform, a roadside unit, and V2X (Vehicle to Everything) wireless communication, which refers to the technology for vehicles to exchange and communicate information with the surrounding environment (including other vehicles, pedestrians, road infrastructure, and networks, etc.), including: V2I (Vehicle-to-Infrastructure), V2C (Vehicle-to-Cloud), and the above-mentioned V2V wireless communication.

[0080] Since the first embodiment corresponds to this embodiment, this embodiment can be implemented in conjunction with the first embodiment. The relevant technical details mentioned in the first embodiment are still valid in this embodiment, and the technical effects that can be achieved in the first embodiment can also be achieved in this embodiment. In order to reduce repetition, they are not repeated here. Accordingly, the relevant technical details mentioned in this embodiment can also be applied in the first embodiment.

[0081] A third embodiment of the present invention relates to a computer-readable storage medium, which is a non-volatile storage medium or a non-transient storage medium, on which a computer program is stored. When the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the vehicle control method in the first embodiment are executed.

[0082] Those skilled in the art can understand that all or part of the steps in the above-mentioned embodiment method can be completed by instructing the relevant hardware through a program, and the program is stored in a storage medium, including several instructions to enable a device (which can be a single-chip microcomputer, chip, etc.) or a processor to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes: U disk, mobile hard disk, read-only memory (ROM, Read-Only Memory), random access memory (RAM, Random Access Memory), disk or optical disk and other media that can store program codes.

[0083] Preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above in detail, but it should be understood that aspects of the embodiments can be modified, if necessary, to employ aspects, features and concepts of the various patents, applications and publications to provide further embodiments.

[0084] These and other changes can be made to the embodiments in light of the above detailed description.In general, in the claims, the terms used should not be considered limited to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification and the claims, but should be construed to include all possible embodiments along with the full scope of equivalents to which these claims are entitled.

[0085] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the above embodiments are specific embodiments for implementing the present invention, and that in actual applications, various changes may be made in form and detail without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A vehicle control method, characterized in that: Applied to a vehicle formation including a plurality of vehicles, the plurality of vehicles are arranged and travel in sequence; the method comprises: Evaluate whether there are any unfavorable factors in the pre-driving path based on real-time data; If it exists, then start path replanning, calculate and obtain the new driving path; After the new driving path is acquired, all vehicles in the vehicle formation are notified of the new driving path.

2. The vehicle control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The real-time data is collected by vehicle-mounted sensors on roads and environments, and real-time traffic information provided by a traffic management system is obtained through a vehicle-mounted communication system.

3. The vehicle control method according to claim 2, characterized in that: The unfavorable factors include: obstacles, spilled objects, ground potholes, traffic accidents or road congestion in the pre-driving path; the obstacles include: vehicles, animals or people that suddenly intervene.

4. The vehicle control method according to claim 3, characterized in that: The step of evaluating whether there are unfavorable factors in the pre-driving path based on the real-time data specifically includes one of the following information: If any first vehicle among the plurality of vehicles detects that a front obstacle is less than a preset distance, then there is an unfavorable factor; If any first vehicle among the plurality of vehicles detects a traffic accident, there are unfavorable factors; If any first vehicle among the plurality of vehicles detects road congestion, there is a disadvantage.

5. The vehicle control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The steps of calculating and obtaining a new driving path include: using a dynamic path planning algorithm to calculate an optimal driving path based on real-time data.

6. The vehicle control method according to claim 5, characterized in that: The optimal driving path takes into account at least one of the following conditions: maximum steering angle, maximum vehicle steering overturning centrifugal force, braking distance, minimum braking deceleration to avoid collision, and maximum braking deceleration to avoid rear-end collision with a rear vehicle.

7. The vehicle control method according to claim 6, characterized in that: The path replanning specifically includes: partial route change or road ahead replanning; The local route replacement specifically includes the following steps: Acquire a path segment on the pre-travel path that has risks; Get alternative routes from mapping platforms; Acquire the real-time traffic flow status and road congestion status in the alternative route from the traffic platform; Scoring each alternative route based on the real-time traffic flow conditions and road congestion conditions; The alternative route with the best score is selected as the optimal alternative route; Replacing a risky path segment on the pre-travel path with an optimal alternative route; When there is no optimal alternative route, the forward road replanning is performed, specifically including the following steps: Acquire a nearby route of the pre-travel route from a map; Obtain the traffic flow conditions of each nearby route from the traffic platform; scoring each nearby route based on the traffic flow condition; The nearby route with the best score is selected as the optimal route, and the optimal route is set as the optimal driving path.

8. The vehicle control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The step of notifying all vehicles in the vehicle formation of the new driving path comprises: If any first vehicle among the plurality of vehicles takes a new driving path, If the unfavorable factors cannot be avoided, an alarm message is sent to the remaining vehicles, and the remaining vehicles start self-route planning; If the unfavorable factors are avoided by the new driving path, all vehicles adjust the driving direction and speed according to the received new driving path information, and continue to monitor on the new driving path to ensure that the vehicle formation can efficiently and safely pass through complex road conditions.

9. A vehicle platoon driving system, characterized in that: include: A plurality of vehicles communicating with each other, wherein the plurality of vehicles are arranged and travel in sequence to form a vehicle formation; The vehicle is used to execute the vehicle control method according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. A computer-readable storage medium, wherein the computer-readable storage medium is a non-volatile storage medium or a non-transient storage medium, and a computer program is stored thereon, wherein: When the computer program is executed by a processor, the vehicle control method steps as described in any one of claims 1 to 8 are executed.

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