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. 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: when a pilot vehicle in a plurality of vehicles detects that there is a bayonet in front, sending information that the pilot vehicle is about to arrive at the bayonet to a following vehicle in the plurality of vehicles; judging whether a waiting area exists after passing through the bayonet; if the waiting area exists, the pilot vehicle leads the following vehicle passing through the gate to enter the waiting area to wait for other following vehicles according to the condition of the waiting area; and if the waiting area does not exist, the pilot vehicle drives the following vehicle passing through the bayonet to continue driving, and converges with the following vehicle passing through the bayonet in the driving process. The formation vehicles are effectively managed and controlled when passing through the checkpoint, and the stability and continuity of the formation are ensured.

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] Automatic platooning usually adopts a tracking strategy. Existing vehicle platooning technology often encounters the following problems when passing through toll booths or checkpoints: after the lead vehicle passes through the checkpoint, the following vehicles fail to catch up in time, and the following vehicles take longer to pass through the checkpoint, or may be intercepted and sent back. This situation will cause the platoon to be disbanded or delayed, affecting the overall driving efficiency and safety. Therefore, a new method is needed to effectively manage and control platoon vehicles when passing through the checkpoint to ensure the stability and continuity of the platoon. Summary of the invention

[0004] The object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle control method, a vehicle formation driving system and a storage medium, so that the formation vehicles can be effectively managed and controlled when passing through the checkpoint, ensuring the stability and continuity of the formation.

[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] When the leading vehicle among the multiple vehicles detects that there is a checkpoint ahead, sending information that the checkpoint is about to be reached to the following vehicles among the multiple vehicles;

[0007] Determine whether there is a waiting area after passing the checkpoint;

[0008] If there is a waiting area, the pilot vehicle leads the following vehicles that have passed the checkpoint into the waiting area to wait for the remaining following vehicles according to the situation of the waiting area;

[0009] If there is no waiting area, the pilot vehicle leads the following vehicle that has passed the checkpoint to continue driving, and merges with the following vehicle that subsequently passes the checkpoint during driving.

[0010] The present invention also provides a vehicle formation 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 formation; the vehicles are used to execute the above-mentioned vehicle control method.

[0011] 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.

[0012] In one embodiment, the step of determining whether there is a waiting area after passing through the checkpoint specifically includes:

[0013] The pilot vehicle's onboard camera obtains road space and traffic conditions, information captured by road section cameras, map information, and one or more judgments of the information obtained by the patrol safety officer.

[0014] In one embodiment, the step of the pilot vehicle leading the following vehicles that have passed through the checkpoint into the waiting area to wait for the remaining following vehicles according to the situation of the waiting area specifically includes:

[0015] Determine the size of the waiting area, the current occupancy of the waiting area, and whether the traffic conditions of the waiting area can accommodate all vehicles in the vehicle formation;

[0016] If possible, the pilot vehicle leads the following vehicles that have passed the checkpoint into the waiting area;

[0017] If not, the pilot vehicle leads the following vehicle that has passed the checkpoint to continue driving.

[0018] In one embodiment, the step of determining whether there is a waiting area after passing through the checkpoint further includes the following steps:

[0019] Determine whether all vehicles in the vehicle formation have passed the checkpoint,

[0020] If all vehicles have passed, the pilot vehicle notifies the vehicles in the formation to regroup through the vehicle communication system and continue to travel in formation;

[0021] If it is partially passed, the vehicle communication system adjusts the formation plan and chooses to disband the formation or re-form the formation.

[0022] In one embodiment, when regrouping, the vehicles in the vehicle formation that pass through the checkpoint are regrouped to form a regrouped vehicle formation, and the regrouped vehicle formation continues to travel.

[0023] In one embodiment, the step of determining whether all vehicles in the vehicle formation have passed through the checkpoint specifically includes:

[0024] The pilot vehicle obtains the information sent by the following vehicle that the following vehicle is intercepted and sent back or cannot pass through the checkpoint.

[0025] In one embodiment, the merging with the following vehicle that subsequently passes through the checkpoint during driving is specifically: adjusting the normal driving speed of the vehicle that passes through the checkpoint in front of the vehicle formation to be lower than the speed of the vehicle that passes through the checkpoint in the vehicle formation later, until the distance between adjacent vehicles in the vehicle formation is a preset distance.

[0026] In one embodiment, the checkpoint includes: a temporary checkpoint or a toll booth;

[0027] When the checkpoint is a temporary checkpoint, the pilot vehicle sends a warning signal. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] One or more embodiments are exemplarily described by pictures in the corresponding drawings, and these exemplified descriptions do not constitute limitations on the embodiments. Elements with the same reference numerals in the drawings represent similar elements, and unless otherwise stated, the figures in the drawings do not constitute proportional limitations.

[0029] Figure 1 is a specific flow chart of the vehicle control method according to the first embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] In order to make the purpose, technical scheme and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the various embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below in conjunction with 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.

[0031] 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.

[0032] 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."

[0033] 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.

[0034] 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.

[0035] 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.

[0036] 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.

[0037] Embodiments of the present invention are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0038] 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.

[0039] 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.

[0040] 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.

[0041] 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.

[0042] Step 100, when the leading vehicle among the multiple vehicles detects that there is a checkpoint ahead, it sends information that the following vehicle among the multiple vehicles is about to arrive at the checkpoint;

[0043] Step 200, determining whether there is a waiting area after passing through the checkpoint;

[0044] If there is a waiting area, step 300, according to the situation of the waiting area, the pilot vehicle leads the following vehicles that have passed the checkpoint into the waiting area to wait for the remaining following vehicles;

[0045] If there is no waiting area, in step 400, the pilot vehicle leads the following vehicle that has passed the checkpoint to continue driving, and merges with the following vehicle that subsequently passes the checkpoint during driving.

[0046] Specifically, at least the pilot vehicle in the vehicle formation is equipped with a detection sensor, and of course all vehicles may be equipped with multiple detection sensors, including but not limited to laser radar, millimeter wave radar, etc. During the normal driving of the vehicle formation, the following vehicles behind the pilot vehicle all adopt the tracking mode, that is, follow the driving track of the pilot vehicle. The vehicles in the vehicle formation (whether the pilot vehicle or the following vehicle) will collect the road information ahead through the detection sensor during the driving process, and the camera will also take pictures of the road conditions ahead. Taking any first vehicle in the vehicle formation as an example, the first vehicle is the pilot vehicle. When the pilot vehicle detects that there is a checkpoint ahead, it sends the information that it is about to reach the checkpoint to the following vehicle.

[0047] The type of detection sensor determines the different road information it collects. For example, the camera collects image information, while the radar collects point cloud information. The camera of the pilot vehicle captures the situation at the checkpoint to determine whether there is a waiting area behind the checkpoint.

[0048] Specifically, determining whether there is a waiting area after passing the checkpoint includes: obtaining the road space and traffic conditions through the on-board camera of the pilot vehicle, photographing the road space, and checking whether there are parking sections other than the passable sections after the checkpoint. The traffic conditions can show whether there are many vehicles behind the checkpoint, and whether there are traffic jams or accidents, which affect parking.

[0049] In addition, in addition to using the camera on the pilot vehicle to shoot, in order to determine whether there is a waiting area behind the checkpoint, information can also be obtained through information captured by the road section camera, map information, and patrol safety officers. For example, when the checkpoint is a regular toll gate, the information captured by the road section camera and map information will collect the regular settings behind the checkpoint, and it can be known whether all vehicles in the vehicle formation can stop and wait. In addition, if there is a waiting area, the road space and traffic conditions can be obtained through the pilot vehicle's on-board camera, and combined to determine whether parking is possible in the waiting area under the actual situation at that time. When the checkpoint is a temporary checkpoint, such as a temporary patrol checkpoint, the pilot vehicle's on-board camera obtains the road space and traffic conditions, or the patrol safety officer on the vehicle manually checks whether there is a waiting area and whether the waiting area is suitable for parking.

[0050] Furthermore, the situation of the waiting area specifically includes the size of the waiting area, the current occupancy of the waiting area, and the traffic situation of the waiting area, which can be obtained through a vehicle-mounted camera or a road section camera. That is, the step of the pilot vehicle leading the following vehicles that have passed the checkpoint into the waiting area to wait for the remaining following vehicles according to the situation of the waiting area specifically includes:

[0051] Determine the size of the waiting area, the current occupancy of the waiting area, and whether the traffic conditions of the waiting area can accommodate all vehicles in the vehicle formation;

[0052] If possible, the pilot vehicle leads the following vehicles that have passed the checkpoint into the waiting area;

[0053] If not, the pilot vehicle leads the following vehicle that has passed the checkpoint to continue driving.

[0054] For example, by obtaining the size of the waiting area and whether it has been used and matching it with all the vehicles in the current formation, it is calculated whether all vehicles can be stopped; or by obtaining whether there are any restrictions in the waiting area through the on-board camera or the road section camera; or if the current waiting area image is compared with the previous one and there are many people or cars, it will be determined that parking in the waiting area is not possible.

[0055] Furthermore, the step of determining whether there is a waiting area after passing through the checkpoint further includes the following steps:

[0056] Step 400, determining whether all vehicles in the vehicle formation have passed the checkpoint,

[0057] If all have passed, in step 500, the leading vehicle notifies the platoon vehicles to regroup through the vehicle communication system and continue platoon driving;

[0058] If it is a partial passing, in step 600, the vehicle communication system adjusts the formation plan and selects to disband the formation or re-form the formation. When re-forming, the vehicles in the vehicle formation that pass the checkpoint are re-formed to form a re-formed vehicle formation, and the re-formed vehicle formation continues to travel. In the re-formed vehicle formation, the leading vehicle can be re-set, and the previous leading vehicle can be selected to continue to be the leading vehicle.

[0059] In addition, step 400 of determining whether all vehicles in the vehicle formation have passed the checkpoint specifically includes: the pilot vehicle obtains the intercepted and repatriated or unable to pass the checkpoint information sent by the following vehicle. Specifically, when a following vehicle cannot pass the checkpoint, it sends the intercepted and repatriated or unable to pass the checkpoint information to the pilot vehicle. After the pilot vehicle obtains the information, it can choose to disband the formation or re-form a team according to the task situation. Or the pilot vehicle counts the number of vehicles that have passed the checkpoint. If the number is too small, such as only 1-4 vehicles, the formation can be disbanded. Of course, the disbanding of the formation or re-forming of the team is manually selected according to actual conditions.

[0060] The specific method of merging with the following vehicle that passes through the checkpoint later during driving is as follows: the normal driving speed of the vehicle that passes through the checkpoint first in the vehicle formation is adjusted to be lower than the speed of the vehicle in the vehicle formation that passes through the checkpoint later, until the distance between adjacent vehicles in the vehicle formation is the preset distance. The vehicle that passes through the checkpoint first can reduce its speed during normal driving, so that the vehicle that passes through the checkpoint later can catch up with the vehicle in front at a normal speed or accelerate during normal driving. Alternatively, the vehicle that passes through the checkpoint first and the following vehicle maintains a normal speed during normal driving, and the vehicle that passes through the checkpoint later accelerates to catch up with the vehicle in front during normal driving. When the following vehicle that passes through the checkpoint later captures a vehicle in the vehicle formation during driving, it follows the captured vehicle until they all follow the leading vehicle.

[0061] In addition, checkpoints include: temporary checkpoints or toll booths. When the checkpoint is a temporary checkpoint, it can be an inspection point. The pilot vehicle sends an early warning signal. According to the early warning signal, the patrol safety officer can be arranged to manually check whether there is a waiting area, or call up the road section camera to check the road conditions and whether there is a non-traffic section forming a temporary waiting area.

[0062] From the above content, it can be seen that by judging the situation of the waiting area behind the checkpoint, a suitable driving plan can be selected, so that the vehicles in the formation can be effectively managed and controlled when passing through the checkpoint, ensuring the stability and continuity of the formation.

[0063] A 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.

[0064] 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.

[0065] 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.

[0066] 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.

[0067] That is, 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.

[0068] 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.

[0069] 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.

[0070] 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: When the leading vehicle among the multiple vehicles detects that there is a checkpoint ahead, sending information that the checkpoint is about to be reached to the following vehicles among the multiple vehicles; Determine whether there is a waiting area after passing the checkpoint; If there is a waiting area, the pilot vehicle leads the following vehicles that have passed the checkpoint into the waiting area to wait for the remaining following vehicles according to the situation of the waiting area; If there is no waiting area, the pilot vehicle leads the following vehicle that has passed the checkpoint to continue driving, and merges with the following vehicle that subsequently passes the checkpoint during driving.

2. The vehicle control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The steps to determine whether there is a waiting area after passing the checkpoint specifically include: The pilot vehicle's onboard camera obtains road space and traffic conditions, information captured by road section cameras, map information, and one or more judgments of the information obtained by the patrol safety officer.

3. The vehicle control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The step of the pilot vehicle leading the following vehicles that have passed the checkpoint into the waiting area and waiting for the remaining following vehicles according to the situation of the waiting area specifically includes: Determine the size of the waiting area, the current occupancy of the waiting area, and whether the traffic conditions of the waiting area can accommodate all vehicles in the vehicle formation; If possible, the pilot vehicle leads the following vehicles that have passed the checkpoint into the waiting area; If not, the pilot vehicle leads the following vehicle that has passed the checkpoint to continue driving.

4. The vehicle control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The step of determining whether there is a waiting area after passing through the checkpoint also includes the following steps: Determine whether all vehicles in the vehicle formation have passed the checkpoint, If all vehicles have passed, the pilot vehicle notifies the vehicles in the formation to regroup through the vehicle communication system and continue to travel in formation; If it is partially passed, the vehicle communication system adjusts the formation plan and chooses to disband the formation or re-form the formation.

5. The vehicle control method according to claim 4, characterized in that: When regrouping, the vehicles in the vehicle formation that pass through the checkpoint are regrouped to form a regrouped vehicle formation, and the regrouped vehicle formation continues to travel.

6. The vehicle control method according to claim 4, characterized in that: The step of judging whether all vehicles in the vehicle formation have passed the checkpoint specifically comprises: The pilot vehicle obtains the intercepted and deported or unable to pass checkpoint information sent by the following vehicle.

7. The vehicle control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The merging with the following vehicle that subsequently passes through the checkpoint during driving is specifically: adjusting the normal driving speed of the vehicle that passes through the checkpoint in front of the vehicle formation to be lower than the speed of the vehicle that subsequently passes through the checkpoint in the vehicle formation, until the distance between adjacent vehicles in the vehicle formation is a preset distance.

8. The vehicle control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The checkpoints include: temporary checkpoints or toll booths; When the checkpoint is a temporary checkpoint, the pilot vehicle sends a warning signal.

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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