SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING COMMERCIAL VEHICLES

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a system and a method for controlling commercial vehicles within a restricted area, and in particular to the use of static objects from a map database for environment detection. In the autonomous driving of commercial vehicles, it is becoming increasingly important to perform suitable environment detection in order to be able to make correct control decisions for the further movement of the commercial vehicle. Environment detection can be achieved, for example, by a sensor or a combination of different sensors. Thus, US 2014 / 236477 discloses a system for determining positions with perception-based enhancement, DE 10 2004 047 214 a method for navigating transport vehicles, DE 10 2014 221 777 a method for operating a vehicle, and DE 10 2011 112 404 a method for determining the position of a motor vehicle.

[0002] However, environmental sensors are susceptible to errors and external disturbances (e.g., due to adverse weather conditions, etc.), which can affect the accuracy of the sensors. To improve the reliability and accuracy of object detection, results from different sensors or different algorithms can be combined to obtain confirmation of a detected object. However, such systems are complex and, if no additional sensors are available, not always feasible.

[0003] Therefore, there is a need for systems to improve the orientation of commercial vehicles during autonomous operation.

[0004] At least some of the above-mentioned problems are solved by a system for controlling a commercial vehicle according to claim 1, a corresponding method according to claim 7, and a computer program product according to claim 8. The dependent claims define further advantageous embodiments.

[0005] Objects are static objects and / or dynamic objects, where static objects are, for example, roads, buildings, intersections, and reference points, and dynamic objects are, for example, other vehicles whose position is known and which are therefore suitable for position determination. Detecting the at least one object can, in particular, comprise detecting position data and / or orientation data of the commercial vehicle relative to the at least one object.

[0006] The identification module can perform a mapping, in particular for identifying objects. Specifically, the at least one detected object can be mapped onto the cartographic data obtained by the information acquisition module. This mapping can be done, for example, such that the cartographic data contains a street area with various buildings, which are compared with the objects in the vicinity of the commercial vehicle detected by the acquisition module. This enables a clear identification of the position within the map material obtained from the database. Since the objects in the map material have a known position, the position of the commercial vehicle can be determined or at least its accuracy improved.

[0007] The movement module is configured to determine a position of the commercial vehicle during autonomous movement based on the cartographic data from the database and based on the at least one detected object. Optionally, the detection module can have a sensor module comprising at least one of the following components: a radar, a laser scanner, a wireless transmission device, a mobile radio module, a differential or global positioning system (GPS), a camera, or other localization systems. The identification module can then be further configured to determine a relative position based on data from the sensor unit (in the vehicle) or the sensor module (in the system).

[0008] Optionally, the sensor unit of the vehicle also comprises at least one of the following components: a differential or global positioning system, a camera, a radar, a laser scanner, a wireless communication interface or a mobile radio module.

[0009] According to the invention, the identification module is designed to detect a reference point in the environment of the commercial vehicle based on sensor data from the sensor unit or the sensor module and to determine the position of the commercial vehicle relative to the reference point. The reference point is a marking on the roadway or on a building or wall that has a known position that is used to determine the position.

[0010] The commercial vehicle may have at least one dynamic vehicle sensor configured to determine a speed and / or change in direction of the commercial vehicle. The movement module may then be configured to determine at least one position change relative to a previously detected position based on sensor data from the at least one dynamic vehicle sensor, in order to enable tracking of a movement path.

[0011] Optionally, the information acquisition module is designed to store the cartographic data in the commercial vehicle or to read it from a memory of the commercial vehicle.

[0012] The commercial vehicle may also have a radio unit, and the information retrieval module may be configured to wirelessly contact the database via the radio unit to retrieve (download) information. The restricted area includes an entrance, an exit, and a predetermined destination. Access to the restricted area is restricted for persons. The movement module is configured to move the commercial vehicle autonomously from the entrance to the predetermined destination and autonomously (in particular driverless) from the predetermined destination to the exit.

[0013] The present invention also relates to a commercial vehicle having a system as described above and vehicle actuators, wherein the commercial vehicle can be moved by controlling the vehicle actuators. The movement module of the system can execute the control. It is understood that the system can also be implemented in other vehicles (e.g., passenger cars), and the invention is not intended to be limited to commercial vehicles.

[0014] The present invention also relates to a method for controlling commercial vehicles in the restricted area. The method comprises the steps in claim 7.

[0015] This method can also be implemented or stored in the form of instructions in software or on a computer program product, wherein stored instructions are capable of carrying out the steps according to the method when the method is run on a processor (e.g., one of the vehicle control units). Therefore, the present invention also relates to a computer program product having software code (software instructions) stored thereon, which is configured to carry out one of the previously described methods when the software code is executed by a processing unit. The processing unit can be any form of computer or control unit having a corresponding microprocessor capable of executing software code.

[0016] Embodiments offer the advantage of enabling improved positioning, which is particularly important for safe autonomous movement. This improvement is achieved by the static objects that are downloaded from the database containing the cartographic data (map material) and used to recognize the objects using the environmental sensors. This is achieved simply by comparing the objects from the environment with the cartographic data (objects are mapped to one another).

[0017] Embodiments offer particular advantages in particular in special, non-standardized or restricted areas where the positions of static objects are generally known and can be used to further improve position determination in the vehicle's environment.

[0018] The embodiments of the present invention will be better understood from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings of the various embodiments, which, however, should not be construed as limiting the disclosure to the specific embodiments, but are for explanation and understanding only. Fig. 1 shows an exemplary embodiment of a system for controlling a commercial vehicle in a restricted area. Fig. 2 shows a vehicle as can be used in exemplary embodiments of the invention. Fig. 3 shows cartographic data for an exemplary restricted area. Fig. 4 shows a flowchart for a method for controlling a commercial vehicle.

[0019] Fig. 1 shows an embodiment of a system 100 suitable for controlling commercial vehicles in a restricted area, wherein the commercial vehicle has a sensor unit for detecting objects in the surroundings of the commercial vehicle. The system 100 comprises an information acquisition module 110, a detection module 120, an identification module 130, and a movement module 140. The information acquisition module 110 is designed to acquire information about the restricted area from an (external) database, wherein the acquired information comprises cartographic data of objects in the restricted area and can be obtained, for example, by downloading. The detection module 120 is designed to acquire at least one object in the surroundings of the vehicle using the sensor unit of the commercial vehicle.The identification module 130 is configured to identify the at least one detected object in the cartographic data. The movement module 140 is configured to enable autonomous movement of the commercial vehicle within the restricted area based on the identified objects.

[0020] Therefore, the system is capable of safely moving the commercial vehicle within the area and autonomously performing position changes. In particular, it is possible for one or more target points within the area to be traveled to in a specific sequence. At the predetermined target point, a specific action can be performed on the vehicle, such as loading or unloading, cleaning or maintenance of the commercial vehicle, refueling or charging batteries (i.e., where the energy charge level is changed), or any combination thereof.

[0021] The system 100 may be implemented in whole or in part by software installed in a control unit of the commercial vehicle to perform the described functions. However, the system 100 may also be implemented in whole or in part in a control unit external to the commercial vehicle.

[0022] Fig. 2 shows an embodiment of a vehicle 10, in particular a commercial vehicle, which can be used to operate autonomously within the restricted area. The commercial vehicle 10 includes the system 100, which can be installed, for example, within a control unit of the vehicle 10 or housed as separate hardware in the vehicle 10.

[0023] The commercial vehicle 10 further comprises a sensor unit 12, which is designed to detect the surroundings of the vehicle 10 (for example, to determine distances to other objects or to detect changes in movement or speed). The commercial vehicle 10 further comprises a plurality of vehicle actuators 14, which are designed, for example, to steer the vehicle 10 along a path. These include, in particular, steering and braking actuators that steer or decelerate the vehicle 10. They also include vehicle actuators 14 that can cause the vehicle 10 to accelerate. Optionally, the vehicle 10 comprises its own communication module 16, which can establish a wireless connection to an external network.

[0024] The system 100 can, for example, be configured to use the communication module 16 of the vehicle 10 to receive data (e.g., cartographic data) from or send it to the external network. Furthermore, the communication module 16 is used to connect the commercial vehicle 10 to a restricted area management system in order to receive data for a path 200 to be traveled.

[0025] The commercial vehicle 10 may, for example, comprise a bus, a truck, a tractor unit for a trailer, or a combination of several vehicle parts (e.g., including a trailer).

[0026] Fig. 3 shows an example map of the special, non-standard, or restricted area. The map may be supplemented with additional information about the static objects and their location (not shown).

[0027] The area shown includes a variety of static objects that can be used to improve vehicle localization. Examples of static objects in the area include: an entrance 21 / exit 22, two predetermined target points 201, 202, and three buildings 310, 320, 330. A path 200 can be calculated for the commercial vehicle, for example, to allow the vehicle to operate autonomously within the area.

[0028] Access control may be provided at the entrance 21 to ensure that only commercial vehicles 10 or vehicles that meet the requirements of the restricted area are allowed to enter the restricted area. The commercial vehicle 10 may, for example, be a vehicle as described in the Fig. 2 is shown. As part of the path 200, a path specification can be transmitted to the vehicle 10, from which the waypoints to be traveled are determined (e.g., at which positions and how to turn). The path 200 leads, for example, past various buildings 310, 320, 330, which can be detected by the sensor unit 12 of the commercial vehicle 10 with an environmental sensor system. The path 200 then leads, for example, to the two predetermined destination points 201, 202, which are, for example, docking stations at a warehouse building 310, where the commercial vehicle 10 docks, for example, to carry out loading and unloading activities.

[0029] The movement module 140 can also receive planning data to autonomously navigate the vehicle 10 to the various destination points 201, 202 where the planned actions are to be performed on the commercial vehicle. The movement module 140 can then autonomously navigate the vehicle 10 to the exit 22. The exit 22 can be the same point as the entrance 21, where the driver of the vehicle 10 can regain control of the vehicle 10 and manually drive the vehicle 10 out of the restricted area.

[0030] The system 100 may also include interfaces to the vehicle sensor unit 12 and to the vehicle actuators 14 to determine a state of the vehicle 10 and the surroundings (e.g., detection of buildings 320, 330, 310 or a relative orientation thereto) and to control the vehicle state based thereon, without requiring driver assistance. These interfaces may, for example, allow wireless communication.

[0031] The limited area shown is merely an example. The system 100 is particularly suitable for applications where high accuracy is required for the navigation of the vehicle 10 within a short period of time and where damage frequently occurs during manual operation of the commercial vehicles 10. It is precisely in such applications that the system 100 ensures the safe operation of the commercial vehicle 10. For example, these are other transport vehicles (a ferry, a railway, an aircraft, a road lorry, etc.) on which the commercial vehicle 10 is to be parked with high precision.

[0032] Embodiments of the present invention thus combine the autonomous operation of a vehicle on special, non-standardized or restricted areas, one of which is in the Fig. 3 is shown by way of example, with a localization function of the vehicle 10. As mentioned, the localization is carried out using the sensor unit 12. Using communication means 16 between the vehicle 10 and an infrastructure of the area, the cartographic data can be downloaded or necessary information can be obtained.

[0033] According to the invention, it is possible to determine the current vehicle position relative to a reference point (or an object) in order to determine the relative position of the vehicle. Advantageously, this position determination can be performed dynamically (time-dependent), thus also enabling tracking of a changing position of the vehicle. For this purpose, dynamic vehicle sensors such as a speedometer, a yaw rate sensor, a steering angle sensor, or similar sensors can be used, for example, to determine the movement away from the reference point.

[0034] The database with the maps of the area (see Fig. 3 ) may already be on the vehicle 10 or may be downloaded from an infrastructure in the restricted area. In addition to driving or lane information, the database also contains and provides to the vehicle a description of static objects such as buildings 310, 320, 330, bridges, overpasses, or other obstacles.

[0035] By using the vehicle position and the map database with the static object information, it is thus possible to include these objects in the surroundings of the vehicle 10 in an environment detection process, which, as mentioned, enables the reliability and accuracy of the vehicle localization within the area.

[0036] Knowledge of the static objects in the restricted area is particularly important when other localization systems, such as a GPS system, are unavailable or a corresponding signal cannot be received. Therefore, the static objects can be used to more accurately determine the position of the vehicle in the restricted area, independent of other positioning systems. The position, movement, or direction of movement of the vehicle can therefore be estimated more accurately – even if the commonly used signals are unavailable (for example, if the GPS device loses signal).

[0037] Fig. 4 shows a flowchart for a method for controlling a commercial vehicle in a restricted area. The method includes the following steps: Obtaining S110 information about the restricted area from a database, wherein the acquired information comprises cartographic data of objects in the restricted area; detecting S120 at least one object in the surroundings of the vehicle 10 using the sensor unit 12 of the commercial vehicle; and identifying S130 the at least one detected object in the cartographic information; and autonomously moving S140 the commercial vehicle 10 in the restricted area based on the identified objects

[0038] The method, or at least parts thereof, may also be computer-implemented, i.e., it may be implemented by instructions stored on a storage medium capable of executing the steps of the method when run on a processor. The instructions typically comprise one or more instructions, which may be stored in various ways on different media in or peripheral to a control unit (having a processor), which, when read and executed by the control unit, cause the control unit to perform functions, functionalities, and operations necessary to carry out a method according to the present invention.

[0039] The features of the invention disclosed in the description, the claims and the figures may be essential for the realization of the invention both individually and in any combination. LIST OF REFERENCE SYMBOLS

[0040] 10Commercial vehicle 12Vehicle sensor unit 14Vehicle actuators 16Radio module 21, 22Entry / exit 110Information acquisition module 120Detection module 130Identification module 140Movement module 310, 320, 330Building 201, 202, ...predetermined target points

Claims

1. System (100) for controlling commercial vehicles (10) in a restricted area, wherein the commercial vehicle (10) has a sensor unit (12) which is configured to detect objects in an environment of the commercial vehicle (10), and the commercial vehicle (10) has a communications module (16), and wherein the restricted area has an entrance (21), an exit (22) and a predetermined destination (201), and access to the restricted area is restricted for people, the system (100) comprises: an information acquisition module (110) for acquiring information from a database about the restricted area, wherein the acquired information comprises cartographic data on objects in the restricted area; characterized by a detection module (120) for detecting at least one object in the environment of the vehicle (10) using the sensor unit (12) of the commercial vehicle (10), wherein the at least one object may be a static or dynamic object, wherein a dynamic object is another vehicle whose position is known and is suitable for positioning, and static objects are roads, buildings and intersections; an identification module (130) for clearly identifying the at least one detected object in the cartographic data and for determining a relative position based on data from the sensor unit (12), wherein the identification module (130) is further configured to detect a reference point in an environment of the commercial vehicle (10) based on sensor data from the sensor unit (12) and to determine a position of the commercial vehicle (10) relative to the reference point, wherein the reference point comprises a marking on a road or on a building or a wall that has a known position; and a movement module (140) which is configured to enable autonomous movement of the commercial vehicle (10) in the restricted area, based on the at least one identified object, and to determine a position of the commercial vehicle (10) during the autonomous movement based on the cartographic data from the database and based on the at least one identified object, even if other localization systems such as a global positioning system are not available, and wherein the commercial vehicle (10) is to be moved autonomously from the entrance (21) to the predetermined destination (201) and autonomously from the predetermined destination (201) to the exit (22), wherein the system (100) is further configured to use the communications module (16) to connect the commercial vehicle (10) to a management system of the restricted area, in order to obtain data from there for a path (200) to be traveled, from which waypoints to be departed from are derived.

2. System (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that the sensor module or the sensor unit (12) has at least one of the following components: a differential or global positioning system, a camera, a radar, a laser scanner, a wireless communications interface or a mobile radio module.

3. System (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the commercial vehicle (10) has at least one dynamic vehicle sensor which is configured to determine a speed and / or direction change of the commercial vehicle (10), characterized in that the movement module (140) is configured to determine, based on sensor data from the at least one dynamic vehicle sensor, at least one change in position relative to a previously detected position in order to enable tracking of a movement path (200).

4. System (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the information acquisition module (110) is configured to store the cartographic data in the commercial vehicle (10).

5. System (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the commercial vehicle (10) has a radio unit (16), characterized in that the information acquisition module (110) is configured to contact the database wirelessly via the radio unit (16) in order to transmit the information wirelessly.

6. Commercial vehicle (10), characterized by: - a system (100) according to any one of the preceding claims; and - vehicle actuators (14), wherein the movement module (140) is configured to move the commercial vehicle (10) by controlling the vehicle actuators (14).

7. Method for controlling commercial vehicles (10) in a restricted area, wherein the commercial vehicle (10) has a sensor unit (12) which is configured to detect objects in an environment of the commercial vehicle (10), and the commercial vehicle (10) has a communications module (16), and wherein the restricted area has an entrance (21), an exit (22) and a predetermined destination (201), and access to the restricted area is restricted for people, comprising: - obtaining (S110) information about the restricted area from a database, wherein the obtained information comprises cartographic data on objects in the restricted area; characterized by - detecting (S120) at least one object in the environment of the vehicle (10) using the sensor unit (12) of the commercial vehicle (10); - identifying (S130) the at least one detected object in the cartographic data, wherein the at least one object may be a static or dynamic object, wherein a dynamic object is another vehicle whose position is known and is suitable for positioning, and static objects are roads, buildings and intersections; - autonomously moving (S140) the commercial vehicle (10) in the restricted area based on the at least one identified object; - determining a position of the commercial vehicle (10) during autonomous movement based on the cartographic data from the database and based on the at least one identified object, even if other localization systems such as a global positioning system are not available, wherein the determination comprises determining a relative position based on data from the sensor unit (12), wherein, further based on sensor data from the sensor unit (12), a reference point in an environment of the commercial vehicle (10) is detected and a position of the commercial vehicle (10) relative to the reference point is determined, and the reference point comprises a marking on a road or on a building or a wall that has a known position; and - autonomously moving the commercial vehicle (10) from the entrance (21) to the predetermined destination (201) and from the predetermined destination (201) to the exit (22), wherein the communications module (16) is used to connect the commercial vehicle (10) to a management system of the restricted area and to receive data from there for a path (200) to be traveled on, from which waypoints to be departed from are derived.

8. Computer program product with software stored thereon, which is configured to execute the method according to claim 7 when the software is executed on a data processing unit.