Computer-implemented method for providing abstracted sensor information for a functional application in a vehicle

Abstract

The invention relates to a computer-implemented method and a control system (12) for providing abstracted sensor information (25) for a functional application (31) in a vehicle (1). The method comprises the following steps, which are performed by a sensor service software unit (24) of the vehicle (1): receiving (S1) start sensor information (20) from a bus (21), wherein the start sensor information (20) was detected by means of at least one sensor device (2) of the vehicle (1) and was transmitted to the bus (21); determining (S2) abstracted sensor information (25) by applying an abstraction algorithm (33) to the received start sensor information (20); and providing (S3) the abstracted sensor information (25) to the functional application (31).

Description

The invention relates to a computer-implemented method for providing a abstracted sensor information for a function application in a vehicle. The invention also relates to a control system for a vehicle, a vehicle and a computer program product for carrying out such a computer-implemented method.A vehicle may include at least one control unit or a control device for executing a function application of the vehicle. The function application is, for example, software for a function of the vehicle. The function can be a driver assistance system. The function application may require sensor information that has been detected by means of at least one sensor device of the vehicle. Typically, there is a communication link between the at least one sensor device and the at least one control unit or the at least one control device, which executes the function application for providing the sensor information to the function application. The communication link may include a cable between the at least one sensor device and the at least one control unit or the at least one control device. Therefore, the function application may be permanently assigned to a specific control unit or a specific control device in the vehicle because of the communication link.DE 10 2017 100 116 A1 discloses a control system for a vehicle having a central control unit and at least two further control units. Each of the further control units is configured to execute a function application, wherein the function applications are only loaded onto the further control units, but are stored in the central control unit. During a starting process of the respective further control unit, the respective further control unit receives the function application from the central control unit.DE 10 2017 100 118 A1 discloses a scalable control system for a motor vehicle. A processing device of the vehicle is configured to execute at least two function applications. The processing device includes a hypervisor and at least two separate processing units. Each processing unit contains a hypervisor control component, by means of which the respective processing unit is controllable by means of the hypervisor.DE 10 2017 100 119 A1 discloses a control system for a motor vehicle having at least one first control unit and one second control unit. The first control unit operates a first function and the second control unit operates another second function. The first control unit monitors a functionality of the second control unit. In the event of a failure of the second control unit, the first control unit executes the second function.It is the object of the invention to improve the provision of sensor information to a function application in a vehicle.The independent claims solve the problem.A first aspect of the invention relates to a computer-implemented method for providing a abstracted sensor information for a function application in a vehicle. The function application contains at least part of software, in particular the entire software, in order to provide a function of the vehicle. The function may be a driver assistance system, such as, for example, lane assistance, parking assistance and / or a cruise control. The function application can contain commands for analyzing at least one piece of sensor information, which was detected and provided by means of at least one sensor device of the vehicle, for example. The function application preferably determines the determination of a control command for the longitudinal and / or transverse guidance of the vehicle. This means that the function application preferably determines a control command for a brake system, a drive system and / or a steering system of the vehicle.The computer-implemented method comprises the following steps. A sensor service software unit performs these steps in the vehicle. The sensor service software unit may alternatively be referred to as a sensor service unit or a sensor service software module. The sensor service software unit may be understood as a part of software code functionally connected and combined with a unit. The sensor service software unit may include or implement multiple processing steps and / or data structures.The computer-implemented method includes receiving a start sensor information from a bus. The start sensor information was recorded by at least one sensor device of the vehicle and transmitted to the bus. The bus may alternatively be referred to as a data bus. The bus can be understood as a communication system in the vehicle, which can transmit data, such as the start sensor information, between components within the vehicle, in particular between computers, such as control units or control units, in the vehicle. The bus is thus a communication network within the vehicle. In other words, the bus provides the start sensor information, which is provided directly or indirectly by means of the at least one sensor device to the sensor service software unit.The start sensor information can be a raw sensor information that was detected by means of the at least one sensor device. Alternatively or additionally, the starting sensor information can be a preprocessed raw sensor information or a partially preprocessed raw sensor information. The start sensor information may alternatively be referred to as start sensor data. The start sensor information can contain sensor data, in particular at least one sensor data element.The computer-implemented method includes determining an abstracted sensor information by applying an abstraction algorithm to the received start sensor information. The abstraction algorithm includes at least one rule that is applied to the start sensor information to generate the abstract sensor information. The abstraction algorithm performs data abstraction. This means, for example, that it reduces certain individual data, here the start sensor information, to a simplified representation of these data. The simplified representation here is the abstracted sensor information. Applying the abstraction algorithm thus causes an operation in which characteristics of the start sensor information may be omitted to reduce the start sensor information to a set of essential characteristics that are then described by the abstracted sensor information. For example, applying the abstraction algorithm may reduce a resolution of the start sensor information, such that, for example, instead of 50 frames per second acquired by the sensor device and received by the sensor service software unit as the start sensor information, the abstracted sensor information may include only 30 frames per second. In this example, a high resolution of the at least one sensor device is reduced to a lower resolution, i.e. sufficient for the function application, for example, and can allow data traffic reduction within the vehicle.The computer-implemented method includes providing the abstracted sensor information to the function application. Providing the abstract sensor information may include transmitting, transmitting or transmitting the abstract sensor information to the function application. Providing the abstract sensor information in the sense of the invention can at least include the function application acquiring access to the abstract sensor information. The function application can receive the provided abstract sensor information by, for example, loading it. The sensor service software unit can provide the abstract sensor information to a plurality of function applications, in particular simultaneously or successively.In other words, the invention provides a sensor service software unit which is software or part of software which has access to a first version of the sensor information, the starting sensor information, abstracts it and makes the abstract version accessible to the function application, for example, for further processing by the function application. The advantage of the described computer-implemented method is at least that no direct communication connection is required between the at least one sensor device and the control unit or the control device which carries out the function application. Instead of the control unit or the control device which carries out the function application, each control unit or each control device in the vehicle which carries out the sensor service software unit can receive the start sensor information from the bus, determine the abstract sensor information and provide it to the control unit or the control device which carries out the function application. For example, a plurality of control units or control units in the vehicle may be configured to execute the sensor service software unit. If one of these several control units or control units is affected by failure, one of the other several control units or control units can execute the sensor service software unit instead. Thus, in the event of a failure of the first hardware, the sensor service software unit can be migrated from a first hardware to a second hardware or vice versa. This means that the provision of sensor information in the vehicle is now independent of the hardware components, except for the transmission of the start sensor information from the sensor device to the bus. In addition, the control unit or the control device which executes the sensor service software unit does not require a communication connection to the at least one sensor device and thus, for example, does not require a cable connection to the at least one sensor device, since it receives the start sensor information from the bus. This means that the at least one sensor device requires only one communication connection to the bus in the vehicle in order to distribute the sensor information that was detected by the sensor device to all the function applications that they require. Therefore, the provision of the sensor information, more precisely the abstract sensor information, to a function application in the vehicle is improved in comparison to a vehicle with permanent communication connections between the sensor device and the control unit or the control device which executes the function application.To carry out the computer-implemented method, the vehicle contains at least one computer, such as a control device or a control unit, which executes the sensor service software unit. Furthermore, it contains the at least one sensor device, the bus and a computer for executing the function application. The computers may be physically separate from each other or a common computer.An embodiment includes applying the abstraction algorithm comprising determining the abstracted sensor information in a predetermined data format and / or at a predetermined resolution. For example, the function application may require the sensor information in a specific data format. For example, if the sensor device acquires the start sensor information in a first data format, applying the abstraction algorithm may cause the data format to change from the first data format to another second data format. The provided abstract sensor information is then in the second data format. The abstraction algorithm thus includes at least one rule for changing the format. The data format can be understood as a file format.In case of the predetermined resolution, the abstraction algorithm may reduce or increase a number of frames and / or values per time interval included by the start sensor information. Applying the abstraction algorithm may thus affect a rate of sensor information for the function application. Providing the sensor information at a predetermined resolution may contribute to reducing resources for internal vehicle communication in the vehicle.The predetermined data format and / or the predetermined resolution may be dependent on the function application. Then, the sensor service software unit can provide unique abstract sensor information for each function application. Alternatively, there may be a constant data format and / or resolution for all function applications in the vehicle. This means that the predetermined data format and / or the predetermined resolution can be fixed for all function applications. In one example, the vehicle includes two function applications, each of which requires specific sensor information from a specific sensor device in the vehicle, but the first function application requires only 10 frames per second and the second function application requires 30 frames per second. Then, the abstraction algorithm may determine an abstract sensor information with the predetermined resolution of 30 frames per second. In this example, the first function application also receives 30 frames per second, although it requires only 10 frames per second. The first function application may perform further processing on the provided abstract sensor information to reduce the resolution to the required 10 frames per second. Alternatively or additionally, the function application may include means for changing the data format, if necessary. That is, the sensor service software unit may not specifically provide the data format and / or predetermined resolution required by the function application, but may select the data format and / or the appropriate predetermined resolution, for example, at least one function application and / or most of the function applications in the vehicle.Another embodiment includes applying the abstraction algorithm comprising preprocessing the start sensor information. In particular, it comprises interpolating between individual frames described by the start sensor information. For example, if preprocessing in near real time is necessary, such as interpolations between frames acquired one after the other, the sensor service software unit may perform this preprocessing. Alternatively or additionally, the preprocessing may comprise selecting a specific unit for the sensor information. It may include providing the abstract sensor information in a specific color space, for example based on the RGB (red green blue color) model or the CMY (cyan magenta yellow color) model in the case of color images as starting sensor information. The abstraction algorithm can thus perform not only abstraction but also at least some preprocessing relating to the sensor information.Another aspect includes that the bus is an enterprise service bus. The enterprise service bus may alternatively be referred to as a service-oriented bus or as a service-oriented application service bus. The enterprise service bus may be a software layer and / or part of a network in the vehicle that is configured to transmit data between individual components of the vehicle. The transmitted data here are, for example, the start sensor information and / or the abstract sensor information. The respective sensor information transmitted by the enterprise service bus can be received by software, a control device, a control unit, a receiving unit, a module and / or another component of the vehicle. The enterprise service bus can be understood as a centralized software part which is configured to share, for example, the start sensor information with the control device which executes the sensor service software unit and / or the abstract sensor information with the control device which executes the function application. This ensures reliable transmission of the respective sensor information in the vehicle.Another embodiment includes the function application sending a sensor information request to the sensor service software unit. The sensor information request describes what type of sensor information the function application requires from the sensor service software unit. In other words, the function application can subscribe to a service at the sensor services software unit, which service comprises providing the abstracted sensor information. For example, when the function application requires sensor information from a front camera and a front radar of the vehicle, the sensor information request describes that the function application requires a punctured front camera information and a punctured front radar information from the sensor service software unit. The type of sensor information may distinguish between sensor devices in the vehicle and / or between different types of sensor devices. The types of sensor devices may be at least one of a camera, a radar, an ultrasonic sensor, and / or a lidar (light detection and ranging) device.The type of sensor information may alternatively be referred to as a sensor information type. This explains how the sensor service software unit can provide exactly the abstract sensor information required by the function application. Consequently, each function application may only have access to the provided abstract sensor information that it currently needs and not all the abstract sensor information available in the vehicle.The function application may transmit the sensor information request to the bus and the sensor service software unit may receive it from the bus. This means that the control unit or the control device which executes the function application can generate the sensor information request and transmit it to the bus. The control unit or the control device executing the sensor service software unit then receives the transmitted sensor information request from the bus.According to a further embodiment, the function application receives abstract sensor information via the bus. The provision of the abstract sensor information can thus include a transmission thereof from the control unit or the control device executing the sensor service software unit to the bus and a transmission thereof from the bus to the control unit or the control device executing the function application. It may be that there is no direct communication connection, in particular no wired connection, between the control unit or the control device executing the sensor service software unit and the control unit or the control device executing the function application. This allows the function application and the sensor service software unit to be executed on any desired hardware and even to migrate them to another control unit or control device, if necessary or desired.Another embodiment includes where the sensor service software unit comprises multiple sensor service software subunits or sub-modules. Each of the sensor service software subunits or sub-modules provides only the abstract sensor information of a predetermined type of sensor information. For example, if sensor information is available from a camera, radar, and ultrasonic sensor, there may be a first sensor service software subunit that receives and provides an abstract camera information, a second sensor service software subunit that receives and provides an abstract radar information, and a third sensor service software subunit that receives and provides an abstract ultrasonic information. The type of sensor information may alternatively be referred to as a sensor information type. Instead of one sensor service software unit for all types of sensor information in the vehicle, there may be multiple sensor service software units, the sensor service software subunits, for the individual types of sensor information. However, one of the sensor service software subunits may be configured to ascertain the abstract sensor information for a plurality of types of sensor information, for example for two or more individual types of sensor information. This enables the sensor service software unit to be distributed among a plurality of control units or control units, for example, by each of the sensor service software subunits being assigned to a different control unit or a different control unit. This increases the robustness in the event of failure of individual control units or control units in the vehicle.According to another specific embodiment, the sensor service software unit and the function application are executed on different cores of a control unit or in different control units. When the controller includes a first core and a second core, the sensor service software unit may run on the first core and the function application may run on the second core. If there are multiple sensor service software subunits and / or function applications, they may all run on one core or on individual cores. Alternatively, the sensor service software unit and the function application are executed on different control units. This applies analogously to control units instead of control units. However, the different control units can communicate with one another via the bus. In general, the sensor service software unit and the function application can be executed by any possible computer and thus control device in the vehicle with access to the bus.Furthermore, an embodiment includes the bus receiving the start sensor information directly from the at least one sensor device. Alternatively, it may receive the start sensor information via a control unit and / or a conversion unit in the vehicle. In this alternative case, the bus receives the start sensor information indirectly from the sensor device. The control unit may be a zone control unit in the vehicle. The control unit can be different from or the same control unit that the sensor service software unit and / or the function application executes. For example, the control unit and / or the conversion unit may receive the sensor raw information from the sensor device and perform at least one preprocessing step on the sensor raw information.The at least one preprocessing step may include interpolating between frames of the sensor raw information. The preprocessed sensor information is then the start sensor information that the sensor service software unit receives from the bus. In this example, the starting sensor information is then the preprocessed raw sensor information. Alternatively, the starting sensor information can be the raw sensor information, which is transmitted directly or indirectly to the bus.The sensor device may include a control unit or a controller, for example a chip. Then, the sensor device may perform at least some preprocessing of the raw sensor information, so that the starting sensor information is preprocessed raw sensor information. In the case of a zone controller architecture in the vehicle, there may be individual zone controllers that each collect sensor information from a plurality of sensor devices, for example. The zone controllers may transmit the collected sensor information to the bus. The method according to the invention is therefore also applicable in a vehicle having a zone control unit architecture.A further embodiment includes that the start sensor information describes at least a part of an environment and / or at least a part of an interior of the vehicle. The start sensor information may alternatively be referred to as start environment sensor information and / or as start vehicle interior sensor information. Preferably, the start sensor information is environmental information. For example, the start sensor information can describe at least one static or moving image and / or at least one point cloud of at least one object in the environment of the vehicle. In the case of an interior of the vehicle, it can describe at least one person and / or an object which is located in a passenger compartment of the vehicle. The start sensor information may include information regarding the distance, shape, surface characteristics, and / or speed of the object in the environment and / or in the interior of the vehicle. The method thus focuses on environmental sensor devices and their sensor information, wherein this type of sensor information is particularly useful for function applications of a vehicle.The function application can be configured for at least partially automatic driving, in particular for fully automatic driving. Preferably, the function application receiving the abstract sensor information has a certain safety relevance, as it is configured to control for example the brake system, the drive system and / or the steering system of the vehicle. It is therefore particularly useful to ensure a supply with the sensor information for the function application by means of the computer-implemented method on account of its high relevance with respect to the control of the vehicle. Alternatively or additionally, it is possible to monitor a comfort function or any other function of the vehicle.The invention may be part of an operating system for the vehicle. The operating system may include a real-time kernel configured to, for example, boot and / or monitor individual software parts, software modules, software units, and / or software applications that are part of the operating system. The operating system may comprise a node base unit, an automotive base unit and / or a sensor service unit. The sensor service unit can be understood as the above-described sensor service software unit. Furthermore, the operating system can comprise a first application, a second application and / or a third application. More or fewer applications are possible. The application can be the function application of the vehicle. The network connecting all these parts of the operating system, i.e. the real-time core, the node basic unit, the automotive basic unit, the sensor service unit and the different applications, can be an enterprise service bus. It may be the bus described above.The node base unit may include an orchestrator (assignment module), a system monitor (monitoring module), a software update module, a dataflow monitoring master (monitoring software module), and / or a debug agent. Other or more or fewer components may be possible. All of the listed components may be software parts of the node base unit. The orchestrator may assign and / or re-assign a function application to a controller in the vehicle. Alternatively or additionally, it can detect a failure of the control unit. The system monitor may monitor communication between controllers and / or other components in the vehicle, such as memory units. The data flow monitoring master may monitor monitor data transmission events of a function or a function application of the vehicle. The automotive base unit may include means for vehicle communication, security, logging, fault detection, and / or configurations. Other or more or fewer components are possible.The sensor service unit may comprise a sensor server, an ultrasonic sensor provider, a camera provider, a radar provider, a lidar provider and / or a log and a tracker (English: tracer). It is configured to provide the abstracted sensor information to different applications. The sensor server may provide the general software for this, while the individual providers include specific software parts in order to handle different types of sensor information, which were respectively detected, for example, by means of an ultrasonic sensor, a camera, a radar device and / or the lidar device.A further aspect of the invention relates to a control system for a vehicle for providing a subtracted sensor information for a function application of a vehicle. The control system is configured to execute a sensor service software unit to receive start sensor information from a bus, wherein the start sensor information has been detected by means of at least one sensor device of the vehicle and transmitted to the bus. The control system is configured to determine an abstract sensor information by applying an abstraction algorithm to the received sensor information by means of the sensor service software unit. Furthermore, it is configured to provide the abstract sensor information to the function application by means of the sensor service software unit.The control system can be understood as a computing device or as a data processing device with processing circuits. The control system may therefore perform computational operations for processing data and thus the computer-implemented method. The computational operations may also include indexed accesses to a data structure, for example, a look-up table (LUT). The control system can comprise the control device(s) or the control unit(s) which execute the sensor service software unit and / or the function application. It may comprise the bus.In particular, the control system can comprise at least one computer, at least one microcontroller and / or at least one integrated circuit, for example at least one application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), at least one field-programmable gate array (FPGA) and / or at least one single-chip system (SoC). The control system can comprise at least one processor, for example at least one microprocessor, at least one central processing unit (CPU), at least one graphics processing unit (GPU) and / or at least one signal processor, in particular at least one digital signal processor (DSP). The control system may comprise a physical or virtual cluster of computers or other of the aforementioned devices.The control system can have at least one hardware and / or software interface and / or at least one storage unit or one storage unit. The storage or storage unit can be implemented as volatile data memory, for example as dynamic random access memory, DRAM (dynamic random access memory) or static random access memory, SRAM (static random access memory), or as nonvolatile data memory, for example as read-only memory, ROM (read-only memory), as programmable read-only memory, PROM (programmable read-only memory), as erasable programmable read-only memory, EPROM (erasable programmable read-only memory), as electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable read-only memory), as flash memory or flash EEPROM, The first stage may be a ferroelectric random access memory (FRAM), a magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM) or a phase-change random access memory (PCRAM).A preferred embodiment of the control system includes that the at least one sensor device is part of the control system. The at least one sensor device is designed as at least one camera, radar device, lidar device and / or ultrasonic sensor. It is thus possible to have sensor information from the camera, the radar device, the lidar device and / or the ultrasonic sensor. The sensor devices may be located at the front, the rear, and / or at a side of the vehicle.A further aspect of the invention relates to a vehicle. The vehicle performs the computer-implemented method. The vehicle may include the above-described control system. The vehicle is preferably a motor vehicle, for example a passenger car, a truck, a bus, a motorcycle and / or a moped.A further aspect of the invention relates to a computer program product. The computer program product is a computer program. The computer program product includes instructions which, when the program is executed by a computer, such as the control system or at least such as the controller or the control unit executing the sensor software unit, cause the computer to perform the computer-implemented method.The embodiments described in connection with the computer-implemented method apply correspondingly both individually and in combination with one another if they are applicable to the control system, vehicle and computer program product according to the invention. The invention encompasses combinations of the described embodiments.The figures show in: FIG. 1 shows a schematic illustration of a vehicle having a control system, FIG. 2 shows a schematic illustration of a computer-implemented method for providing a subtracted sensor information for a function application in the vehicle; and FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of an operating system in a vehicle.In the figures, like components are provided with the same reference numerals.FIG. 1 shows a vehicle 1 having a plurality of sensor devices 2. Here, it has, for example, a plurality of cameras, such as a front camera 3, side cameras 4 and / or a rear camera 5. Alternatively or additionally, the vehicle 1 can have at least one ultrasonic sensor 6, at least one radar device 7 and / or at least one lidar device 8. The number and position of the individual sensor devices 2, as outlined in FIG. 1, is to be understood as an example. Other numbers and / or positions of sensor devices 2 are possible. The sensor devices 2 are each configured to detect at least a part of an environment 9 of the vehicle 1. Alternatively or additionally, at least one sensor device 2 can sense at least a part of an interior of the vehicle 1. In this case, the sensor device 2 may be located in a passenger compartment of the vehicle 1.The vehicle 1 may include a first controller 10 and a second controller 11. Alternatively or additionally, it can have a first core and a second core of a control unit 10, 11. The control device 10, 11 may alternatively be a control unit or a computer in the vehicle 1.FIG. 1 shows a control system 12 for the vehicle 1, wherein the control system 12 is configured to perform the computer-implemented method described with reference to FIG. 2. The control system 12 can comprise at least the control units 10, 11. It can also comprise the at least one sensor device 2.FIG. 2 shows steps of a computer-implemented method for providing a abstract sensor information 25 for a function application 31 in the vehicle 1.The sensor device 2 can acquire start sensor information 20 and provide it to a bus 21. The sensor device 2 can transmit the start sensor information 20 directly to the bus 21. Bus 21 is preferably an enterprise service bus. Alternatively or additionally, the sensor device 2 can transmit raw sensor information 23 to a zone control unit 22. Then, the zone control unit 22 may pre-process the received sensor raw information 23 and transmit it to the bus 21 as the start sensor information 20. In this case, the start sensor information 20 is received from the bus 21 via the zone controller 22. Alternatively, the zone control unit 22 may receive the start sensor information 20 from the sensor device 2 and transmit it to the bus 21. The zone control unit 22 may alternatively be a control unit and / or a conversion unit in the vehicle 1. The zone control unit 22 is to be understood as an example.In the example outlined in FIG. 2, there are two sensor devices 2 which each transmit start sensor information 20 to the bus 21. Here, for example, the front camera 3 and one of the ultrasonic sensors 6 each provide the start sensor information 20 to the bus.In a step S 1 of the computer-implemented method, the sensor service software unit 24 receives the start sensor information 20 from the bus 21. In a step S 2, the sensor service software unit 24 ascertains the abstract sensor information 25 by applying an abstraction algorithm 33 to the received start sensor information 20. This allows it to omit some of the information included in the start sensor information 20 and reduce the start sensor information 20 to a set of essential characteristics. The abstract sensor information 25 can be generated in such a way that it is present in a predetermined data format and / or has a predetermined resolution. Alternatively or additionally, applying the abstraction algorithm 33 may include preprocessing the start sensor information 20. In particular, it may include interpolating between individual frames described by the start sensor information 20. In the outlined example, the sensor service software unit 24 can ascertain an abstract camera information item and an abstract ultrasonic information item as the abstract sensor information item 25.In a step S 3, the method includes the provision of the abstract sensor information 25 to the function application 31 by the sensor service software unit 24. the step S 3 can include the sensor service software unit 24 transmitting the determined abstract sensor information 25 to the bus 21. Then, in a step S 4, the function application 31 can receive the provided, abstract sensor information 25 from the bus 21.The computer-implemented method can include a step S 5, which includes sending a sensor information request 32 from the function application 31 to the sensor service software unit 24, in particular via the bus 21. The sensor information request 32 can describe what type of sensor information the function application 31 requires from the sensor service software unit 24. In other words, the function application 31 can subscribe to a specific service provided by the sensor service software unit 24 by generating and transmitting the sensor information request 32 to the sensor service software unit 24. Here, the sensor information request 32 is first transmitted to the bus 21 and then transmitted from the bus 21 to the sensor service software unit 24. In the outlined example, the function application 31 may require camera information and ultrasound information. The sensor information request 32 can thus describe a request for the abstract camera information and the abstract ultrasonic information as the abstract sensor information 25.For example, the first control device 10 can execute the sensor service software unit 24 and the second control device 11 can execute the function application 31 or vice versa. Alternatively, different cores of a control unit 10, 11 can execute the sensor service software unit 24 or the function application 31.The sensor service software unit 24 may include multiple software parts or components. These are here a sensor server 26, an ultrasonic sensor provider 27, a camera provider 28, a radar provider 29 and a lidar provider 30. the sensor server 26 can provide steps S 1 to S 3 in an abstract manner, while the individual providers 27, 28, 29, 30 contain specific software parts in order to handle start sensor information 20 of the respective sensor device 2, which are the ultrasonic sensor 6, the camera 3, 4, 5, the radar device 7 and the lidar device 8, respectively.The sensor service software unit 24 may comprise a plurality of sensor service software subunits. For example, there may be a sensor service software subunit that includes only the camera provider 28 and is thus configured only to provide the abstract camera information as the abstract sensor information 25. A further sensor service software subunit may only include the radar provider 29 and may thus only be configured to provide abstract radar information as the abstract sensor information 25. This can be understood analogously for the ultrasonic sensor provider 27 and / or the lidar provider 30. Each of the plurality of sensor service software subunits may provide only the abstract sensor information 25 of a predetermined type of sensor information. Each sensor service software subunit may be configured for multiple types of sensor information so that it may include more than one of the four providers 27, 28, 29, 30. All sensor service software subunits may include the sensor server 26.The function application 31 is preferably oriented for at least partially automatic driving, in particular for fully automatic driving. The function application 31 can thus be a driver assistance system of the vehicle 1.FIG. 3 provides an overview of an operating system 40 for the vehicle 1. the operating system 40 may include a real-time kernel 41 configured for, for example, booting and / or monitoring individual software parts, software modules, software units, and / or software applications that are part of the operating system 40. The operating system 40 may be a node base unit 42, an automotive base unit 43, and / or a sensor service unit 44. The sensor service unit 44 can be understood as the above-described sensor service software unit 24. Furthermore, the operating system 40 can comprise a first application 45, a second application 46 and / or a third application 47. More or fewer applications 45, 46, 47 are possible. The application 45, 46, 47 can be a function application 31 in the vehicle 1. The network 48 connecting all these parts of the operating system 40, i.e. the real-time core 41, the node base unit 42, the automotive base unit 43, the sensor service unit 44 and the different applications 45, 46, 47, can be an enterprise service bus. It may be the bus 21 described above.The node base unit 42 may include an orchestrator 49 (assignment module), a system monitor 50 (monitoring module), a software update module 51, a monitoring software module 52 (which may alternatively be referred to as a dataflow monitoring master), and / or a debug agent 53. Other or more or fewer components may be possible. All of the listed components may be software portions of the node base unit 42.The basic automotive unit 43 may include vehicle communication means 54, security 55, logging 56, fault detection 57, and / or configurations 58. Other or more or fewer components are possible. The sensor service unit 44 may include the sensor server 26, the ultrasonic sensor provider 27, the camera provider 28, the radar provider 29, the lidar provider 30, and / or a log and a tracker 31. The sensor service unit 44 is configured to provide sensor data (abstract sensor information 25) to the different applications 45, 46, 47.Overall, the invention relates to sensor gatewaying for the vehicle 1. Within the operating system 40, there is the sensor service software unit 24 for extracting data (starting sensor information 20) from different sensor devices 2 in order to publish these for external applications, which are the function applications 31 here. The method according to the invention can take place on the same printed circuit board or on a plurality of printed circuit boards, wherein a printed circuit board can be understood as the control unit 10, 11 or as a core of the control unit 10, 11.References included in the specificationThis list of documents cited by the applicant has been produced in an automated manner and is only included for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent application or utility model application. The DPMA does not take any adhesion for any faults or omissions.Patent Literature citedDE 10 2017 100 116 A1

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[0005]

Claims

Computer-implemented method for providing an abstract sensor information (25) for a function application (31) in a vehicle (1), comprising the following steps, which are carried out by a sensor service software unit (24) of the vehicle (1): - receiving (S1) a starting sensor information (20) from a bus (21), wherein the starting sensor information (20) has been captured by means of at least one sensor device (2) of the vehicle (1) and has been transmitted to the bus (21); - determining (S2) an abstract sensor information (25) by applying an abstraction algorithm (33) to the received starting sensor information (20); and - providing (S3) the abstract sensor information (25) to the function application (31).The computer-implemented method according to claim 1, wherein applying the abstraction algorithm (33) comprises determining the abstracted sensor information (25) in a predetermined data format and / or with a predetermined resolution.The computer-implemented method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein applying the abstraction algorithm (33) comprises preprocessing the start sensor information (20), in particular interpolating between individual frames described by the start sensor information (20).The computer-implemented method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the bus (21) is an enterprise service bus (21).Computer-implemented method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the function application (31) sends (S5) a sensor information request (32) to the sensor service software unit (24), wherein the sensor information request (32) describes what type of sensor information the function application (31) requires from the sensor service software unit (24).Computer-implemented method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the function application (31) receives (S4) the provided abstract sensor information (25) via the bus (21).The computer-implemented method of any preceding claim, wherein the sensor service software unit (24) comprises a plurality of sensor service software subunits, each of the sensor service software subunits providing only the abstracted sensor information (25) of a predetermined type of sensor information.Computer-implemented method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the sensor service software unit (24) and the function application (31) are executed on different cores of a control unit (10, 11) or in different control units (10, 11).Computer-implemented method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the bus (21) receives the start sensor information (20) directly from the at least one sensor device (2) or via a control unit, in particular a zone control unit (22) and / or a conversion unit in the vehicle (1).Computer-implemented method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the start sensor information (20) describes at least part of an environment (9) and / or of an interior of the vehicle (1).Control system (12) for a vehicle (1) for providing an abstract sensor information (25) for a function application (31) in the vehicle (1), wherein the control system (12) comprises a sensor service software unit (24) which is configured to: - receive a start sensor information (20) from a bus (21), wherein the start sensor information (20) has been captured by means of at least one sensor device (2) of the vehicle (1) and transmitted to the bus (21); - determine an abstract sensor information (25) by applying an abstraction algorithm (33) to the received start sensor information (20); and - provide (S3) the abstract sensor information (25) for the function application (31).Control system (12) according to claim 11, wherein the control system (12) comprises the at least one sensor device (2) configured as at least one camera (3, 4, 5), radar device (7), lidar device (8) and / or ultrasonic sensor (6).Vehicle (1) configured to perform a method according to any one of claims 1 to 10.A computer program product comprising instructions which, when the program is executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform a method according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

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