Method for monitoring a traffic area with a traffic monitoring system and traffic monitoring system

Abstract

The invention relates to the monitoring of a traffic area using a traffic monitoring system. A traffic monitoring system has at least one environment sensor and a communication device for sending and receiving traffic messages from road users, wherein the traffic messages can contain status information about the road user and / or information from the road user's sensors. In a first step, a road user is detected using the environment sensor, and a traffic map of the traffic area, including the detected road users, is created. Road users who can send and / or receive traffic messages are detected and compared with the traffic map, and it is determined which type of traffic messages the road users can send and receive.If a critical situation could arise between at least two road users, it is checked whether at least one of these road users can send and / or receive traffic messages, and if so, a traffic message is sent to this road user, wherein the traffic message contains information about the at least one road user who cannot send and / or receive traffic messages.

Description

The invention relates to a method for monitoring a traffic area with a traffic monitoring system, which has at least one environment sensor and a communication device for transmitting and receiving traffic messages from road users. The invention further relates to such a traffic monitoring system.Methods for traffic monitoring are known from the prior art, in which the road users can communicate with other road users and / or a traffic monitoring system via standardized traffic messages. The traffic messages can comprise information about the respective road user, wherein this information can comprise, for example, the position, the speed and / or a planned travel path of the road user within the traffic area. Such a traffic message is also referred to as a basic safety message (BSM). In addition, such traffic messages can also contain additional information, for example information of the vehicle sensors which detect the environment of the road user. Traffic messages are referred to, for example, as a Collective Perception Message (CPM).Other road users can adapt their own behavior within the traffic area on the basis of these traffic messages, for example in order to avoid collisions. A traffic monitoring system can furthermore adapt the control of a traffic guidance system of the traffic area on the basis of these traffic messages and warn or guide individual road users in order to avoid collisions with other road users.A basic problem is that not all road users are able to send and / or receive traffic messages. For example, older vehicles may not have the corresponding communication equipment in order to send and / or receive such traffic messages. Furthermore, pedestrians or cyclists cannot have the appropriate communication equipment.In addition, it may occur that not all road users are able to send and / or receive a basic safety message and / or a collective perception message.An approach in which, for example, information is transmitted in principle by a traffic monitoring system to all road users located in the traffic area would, however, result in very high data traffic within the traffic area.It is an object of the invention to provide a method for monitoring a traffic area and a traffic monitoring system which also enable improved safety within the traffic area in the case of road users with different communication options, wherein the data traffic within the traffic area is to be reduced.The object is achieved by the subject matter of the independent claims. Embodiments are described in the dependent claims.To achieve the object, a method for monitoring a traffic area using a traffic monitoring system is provided, the traffic monitoring system having at least one environment sensor and a communication device for transmitting and receiving traffic messages from road users. The traffic messages may contain status information of the road user and / or information of the sensors of the road user. The method has the following steps: a) detecting the road users within the traffic area with the at least one environment sensor and creating a traffic map of the traffic area which comprises the detected road users, b) detecting road users which can send and / or receive traffic messages and receiving traffic messages of these road users, c) comparing the detected road users which can send and / or receive traffic messages with the traffic map of the traffic area and determining the road users in the traffic map which can send and / or receive traffic messages,In addition, the following steps are carried out:d) determining which type of traffic messages the road users can receive and transmit,(e) checking whether a critical situation could arise between road users within the traffic space,f) if a critical situation could arise between at least two road users, checking whether at least one of these road users can send and / or receive traffic messages, andg) If at least one of these road users can send and / or receive traffic messages, a traffic message is sent to this road user, the traffic messages containing information about the at least one road user who cannot send and / or receive traffic messages.The basic idea of the invention is to check, before sending messages, whether sending an additional traffic message is necessary, for example in order to avoid a critical situation. A critical situation here can consist in road users coming too close and there being the risk of a collision or a contact between the road users. In addition, other critical situations may be defined, which result, for example, in a delay for other road users. If such a message is determined, it is checked which road users can receive traffic messages, wherein only one traffic message is sent, since at least one road user can receive such a traffic message. This allows the safety within the traffic area to be significantly increased, since traffic participants who can receive such traffic messages can be better warned of critical situations by the traffic messages. Furthermore, the data traffic within the traffic area is significantly reduced, since a traffic message is only sent if it can be received by at least one road user.For example, detecting whether road users can send and / or receive traffic messages can be effected by receiving traffic messages from the road users. Traffic participants who can send and / or receive traffic messages usually regularly send out such traffic messages. If a traffic message is thus received, it can be assumed that this road user can also receive traffic messages themselves. This allows the checking of whether and which road users can receive traffic messages to be carried out in a simple manner.In particular, detecting road users who can send and / or receive traffic messages can comprise a check as to whether the road users can send and / or receive basic safety messages which comprise the position and movement information of the road user and / or collective perception messages which additionally comprise information of the sensor system of the vehicle, wherein the traffic message is sent to the at least one road user as a function of this check.In principle, the vehicles may transmit and / or receive different types of traffic messages. For example, a road user can regularly send a basic safety message which contains basic status information of the road user, for example its position, its speed and / or a planned movement path. This basic safety message is made available to all road users within the traffic area. It can therefore be assumed that all road users who can receive traffic messages can also receive this basic safety message.Furthermore, road users can send collective perception messages which, in addition to the information contained in the basic safety message, comprise further information which road users can acquire, for example with additional sensors. For example, the road user can acquire information about his own environment, for example other road users who are located in the direct environment of the road user. If a road user sends out such a collective perception message, it can be assumed, for example, that this road user himself detects his environment. Furthermore, it can be assumed that this road user can receive and process any type of traffic messages, in particular also a collective perception message.The information regarding which type of traffic messages the road users can receive and transmit, in particular the information regarding which information is present to the road users themselves or which information is already shared with other road users, can be taken into account in the decision regarding which information is sent or provided by the traffic monitoring system, in order to additionally reduce the data traffic.For example, if all road users within the traffic area can send and receive traffic messages, it can be assumed that extensive information is already made available to the road users via the traffic information sent by the road users, which information does not have to be sent or provided additionally by the traffic monitoring system.If, on the other hand, at least one road user is detected that cannot send and / or receive traffic messages, it must be checked whether the other road users must receive information about this road user, for example, in order to avoid a critical situation. If this is the case, it must be checked whether the other road users already receive information about this road user and, if necessary, it must be ensured that the other road users receive this information.In this case, it should be ensured, on the one hand, that the road users have all the information required for them made available, either via traffic messages which are sent by the road users themselves or via traffic messages which are provided and sent by the traffic monitoring system. Furthermore, it should be ensured that information is not sent multiple times in order to keep the data traffic as low as possible.If the detection of road users who can send and / or receive traffic messages reveals that at least one road user cannot send or receive a traffic message, a traffic message containing information about this at least one road user can be created and sent, for example.For example, a basic safety message can be created representative of this road user, with which the other road users obtain basic information about this road user.In particular, it can be checked whether at least one road user can send and / or receive a basic safety message and the traffic monitoring system generates and sends only a basic safety message with information about the at least one road user, who cannot send and / or receive a traffic message, if at least one road user can send and / or receive a basic safety message.If at least one vehicle can send and / or receive a collective perception message, a collective perception message can also be created and sent, in which information is combined into a plurality of road users, for example.Depending on whether both road users have been detected which can send and / or receive only a basic safety message and road users which can send and / or receive a collective perception message, both a basic safety message and a collective perception message can also be sent, whereas only the sending / receiving of a collective perception message or basic safety message is possible, then only the message which can be sent and / or received is sent.Furthermore, it is possible that the collective perception message contains only information about road users that cannot send and / or receive a traffic message. This enables rapid identification of such road users.In certain embodiments, the collective perception message contains only information about road users to whom no basic safety message has been created and sent.It is also possible that the detection of road users comprises the detection of a position and movement information, in particular the detection of the direction of movement, the speed and / or a steering angle.In advantageous specific embodiments, after the traffic messages have been received, it may be checked whether the traffic messages include information regarding road users that were not detected by the surroundings sensors, and the traffic map is supplemented with this information. This is advantageous in optimizing the traffic map.In addition to the method discussed above, the system described below also achieves the object of the invention, namely a traffic monitoring system for a traffic area having at least one environment sensor for detecting the traffic area and the road users located in the traffic area, and a communication device for transmitting and receiving traffic messages from road users, wherein the traffic messages can contain status information of the road user and / or information of the sensors of the road user, wherein the traffic monitoring system is designed to carry out a method according to one of the preceding claims.In specific embodiments, it may be provided that the environment sensor and / or the communication device are installed in and / or on the traffic space in a stationary manner.In embodiments, it may be provided that the environment sensor and or the communication device are mobile, in particular are installed on a vehicle and / or a road user.In embodiments, it may be provided that the environment sensor has an optical, acoustic and / or electromagnetic sensor, in particular a camera, a RADAR and / or a LIDAR sensor.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURESFurther exemplary embodiments are explained in more detail with reference to the enclosed figures, in which: FIG. 1 shows a first exemplary embodiment on the basis of a traffic situation on a road with oncoming traffic, FIG. 2 shows a second exemplary embodiment on the basis of a traffic situation in an intersection region, and FIG. 3 shows a third exemplary embodiment on the basis of a traffic situation likewise in an intersection region.DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURESIn the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural or logical changes may be made without departing from the concept of the present invention. The following detailed description is therefore not to be taken in a limiting sense. Further, it is to be understood that the features of the various embodiments described herein may be combined with each other, unless specifically stated otherwise.The aspects and embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals generally refer to like elements. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of one or more aspects of the invention. However, it may be apparent to one skilled in the art that one or more aspects or embodiments may be practiced with a lesser degree of the specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and elements are shown in schematic form to facilitate describing one or more aspects or embodiments. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural or logical changes may be made without departing from the concept of the present invention.Additionally, while a particular feature or aspect of an embodiment may have been disclosed with respect to only one of several implementations, such feature or aspect may be combined with one or more other features or aspects of the other implementations as may be desired and advantageous for a given or particular application. Furthermore, to the extent that the terms "include", "have", "with", or other variants thereof are used in either the detailed description or the claims, such terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term "comprise". The terms "coupled" and "connected" may have been used together with derivatives thereof. It will be understood that such terms are used to indicate that two elements cooperate or interact with each other regardless of whether they are in direct physical or electrical contact or not in direct contact with each other. Moreover, the term "exemplary" is to be understood as merely an example rather than the term for the best or optimum. The following description is therefore not to be taken in a limiting sense.FIG. 1 shows an illustration of an embodiment of the present invention as it may be configured in a traffic situation on a road 100. Three road users 110, 120 and 130 are located on the road 100, wherein the first road user 110 can be a truck, but this can also be a car or another road user. Furthermore, behind the first road user 110 is a second road user 120 with the same direction of travel as the first road user 110. The second road user 120 can be a car, but this can also be another road user, such as a truck, transporter or motorcycle. The second road user approaches the first road user 110, and there is a possibility in this exemplary embodiment that the second road user 120 would like to pass the first road user 110 due to the lower speed thereof. Furthermore, a third road user 130 is located in the opposite lane. Since the view for the second road user 120 is limited on the basis of the size of the first road user 110, a dangerous traffic situation can be present here as soon as the second road user 120 initiates the passing process and for this purpose has to travel on the opposite lane. The first road user has a sensor, the sensor has a detection region 111. The sensor serves for detecting an area in front of the first road user 110 and can, for example, detect vehicles which are located in the detection area 111 of the sensor. There is a wireless connection 115 between the first road user 110 and the second road user 120.The first road user 110 has both BSM and CPM communication options in this exemplary embodiment. The second vehicle 120 either has the capability to communicate via CPM or only has the capability to communicate via BSM. The third vehicle 130 does not have V2X communication capabilities in any case.In the first case, the procedure is as follows: the first vehicle 110 detects in the detection region 111 of the sensor that the third vehicle 130 is approaching. Likewise, the first vehicle 110 detects that there are other V2X-capable vehicles in the environment, in particular, it detects that a vehicle supporting CPM is in the environment, and further, the first vehicle 110 has detected that the third vehicle 130 does not have V2X-capabilities. Since the first vehicle has determined that the second vehicle 120 is behind it and the approaching third vehicle 130 is in the opposite lane, the first vehicle 110 decides that data about the third vehicle 130, which is not V2X-capable, is sent to surrounding vehicles by CPM. After the second vehicle 120 receives the CPM message, the second vehicle 120 generates a warning to its driver. This warning may be a Do Not Pass Warning (DNPW) with which the driver is warned of a passing maneuver in order to avoid a frontal collision of the second vehicle 120 with the third vehicle 130.In the second case, the procedure is as follows: the first vehicle 110 detects in the detection region 111 of the sensor that the third vehicle 130 is approaching. Likewise, the first vehicle 110 detects that there are other V2X-capable vehicles in the environment, in particular, it detects that a vehicle that supports only BSM is in the environment, and further, the first vehicle 110 has detected that the third vehicle 130 does not have V2X-capabilities. Since the first vehicle has determined that the second vehicle 120 is behind it and the approaching third vehicle 130 is in the opposite lane, the first vehicle 110 decides that data about the third vehicle 130, which is not V2X-capable, is sent to surrounding vehicles by means of a BSM message. After the second vehicle 120 receives the BSM message, the second vehicle 120 generates a warning to its driver. This warning may be a Do Not Pass Warning (DNPW) with which the driver is warned of a passing maneuver in order to avoid a frontal collision of the second vehicle 120 with the third vehicle 130.FIG. 2 shows an intersecting region 200 equipped with traffic lights 205. A vehicle 210 enters the intersection area to turn right at the intersection. A pedestrian 220, a so-called vulnerable road user (VRU), crosses the road in the area of the intersection area 200. For the vehicle 210, a building 225 blocks the view in the direction in which the vehicle 210 wishes to turn. Therefore, it is not possible for the vehicle 210 to recognize the pedestrian 220 in good time, i.e., even before the vehicle 210 is bent. The traffic lights 205 are in turn each equipped with sensors which make it possible for the traffic lights 205 to detect road users in the intersection region 200. Due to the sensor system present, such an intersection area 200 is also referred to as an intelligent intersection area (smart intersection).Similar to the previous example discussed with reference to FIG. 1, the sensors of the traffic lights 205 detect both the approaching vehicle 210 and the pedestrian 220, and also detect that the pedestrian 220 does not have V2X capabilities. In addition, the traffic lights 205 may recognize that the vehicle 210 has V2X capabilities and that the vehicle 210 may bypass CPM notifications in a first case and only BSM notifications in another second case.In the merely exemplary scenario presented herein, the traffic lights 205 indicate to the vehicle 210 through green light that it is allowed to turn, and the driver of the vehicle 210 will assume that there are no obstacles due to the green light that the road into which it is turning. However, the pedestrian 220 crosses the road into which the vehicle 210 is turning, although he is not being displayed green light for this. Because of the sensor system present, the traffic light 205 is able to recognize that the pedestrian 220 crosses the road in an unauthorized manner, simultaneously the vehicle 210 turns into the road and thus there is a dangerous situation in which the pedestrian 220 could be injured. The light sign 205 therefore sends a message to the vehicle 220 so that the vehicle can display a warning to the driver that alerts the driver of the unexpected obstacle. In one embodiment, this message may be a CPM message because traffic light 205 previously detected that vehicle 210 is able to receive and process CPM messages. In an alternative embodiment, this message may be a BSM message because the traffic light 205 previously detected that the vehicle 210 is able to receive and process only BSM messages.FIG. 3 shows an intersection area 200 similar to the intersection area 200 described in FIG. 2, but this intersection area does not have a traffic light system equipped with sensors. A vehicle 210 enters the intersection area to turn right at the intersection. A pedestrian 220, a so-called vulnerable road user (VRU), crosses the road in the area of the intersection area 200. For the vehicle 210, a building 225 blocks the view in the direction in which the vehicle 210 wishes to turn. Therefore, it is not possible for the vehicle 210 to recognize the pedestrian 220 in good time, i.e., even before the vehicle 210 is bent. In contrast to the scenario described in FIG. 2, a second vehicle 230 is located in the intersection region in FIG. 3, this vehicle is equipped with sensors, the sensors having a detection region 235; in comparison with FIG. 2, the vehicle 230 with its sensor system takes the place, to a certain extent, of the traffic light system 205 equipped with sensors, as was described in FIG. 2. As described above, the second vehicle 230 uses its sensors to detect the road users located in the detection area 235, namely the first vehicle 210 and the pedestrian 220. Moreover, as described above, the vehicle 230 has determined that the vehicle 210 has V2X capabilities, but the pedestrian 220 does not have such capabilities. The vehicle 230 now sends a message to the vehicle 210 in order to inform it about the presence of the pedestrian 220. In one embodiment, this message may be a CPM message because vehicle 230 previously recognized that vehicle 210 is able to receive and process CPM messages. In an alternative embodiment, this message may be a BSM message because the vehicle 230 previously recognized that the vehicle 210 is able to receive and process only BSM messages.The vehicles described above have been described as passenger cars or trucks without limiting generality, but it is clear that such vehicles are not necessarily limited to such vehicles, rather they can be any motor vehicles, in particular multi-lane motor vehicles such as passenger cars (passenger cars) or trucks (trucks), or even single-lane motor vehicles such as motor cycles. These vehicles can be designed for autonomous or highly automated movement. The road user described can be a vulnerable road user (VRU) such as a pedestrian, a bicycle or a motorcycle, but the road user can also be a further vehicle, such as an e-bike or an e-scooter.In general, it should be noted that vehicle-to-X, (V2X) communication is understood to mean, in particular, direct communication between vehicles and / or between vehicles and infrastructure devices. For example, this can therefore be vehicle-to-vehicle communication or vehicle-to-infrastructure communication. If, within the scope of this application, reference is made to communication between vehicles, this can basically take place, for example, within the scope of vehicle-to-vehicle communication, which typically takes place without switching by a mobile radio network or a similar external infrastructure and which is therefore to be delimited from other solutions which are based, for example, on a mobile radio network. For example, vehicle-to-X communication may be performed using the IEEE 802.11p or IEEE 1609.4 standards. Vehicle-to-X communication may also be referred to as C2X communication. The subareas can be referred to as C2C (car-to-car) or C2I (car-to-infrastructure). However, the invention explicitly does not exclude vehicle-to-X communication with switching, for example via a mobile radio network. A vehicle-to-vehicle communication can also be effected, for example, via UMTS or LTE.

Claims

Method for monitoring a traffic area with a traffic monitoring system which has at least one environment sensor and a communication device for transmitting and receiving traffic messages from road users, wherein the traffic messages can contain status information of the road user and / or information of the sensors of the road user, having the following steps: detecting the road users within the traffic area with the at least one environment sensor and creating a traffic map of the traffic area which comprises the detected road users, detecting road users which can transmit and / or receive traffic messages and receiving traffic messages of these road users, comparing the detected road users which can transmit and / or receive traffic messages with the traffic map of the traffic area and determining the road users in the traffic map which can transmit and / or receive traffic messages, establishing, A method for transmitting traffic messages to a traffic participant in a traffic area can determine whether a critical situation could result between traffic participants within the traffic area, a method for determining whether at least one of these traffic participants can transmit and / or receive traffic messages, and a method for transmitting and / or receiving a traffic message to this traffic participant, wherein the traffic messages contain information about the at least one traffic participant who cannot transmit and / or receive traffic messages.Method according to Claim 1, characterized in that the detection of traffic participants which can transmit and / or receive traffic messages is effected by the reception of traffic messages of the traffic participants.Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the detection of road users who can transmit and / or receive traffic messages comprises a check as to whether the road users can transmit and / or receive basic safety messages which comprise the position and movement information of the road user and / or collective perception messages which additionally comprise information of the sensor system of the vehicle, wherein the transmission of the traffic message to the at least one road user takes place as a function of this check.Method according to Claim 3, characterized in that, if at least one road user cannot send or receive a traffic message, a traffic message containing information relating to this at least one road user is created and sent.Method according to one of Claims 4, characterized in that, if at least one road user can send and / or receive a basic safety message, the traffic monitoring system generates and sends a basic safety message containing information relating to the at least one road user who cannot send and / or receive a traffic message.Method according to one of Claims 3 to 5, characterized in that, if at least one vehicle can transmit and / or receive a collective perception message, a collective perception message is created and transmitted.Method according to claim 6, characterised in that the collective perception message contains only information about road users who cannot send and / or receive a traffic message.Method according to one of Claims 6 and 7, characterized in that the collective perception message contains only information relating to road users for whom no basic safety message has been created and sent.Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the detection of road users comprises the detection of a position and movement information, in particular the detection of the direction of movement, the speed and / or a steering angle.Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, after the traffic messages have been received, it is checked whether the traffic messages comprise information relating to road users which have not been detected by the environment sensors, and the traffic map is supplemented with this information.Traffic monitoring system for a traffic area having at least one environment sensor for detecting the traffic area and the road users located in the traffic area, and having a communication device for transmitting and receiving traffic messages from road users, wherein the traffic messages can contain status information of the road user and / or information of the sensors of the road user, wherein the traffic monitoring system is designed to carry out a method according to one of the preceding claims.Traffic monitoring system according to Claim 11, characterized in that the environment sensor and / or the communication device are installed in a stationary manner in and / or on the traffic space.Traffic monitoring system according to one of Claims 11 and 12, characterized in that the environment sensor and or the communication device are of mobile design, in particular are installed on a vehicle and / or a road user.Traffic monitoring system according to one of Claims 11 to 13, characterized in that the environment sensor has an optical, acoustic and / or electromagnetic sensor, in particular a camera, a RADAR and / or a LIDAR sensor.

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