Vehicle control method for reducing invalid lane change and automatic driving system

Abstract

The invention relates to a vehicle control method for reducing invalid lane change. The method comprises the steps that based on a lane changing request, it is determined that the surrounding environment of a vehicle meets a preset lane changing confirmation condition; determining that a vehicle in front of the vehicle meets a preset lane changing withdrawing condition; and sending out a lane changing cancel request. According to the vehicle control method for reducing invalid lane changing, the front traffic condition can be effectively recognized, and unnecessary lane changing operation caused by blind area shielding or misjudgment of the front vehicle state is avoided.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to autonomous driving technology, and more specifically to a vehicle control method and an autonomous driving system for reducing unnecessary lane changes. Background Technology

[0002] In current driver assistance and autonomous driving systems, automatic lane changing is a key feature designed to improve road safety, efficiency, and driver comfort. This function typically relies on a range of high-precision sensors, such as radar, lidar, cameras, and GPS, to monitor the vehicle's surroundings in real time, including other vehicles, pedestrians, road signs, and obstacles.

[0003] In existing technologies, driver assistance systems and autonomous driving systems detect whether the current environment meets the conditions for automatic lane changing. Generally, the detection conditions of the sensors are as follows:

[0004] It can reliably identify the surrounding environment, such as lane markings and obstacles;

[0005] The target lane is safe for lane changing and there are no other vehicles or obstacles.

[0006] Sufficient lane change space and clarity were detected.

[0007] However, due to the limitations of sensor performance, there are still some potential situations that could affect lane-changing efficiency. Summary of the Invention

[0008] In view of the problems in the prior art, the present invention aims to provide a vehicle control method and an autonomous driving system that can improve lane changing efficiency and reduce invalid lane changes.

[0009] A vehicle control method for reducing ineffective lane changes according to one aspect of the present invention includes the following steps:

[0010] The lane change request is triggered to determine whether the vehicle's surrounding environment meets the preset lane change confirmation conditions.

[0011] Determine if the vehicle in front of you meets the preset lane change withdrawal conditions; and

[0012] Cancel the lane change request.

[0013] A computer program product according to one aspect of the present invention includes a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the vehicle control method for reducing unnecessary lane changes. An autonomous driving system according to one aspect of the present invention includes:

[0014] Sensors are used to detect the vehicle's surrounding environment and obtain sensor detection data; and

[0015] A domain controller is configured to receive sensor detection data from the sensors and execute the vehicle control method described above for reducing invalid lane changes.

[0016] The present invention also provides a radar, including a storage module, a processor, and a computer program stored on the storage module and executable on the processor, wherein the processor executes the computer program to implement the vehicle control method for reducing invalid lane changes.

[0017] The present invention also includes a camera, comprising a storage module, a processor, and a computer program stored on the storage module and executable on the processor, wherein the processor, when executing the computer program, implements the vehicle control method for reducing invalid lane changes. Attached Figure Description

[0018] The described and other objects and advantages of this application will become more fully clear from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar elements are denoted by the same reference numerals.

[0019] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an invalid lane change scenario in the prior art.

[0020] Figure 2 This is a schematic flowchart of a vehicle control method for reducing invalid lane changes according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0021] Figure 3 This is a flowchart illustrating a vehicle control method for reducing invalid lane changes according to another embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0022] The following are some of the various embodiments of the present invention, intended to provide a basic understanding of the invention, and not intended to identify key or decisive elements of the invention or to limit the scope of protection.

[0023] First, the inventors of this invention discovered the following problems through research on invalid lane-changing scenarios in the prior art:

[0024] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an invalid lane change scenario in the prior art.

[0025] exist Figure 1 In the example shown, A is the vehicle itself, and B is a large vehicle such as a truck, bus, or other tall vehicle in front of vehicle A in its lane. These large vehicles often block the view of vehicle A's sensors, creating a so-called "blind spot," which makes it difficult for the system to detect road conditions far ahead, including slow-moving vehicles or suddenly appearing obstacles.

[0026] In this situation, even if the side (left or right) of vehicle A determines that the conditions for automatic lane changing are met based on sensor data, such as sufficient space, the speed and distance of vehicles in adjacent lanes, etc., directly executing the lane change operation may still bring risks. For example, when vehicle A decides to change lanes to the adjacent left lane based on the current sensor information, a low-speed vehicle C that was originally blocked by a large vehicle B in front suddenly appears in front of the new lane (i.e., the target lane). Vehicle A may have to react quickly and urgently switch back to the original lane to avoid a collision.

[0027] Such frequent and unnecessary lane changes not only reduce driving efficiency and increase fuel consumption or energy loss, but may also cause psychological discomfort and decreased trust in drivers, affecting their acceptance and satisfaction with autonomous driving functions.

[0028] To address the aforementioned problems, the present invention proposes a control method for reducing invalid lane changes.

[0029] Figure 2 This is a schematic flowchart of a vehicle control method for reducing invalid lane changes according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0030] like Figure 2 As shown, various sensors are used in the execution of the vehicle control method for reducing invalid lane changes according to one embodiment of the present invention. For example, cameras, lidar, millimeter radar, ultrasonic radar, etc. can be listed as sensors.

[0031] The vehicle control method for reducing unnecessary lane changes includes the following steps:

[0032] Step S1: The lane change request triggering process begins, wherein the lane change request is generated in any of the following ways: the autonomous driving system automatically triggers the lane change function and generates a lane change request based on road conditions, the dynamics of surrounding vehicles and pedestrians, traffic signals, and other factors; or the lane change function is triggered and a lane change request is generated in response to the driver's active operation (such as moving the turn signal lever).

[0033] Step S2: If the surrounding environment of the vehicle meets the "lane change confirmation condition" preset in this application, step S3 is triggered. Here is an example. The "lane change confirmation condition" can be: detecting the field of view on the left or right front of the vehicle and confirming that there is a line of sight obstruction within a first specified distance dx, while detecting that the space on the left and right sides of the vehicle has a specified space that meets the lane change requirements.

[0034] Step S3: Determine whether the vehicle in front of the vehicle meets the lane change withdrawal conditions preset in this application. For example, determine whether the vehicle in front traveling in the vehicle's lane has changed lanes and returned to the original lane within the time threshold t1, or determine whether the vehicle traveling in the target lane has changed lanes to the vehicle's lane. If the determination result is yes (Y), continue to step S4. If the determination result is no (N), jump to step S7. The target lane refers to the lane that the vehicle requesting the lane change changed into.

[0035] Step S4: Cancel the lane change request and calculate the cumulative time t2;

[0036] Step S5: Determine whether the cumulative time t2 exceeds the preset time threshold t3 or whether an obstacle or a slow-moving vehicle is detected in the target lane. If the determination result is no (i.e. N), continue to step S6. If the determination result is yes (i.e. Y), return to step S1.

[0037] Step S6: Continue driving in your own lane;

[0038] Step S7: Execute the lateral movement function, for example, move laterally by a second specified distance dy (for details on executing the lateral movement function, please refer to the following text). Figure 3 (Description);

[0039] Step S8: The vehicle remains in its original lane.

[0040] In step S2, dx is the specified distance detected by the vehicle's sensors (e.g., camera, radar) to the left or right front of the vehicle. dx is an adjustable parameter that can be set according to specific conditions. For example, it can be obtained by multiplying the vehicle's speed v by time t, where time t is also an adjustable parameter. Having sufficient space on both sides for lane changing mainly refers to meeting the specified lane-changing conditions in the width direction of the lanes. For example, lane-changing conditions might be that the lane widths of the vehicle's lane and the target lane are within a specified range (e.g., between 2.3m and 4.4m), which is also an adjustable parameter.

[0041] In step S2, the perception of line-of-sight obstruction can be achieved through various sensors (such as lidar, cameras, etc.) or a fusion of them. For example, radar can be used to measure distance and identify objects by emitting light and receiving the reflected signals, thereby identifying whether there is an obstruction in the line of sight ahead. Alternatively, a camera can be used to capture image information in front and identify whether there is an obstruction in the line of sight ahead based on the image information. Or, the ranging function of radar and the image capture function of camera can be fused together to identify whether there is an obstruction in the line of sight ahead.

[0042] In step S3, the purpose of determining whether the vehicle in front of the vehicular vehicle has changed lanes and returned to its original lane within a specified time threshold (e.g., time threshold t1) is that if the vehicle in front changes lanes and returns to its original lane within the specified time threshold, it can indicate to some extent that there may be a stationary or slow-moving target ahead of the target lane. In this case, the vehicular vehicle should not change lanes to the target lane. By making such a judgment, invalid lane changes can be reduced.

[0043] The process of determining whether the vehicle in front has changed lanes and returned to its original lane within a specified time threshold (e.g., time threshold t1) can be implemented as follows: the time when the vehicle in front begins to change lanes is denoted as t0, the time when it returns to its own lane is denoted as t2, and then the difference between t2 and t0 is compared with the time threshold t1.

[0044] In addition, the purpose of determining whether a vehicle in the target lane has changed lanes to the driver's lane in step S3 is that if a vehicle in the target lane changes lanes to the driver's lane, it also means that there may be a stationary or slow-moving target in front of the vehicle in the target lane. In this case, the driver should not change lanes to the target lane. By making such a judgment, invalid lane changes can be reduced.

[0045] The purpose of step S5 is to ensure that the traffic conditions in the target lane are fully assessed before changing lanes in order to avoid collisions with obstacles or slow-moving vehicles. The determination of whether there are obstacles or slow-moving vehicles in the target lane can be achieved by detecting the speed vx and acceleration ax of the target ahead in the target lane. For example, if the speed of the target ahead in the target lane is less than the speed of the vehicle and is decelerating, the vehicle will definitely continue to stay in the original lane.

[0046] Figure 3 This is a flowchart illustrating a vehicle control method for reducing invalid lane changes according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0047] Figure 3 This illustrates a specific example of performing the lateral movement function in step S7 of the previous embodiment.

[0048] like Figure 3 As shown, it includes the following steps:

[0049] Step S21: Begin;

[0050] Step S22 (i.e.) Figure 2Step S2): If the surrounding environment of the vehicle meets the "lane change confirmation condition" defined in this application, step S23 is triggered. Here, as an example, the "lane change confirmation condition" can be that the distance to the left or right of the vehicle in front is not greater than dx, but there is enough space on both sides to change lanes.

[0051] Step S23 (i.e.) Figure 2 Step S7): Move laterally by the second predetermined distance dy;

[0052] Step S24: The vehicle detects an object in the target lane;

[0053] Step S25: Determine whether to execute the lane change function based on the motion parameters of the object detected in the target lane. If the determination result is yes (Y), continue to step S26. If the determination result is no (N), skip to step S27.

[0054] Step S26: Execute lane change function;

[0055] Step S27: Return to the center lane and stay in this lane until you have passed the object in the target lane;

[0056] Step S28: End.

[0057] In step S23, the vehicle moves laterally to the left or right by a second predetermined distance dy so that it can detect the target lane at a greater distance (here, the second predetermined distance dy is set so that the vehicle is still in the original lane after moving laterally by the second predetermined distance dy). This makes it easier to determine whether to perform the lane change function, thereby reducing the number of invalid lane changes.

[0058] In step S25, as an example, the decision to change lanes is made based on the motion parameters of the object in the target lane (e.g., distance from the vehicle, speed, and acceleration). Two decision methods are listed below: (1) Determine whether the distance between the object in the target lane and the vehicle is less than the preset minimum following distance. If the distance between the two is less than the preset minimum following distance, the lane change function is not executed. The minimum following distance is related to the vehicle speed, i.e., the faster the vehicle speed, the greater the minimum following distance is required. (2) If the speed of the object in the target lane is less than the speed of the vehicle and the acceleration of the object in the target lane is decelerating, the lane change function is not executed.

[0059] The advantage of setting step S25 here is that it ensures that the traffic conditions in the target lane are fully assessed before changing lanes in order to avoid collisions with obstacles or low-speed vehicles.

[0060] As described above, the vehicle control method for reducing unnecessary lane changes according to the present invention can effectively identify traffic conditions ahead and avoid unnecessary lane changes caused by blind spot obstruction or misjudgment of the status of the vehicle in front. Specifically, by detecting the field of vision on the left or right side in front of the vehicle, determining whether there is any obstruction to the view, and monitoring the lane-changing behavior of the vehicle in front (especially whether it returns to its original lane within a set time threshold), this helps to identify potential dangerous situations and avoid unnecessary lane changes caused by obstructed vision.

[0061] Furthermore, according to the present invention, the vehicle control method for reducing invalid lane changes further detects vehicles or obstacles in the target lane and evaluates their speed and acceleration parameters when the lane change request is cancelled. In this way, if there are slow-moving vehicles or stationary obstacles in the target lane, the vehicle will remain in the current lane, thereby avoiding invalid lane changes and improving driving efficiency.

[0062] Furthermore, according to the present invention, the vehicle control method for reducing invalid lane changes performs lateral movement detection when there is a blind spot in the field of vision on the left or right side in front of the vehicle. This allows you to expand the detection range of the sensors and further confirm the safety of the target lane, which helps to obtain more environmental information and make more accurate lane change decisions.

[0063] In summary, the vehicle control method for reducing invalid lane changes according to the present invention, through multi-level detection and judgment, can reduce the occurrence of invalid lane changes, improve the safety and reliability of the autonomous driving system, and enhance the driving experience.

[0064] The present invention also provides a domain controller, which includes a storage module, a processor, and a computer program stored on the storage module and executable on the processor. When the processor executes the computer program, it implements the above-described vehicle control method for reducing invalid lane changes.

[0065] The present invention also provides a computer program product, including a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the above-described vehicle control method for reducing invalid lane changes.

[0066] The present invention also provides an autonomous driving system, comprising:

[0067] Sensors are used to detect the vehicle's surrounding environment and obtain sensor detection data; and

[0068] A domain controller is configured to receive sensor detection data from the sensors and execute the vehicle control method described above for reducing invalid lane changes.

[0069] The present invention also provides a radar, including a storage module, a processor, and a computer program stored on the storage module and executable on the processor, wherein the processor executes the computer program to implement the vehicle control method for reducing invalid lane changes.

[0070] The present invention also includes a camera, comprising a storage module, a processor, and a computer program stored on the storage module and executable on the processor, wherein the processor, when executing the computer program, implements the vehicle control method for reducing invalid lane changes.

[0071] The above are merely specific embodiments of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Those skilled in the art can conceive of other feasible variations or substitutions based on the technical scope disclosed in this application, and such variations or substitutions are all covered within the scope of protection of this application. Where there is no conflict, the embodiments and features described in the embodiments of this application can also be combined with each other. The scope of protection of this application is determined by the claims.

Claims

1. A vehicle control method for reducing ineffective lane changes, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: Based on the lane change request, determine whether the vehicle's surrounding environment meets the preset lane change confirmation conditions; Determine if the vehicle in front of your vehicle meets the preset lane change withdrawal conditions; as well as Cancel the lane change request.

2. The vehicle control method for reducing invalid lane changes as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The determination that the vehicle's surrounding environment meets the preset lane change confirmation conditions includes: Determine if there is an obstruction to the field of vision within a first predetermined distance in front of the vehicle; and Ensure that there is sufficient space on both sides of the vehicle to meet the requirements for lane changing.

3. The vehicle control method for reducing invalid lane changes as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The determination that the vehicle in front of the vehicle meets the preset lane change withdrawal conditions includes: The system determines that the vehicle in front, traveling in the driver's lane, changes lanes to the target lane and returns to the driver's lane within a specified time threshold, wherein the target lane refers to the lane into which the vehicle requesting the lane change enters; or Determine if the vehicle ahead, traveling in the target lane, changes lanes to your lane.

4. The vehicle control method for reducing invalid lane changes as described in claim 2, characterized in that, Following the issuance of the request to withdraw the lane change, the following further includes: Determine whether the cumulative time since the lane change cancellation request was issued exceeds a preset time threshold, or determine whether an obstacle or a low-speed vehicle is detected in the target lane; and If the judgment result is negative, then the vehicle shall remain in its own lane.

5. The vehicle control method for reducing invalid lane changes as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The first specified distance is determined based on the product of the vehicle's speed and time.

6. The vehicle control method for reducing invalid lane changes as described in claim 3, characterized in that, Further includes: If it is determined that the lane change withdrawal conditions are not met, the following steps shall be performed: Move laterally a second specified distance; Detect the motion parameters of objects on the target lane; as well as Whether to perform a lane change is determined based on the motion parameters of the object detected in the target lane.

7. The vehicle control method for reducing invalid lane changes as described in claim 6, characterized in that, The step of determining whether to perform a lane change based on the motion parameters of an object detected in the target lane includes: Detects the speed, acceleration, and distance of objects in the target lane from the vehicle; and Whether to change lanes is determined based on the speed, acceleration, and distance of the other vehicle in the target lane.

8. The vehicle control method for reducing invalid lane changes as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The lane change request is generated in any of the following ways: The vehicle automatically triggers the lane change function and generates a lane change request; or The lane change function is triggered in response to the driver's active operation, and a lane change request is generated.

9. An autonomous driving system, characterized in that, include: Sensors are used to detect the vehicle's surrounding environment and obtain sensor detection data; as well as A domain controller is configured to receive sensor detection data from the sensor and execute the vehicle control method for reducing invalid lane changes as described in any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. A computer program product, comprising a computer program, characterized in that, When executed by a processor, the computer program implements the vehicle control method for reducing invalid lane changes as described in any one of claims 1 to 8.

11. A radar comprising a storage module, a processor, and a computer program stored on the storage module and executable on the processor, characterized in that, When the processor executes the computer program, it implements the vehicle control method for reducing invalid lane changes as described in any one of claims 1 to 8.

12. A camera, comprising a storage module, a processor, and a computer program stored on the storage module and executable on the processor, characterized in that, When the processor executes the computer program, it implements the vehicle control method for reducing invalid lane changes as described in any one of claims 1 to 8.

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