Method for transporting hazardous and / or vulnerable goods by means of autonomous vehicle

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for transporting dangerous goods and / or vulnerable goods by means of an autonomous vehicle (1), in which a database (2) is created and / or employed, said database containing goods category-related restrictions and / or requirements, according to the invention, the vehicle (1) or the autonomous driving system (3) of the vehicle (1) retrieves restrictions and / or requirements relating to a specific category of goods to be transported on the planned route, the vehicle (1) or the autonomous driving system (3) actively monitoring the adherence of the restrictions and / or requirements during the transportation period.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for transporting dangerous and / or fragile goods by means of an autonomous vehicle according to the preamble of claim 1. Background Art

[0002] Fragile and dangerous goods are usually transported by land. Different institutions have strict regulations and guidelines for the transportation of these goods, such as the Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road (ADR), the Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods (Orange Book) promulgated by the United Nations, or the Regulations on the Transportation of Dangerous Goods promulgated by the United States Department of Transportation.

[0003] According to current guidelines and restrictions, the transportation of specific categories of goods must comply with local laws and regulations. This includes not only speed and acceleration related restrictions, but also the routes to be used and the measures to be taken in case of an accident.

[0004] Traditional goods transportation requires sufficient training of drivers to enable them to understand and comply with the rules; in autonomous vehicles, especially autonomous commercial vehicles, the driving system needs to be informed of the type of goods, the necessary restrictions and guidelines, and the emergency measures depending on the situation. This may also include specific route planning, such as avoiding tunnels, as long as it complies with legal requirements.

[0005] Existing systems for monitoring the transportation of dangerous and fragile goods are based on the following premises:

[0006] - The vehicle is always driven by a human,

[0007] - When a specific threshold is exceeded but no damage has been caused, a warning should be triggered actively,

[0008] - A human driver can smoothly correct all parameters, including acceleration and speed - if they exceed the threshold.

[0009] The above premises do not apply to the following situations:

[0010] - The goods vehicle is driven by an autonomous driving system,

[0011] - The conditions do not allow the driver to reactively correct the driving parameters. For example, when another vehicle is tailgating at high speed, the driver cannot immediately and safely decelerate, even though the vehicle's speed or acceleration has exceeded the threshold,

[0012] - A human driver may make mistakes, such as being distracted or misunderstanding a warning.

[0013] DE 10 2021 001 391 A1 describes a method for route adjustment of an autonomous vehicle, preferably an autonomous transport vehicle. Here, when a dangerous situation occurs on a predetermined route, the route to be traveled by the vehicle is changed by adjusting the route according to the dangerous situation. In a method, the vehicle safety when a dangerous situation occurs is optimized, wherein the vehicle evaluates the danger caused by the dangerous situation according to the goods to be transported by the vehicle, and automatically activates cargo protection measures according to the evaluation. Summary of the Invention

[0014] The object of the present invention is to specify an innovative method for transporting dangerous goods and / or fragile goods by means of autonomous vehicles.

[0015] According to the present invention, the object is achieved by a method for transporting dangerous goods and / or fragile goods by means of autonomous vehicles having the features of claim 1.

[0016] Advantageous designs of the present invention are the subject matter of the dependent claims.

[0017] In a method for transporting dangerous goods and / or fragile goods by means of autonomous vehicles, a database is created and / or adopted, which contains restrictions and / or requirements regarding the goods category. According to the present invention, the vehicle or the autonomous driving system of the vehicle retrieves the restrictions and / or requirements related to the specific category of the goods to be transported on the planned route from the database, wherein the vehicle or the autonomous driving system actively monitors the compliance with the restrictions and / or requirements during transportation.

[0018] In one embodiment, when an accident or an unexpected situation occurs, the relevant cargo information is transmitted from the vehicle or the autonomous driving system to the relevant competent authority.

[0019] In one embodiment, the following are adopted as restrictions and / or requirements: allowable acceleration, allowable speed, allowable transportation time, route restrictions, emergency contact information of the competent authority, cargo status specific parameters, and / or temperature thresholds and / or pressure thresholds for the corresponding goods category.

[0020] In one embodiment, in order to make the vehicle ready for travel, the category of the goods to be transported is provided as an input to the autonomous driving system.

[0021] In one embodiment, the autonomous driving system plans the itinerary according to the category of the goods to be transported.

[0022] In one embodiment, the database contains vehicle-related and transport-specific parameters, which are extracted from the regulations or official provisions of the corresponding category and contain regional differences in the goods category and its required parameters or restrictions.

[0023] In one embodiment, to make the autonomous vehicle ready for travel, information about the trip destination and / or information about the goods and the selected trailer or semi-trailer is provided as input to the autonomous driving system.

[0024] In one embodiment, information related to the restrictions and / or requirements of the selected goods category, which is specific to at least one geographical area through which the route passes, is obtained from a database and provided to the autonomous driving system and taken into account during trip planning.

[0025] In one embodiment, when a threshold related to the restrictions and / or requirements is exceeded and the autonomous vehicle cannot correct this state on its own, especially when the cooling system is operating but the goods temperature still exceeds the threshold, the autonomous driving system issues a warning to the remote monitoring center.

[0026] In one embodiment, in case of an emergency, the goods-specific information is transmitted to the relevant authorities together with the product-specific emergency information.

[0027] According to the present invention, predefined setting conditions are adopted. The types of dangerous goods or vulnerable goods and the regulations required for transporting the goods within a specific geographical area should be provided to the autonomous driving system. The autonomous vehicle can then travel according to the required regulations, including route planning, behavior, and driving parameters, so as to actively maintain the required state. The autonomous vehicle can also issue a warning to the competent authorities in case of an emergency and actively transmit the required documents and information.

[0028] Through the solution according to the present invention, all necessary restrictions and regulations related to the transportation of dangerous and vulnerable goods are actively complied with. Therefore, the risk of exceeding the safety threshold is completely eliminated. The solution according to the present invention can be used in any geographical location without the need for additional steps or training, provided that the legal restrictions and regulations are available. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0029] Embodiments of the present invention will be explained in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, where:

[0030] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an autonomous vehicle and a database,

[0031] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a method for operating an autonomous vehicle.

[0032] Corresponding components carry the same reference numerals in all the drawings. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0033] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an autonomous vehicle 1 (such as a commercial vehicle) and a database 2.

[0034] The present invention provides a method, in which a database 2 is created or utilized, which contains categories of dangerous goods and / or vulnerable goods and their respective transportation restrictions. The database 2 can be located inside or outside the vehicle 1, for example, in the cloud. These restrictions can include, for example: permitted acceleration, permitted speed, permitted running time, route restrictions, and emergency contact information of the competent authority.

[0035] During the driving preparation of the vehicle 1, in step S1, the type or category of the goods to be transported is selected and input into the autonomous driving system 3 of the vehicle 1.

[0036] The autonomous driving system 3 extracts the restrictions of the specific goods to be transported from the above-mentioned database 2 and plans the itinerary accordingly.

[0037] During driving, the vehicle 1 or its autonomous driving system 3 monitors and actively complies with all requirements for transporting dangerous goods and / or vulnerable goods to the destination.

[0038] When an accident or unexpected emergency occurs during driving, the vehicle 1 or its autonomous driving system 3 collects legally relevant data and transmits it to the competent authority as needed.

[0039] The information in the database 2 regarding dangerous goods and / or vulnerable goods, especially the regulations and requirements related to the transportation, storage, packaging, and use of dangerous goods and / or vulnerable goods, are defined by the designated regulatory authorities in each geographical region. For example, ADR defines the nine categories of goods hazard levels commonly used in most parts of Europe. Among them, each type is assigned a four-digit United Nations dangerous goods number and its corresponding requirements. Information on route restrictions is also stored in the database 2. For example, all large tunnels in Europe are divided into multiple levels, from A (least restricted) to E (most restricted). Certain goods cannot be transported in tunnels of specific levels. The database 2 should therefore contain vehicle-related and transportation-specific parameters extracted from such regulations. These include regional differences in the type of goods and the required parameters or restrictions, such as itinerary-specific parameters, acceleration and / or speed restrictions, route restrictions, emergency contact information of the competent authority for various types of goods, and data to be provided, goods status-specific parameters, temperature thresholds and / or pressure thresholds for the corresponding goods types. The database 2 can be configured to add other parameters as long as this is necessary for safe operation and compliance.

[0040] During the preparation for the autonomous vehicle 1 to travel, information about the trip destination is provided as an input to the autonomous driving system 3. In special cases, information about the goods and the optionally attached trailer or semi-trailer is also provided as an input to the autonomous driving system 3. For dangerous goods and / or fragile goods, the goods classification is also provided as an input to the autonomous driving system 3. Then, information related to the special restrictions and regulations of such goods in the corresponding special geographical areas is retrieved from the above-mentioned database 2 and provided to the autonomous driving system 3, where the information is used for trip planning. At this stage, special instructions can also be selectively provided, for example, for extremely fragile goods, it is also prompted to avoid minor potholes.

[0041] During the autonomous vehicle 1 transporting goods to its trip destination, the autonomous vehicle 1 or its autonomous driving system 3 monitors all necessary parameters by means of a certain number of correspondingly configured sensors (such as at least one accelerometer, thermometer, pressure gauge, and / or inclinometer, for example, see US7391311B2, CN201909965U, CN102069769B, the full text of which is incorporated herein by reference) and actively complies with all relevant safety guidelines and regulations regarding, for example, acceleration, deceleration, vibration (for example, see DE102020003213A1, the full text of which is incorporated herein by reference), speed limits, or route restrictions. When a threshold is exceeded and the autonomous driving system cannot correct this state by itself, for example, when the cooling system is running but the goods temperature still exceeds the threshold, the autonomous driving system 3 can issue a warning to the remote monitoring center as needed.

[0042] There are special agreements for specific dangerous goods and / or fragile goods in the event of an accident or potential dangerous accident. For example, the United States' Uniform Safety Act for the Transportation of Hazardous Materials requires that in an emergency, information (such as a bill of lading) be provided to the relevant agency together with product-specific emergency information. According to the present invention, the autonomous vehicle 1 pre-extracts the information from the above-mentioned database 2, so that all necessary information can be immediately transmitted to the competent agency when a collision or accident is detected.

[0043] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the method of the present invention. In step S1, the type or category of the goods to be transported is selected and input into the autonomous driving system 3 of the vehicle 1.

[0044] In step S2, it is checked in the autonomous driving system 3 whether there is relevant information about the selected goods type or the selected goods category in the database 2. If not, a fault message is output in step S3, for example, output to the vehicle 1, the mobile device, or the remote monitoring center. If the information exists in the database 2, the information is extracted from the database 2 in step S4 and provided to the autonomous driving system 3 in step S5.

[0045] List of reference numerals

[0046] 1 Vehicle

[0047] 2 Database

[0048] 3 Autonomous driving system

[0049] Steps S1 to S5

Claims

1. A method for transporting dangerous goods and / or vulnerable goods by means of an autonomous vehicle (1), wherein, Create and / or adopt a database (2) containing restrictions and / or requirements related to the category of goods, characterized in that the vehicle (1) or the autonomous driving system (3) of the vehicle (1) retrieves restrictions and / or requirements related to the specific category of goods to be transported on the planned route, wherein the vehicle (1) or the autonomous driving system (3) actively monitors compliance with the restrictions and / or requirements during transportation.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein In case of an accident or incident, information related to the goods is transmitted from the vehicle (1) or the autonomous driving system (3) to the competent authority.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that Adopt as restrictions and / or requirements: permitted acceleration, permitted speed, permitted transportation time, route restrictions, emergency contact information of the competent authority, specific parameters of the goods status and / or temperature thresholds and / or pressure thresholds for the corresponding category of goods.

4. The method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, To make the vehicle (1) ready for travel, the type of goods to be transported is provided as an input to the autonomous driving system (3).

5. The method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, The autonomous driving system (3) plans the journey according to the category of goods to be transported.

6. The method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, The database (2) contains vehicle-related and transport-specific parameters extracted from regulations or official provisions of the corresponding category, including regional differences in the category of goods and their required parameters or restrictions and / or requirements.

7. The method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, To make the autonomous vehicle (1) ready for travel, information related to the destination of the journey and / or information related to the goods and the selected trailer or semi-trailer is provided as an input to the autonomous driving system (3).

8. The method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, Retrieve information related to the restrictions and / or requirements of the selected category of goods from the database (2), which is specific to at least one geographical area through which the route passes, and is provided to the autonomous driving system (3) and taken into account during journey planning.

9. The method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, When a threshold related to the restrictions and / or requirements is exceeded and the autonomous driving system is unable to correct this state itself, especially when the cooling system is operating but the goods temperature still exceeds the threshold, the autonomous driving system (3) issues a warning to the remote monitoring center.

10. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 9, characterized in that, In case of an emergency, the exclusive information of the goods is transmitted to the relevant agency together with the product-specific emergency information.

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