AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE OPERATION AND POWER ADJUSTMENT

Abstract

Vehicle (100) comprising: an autonomous driving sensor (115) equipped for detecting a road condition and outputting at least one road condition signal representing the road condition; an autonomous operating control (125) configured to control the vehicle (100) according to the at least one road condition signal while the vehicle (100) is operating autonomously, wherein one or more vehicle settings are set in response to the detected road condition, wherein the vehicle settings include a reduction in the speed of the vehicle (100), This includes changing lanes, maintaining a safe distance from other vehicles, and / or choosing a new route; and A communication module (130) is set up to send the road condition signal to other vehicles within a communication range of the communication module (130), wherein the communication module (130) is programmed to apply a decay factor to the road condition signal, which defines a time during which the detected road condition expires, and to stop sending the road condition signal according to the decay factor.

Description

[0001] Autonomous vehicles relieve a driver of some of the driving tasks. Using sensors, the autonomous vehicle senses its surroundings and controls certain aspects of the vehicle accordingly. The autonomous vehicle is also prepared to compensate for changing road conditions.

[0002] The state of the art can be found in the documents DE 10 2008 038 829 A1 and US 2010 / 0 194 593 A1. Fig. 1 shows a host vehicle including an exemplary system for adapting to changing road conditions detected by a leading vehicle and / or communicated by an infrastructure device. Fig. Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of some example components of the host vehicle. Fig. 3 is a flowchart of an exemplary method that may be used by the host vehicle to adjust vehicle settings according to changing road conditions and communicate the road condition to other vehicles and / or the infrastructure device. Fig. 4 is a flowchart of an exemplary method that may be used by the host vehicle to adjust vehicle settings according to varying road conditions received from the lead vehicle and / or the infrastructure device. Fig. 5 is a flowchart of an exemplary method that may be performed by the infrastructure device and / or the host vehicle to determine whether to forward a signal received by the lead vehicle.

[0003] An exemplary vehicle includes an autonomous driving sensor configured to detect a road condition and output at least one road condition signal representing the road condition, an autonomous operation controller configured to control the vehicle according to the at least one road condition signal, and a communication module configured to broadcast the road condition signal. In this way, other vehicles within the communication range can detect and respond to the road condition before they detect the road condition themselves.

[0004] The elements shown in the figures may take many different forms and include multiple and / or alternative components and features. The exemplary components shown are not intended to be limiting. Rather, additional or alternative components and / or embodiments may be utilized.

[0005] As in Fig. 1, a host vehicle 100 and a lead vehicle 105 are configured to detect a road condition and communicate the road condition to other vehicles and / or an infrastructure device 110. The host vehicle 100 and lead vehicle 105 may each comprise any type of passenger or commercial vehicle. Examples of vehicles may include a car, truck, sport utility vehicle, crossover vehicle, bus, or the like. As described in more detail below with respect to the Fig. 2, the host vehicle 100 and the leading vehicle 105 may detect various road conditions, such as ice or snow on the road, an obstacle blocking one or more lanes, heavy traffic, a slippery road surface, flooding, a pothole, etc. When operating in an autonomous mode, the host vehicle 100 and / or the leading vehicle 105 may adjust one or more vehicle settings, such as driving speed, distance between other vehicles, lane, turning speed, or the like, in response to the detected road condition. Further, the host vehicle 100 and / or the leading vehicle 105 may be configured to transmit a signal representative of the road condition ("the road condition signal") to other vehicles in the area, as well as to any infrastructure devices 110 for receiving such signals.The road condition signal may further indicate the time at which the road condition was detected, as well as the location of the road condition.

[0006] The infrastructure device 110 may include any device configured to communicate with the host vehicle 100 and / or the leading vehicle 105. The infrastructure device 110 may include any number of processing devices and communication devices that allow the infrastructure device 110 to receive the road condition signal and, under some circumstances, transmit the road condition signal to other vehicles in the vicinity of the infrastructure device 110. The infrastructure device 110 may be located near a roadway, such as on a bridge, overpass, sign, billboard, communication tower, building, traffic signal, or the like. In some embodiments, the infrastructure device 110 may remain in a relatively fixed location.

[0007] Since road conditions may change, the host vehicle 100, the leading vehicle 105, and / or the infrastructure device 110 may be configured to determine whether to transmit the road condition signal. For example, a decay factor may be applied to the road condition signal so that the detected road condition expires after a predetermined period of time, as the passage of time may cause the road condition to become stale. For example, a road condition indicating heavy traffic may begin to decay after rush hour is over or when other vehicles begin to report lighter traffic. Alternatively or additionally, the road condition may be overtaken by changing circumstances such as the occurrence of an event. For example, an icy road may be cured after the road is salted or after temperatures rise above freezing.Thus, the host vehicle 100, the leading vehicle 105, and / or the infrastructure device 110 may be configured to consider such factors to determine whether the road condition detected by another vehicle or the infrastructure device 110 is still applicable.

[0008] Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of some example components of the host vehicle 100. As shown, the host vehicle 100 may include at least one autonomous driving sensor 115, a navigation system 120, an autonomous operation controller 125, and a communication module 130.

[0009] The autonomous driving sensors 115 may include any number of devices configured to generate signals that contribute to the navigation of the host vehicle 100 while the host vehicle 100 is operating in an autonomous (e.g., driverless) mode. Examples of autonomous driving sensors 115 may include a radar sensor, a lidar sensor, a camera, or the like. The autonomous driving sensors 115 assist the host vehicle 100 in "seeing" the roadway and / or avoiding various obstacles while the vehicle is operating in the autonomous mode. The autonomous driving sensors 115 may be configured to detect road conditions discussed above and to generate the road condition signal representing the detected road condition.

[0010] The navigation system 120 may be configured to determine a location of the host vehicle 100. Using a positioning protocol such as GPS (Global Positioning System), the navigation system 120 may be configured to determine the location of the host vehicle 100 based on communications with one or more satellites. The navigation system 120 may be configured to output a signal representing a current location of the vehicle.

[0011] The autonomous operation controller 125 may be configured to control one or more subsystems 135 while the host vehicle 100 is operating in the autonomous mode. Examples of subsystems 135 that may be controlled by the autonomous operation controller 125 may include a braking subsystem, a chassis subsystem, a steering subsystem, and a powertrain subsystem. The autonomous operation controller 125 may control any one or more of these subsystems 135 by outputting signals to control units connected to these subsystems 135. The autonomous operation controller 125 may control the subsystems 135 based at least in part on signals generated by the autonomous driving sensors 115. For example, the autonomous operation controller 125 may control the host vehicle 100 according to the road condition signals generated by the autonomous driving sensors 115.This may include adjusting a vehicle setting, such as reducing a vehicle's speed, changing lanes, selecting a new route, etc., depending on the type and location of the detected road condition. Furthermore, as discussed in more detail below, the autonomous driving sensor 115 may be configured to adjust one or more vehicle settings according to road conditions detected by other vehicles, such as the lead vehicle 105 and / or infrastructure devices 110 near the host vehicle 100. The road condition signals transmitted by other vehicles and / or infrastructure devices 110 may indicate the location of the road condition and the time the road condition was detected.

[0012] The communication module 130 may be configured to broadcast the detected road condition to other vehicles and / or infrastructure devices 110 in the vicinity of the host vehicle 100 according to one or more telecommunications protocols, such as the DSRC (Dynamic Short Range Communication) protocol. Furthermore, the communication module 130 may be configured to broadcast the location of the road condition as well as the time at which the road condition was detected. Furthermore, the communication module 130 may be further configured to receive road condition signals transmitted by other vehicles in the vicinity, such as the leading vehicle 105 and / or the infrastructure device 110. The communication module 130 may be configured to retransmit such road condition signals, for example, if the road condition still exists or is likely to still exist.For example, the communication module 130 may retransmit the road condition signal if the autonomous driving sensors 115 of the host vehicle 100 confirm the road condition at the same location, if the road condition was originally detected within a predetermined period of time, and if no intermediate events have occurred to correct the road condition. Thus, even if the host vehicle 100 and the leading vehicle 105 can transmit the road condition signals, the road condition may have originally been detected by yet another vehicle.

[0013] In general, computing systems and / or devices such as the autonomous operation controller 125 and the navigation system 120 may utilize any of a number of computer operating systems including, but in no way limited to, versions and / or variations of the Ford Sync® operating system, the Microsoft Windows® operating system, the Unix operating system (e.g., the Solaris® operating system distributed by Oracle Corporation of Redwood Shores, California), the AIX UNIX operating system distributed by International Business Machines of Armonk, New York, the Linux operating system, the Mac OS X and iOS operating systems distributed by Apple Inc. of Cupertino, California, the BlackBerry OS operating system distributed by Research In Motion of Waterloo, Canada, and the Android operating system developed by the Open Handset Alliance.Examples of computing devices include, without limitation, a vehicle on-board computer, a computer workstation, a server, a desktop, notebook, laptop, or handheld computer, or any other computing system and / or device.

[0014] Computing devices generally include computer-executable instructions, where the instructions may be executable by one or more computing devices such as those listed above. Computer-executable instructions may be compiled from or interpreted by computer programs created using a variety of programming languages ​​and / or techniques, including, without limitation, and either alone or in combination, Java™, C, C++, Visual Basic, Java Script, Perl, etc. Generally, a processor (e.g., a microprocessor) receives instructions, e.g., from memory, a computer-readable medium, etc., and executes those instructions, thereby performing one or more methods, including one or more of the methods described herein. Such instructions and other data may be stored and transmitted using a variety of computer-readable media.

[0015] A computer-readable medium (also referred to as a processor-readable medium) includes any non-transitory (e.g., tangible) medium that participates in the provision of data (e.g., instructions) that can be read by a computer (e.g., by a processor of a computer). Such a medium may take many forms, including but not limited to non-volatile media and volatile media. Non-volatile media may include, for example, optical or magnetic disks and other read-only storage. Volatile media may include, for example, dynamic random access memory (DRAM), which typically forms main memory. Such instructions may be transmitted through one or more transmission media, including coaxial cable, copper wire, and fiber optics, including the wires comprising a system bus coupled to a processor of a computer.Common forms of computer-readable media include, for example, a floppy disk, a diskette, a hard disk, magnetic tape, any other magnetic medium, a CD-ROM, DVD, any other optical medium, punched cards, paper tape, any other physical medium with hole patterns, a RAM, a PROM, an EPROM, a flash EEPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, or any other medium from which a computer can read.

[0016] Databases, data repositories, or other data storage devices described herein may include various types of mechanisms for storing, accessing, and retrieving various types of data, including a hierarchical database, a set of files in a file system, an application database in a proprietary format, a relational database management system (RDBMS), etc. Each such data storage device is generally incorporated into a computing device having a computer operating system such as one of those mentioned above and accessed over a network in any one or more of a variety of ways. A file system may be accessible from a computer operating system and may contain files stored in various formats.An RDBMS generally uses the structured query language SQL (Structured Query Language) in addition to a language for creating, storing, manipulating, and executing stored procedures such as the PL / SQL language mentioned above.

[0017] In some examples, system elements may be implemented as computer-readable instructions (e.g., software) stored on one or more computing devices (e.g., servers, personal computers, etc.) associated with computer-readable media (e.g., disks, memories, etc.). A computer program product may include such instructions stored on computer-readable media for performing the functions described herein.

[0018] Fig. 3 is a flowchart of an example method 300 that may be used by the host vehicle 100 for adjusting vehicle settings according to changing road conditions and communicating the road condition to other vehicles and / or the infrastructure device 110.

[0019] At block 305, the host vehicle 100 may detect a road condition. The road condition may be detected, for example, by one or more autonomous driving sensors 115 located on the host vehicle 100. Examples of conditions may include ice or snow on the road, an obstacle blocking one or more lanes, heavy traffic, a slippery road surface, flooding, a pothole, etc.

[0020] At block 310, the host vehicle 100 may generate the road condition signal representing the road condition detected at block 305. The road condition signal may be generated, for example, by the autonomous operation controller 125 or another processing device in the host vehicle 100. Furthermore, the road condition signal may be generated to identify, for example, the location of the road condition as determined by the navigation system 120 and / or the time at which the road condition was detected.

[0021] At block 315, the host vehicle 100 may transmit the road condition signal to one or more other vehicles and / or infrastructure devices 110 in the vicinity of the host vehicle 100. In this way, other vehicles may detect and respond to the road condition before they themselves detect the road condition. The communication module 130 of the host vehicle 100 may transmit the road condition signal according to one or more protocols, such as the DSRC protocol.

[0022] At block 320, the host vehicle 100 may adjust one or more settings in response to the detected road condition. Examples of settings that may be adjusted according to the detected road condition may include a driving speed, distance between other vehicles, lane, turning speed, or the like. Settings may be adjusted, for example, via the autonomous operation controller 125.

[0023] After block 320, method 300 may end or return to block 305.

[0024] Fig. 4 is a flowchart of an example method 400 that may be used by the host vehicle 100 to adjust vehicle settings according to changing road conditions received from the lead vehicle 105 and / or the infrastructure device 110.

[0025] At block 405, the host vehicle 100 may receive the road condition signal from, e.g., the infrastructure device 110 and / or the leading vehicle 105. The road condition signal may represent a road condition detected by the leading vehicle 105 or another vehicle no longer in proximity (e.g., within communication range) of the host vehicle 100, and the road condition signal may have been retransmitted by another vehicle (e.g., the leading vehicle 105) and / or the infrastructure device 110. The road condition signal may identify the location of the road condition and the time at which the road condition was detected.

[0026] At block 410, the host vehicle 100 may adjust one or more settings in response to the detected road condition. Examples of settings that may be adjusted according to the detected road condition may include a driving speed, distance between other vehicles, lane, turning speed, or the like. Settings may be adjusted via, for example, the autonomous operation controller 125.

[0027] At block 415, the host vehicle 100 may broadcast the road condition signal to other vehicles and / or infrastructure devices 110 in the vicinity (e.g., within communication range) of the host vehicle 100. In this way, other vehicles may detect and respond to the road condition before they themselves detect the road condition. As discussed above, the host vehicle 100 may broadcast the road condition signal using the communication module 130.

[0028] The method 400 may end after block 415, or alternatively, the method 400 may return to block 405 to wait for a subsequent road condition signal.

[0029] Fig. 5 is a flowchart of an example method 500 that may be implemented by the infrastructure device 110 and / or the host vehicle 100 to determine whether to forward a signal received by the leading vehicle 105. Forwarding the road condition signal may provide other vehicles with awareness of the road condition and time to respond to the road condition without requiring those other vehicles to be aware of the road condition themselves.

[0030] At block 505, the host vehicle 100 and / or the infrastructure device 110 may receive the road condition signal transmitted by, for example, the leading vehicle 105.

[0031] At decision block 510, the host vehicle 100 and / or the infrastructure device 110 may determine whether a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the road condition was detected. To avoid broadcasting outdated road condition signals, a decay factor may be applied to the road condition signal so that the detected road condition expires after a predetermined period of time when the passage of time may render the road condition outdated. For example, a road condition indicating heavy traffic may begin to decay after the rush hour is over or when other vehicles begin reporting lighter traffic, which could include non-reporting of heavy traffic. If the predetermined period of time has not elapsed, the method 500 may continue at block 515. If the predetermined period of time has elapsed, the method 500 may continue at block 525.

[0032] At decision block 515, the host vehicle 100 and / or the infrastructure device 110 may determine whether an event has occurred that would change the road condition and, in some cases, represent the road condition as outdated. For example, an icy road may be cured after the road is salted or after temperatures rise above freezing. If no predetermined events that would represent the road condition as outdated have occurred, the method 500 may continue at block 520. If a predetermined event that would represent the road condition as outdated has occurred, the method 500 may continue at block 525.

[0033] At block 520, the host vehicle 100 and / or the infrastructure device 110 may broadcast the road condition signal to other vehicles and / or infrastructure devices 110 in the vicinity (e.g., within communication range) of the host vehicle 100 and / or the infrastructure device 110. In this way, other vehicles may detect and respond to the road condition before they themselves detect the road condition. As discussed above, the host vehicle 100 and / or the infrastructure device 110 may transmit the road condition signal using the communication module 130.

[0034] At block 525, the host vehicle 100 and / or the infrastructure device 110 may override the road condition signal. Overriding the road condition signal may include deleting the road condition signal from a storage device, overriding subsequent road condition signals identifying the same location and time as the overridden road condition signal, or the like. In this manner, the host vehicle 100 and / or the infrastructure device 110 will refrain from transmitting overridden road condition signals at least until there is evidence that the road condition has reappeared. Such evidence may include a subsequent road condition signal indicating that the road condition was detected after the occurrence of an event that may have resolved the road condition.

[0035] The method 500 may return to block 505 or end after executing blocks 525 or 520.

[0036] With respect to the methods, systems, methods, heuristics, etc. described herein, it should be understood that although the steps of such methods, etc., have been described as occurring in a certain ordered sequence, such methods could be practiced with the described steps performed in a different order than the order described herein. Furthermore, it should be understood that certain steps could be performed concurrently, other steps could be added, or certain steps described herein could be omitted. In other words, the descriptions of methods herein are provided for the purpose of illustrating certain embodiments and should not be construed in any way as limiting the claims.

[0037] Accordingly, it is to be understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative and not restrictive. Upon reading the above description, many other embodiments and applications than the examples provided would be apparent. The scope of protection should not be determined with reference to the above description, but should instead be determined with reference to the appended claims along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. It is anticipated and intended that future developments will occur in the techniques discussed herein and that the disclosed systems and methods will be incorporated into such future embodiments. In summary, it is to be understood that the application is capable of modification and variation.

[0038] All terms used in the claims should be given their broadest reasonable interpretations and their ordinary meanings as understood by those skilled in the art described herein, unless an express indication to the contrary is made. In particular, the use of singular articles such as "a," "a," "the," "said," etc., should be read as reciting one or more of the indicated elements, unless a claim provides an express limitation to the contrary.

[0039] The Summary of Disclosure is provided to enable the reader to quickly ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It is presented with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. Additionally, it will be apparent from the foregoing Detailed Description that certain features are grouped together in various embodiments to streamline the disclosure. This method of disclosure should not be construed as reflecting an intent that the claimed embodiments require more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Instead, as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in fewer than all features of a single disclosed embodiment.Thus, the following claims are hereby incorporated into the detailed description, with each claim standing on its own as separately claimed subject matter.

Claims

[1] Vehicle (100) comprising: an autonomous driving sensor (115) configured to detect a road condition and output at least one road condition signal representing the road condition; an autonomous operation controller (125) configured to control the vehicle (100) according to the at least one road condition signal while the vehicle (100) is operated in autonomous mode, wherein one or more vehicle settings are adjusted in response to the detected road condition, wherein the vehicle settings include reducing a speed of the vehicle (100), changing a lane, maintaining a distance to other vehicles, and / or choosing a new route; and a communication module (130) configured to transmit the road condition signal to other vehicles within a communication range of the communication module (130), wherein the communication module (130) is programmed to apply a decay factor to the road condition signal that defines a time at which the detected road condition expires, and to terminate the transmission of the road condition signal in accordance with the decay factor. [2] The vehicle (100) of claim 1, further comprising a navigation system (120) configured to determine a location of the road condition. [3] The vehicle (100) of claim 1, wherein the communication module (130) is configured to receive at least one road condition signal transmitted by at least one other vehicle. [4] The vehicle (100) of claim 3, wherein the road condition signal transmitted by the at least one other vehicle identifies a location of the road condition. [5] Vehicle system comprising: an autonomous operation controller (125) configured to control a host vehicle (100) according to at least one road condition signal generated by an autonomous driving sensor (115), wherein the road condition signal represents a detected road condition, wherein the host vehicle (100) is operated in autonomous mode, and in response to the detected road condition, one or more vehicle settings are adjusted, wherein the vehicle settings include reducing a speed of the host vehicle (100), changing a lane, a distance to other vehicles, and / or selecting a new route; and a communication module (130) configured to transmit the road condition signal to other vehicles within a communication range of the communication module (130), wherein the communication module (130) is programmed to apply a decay factor to the road condition signal that defines a time at which the detected road condition expires, and to terminate the transmission of the road condition signal in accordance with the decay factor. [6] The vehicle system of claim 5, wherein the communication module (130) is configured to transmit a location of the road condition. [7] The vehicle system of claim 5 or the vehicle (100) of claim 2, wherein the communication module (130) is configured to transmit a time at which the road condition was detected. [8] Vehicle system according to claim 5, wherein the communication module (130) is arranged to receive at least one road condition signal transmitted by a leading vehicle (105). [9] The vehicle system of claim 8, wherein the road condition signal transmitted by the leading vehicle (105) identifies a location of the road condition and a time at which the road condition was detected. [10] Vehicle system comprising: An autonomous operation controller (125) configured to control a host vehicle (100) while the host vehicle (100) is operating in an autonomous mode; and a communication module (130) configured to to receive at least one road condition signal transmitted by a leading vehicle (105), wherein the road condition signal identifies a location of the road condition and a time at which the road condition was detected, wherein the autonomous operation controller (125) is configured to adjust at least one setting of the host vehicle (100) depending on the road condition represented by the road condition signal transmitted by the leading vehicle, wherein the at least one setting includes reducing a speed of the host vehicle (100), changing a lane, a distance to other vehicles, and / or selecting a new route, and wherein the communication module (130) is configured to transmit the road condition signal to other vehicles within a communication range of the communication module (130), wherein the communication module (130) is programmed to apply a decay factor to the road condition signal that defines a time at which the detected road condition expires, and to terminate the transmission of the road condition signal in accordance with the decay factor.

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