Navigation system and route guidance procedure for a motor vehicle

Abstract

A method (200) for guiding a motor vehicle (105) to a destination, comprising the following steps: - Determining (220) a planned route (345) for the motor vehicle (105); - Receiving (230) a planned route (315, 325, 335) of another motor vehicle (310, 320, 330); - Comparing (240) the planned route (345) for the motor vehicle (105) with the planned route (315, 325, 335) of the other motor vehicle (310, 320, 330); - Adjusting (260) the planned route (345) of the motor vehicle (105) to the planned route (315, 325, 335) of the other motor vehicle (310, 320, 330) if the planned routes (315, 325, 335, 345) do not coincide, wherein the adjustment (260) is based on an estimate of additional distance or travel effort on the adjusted route; and- Issuing (270) a request to a driver of the motor vehicle (105) to follow the other motor vehicle (310, 320, 330) on a congruent section of the planned routes (315, 325, 335, 345).

Description

Prior ArtNavigation systems on board motor vehicles are known in various embodiments. A continuing problem with such navigation systems relates to an output of action instructions to a driver of the motor vehicle. An action instruction of the navigation system signaled visually or acoustically is occasionally misinterpreted by a driver of the motor vehicle, so that the driver does not follow a planned route of the navigation system and delays can arise when reaching the navigation destination.US 2005 / 0071082 A1 proposes to enrich an actual view of the driver to an environment by means of a visual output of a virtual vehicle, so that the driver can follow the virtual vehicle in order to reach the destination of a route planning.JP 2008-241 417 A relates to a technique for transmitting a planned route from a motor vehicle to a following motor vehicle in order to maintain a follow-up function even when a predetermined distance is exceeded.JP 2004-184 269 A relates to a method for transmitting position data from a motor vehicle to a following motor vehicle in order to enable guidance of the following motor vehicle to the dynamic destination of the guiding motor vehicle. A similar method is also described in DE 102 42 126 A1.US 2005 / 0 209 776 A1 relates to an intersection guidance method for guiding a vehicle user through an intersection in a simple manner.JP 2010-151477 A relates to a method for route guidance of a vehicle, in which another vehicle is selected based on a route specified for the vehicle and a mark for identifying the other vehicle is displayed.It is an object of the present invention to provide a navigation system and method for guidance with improved output.Disclosure of the InventionThe invention solves the problem by a method for navigation with the features of claim 1, a computer program product with the features of claim 7 and a navigation system with the features of claim 8.A method for guiding a motor vehicle comprises steps of determining a planned route for the motor vehicle, receiving a planned route of another motor vehicle, comparing the planned route for the motor vehicle with the planned route of the other motor vehicle, adapting the planned route of the motor vehicle to the planned route of the other motor vehicle if the planned routes do not match, wherein the adaptation is carried out on the basis of an estimate of an additional path or travel effort on the adapted route, and outputting a request to a driver of the motor vehicle to follow the other motor vehicle on a matching section of the planned routes.According to the invention, a planned route for the motor vehicle is determined for guiding a motor vehicle to the destination and a planned route of another motor vehicle is received. The two planned routes are then compared with one another, the planned route of the motor vehicle is adapted to the planned route of the other motor vehicle if the planned routes do not match, the adaptation being carried out on the basis of an estimate of an additional route or travel effort on the adapted route, and a request is output to a driver of the motor vehicle to follow the other motor vehicle on a matching section of the planned routes.As a result, an output of action instructions of the navigation system to the driver of the motor vehicle can be replaced or supplemented by an order to follow a specific other motor vehicle. Such tracking may be simpler and more relaxed for the driver than processing additional visual and / or audible outputs of the navigation system. The concentration of the driver when driving the motor vehicle can thus be disturbed less than by conventional outputs of action instructions for maneuvers in road traffic, as a result of which a safety of the motor vehicle can be increased.An identification on the other motor vehicle can be determined and output to the driver of the motor vehicle. The identification can be determined, for example, on the basis of measurements by sensors on board the motor vehicle and / or received identification data of the other motor vehicle. In particular, the assistance by sensor data advantageously allows another motor vehicle to be selected which is located in a perceptible region of the driver, as a result of which errors in the guidance of the target can be avoided.The other motor vehicle may receive an indication of a following motor vehicle. This allows the driver of the other motor vehicle to behave in such a way that he can be followed more easily. If a plurality of motor vehicles follow the other motor vehicle, the driver of the other motor vehicle can adapt his driving style to the number of following motor vehicles.In one variant, the destination of the planned route of the motor vehicle is located in the other motor vehicle, so that a dynamic route results for the motor vehicle or a convoli results together for the two motor vehicles. In this variant, the driver of the motor vehicle does not have to know a planned route or a planned destination of the motor vehicle driving ahead, as a result of which dynamic maneuvers of the train, for example a route or destination change, are supported. The convoli may consist of a series of motor vehicles following one another or of a plurality of motor vehicles following a single motor vehicle; mixed forms are likewise possible.The follow function can be dependent on the extent to which the planned route of the motor vehicle corresponds to the received planned route of the other motor vehicle. For example, the follow-up function can only be activated if starting regions of the planned routes coincide at least over a predetermined number of driving maneuvers and / or a predetermined route. Thus, excessively frequent changing of the motor vehicle followed can be avoided.In a further embodiment of the invention, the planned route of the motor vehicle can be adapted to the planned route of the other motor vehicle, so that a probability of finding a motor vehicle which can be followed can be increased or changes of motor vehicles which are followed can be minimized.Further aspects of the invention relate to a computer program product and a device.Brief Description of the FiguresThe invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying figures, in which: FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a navigation system; FIG. 2 shows a schematic flow diagram of a method for execution on the navigation system according to FIG. 1 ; FIG. 3 shows a schematic illustration of a targeting according to FIGS. 1 and 2 ; and FIG. 4 shows a schematic illustration of a convoli operation according to FIGS. 1 and. 2 show.FIG. 1 shows a navigation system 100 in a motor vehicle 105. A processing device 110 is connected to a navigation device 115 which is connected to a satellite antenna 120 and a memory 125. The navigation device 115 is capable of determining a current position of the motor vehicle 105, for example by means of radio navigation and in particular by means of satellite-assisted navigation, for example according to the GPS, GLONASS or GALILEO satellite system, and of providing the determined position to the processing device 110. Furthermore, the navigation device 115 can receive data and instructions from the processing device 110, which data and instructions comprise, for example, a destination position for route planning. On the basis of the determined current position, the target position and map information stored in the memory 125, the navigation device 115 can independently carry out route planning. Data taken over by the processing device 110, which can comprise, for example, an intermediate destination or dynamic traffic information, can likewise be used as the basis for the route planning. The navigation device 115 transmits the determined route to the processing device 110. Alternatively, the route planning can also be carried out by the processing device 110.The navigation system 100 further includes an acoustic output 130, an optical output 135, and an input 140, each connected to the processing device 110. The acoustic output 130 may include, for example, a loudspeaker or an interface to an audio system of the motor vehicle 105. The optical output 135 may include an alphanumeric or graphical output, such as a display screen. In one embodiment, the optical output 135 includes a touch-sensitive screen ("touch screen") for interactively inputting and outputting data. In another embodiment, the optical output 135 includes a head-up display (HUD) for reflecting optical information into a field of vision of the driver. The input 140 comprises, in the usual manner, buttons, switches, controllers or similar manually actuatable input elements. Furthermore, the input 140 can also comprise acoustic input elements, for example a microphone. As stated above, the input 140 can be embodied fully or partially integrated with the optical output 135.Furthermore, the navigation system 100 comprises a communication device 145 which is connected to an antenna 150 and the processing device 110. The communication device 145 is configured to wirelessly exchange information with other communication devices onboard other motor vehicles. Generally, the communication device 145 is part of a car-to-car infrastructure (C2C) communication. However, stationary communication devices outside the motor vehicle 105 can also serve as communication partners for the communication device 145.Finally, the navigation system 100 comprises an interface 155, by means of which the processing device 110 can be connected to sensors or systems mounted on board the motor vehicle 105. Such systems can comprise in particular a camera system, a radar system and / or an ultrasound system. Each of the systems mentioned can be part of another subsystem of the motor vehicle 105, for example a parking system or a lane assistant.FIG. 2 shows a schematic flow diagram of a method 200 for execution on the navigation system 100 of FIG. 1. the method 200 comprises steps 210 to 270. In step 210, the method 200 is in the starting state. In this step, all necessary initializations of the navigation system 100 are carried out, for example an input of a destination for the route planning. Subsequently, in step 220, the planned route of the motor vehicle 105 is determined.The planned route of the motor vehicle 105 can be determined on the basis of a target position input by a driver of the motor vehicle 105 by means of the input 140 and a current position determined by the navigation device 115 and map information stored in the memory 125. However, the planned route of the motor vehicle 105 can also originate from other sources, for example a previously determined route can be provided from a memory, entered into the navigation system 100 by the driver of the motor vehicle 105 or received by means of the communication device 145.In step 230, a planned route of another motor vehicle is received, for example, by means of the communication device 145. The route can be in different formats, for example in the form of a sequence of geographical positions, a sequence of maneuvers with respect to a road traffic network or in any other form that can be processed.In step 240, the planned route of the motor vehicle 105 is compared with the planned route of the other motor vehicle. If the planned routes are found to be too different, the method returns to step 230 and receives a planned route of another other motor vehicle. Alternatively, it is also possible to proceed to an output of the planned route or driving maneuvers in a conventional manner, for example by means of the acoustic output 130 and / or the optical output 135 from FIG. 1.If the planned routes do not match, the planned route of the motor vehicle is adapted to the planned route of the other motor vehicle in step 260. This adaptation can be carried out on the basis of an estimate of an additional path or travel effort on the adapted route. The method then proceeds to step 250.In step 250, an identification of the other motor vehicle is determined. The identification must be determined in a form that the driver of the motor vehicle 105 can understand as intuitively as possible. For example, the identification can be present in the form of a relative direction and distance of the other motor vehicle; alternatively or additionally, the other motor vehicle can be determined, for example, by specifying a vehicle type and a vehicle color. The identification can be determined, for example, on the basis of information that was received by means of the communication device 145 from the other motor vehicle. This information can comprise further indications on the identification of the other motor vehicle, for example special equipment or a trailer.In a further embodiment, the identification can be determined from a relative direction and distance of the other motor vehicle on the basis of a position of the other motor vehicle received by means of the communication device 145 and a current position of the motor vehicle 105 which was determined by means of the navigation device 115. Sensors or subsystems of the motor vehicle 105 connected via the interface 155 can be used to plausibilize or more accurately determine the identification. In particular, a radar system of the motor vehicle 105 can be used for determining a direction and distance of the other motor vehicle; furthermore, an optical system, such as a lane keeping assistant, can contribute to the identification or determination of the indication of the other motor vehicle.Subsequently, in step 270, a request is issued to the driver of the motor vehicle 105 to follow the other motor vehicle. This request can be output optically and / or acoustically. In one embodiment, the indication of the other motor vehicle comprises a marking in the optical output 135 of the navigation system 100 from FIG. 1 embodied as a head-up display. In a further embodiment, indications on a plurality of other motor vehicles that are possible for a subsequent function can be determined, so that the driver of the motor vehicle 105 can make a selection.Subsequently, the method 200 returns to step 230 to, as appropriate, determine a next other motor vehicle to be followed by another piece of the planned route of the motor vehicle 105. The method terminates when the destination of the planned route of the motor vehicle 105 is reached.FIG. 3 shows a schematic representation 300 of a route guidance corresponding to the navigation system 100 from FIG. 1 or the method for route guidance 200 from FIG. 2, and the representation 300 shows an exemplary road map between house blocks from the bird's eye view. The motor vehicle 105 is located at the bottom left. Furthermore, three other motor vehicles 310, 320 and 330 are located on the road map. The planned routes 315, 325 and 335 indicated as arrows are assigned in pairs to the motor vehicles 310, 320 and 330. In each of the motor vehicles 310 to 330, a navigation system 100 from FIG. 1 or at least one communication device 145 for transmitting route information with the motor vehicle 105 is arranged. For motor vehicle 105, a planned route 345 to destination 340 was determined by navigation system 100.The other motor vehicles 310 and 320 are located at different distances from the motor vehicle 105. Although both other motor vehicles 310 and 320 are located at a distance and direction that can be seen by the driver of motor vehicle 105, second other motor vehicle 320 may not be used for navigation because the distance from motor vehicle 105 is too large to communicate with navigation system 100 by means of communication device 145.However, the first other motor vehicle 310 is located at a short distance, so that communication with the first other motor vehicle is possible, and the planned route 315 of the first other motor vehicle 310 follows the planned route 345 of the motor vehicle 105 in an initial area, which comprises two turn maneuvers. This agreement is sufficient to output a follow-up notice to the first other motor vehicle 310 to the driver of the motor vehicle 105. At a location where the planned routes 345 of the motor vehicle 105 and 315 of the first other motor vehicle 310 are separated from one another, the third other motor vehicle 330 is located in communication range with the motor vehicle 105. The motor vehicle 105 receives signals from other motor vehicles during the entire route to the destination 340 in order to make a transition from one motor vehicle to the following to another as simple and seamless as possible. If a matching motor vehicle cannot be found, for example on the section of the planned route 345 that leads away from the planned route 315 of the other motor vehicle 310 to the destination 340, conventional routing takes place in the motor vehicle 105 by means of optical and / or acoustic output to the driver.In another scenario, communication of the motor vehicle 105 with the second other motor vehicle 320 is possible from the first position of the motor vehicle 105 at the bottom left in the illustration of FIG. 3. Although the planned routes 345 of the motor vehicle 105 and 325 of the other motor vehicle 320 are practically completely different, an adaptation of the planned route 345 into an adapted planned route 350 means no additional outlay or only a tolerable additional outlay in the sense of a path to the destination 340 or a number of driving maneuvers on the path to the destination 340. In addition, it is already known at the time of the comparison of the planned routes 325 and 350 that the part of the adapted planned route 350 to the destination 340, which has to be traveled without following the second other motor vehicle 320, is relatively short and has to be traveled on without maneuvers, so that, under certain circumstances, guidance by means of a motor vehicle driving ahead can be dispensed with in this section. For these reasons, the navigation system 100 may determine to follow the second other motor vehicle 320 better than the first other motor vehicle 310 to come closer to the destination 340.FIG. 4 shows a schematic representation 400 of a convoliary journey corresponding to the navigation system 100 from FIG. 1 or the method 200 for route guidance from FIG. 2 ; a first road 410 forms an intersection with a second road 420. Motor vehicle 105 and first two other motor vehicles 310 and 320 are situated on first road 410. A third different motor vehicle 330 is located on the second road 420. Together with the other motor vehicles 310 to 330, the motor vehicle 105 forms a convoli 460 with the third other motor vehicle 330 as a lead vehicle.With respect to roads 410 and 420, leading vehicle 330 is followed in this order by motor vehicle 320, motor vehicle 310, and motor vehicle 105. The navigation system 100 on board the motor vehicle 105 can prompt the driver of the motor vehicle 105 to follow the lead vehicle 330. Corresponding prompts can likewise be received by drivers of motor vehicles 310 and 320. In another embodiment, the driver of each of the motor vehicles 105, 310, and 320 is each prompted to follow the motor vehicle that is driving closest in front of him within the train 460. Hybrid forms are also possible, for example motor vehicle 320 may follow leading vehicle 330 and motor vehicles 105 and 310 may each follow motor vehicle 320.As described above, motor vehicles 320, 310, and 105 may follow a planned route to a fixed destination or may carry out routing to the respective motor vehicle to be followed, so that convoli 460 is dynamic in its route guidance.In each of the motor vehicles 310, 320 and 330, information about the convoli 460 may be present and displayed to the drivers of the motor vehicles. In particular, this information can relate to those motor vehicles which respectively follow. Specifically, these can comprise, for example, a vehicle type and / or a vehicle color of the respectively immediately following motor vehicle.The convoli 460 can be divided or resolved when one of the motor vehicles 105, 310 and 320 is no longer able to follow the respective motor vehicle driving ahead. This may be caused, for example, by a foreign vehicle 470, which obstructs a view between the motor vehicle 105 and the first other motor vehicle 310, or by a traffic flow of the convoise 460 when turning from the first road 410 to the second road 420. If the convoli 460 does not continue in its original form, this can be displayed accordingly to a driver of a motor vehicle followed by another motor vehicle. This driver then has the possibility of adapting his driving style in such a way that the motor vehicle which originally follows him can follow him again.In one embodiment, information about motor vehicles that have left the convoli 460 in an unscheduled manner is transmitted to the lead vehicle 330, such that the driver of the lead vehicle 330 may react appropriately to the situation, for example by driving more slowly or stopping the entire convoli 460. If all motor vehicles 105 and 310 to 330 are again located in the convoli 460, the journey of the convolis can be continued normally.

Claims

Method (200) for guiding a motor vehicle (105) to the destination, comprising the following steps: - determining (220) a planned route (345) for the motor vehicle (105); - receiving (230) a planned route (315, 325, 335) of another motor vehicle (310, 320, 330); - comparing (240) the planned route (345) for the motor vehicle (105) with the planned route (315, 325, 335) of the other motor vehicle (310, 320, 330); - adapting (260) the planned route (345) of the motor vehicle (105) to the planned route (315, 325, 335) of the other motor vehicle (310, 320, 330) if the planned routes (315, 325, 335, 345) do not match, wherein the adapting (260) is carried out on the basis of an estimate of an additional path or travel effort on the adapted route; and - outputting (270) a request to a driver of the motor vehicle (105) to follow the other motor vehicle (310, 320, 330) on a matching section of the planned routes (315, 325, 335, 345).Method according to Claim 1, characterized bydetermining (250) an identification of the other motor vehicle (310, 320, 330) for a driver of the motor vehicle (105).Method according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the other motor vehicle (330) receives an indication of a following motor vehicle (105).Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the planned route of the motor vehicle (105) has the other motor vehicle (310, 320, 330) as the route destination.Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the other motor vehicle (310, 320) follows yet another motor vehicle (320, 330).The method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized bya matching the planned route (345) for the motor vehicle (105) on the basis of the planned route (315, 325, 335) of the other motor vehicle (310, 320, 330) to maximize the matching section of the planned routes (315, 325, 335, 345).Computer program product having program code means for carrying out a method according to one of the preceding claims, when the computer program product runs on a processing device (110) or is stored on a computer-readable data carrier.Navigation system (100) in a motor vehicle (105), wherein the navigation system (100) comprises - an apparatus (115) for determining a planned route (345) for the motor vehicle (105), - a communication device (145) for receiving a planned route (315, 325, 335) of another motor vehicle (310, 320, 330), - a processing device (110) for comparing the planned route (345) for the motor vehicle (105) with the planned route (315, 325, 335) of the other motor vehicle (310, 320, 330), and - an output device (130, 135) for outputting a request to a driver of the motor vehicle (105) to follow the other motor vehicle (310, 320, 330) if the planned routes match at least in a starting region, and is configured to connect the planned route (345) of the motor vehicle (105) to the planned route (315, 325, 335) of the other motor vehicle (310, 320, 330) if the planned routes (315, 325, 335, 345) do not match, wherein the adaptation is carried out on the basis of an estimate of an additional path or travel effort on the adapted route.Navigation system (100) according to Claim 8, characterized byan interface (155) for connecting the processing device (110) to systems mounted on board the motor vehicle (105), in order to plausibly check or to more precisely identify the other motor vehicle (310, 320, 330) for a driver of the motor vehicle (105).

Images