Method for controlling a vehicle and vehicle

Abstract

Method (200) for controlling a vehicle (10), comprising: Receiving (202, 204) route data by a controller (34), wherein the route data is continuously updated while the vehicle (10) is moving and the vehicle (10) includes a plurality of vehicle operating modes (VOM); Receiving (206) functional data by the controller (34), the functional data being information about a plurality of functions required for each of the plurality of vehicle operating modes (VOM); Determining (208) a plurality of ranges (R) for each of the plurality of vehicle operating modes (VOM) by the controller (34), wherein each of the plurality of ranges (R) is a function of the route data and the function data for each of the plurality of vehicle operating modes (VOM); and instructing (210) a user interface (23) by the controller to display a list (LST) of range-mode combinations (COM), the list (LSR) of range-mode combinations (COM) including the plurality of ranges (R) for each of the plurality of vehicle modes (VOM); further comprising: Receiving (212) a user input by the controller (34) via the user interface (23), wherein the user input is a selection made by a user of the vehicle (10) that is indicative of a selected range-mode combination (SCOM) of the list (LST) of range-mode combinations (COM), and the selected range-mode combination (SCOM) includes a selected range (SR) and a selected vehicle mode (SVOM). wherein the controller (34) is part of a central control system (100), the control system (100) includes a plurality of devices (d), each of the plurality of devices (d) is an electrical hardware component that consumes electrical energy, the plurality of devices (d) is selected from a group consisting of a central processing unit, a graphics processing unit, and a field-programmable gate array, the plurality of devices (d) includes a plurality of irrelevant devices (d) and a plurality of relevant devices (d) for each of the plurality of vehicle operating modes (VOM), the plurality of irrelevant devices (d) need not be active for a respective one of the plurality of vehicle operating modes (VOM), and the plurality of relevant devices (d) need be active for the respective one of the plurality of vehicle operating modes (VOM); further comprising deactivating (214) the plurality of irrelevant devices (d) for the selected vehicle operating mode (VOM) by the controller (34) in response to receiving (212) the user input via the user interface (23) to minimize the use of computing resources of the vehicle (10).

Description

Technical area

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a device for enabling user-controlled selection of range and functions. introduction

[0002] Computation and sensing resources for autonomous vehicles consume a lot of power, which in turn negatively impacts the range of the electric vehicle.

[0003] DE 10 2012 003 292 A1 describes a method and a device for providing a navigation function in a motor vehicle. In the method, a navigation destination is detected, and several settings for parameter sets are determined. These settings include individual parameters for the operation of the motor vehicle and / or the navigation route that can be adjusted by the system and / or the user, on which the amount of energy required by the motor vehicle for the journey to the detected navigation destination depends. For several of the determined settings, the amount of energy required for the journey of the motor vehicle to the detected navigation destination is calculated, and a residual energy quantity is calculated from the required amount of energy and the amount of energy available in the motor vehicle.A navigation mode is then created or selected for several of the specific settings, whereby for each of the navigation modes the predicted remaining range based on the calculated remaining energy quantity is visualized in a navigation map starting from the recorded navigation destination.

[0004] DE 10 2018 104 999 A1 describes a vehicle that includes a controller that, in response to a user confirmation of a desire to increase an electric driving range by a user-selected amount, prompts a user to confirm a willingness to accept a reduced maximum acceleration or speed. The controller further operates a propulsion system at the reduced maximum acceleration or speed in response to the user confirmation of willingness to increase the electric driving range.

[0005] US 2017 / 0 334 454 A1 describes a vehicle control system. The vehicle control system includes a receiving section configured to receive a selection operation by a vehicle occupant for one or more driving modes from among a plurality of driving modes having different control characteristics with respect to acceleration / deceleration or cornering, and an automated driving controller configured to perform automated driving in which at least one of the vehicle's cruise control and steering control is automatically controlled based on the driving mode received as a selection operation by the receiving section.

[0006] US 2017 / 0 355 371 A1 describes a system and method that detects a predetermined energy state using processing circuitry. The processing circuitry determines a geographical location of a vehicle, identifies at least one energy station as a function of a plurality of factors, determines a vehicle range based on a vehicle energy level and a first operating mode of the vehicle, determines whether a power saving condition is met based on the vehicle range, a location of the at least one energy station, and the geographical location of the vehicle, and enters a power saving mode if the power saving condition is met.

[0007] DE 10 2017 204 545 A1 describes an energy management module for at least one camera system and / or at least one output system of a vehicle, comprising a trigger module configured to receive a distance signal about a desired or expected travel distance of the vehicle and a range signal about a remaining range of the vehicle, as well as to define an energy saving mode, and a control module for partially or completely deactivating the camera system and / or output system, wherein the trigger module is configured to determine, based on the distance signal and the range signal, to what extent the partial or complete deactivation of the camera system and / or output system is to be carried out by the control module.

[0008] DE 10 2009 039 373 A1 describes an energy assistant in a motor vehicle with an electrical energy storage device from which energy is drawn, on the one hand, to drive the motor vehicle by means of an electric motor and, on the other hand, to operate various electrical consumers in the motor vehicle. The electrical consumers can be deactivated to influence the range of the motor vehicle. To influence the range of the motor vehicle, the energy assistant is constructed and designed in such a way that, upon activation of the energy assistant, an energy-saving mode is activated. Due to this mode, at least one predefined, currently operating electrical consumer can be automatically deactivated, regardless of the range, or can be controlled in such a way that reduced energy consumption is achieved.

[0009] DE 10 2016 223 981 A1 describes an energy management system for the intelligent energy management of energy consumers in a vehicle. The vehicle supports at least one at least partially autonomous driving mode. The energy management system comprises one or more sensors or calculation modules, which are required as energy consumers for the operation of the at least partially autonomous driving mode, and a navigation system that includes map data. Furthermore, the vehicle comprises a control module that is configured to proactively switch the one or more sensors or calculation modules on and / or off, or to transfer them to an energy-saving mode, based on the map data and the position of the vehicle.

[0010] DE 10 2013 211 871 A1 describes a method and a device for operating an electric-drive vehicle. A destination is selected, a function, and thus a power consumption of at least one vehicle component, is set, and a route and a driving distance are determined. A vehicle range and a range buffer are determined, and a priority list is created that describes which change in the state of the at least one vehicle component should be preferentially implemented if the calculated range is less than the calculated driving distance. A suggestion for changing the operating state by reducing power consumption is issued, or a suggestion is made to navigate to a second destination that can be reached with the calculated range.

[0011] DE 10 2011 107 818 A1 describes a method for determining the remaining range of a motor vehicle, which has an energy storage device for a drive acting on at least one wheel of the motor vehicle with an electric motor, as a function of a residual energy in the energy storage device, wherein the current consumption of the drive and consumption values ​​describing at least one secondary consumer are determined using at least one sensor, from the consumption values ​​of the drive at least one drive prediction value assigned to the drive and describing the consumption over a predetermined distance is determined, and from the consumption values ​​of the secondary consumers separately at least one secondary consumer prediction value assigned to the secondary consumers and describing the consumption over a predetermined distance is determined, and for at least one distance to be covered by the motor vehicle,the remaining range is determined for the distance described by route data, taking into account the drive prediction value and the auxiliary consumer prediction value. Description of the invention

[0012] The present disclosure describes a system and associated infrastructure that enables the vehicle operator to make an informed decision about his or her choice between range and feature availability.

[0013] According to a first aspect of the invention, a method for controlling a vehicle includes: receiving, by a controller, route data, the route data being continuously updated as the vehicle moves, and the vehicle includes a plurality of vehicle operating modes; receiving, by the controller, function data, the function data being information about a plurality of functions required for each of the plurality of vehicle operating modes; determining, by the controller, a plurality of ranges for each of the plurality of vehicle operating modes, each of the plurality of ranges being a function of the route data and the function data for each of the plurality of vehicle operating modes;and instructing a user interface, by the controller, to display a list of range-mode combinations, the list of range-mode combinations including the plurality of ranges for each of the plurality of vehicle modes;

[0014] The method according to the invention further includes receiving a user input by the controller via the user interface. The user input is a selection made by a user of the vehicle indicative of a selected range-mode combination from the list of range-mode combinations, and the selected range-mode combination includes a selected range and a selected vehicle mode.

[0015] According to the invention, the controller is also part of a central control system. The control system includes a plurality of devices. Each of the plurality of devices is an electrical hardware component that consumes electrical energy. The plurality of devices is selected from a group consisting of a central processing unit, a graphics processing unit, and a field-programmable gate array (FPGA). The plurality of devices includes a plurality of irrelevant devices and a plurality of relevant devices for each of the plurality of vehicle operating modes. The irrelevant devices do not need to be active for any of the respective vehicle operating modes. The relevant devices need to be active for each of the vehicle operating modes.

[0016] The inventive method further includes deactivating, by the controller, the plurality of irrelevant devices for the selected vehicle operating mode in response to receiving the user input via the user interface to minimize the use of computing resources of the vehicle.

[0017] According to one embodiment, the method further includes determining, by the controller, the plurality of irrelevant devices for the selected vehicle operating mode prior to deactivating the plurality of irrelevant devices.

[0018] According to another embodiment, the method further includes adjusting a power supply of at least one of the relevant devices for the selected vehicle operating mode to minimize power consumption in response to receiving user input via the user interface that power consumption is to be minimized. Disabling a plurality of irrelevant devices includes disabling modules. Each of the modules includes the plurality of devices.

[0019] The method may further include determining which of the modules are to be deactivated using the following equations: N=min‖M‖:M={Mi} ∑f∈featureU(d)≤∑i=1NMi(d):d∈{cpu,gpu,fpga,mem} where: f is a set of functions required for the selected vehicle operating mode SVOM (English: Selected Vehicle Operating Mode). N represents a minimum number of modules required for a function f required to activate the selected vehicle operating mode SVOM. M is a set of all modules. d devices within one of the modules. U is a computer workload that has introduced the function f on device d.

[0020] According to another embodiment, power consumption of each module can be calculated using the following equation: P=C1⋅V2+C2⋅F⋅V2 where: C1 is a first constant determined by physical properties of a device d. C2 is a second constant determined by physical properties of the device d. V is a voltage of the device d. F is a frequency of the device d. P is the power absorbed by a module M.

[0021] According to a second aspect of the invention, a vehicle is provided. The vehicle includes a control system including a controller and a sensor system in electrical communication with the controller. The controller is programmed to execute the method described above according to one of the described embodiments.

[0022] According to one embodiment, the sensor system includes a plurality of sensor devices. The sensor devices include an optical camera.

[0023] According to another embodiment, the sensor devices include a GPS (Global Positioning System) transceiver. The vehicle may further include a user interface configured to receive user inputs.

[0024] Each vehicle operating mode includes a level of automation, as defined in the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) standard J 3016-2018. It should be noted that other functions can also define a vehicle operating mode, including options within the automation level as well as functions unrelated to automation, such as the selection of the air conditioning system.

[0025] The controller may be programmed to deactivate the plurality of irrelevant devices by deactivating modules. Each of the modules includes the plurality of devices. The controller may be further programmed to determine which modules to deactivate using the following equations: N=min‖M‖:M={Mi} ∑f∈featureU(d)≤∑i=1NMi(d):d∈{cpu,gpu,fpga,mem} where: f is a set of functions required for the selected vehicle operating mode SVOM. N represents a minimum number of modules required for a function f required to activate the selected vehicle operating mode SVOM. M is a set of all modules. d devices within one of the modules M. U is a computer workload that has introduced the function f on device d.

[0026] The power consumption of each module can be calculated using the following equation: P=C1⋅V2+C2⋅F⋅V2 where: C1 is a first constant determined by physical properties of the device d. C2 is a second constant determined by physical properties of the device d. V is a voltage of the device d. F is a frequency of the device d. P is the power absorbed by a module M.

[0027] The above features and advantages, as well as other features and advantages of the present teachings, are readily apparent from the following detailed description of some of the best modes and other embodiments for carrying out the present teachings as defined in the appended claims when used in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Brief description of the drawings Fig. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a vehicle. Fig. 2 is a block diagram of a method for controlling the vehicle of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a list of range-function combinations. Fig. Figure 4 is a schematic block diagram of a portion of the control system of the vehicle of Fig. 1, which serves as a system for user-controlled range and function selection. Fig. 5 is a flowchart of a method for determining activation and deactivation of vehicle devices in response to user input. Fig. 6 is an example of a resource requirement table. Fig. 7 is a flowchart of a method for setting the power supply for each module. Detailed description

[0028] The following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the application and uses. Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by any explicit or implied theory presented in the preceding technical field, background, brief description of the figures, or the following detailed description.As used herein, the term “module” refers to hardware, software, firmware, electronic control component, processing logic, and / or processor device, individually or in any combination thereof, including without limitation: an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (common, dedicated, or group) and memory executing one or more software or firmware programs, a combinational logic circuit, and / or other suitable components that provide the described functionality.

[0029] Embodiments of the present disclosure may be described herein in terms of functional and / or logical block components and various processing steps. It should be appreciated that such block components may be implemented by a variety of hardware, software, and / or firmware components configured to perform the specified functions. For example, an embodiment of the present disclosure may utilize various integrated circuit components, e.g., memory elements, digital signal processing elements, logic elements, look-up tables, or the like, which may perform a variety of functions under the control of one or more microprocessors or other control devices.Furthermore, those skilled in the art will understand that embodiments of the present disclosure may be practiced in connection with a variety of systems and that the systems described herein are merely exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0030] The connecting lines depicted in the various figures are intended to illustrate exemplary functional relationships and / or physical couplings between the various elements. It should be noted that many alternative or additional functional relationships or physical connections may be present in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0031] As in Fig. 1, the vehicle 10 generally includes a chassis 12, a body 14, and front and rear wheels 17. The body 14 is disposed on the chassis 12 and substantially encloses components of the vehicle 10. The body 14 and the chassis 12 may together form a frame. The wheels 17 are each rotatably coupled to the chassis 12 near a corresponding corner of the body 14.

[0032] In various embodiments, the vehicle 10 may be an autonomous vehicle, and a control system 100 is integrated into the vehicle 10. The vehicle 10 is, for example, a vehicle that is automatically controlled to transport passengers from one location to another. The vehicle 10 is shown as a passenger car in the illustrated embodiment, but it should be noted that other vehicles may also be used, including motorcycles, trucks, sports utility vehicles (SUVs), recreational vehicles (RVs), marine vessels, aircraft, etc. In one exemplary embodiment, the vehicle 10 is a so-called level four or level five automation system.A Level Four system indicates "high automation" with respect to the driving mode-related performance of aspects of the dynamic driving task by an automated driving system, even if a human driver does not respond appropriately to a request for intervention. A Level Five system indicates "full automation," meaning the full-time performance of aspects of the dynamic driving task by an automated driving system under all road and environmental conditions that can be controlled by a human driver.

[0033] As illustrated, the vehicle 10 generally includes a propulsion system 20, a transmission system 22, a steering system 24, a braking system 26, a sensor system 28, an actuator system 30, at least one data storage device 32, at least one controller 34, and a communication system 36. The propulsion system 20, in various embodiments, may include an electric machine, such as a traction motor and / or a fuel cell propulsion system. The vehicle 10 further includes a battery (or battery pack) 21 electrically connected to the propulsion system 20. Accordingly, the battery 21 is configured to store electrical energy and provide electrical energy to the propulsion system 20. Additionally, the propulsion system 20 may include an internal combustion engine.The transmission system 22 is configured to transfer power from the drive system 20 to the vehicle wheels 17 according to selectable gear ratios. According to various embodiments, the transmission system 22 may include a continuously variable automatic transmission, a continuously variable transmission, or other suitable transmission. The braking system 26 is configured to provide braking torque to the vehicle wheels 17. The braking system 26 may, in various embodiments, include friction brakes, wire-actuated brakes, a regenerative braking system such as an electric machine, and / or other suitable braking systems. The steering system 24 influences a position of the vehicle wheels 17. Although shown as including a steering wheel for illustrative purposes, the steering system 24 may not include a steering wheel in some embodiments contemplated by the present disclosure.

[0034] The sensor system 28 includes one or more sensor devices 40 (i.e., sensors) that sense observable conditions of the external environment and / or the internal environment of the vehicle 10. The sensor devices 40 may include, but are not limited to, radar, lidar, global positioning systems, optical cameras, thermal imaging cameras, ultrasonic sensors, and / or other sensors. The actuator system 30 includes one or more actuator devices 42 (e.g., brake actuators or drive actuators) that control one or more vehicle functions, such as, but not limited to, the drive system 20, the transmission system 22, the steering system 24, and the braking system 26. In various embodiments, the vehicle functions may further include interior and / or exterior vehicle functions, such as, but not limited to, doors, trunk, and cabin functions such as air, music, lighting, etc. (no reference numbers).The sensor system 28 includes one or more Global Positioning System (GPS) transceivers 40g configured to collect and monitor route data (i.e., route information). The GPS transceiver 40g is configured to communicate with a GPS and locate the position of the vehicle 10 on the globe. The GPS transceiver 40g is in electronic communication with the controller 34.

[0035] The data storage device 32 stores data for use in the automatic control of the vehicle 10. In various embodiments, the data storage device 32 stores defined maps of the navigable environment. In various embodiments, the defined maps may be predefined and obtained from a remote system (described in more detail with reference to Fig. 2). For example, the defined maps may be compiled by the remote system and transmitted to the vehicle 10 (wirelessly and / or wired) and stored in the data storage device 32. As can be appreciated, the data storage device 32 may be part of the controller 34, separate from the controller 34, or part of the controller 34 and part of a separate system.

[0036] The controller 34 includes at least one processor 44 and a non-volatile computer-readable storage device or medium 46. The processor 44 may be a custom-built or commercially available processor, a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), an auxiliary processor among a plurality of processors associated with the controller 34, a semiconductor-based microprocessor (in the form of a microchip or chipset), a macroprocessor, a combination thereof, or generally a device for executing instructions. The computer-readable storage device or medium 46 may include, for example, volatile and non-volatile memory such as read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), and keep-alive memory (KAM).KAM is persistent or non-volatile memory that may be used to store various operating variables while the processor 44 is powered off. The computer-readable storage device or storage medium 46 may be implemented using any of a variety of known storage devices, such as PROMs (programmable read-only memory), EPROMs (electrically PROMs), EEPROMs (electrically erasable PROMs), flash memory, or any other electrical, magnetic, optical, or combination storage device capable of storing data, some of which represent executable instructions used by the controller 34 to control the vehicle 10.

[0037] The instructions may include one or more separate programs, each of which comprises an ordered list of executable instructions for implementing logical functions. The instructions, when executed by the processor 44, receive and process signals from the sensor system 28, perform logic, calculations, methods, and / or algorithms to automatically control the components of the vehicle 10, and generate control signals to the actuator system 30 to automatically control the components of the vehicle 10 based on the logic, calculations, methods, and / or algorithms. Although a single controller 34 in Fig. 1, embodiments of the vehicle 10 may include a number of controllers 34 that communicate via a suitable communication medium or combination of communication media and that cooperate to process the sensor signals, perform logic, calculations, methods and / or algorithms, and generate control signals for automatically controlling functions of the vehicle 10.

[0038] In various embodiments, one or more instructions from controller 34 are executed in control system 100. Vehicle 10 includes a user interface 23, which may be a touchscreen in the instrument panel. User interface 23 is in electronic communication with controller 34 and is configured to receive inputs from a user (e.g., vehicle operator). Accordingly, controller 34 is configured to receive user inputs via user interface 23. User interface 23 includes a display configured to display information to the user (e.g., vehicle operator or passenger).

[0039] The communication system 36 is configured to wirelessly transmit information to and from other objects 48, such as, but not limited to, other vehicles (Vehicle to Vehicle, “V2V”) communication), infrastructure (Vehicle to Infrastructure, “V2I”) communication), remote systems, and / or personal devices (described in more detail with reference to Fig. 2). In an exemplary embodiment, the communication system 36 is a wireless communication system configured to communicate over a wireless local area network (WLAN) using the IEEE 802.11 standards or using mobile data communication. However, additional or alternative communication methods, such as a dedicated short-range communication (DSRC) channel, are also contemplated as being within the scope of the present disclosure. DSRC channels refer to one-way or two-way, short- to medium-range wireless communication channels specifically designed for automotive use, and to a corresponding set of protocols and standards.

[0040] Fig. 1 is a schematic block diagram of the control system 100 configured to control the vehicle 10. The controller 34 of the control system 100 is in electronic communication with the braking system 26, the propulsion system 20, and the sensor system 28. The braking system 26 includes one or more brake actuators (e.g., brake calipers) coupled to one or more wheels 18. When actuated, the brake actuators apply braking pressure to one or more wheels 17 to decelerate the vehicle 10. The propulsion system 20 includes one or more drive actuators for controlling the propulsion of the vehicle 10. As explained above, for example, the propulsion system 20 may include an internal combustion engine, and in this case, the drive actuator may be a throttle valve specifically configured to control airflow into the internal combustion engine.The sensor system 28 may include one or more acceleration sensors (or one or more gyroscopes) coupled to one or more wheels 17. The acceleration sensor is in electronic communication with the controller 34 and is configured to measure and monitor the longitudinal and lateral accelerations of the vehicle 10. The sensor system 28 may include one or more speed sensors 40s configured to measure the speed (or velocity) of the vehicle 10. The speed sensor 40s is coupled to the controller 34 and is in electronic communication with one or more wheels 17.

[0041] Fig. 2 is a block diagram of a method 200 for controlling the vehicle 100 to enable user-controlled function selection. The method 200 includes block 202, which involves transmitting the route data or route information to the controller 34 via the GPS transceiver 40g. The route data is continuously updated as the vehicle 10 moves. In other words, the GPS transceiver 40g continuously monitors the location of the vehicle 10 and thus the route of the vehicle 10. Accordingly, the GPS transceiver 40g sends route data to the controller 34. At block 204, the controller 34 continuously receives route data from the GPS transceiver 40g to determine the location of the vehicle 10. At block 206, the controller 34 receives the function data from the sensor system 28. The function data (e.g., function information) is information about the plurality of functions required for each of the plurality of vehicle operating modes.The multitude of functions includes, but is not limited to, object recognition, character recognition, and environmental viewing. The term "function" refers to a functionality of the vehicle 10 that enables it, using the sensor system 28, to recognize its surroundings or characteristics about its operation relative to external objects (e.g., distance from the vehicle 10 to another vehicle). The controller 34 includes an intelligent range management system (e.g., software) to determine the range of the vehicle 10 depending on the state of charge (SOC) of the battery 23. The term "range" refers to the distance the vehicle 10 is capable of traveling using only the electric motor (which may be part of the drive system 20) as propulsion.After determining the range of the vehicle 10 for each vehicle mode based on the route data and the functional data, the controller 34 sends the list LST of range-mode combinations to the user interface 23 at block 208. The predicted range may be calculated using the following equation:. Rpred=Pcur×dsPcost where: R pred the predicted range is; P cur the remaining power of the battery (or the state of charge of the battery 23); and d s the previous distance traveled.

[0042] As in Fig. As shown in Figure 3, the list LST of range-mode combinations includes the plurality of ranges R for each of the plurality of vehicle operating modes VOM. The vehicle operating modes VOM can be characterized as the automation levels specified by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) standard J 3016-2018, namely: Level 0 (ie, L0) - no automation; Level 1 (ie, L1) - driver assistance; Level 2 (ie, L2) - partial automation; Level 3 (ie, L3) - conditional automation; Level 3 (ie, L3) - high automation; and Level 4 (ie, L4) - full automation. The list LST of range-mode combinations can include a range R and a corresponding vehicle operating mode VOM. Each vehicle operating mode VOM includes a level of automation (as described above) and a road condition (e.g., highway, city).

[0043] Returning to Fig. 2, the method 200, after executing block 208, continues with block 210. At block 210, the controller 34 commands the user interface 23 to display the list LST of the range mode combinations COMs, as shown in Fig. 3. The user can then select the desired range mode combination from the list of range mode combinations LST. The selected range mode combination SCOM is then sent to the controller 34 at block 212. The controller 34 then receives the user input (i.e., the selected range mode combination SCOM) through the user interface 23. The user input is the selection made by the user of the vehicle 10, which is indicative of the selected range mode combination from the list of range mode combinations. This selection is required when a new trip begins or a route situation changes (e.g., traffic, construction, accident, etc.). The selected range mode combination SCOM includes a selected range SR and a selected vehicle mode SVOM. The method 200 then proceeds to block 214.At block 214, the controller 34, using the intelligent range management system (e.g., software), performs: (1) deactivating units irrelevant (unused) to the selected vehicle operating mode in response to receiving the user input via the user interface to minimize the use of the computing resources of the vehicle 10; and (2) adjusting the power supply of at least one of the units relevant to the selected vehicle operating mode SVOM to minimize power consumption, as further explained below.

[0044] With reference to Fig. 4, the control system 100 may additionally include a plurality of modules M for activating the functions. Each module M includes a plurality of units or devices d. In the present disclosure, the term "device" means an electrical hardware component that consumes electrical energy. The devices d may include, among other things, a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), and / or a combination thereof. For example, one module M may include a CPU, an FPGA, and a GPU, and another module M may include two CPUs. While the illustrated embodiment is shown with two modules M, it is contemplated that the control system 100 may include more or fewer modules M. Each module M includes a power monitoring module 50 (e.g.Hardware and / or software) configured to monitor the power consumption of each device d in module M. Each module M is in electrical communication with controller 34. Accordingly, each module M is programmed to send power metrics to controller 34. Accordingly, controller 34 receives data from each module M regarding the electrical power consumption of each module M and each device d in each module M. Control system 100 may be a distributed system or a centralized system. It is desirable for control system 100 to be a centralized system to avoid complexity in the messaging scheme. No new physical module is required.

[0045] With continued reference to Fig. 4, the controller 34 includes a vehicle power module 35 (which may be hardware or software) configured to determine the electrical power consumption of the vehicle 10, and a centralized monitoring module 37 configured to receive all performance metrics from the modules M and the vehicle 10, and uses these performance metrics to determine the range of the vehicle 10 for each vehicle operating mode. The controller 34 is also programmed to create a list LST of range-mode combinations. The controller 34 is in electronic communication with the battery 21. Accordingly, the battery 21 can communicate its state of charge (SOC) to the controller 34. The controller 34 is programmed to determine the range of the vehicle 10 depending on the SOC of the battery 21. The controller 34 can instruct the battery 21 to provide the propulsion system 20 (e.g.,electric motor) to provide electrical energy more efficiently. The controller 34 is in electronic communication with the user interface 23 and is programmed to command the user interface 23 to display the list LST of range-mode combinations. The user then selects one of the range-mode combinations from the list LST. The controller 34 is therefore programmed to receive the user input (i.e., the selected range-mode combination). In response to receiving the user input (i.e., the selected range-mode combination), the controller 34 selects and activates the selected vehicle operating mode SVOM. Further, in response to receiving the user input (i.e., the selected range-mode combination), the controller 34 activates only those devices d (i.e., units) relevant to the selected vehicle operating mode SVOM.The devices d therefore include irrelevant devices and relevant devices for each vehicle operating mode. The irrelevant devices do not need to be active to activate a respective vehicle operating mode; the relevant devices must be active to activate the respective vehicle operating mode. Thus, in response to the user input, the controller 34 deactivates the irrelevant devices for the selected vehicle operating mode SVOM and activates only the relevant devices for the selected vehicle operating mode SVOM.

[0046] Fig. 5 is a flowchart of a method 300 for determining the activation and deactivation of devices d with respect to the selected vehicle operating mode SVOM. By executing this method 300, the controller 34 uses the minimum number of devices d corresponding to the selected vehicle operating mode SVOM when sufficient computing resources are available to activate the functions. The method 300 begins at initial block 302 upon receipt of a user input. In other words, the controller 34 begins executing the method 300 in response to receiving a user input indicative of the selected range-operating mode combination SCOM. The method 300 then proceeds to block 304. At block 304, the controller 34 determines the required functions to activate the selected vehicle operating mode SVOM. Each vehicle operating mode (e.g.,Level of automation) requires specific functions such as object recognition, character recognition, environmental view, etc. This feature requirement with respect to the vehicle operating mode VOM is stored on the controller 34. After determining the functions required for the selected vehicle operating mode SVOM, the method 300 proceeds to block 306. The controller 34 calculates the workloads W of all functions required for the selected vehicle operating mode SVOM. For each required function, the controller 34 profiles and stores the workload for each required computing resource (i.e., device d), such as CPU, GPU, FPGA, and memory. The workloads W are profiled under the maximum resource capacity (i.e., the highest frequency). The controller 34 stores these profiles in a resource demand table (RDT), as shown in FIG. Fig. 6. After block 308, the method 300 continues with block 308.

[0047] At block 308, the controller 34 sorts the modules M in ascending order of power consumption in M. The next steps of the method 300 are used to determine which modules M should be activated and which modules M should be deactivated to minimize power consumption. After block 308, the method 300 continues to block 310. At block 310, the controller 34 removes the last module in the sorted list of modules M (as created in block 308) and places it in a list of deactivated modules M'. Then, the method 300 continues to block 312. At block 312, the controller 34 determines whether the workload W matches the list of modules M. If the workload W matches the modules M, then the method 300 returns to block 310. If the workload W does not match the modules M, then the method 300 continues to block 314.At block 314, the last module in the list of deactivated modules M' is moved back to the list of active modules M. The method 300 then continues to block 316. At block 316, the controller 34 reallocates the workload W to the active modules M. The method 300 then continues to block 318. At block 318, the modules in the list of deactivated modules M' are deactivated. After block 318, the method 300 ends at block 320. By executing this method 300, the controller 34 determines the minimum number of modules M with sufficient resources to activate the selected vehicle operating mode SVOM by using the following equations:. N=min‖M‖:M={Mi} ∑f∈featureU(d)≤∑i=1NMi(d):d∈{cpu,gpu,fpga,mem} where: f is a set of functions required for a corresponding vehicle operating mode. N represents the minimum number of modules required for a corresponding function f. M is the set of all modules. d represents devices within a module. Each module contains a set of devices d. U is a computer workload (e.g., in the form of a usage) that function f has introduced on device d.

[0048] A connection is interrupted when the device is at full power.

[0049] Fig.7 is a flowchart of a method 400 for adjusting the power supply for each module M. In this method 400, the controller 34 reduces the power consumption of the modules M by lowering the frequency of a device d (e.g., CPU, GPU, FPGA, memory, etc.) when the workload on a module M does not require full capacity. The method 400 begins at initial block 402. The method 400 then proceeds to block 404. At block 404, the controller 34 obtains the workload for each device d on the module M. After block 404, the method 400 proceeds to block 406. The controller 34 determines whether the devices d on the modules M to be activated to enable the selected vehicle operating mode SVOM are equipped with dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVFS).If none of the devices d of the modules M to be activated to enable the selected vehicle operating mode SVOM are equipped with DVFS, the method 400 proceeds to block 408. At block 408, the method 400 ends. If one or more of the devices d of the modules M to be activated to enable the selected vehicle operating mode SVOM are equipped with DVFS, the method 400 proceeds to block 410. At block 410, the controller 34 determines whether the devices d are capable of operating at multiple frequencies. If one or more devices d are capable of operating at multiple frequencies, the method 400 proceeds to block 412. At block 412, the controller 34 selects the lowest frequency sufficient for the calculations of each device d. After block 412, the method 400 proceeds to block 414. At block 414, the controller 34 determines whether multiple voltages correspond to the frequency.If multiple voltages corresponding to the frequency are present, the method 400 continues with block 416. At block 416, the controller 34 selects the lowest sufficient voltage that meets the error rate requirements. The method 400 then continues with block 418. At block 418, the controller 34 removes this device d for testing. In this method 400, the workload (i.e., the power consumption) of a module M may be calculated according to the following equation: P=C1⋅V2+C2⋅F⋅V2 where: C1 is a first constant determined by the physical properties (e.g. size, material, electrical resistance and capacitance, etc.) of the device d. C2 is a second constant determined by the physical properties (e.g. size, material, electrical resistance and capacitance, etc.) of the device d. V is the voltage of device d. F is the frequency of the device d. P is the power absorbed by a module M.

Claims

[1] A method (200) for controlling a vehicle (10), comprising: Receiving (202, 204) route data by a controller (34), wherein the route data is continuously updated while the vehicle (10) is moving and the vehicle (10) includes a plurality of vehicle operating modes (VOM); Receiving (206) functional data by the controller (34), the functional data being information about a plurality of functions required for each of the plurality of vehicle operating modes (VOM); Determining (208) a plurality of ranges (R) for each of the plurality of vehicle operating modes (VOM) by the controller (34), wherein each of the plurality of ranges (R) is a function of the route data and the function data for each of the plurality of vehicle operating modes (VOM); and instructing (210) a user interface (23) by the controller to display a list (LST) of range-mode combinations (COM), the list (LSR) of range-mode combinations (COM) including the plurality of ranges (R) for each of the plurality of vehicle modes (VOM); further comprising: Receiving (212) a user input by the controller (34) via the user interface (23), wherein the user input is a selection made by a user of the vehicle (10) that is indicative of a selected range-mode combination (SCOM) of the list (LST) of range-mode combinations (COM), and the selected range-mode combination (SCOM) includes a selected range (SR) and a selected vehicle mode (SVOM). wherein the controller (34) is part of a central control system (100), the control system (100) includes a plurality of devices (d), each of the plurality of devices (d) is an electrical hardware component that consumes electrical energy, the plurality of devices (d) is selected from a group consisting of a central processing unit, a graphics processing unit, and a field-programmable gate array, the plurality of devices (d) includes a plurality of irrelevant devices (d) and a plurality of relevant devices (d) for each of the plurality of vehicle operating modes (VOM), the plurality of irrelevant devices (d) need not be active for a respective one of the plurality of vehicle operating modes (VOM), and the plurality of relevant devices (d) need be active for the respective one of the plurality of vehicle operating modes (VOM); further comprising deactivating (214) the plurality of irrelevant devices (d) for the selected vehicle operating mode (VOM) by the controller (34) in response to receiving (212) the user input via the user interface (23) to minimize the use of computing resources of the vehicle (10). [2] The method (200) of claim 1, further comprising determining (300, 304) the plurality of irrelevant devices (d) for the selected vehicle operating mode (VOM) by the controller (34) prior to deactivating (214) the plurality of irrelevant devices (d). [3] The method (200) of claim 2, further comprising adjusting a power supply of at least one of the plurality of relevant devices (d) for the selected vehicle operating mode (VOM) to minimize power consumption in response to receiving (212) the user input via the user interface (23). [4] The method (200) of claim 3, wherein deactivating a plurality of irrelevant devices (d) includes deactivating modules (M), each of the modules (M) includes the plurality of devices (d), and the method (200) further includes determining which modules (M) are to be deactivated using the following equations: N=min‖M‖:M={Mi} ∑f∈featureU(d)≤∑i=1NMi(d):d∈{cpu,gpu,fpga,mem} where: f is a set of functions required for the selected vehicle operating mode (SVOM); N represents a minimum number of modules (M) required for a function f required to activate the selected vehicle operating mode (SVOM); M is a set of all modules (M); d represents devices within one of the modules (M); U is a computer workload that has introduced the function f on device (d). [5] The method (200) of claim 4, wherein a power consumption of each module (M) is calculated using the following equation: P=C1⋅V2+C2⋅F⋅V2 where: C1 is a first constant determined by physical properties of a device (d); C2 is a second constant determined by physical properties of the device (d); V is a voltage of the device (d); F is a frequency of the device (d); P is the power absorbed by a module (M). [6] Vehicle (10) comprising: a control system (100) including a controller (34); a sensor system (28) in electrical communication with the controller (34); wherein the controller (34) is programmed to carry out the method according to any one of the preceding claims. [7] The vehicle (10) of claim 6, wherein the sensor system (28) includes a plurality of sensor devices (40) and the plurality of sensor devices (40) includes an optical camera.

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