DEVICE AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING A SECURITY STRATEGY IN A VEHICLE

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] The present application claims priority to and the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2019-0013932, filed on February 1, 2019, which claims priority to and the benefit of US Patent Application No. 62 / 655,831, filed on April 11, 2018.TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for providing a strategy for the maintenance of safety depending on the occurrence of an event.BACKGROUND

[0003] The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present invention and may not constitute prior art.

[0004] With the development of the auto industry, an autonomous system and a driving assistance system which facilitates partially autonomous driving (hereinafter, for convenience of description, both of autonomous driving and driving assistance are referred to as "autonomous driving") have been developed. The autonomous system may provide a variety of functions, for example, setting speed keeping, vehicle-to-vehicle distance keeping, lane keeping, and a lane change. The autonomous system may perform autonomous driving using various devices such as a sensor for sensing environments outside the vehicle, a sensor for sensing information about the vehicle, a global positioning system (GPS), a detailed map, a driver state monitoring system, a steering actuator, an acceleration / deceleration actuator, a communication circuit, and a control circuit (e.g., an electronic control unit (ECU)). The autonomous system may detect a critical situation and may provide a minimum risk maneuver (MRM) when sensing the critical situation.

[0005] The above-mentioned MRM may include, for example, stopping control in a driving lane, stopping control in a shoulder, or the like. When there is no shoulder in a road, the stopping control in the driving lane may put another surrounding vehicle as well as the vehicle in danger. Thus, when there is no space to safely stop, for example, a shoulder in the road, there is a need for providing a strategy for safe stopping control.

[0006] US 2018 / 0091085 A1 discloses an information presentation device, mounted on a vehicle for which automatic evacuation control functions when it is difficult for a driver to continue driving the vehicle, and presenting information to an occupant of the vehicle except the driver by a display in a display area that is visually recognizable by the occupant. The device includes: an operation information acquisition unit that acquires operation information of the automatic evacuation control; and a display generation unit that generates an occupant notification display that is displayed in the display area to notify information relating to the automatic evacuation control when the automatic evacuation control is in operation. The occupant notification display includes: an explanatory image that shows an explanation of a process executed currently; and a progress image that indicates a degree of progress in the automatic evacuation control.

[0007] US 2015 / 0006012 A1 discloses a method for safely parking a vehicle, in which it is checked whether an emergency situation is present, and the vehicle is driven by the driver assistance system to a road shoulder upon recognition of an emergency situation. In controlling the driving operation, information is requested from an external database and taken into account by the driver assistance system.

[0008] EP 2657 921 A1 discloses a method for performing a secured emergency stop maneuver of a moving motor vehicle including monitoring the driver of the motor vehicle to generate driver status data, determining the driver's fitness to drive from the driver status data, transferring the vehicle to an automatic driving mode if the driver's ability to drive falls below a specified threshold and executing a secured emergency stop maneuver. A minimum-risk stop position for the emergency stop of the vehicle is determined from predictive route data of the future route of the motor vehicle, the minimal risk stopping position is approached with the automatic riving mode, and the secured emergency stop maneuver is executed in the minimum risk stop position.

[0009] US 2017 / 0108865 A1 discloses a method for generating a signal for transferring a partly or highly automated vehicle into a safe system state at a target site. First, a need to transfer the vehicle into a safe system state is ascertained. A vehicle state is then determined, the vehicle state encompassing the current vehicle position. At least one target site is ascertained. Travel trajectories are ascertained from the current vehicle position to the at least one target site. The travel trajectories are related. One of the travel trajectories is selected based on the rating that has been carried out. A signal is generated on the basis of the selected travel trajectory.

[0010] US 2016 / 0297431 A1 discloses a method for safely parking a vehicle, wherein after identifying an emergency situation of the motor vehicle, an emergency stopping position region is selected from a digital map, and the vehicle is parked within the emergency stopping position region by an automatic driving function. The method includes registering the surroundings, determining stationary objects and conditions in the vicinity of the vehicle within the selected emergency stopping position region, checking the conditions in the vicinity of the vehicle and the stationary objects within the emergency stopping position region regarding parking the vehicle in an optimized manner and determining an optimized emergency stopping position within the emergency stopping position region, and parking the vehicle at the optimized emergency stopping position within the emergency stopping position region using the automatic driving function.

[0011] US 2015 / 0019063 A1 discloses an environment monitor having a plurality of sensors for detecting predetermined safety risks associated with a plurality of potential destination regions around a vehicle as the vehicle moves over a roadway. The environment monitor selects one of the potential destination regions having a substantially lowest safety risk as a target area. A path determination unit assembles a plurality of plausible paths between the vehicle and the target area, monitors predetermined safety risks associated with the plurality of plausible paths, and selects one of the plausible paths having a substantially lowest safety risk as a target path. An impact detector detects an impact between the vehicle and another object. A stability control is configured to autonomously steer the vehicle onto the target path when the impact is detected.

[0012] EP 2 314 490 A1 discloses a method for controlling the operation of a fully automatic driver assistance system of a motor vehicle for independent vehicle guidance and motor vehicle. The method involves transferring the motor vehicle from a takeover condition to a safe condition and the driving interference or a request for driver assumption determines plan of action, which contains temporal operational sequence of control commands of vehicle systems.

[0013] US 2015 / 0094899 A1 discloses a driver assistance system of a vehicle where the driver assistance system is able to control the vehicle at least partially automatically, a method alerts the driver to retake control of the vehicle from the driver assistance system based on the distance between the current location of the vehicle and an end of the autopilot capable route section: an end of an autopilot route section in a route planned for the vehicle is determined and distance information is determined between a current position of the vehicle and the end of the autopilot route section, and the distance information is compared to a first and a second threshold value, and a first or a second indication is output as a function thereof.

[0014] US 2018 / 0088574 A1 discloses a control system that is operable to control a vehicle in an autonomous or semi-autonomous mode includes a processor that processes data captured by a plurality of exterior sensing sensors: when the control system is operating in the autonomous or semi-autonomous mode and responsive to a determination of an upcoming event that requires the system to hand over control of the vehicle to a driver before the vehicle encounters the event, the control determines (i) a total action time until the vehicle encounters the event, (ii) an estimated time for the driver to take over control and (iii) an estimated handling time for the vehicle to be controlled before the vehicle encounters the event. Responsive to the determinations, this control system (i) allows the driver to take over control of the vehicle or (ii) controls the vehicle to slow down and stop the vehicle before the vehicle encounters the event.

[0015] EP 3 075 618 A2 discloses a vehicle control apparatus including a departure margin time computation unit configured to compute a departure margin time until the vehicle departs from the running lane within a previously set steering control range and vehicle speed control range, a hand-release duration time measurement unit configured to measure a hand-release duration time, a driving return time estimation unit configured to estimate a driving return time until the driver in the hand-release state returns to driving operation, based on the hand-release duration time, and a control unit configured to output an alarm to the driver when a difference resulting from subtracting the driving return time from the departure margin time is less than or equal to a first threshold.SUMMARY

[0016] An aspect of the present invention provides an apparatus and method for enhancing safety of a minimum risk strategy (MRM).

[0017] The technical problems to be solved by the present inventive concept are not limited to the aforementioned problems, and any other technical problems not mentioned herein will be clearly understood from the following description by those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains.

[0018] In some forms of the present disclosure, the present invention provides an apparatus for providing a safety strategy in a vehicle, in accordance with claim 1.

[0019] In some forms of the present disclosure, the control circuit may be configured to perform stopping control or deceleration control according to the MRM.

[0020] In some forms of the present disclosure, the control circuit may be configured to control the vehicle to be adjacent to one end of the road while executing the MRM, when the driving lane is neighboring to the one end of the road.

[0021] In some forms of the present disclosure, the control circuit may be configured to perform a lane change to a lane neighboring to one end of the road, when the driving lane is not neighboring to the one end of the road and control the vehicle to be adjacent to the one end of the road, the one end being neighboring to the changed lane, while executing the MRM.

[0022] In some forms of the present disclosure, the control circuit may be configured to perform a lane change to a lane close to the driving lane between a lane neighboring to a left end of the road or a lane neighboring to a right end of the road.

[0023] In some forms of the present disclosure, the control circuit may be configured to perform a lane change to a lane capable of being changed within a specified time between a lane neighboring to a left end of the road or a lane neighboring to a right end of the road.

[0024] In some forms of the present disclosure, the control circuit may be configured to control the vehicle to be located on the center of the driving lane while executing the MRM, when the driving lane is not neighboring to one end of the road.

[0025] In some forms of the present disclosure, the control circuit may be configured to control the vehicle to be located on the center of the driving lane, when it is impossible to perform a lane change within a specified time.

[0026] In some forms of the present disclosure, the control circuit may be configured to control the vehicle to move to a shoulder while executing the MRM, when the shoulder is included in the road.

[0027] In some forms of the present disclosure, the control circuit may be configured to control the vehicle to move to the shoulder, when it is possible to perform a lane change to the shoulder within a specified time.

[0028] In some forms of the present disclosure, the present invention provides a method for providing a safety strategy in a vehicle, in accordance with claim 11.

[0029] In some forms of the present disclosure, the controlling may include performing stopping control or deceleration control according to the MRM.

[0030] In some forms of the present disclosure, the controlling may include controlling the vehicle to be adjacent to one end of the road while executing the MRM, when the driving lane is neighboring to the one end of the road.

[0031] In some forms of the present disclosure, the controlling may include performing a lane change to a lane neighboring to one end of the road, when the driving lane is not neighboring to the one end of the road and controlling the vehicle to be adjacent to the one end of the road, the one end being neighboring to the changed lane, while executing the MRM.

[0032] In some forms of the present disclosure, the controlling may include controlling the vehicle to be located on the center of the driving lane while executing the MRM, when the driving lane is not neighboring to one end of the road.

[0033] Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. It should be understood that the description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure, as defined by the appended claims.DRAWINGS

[0034] In order that the disclosure may be well understood, there will now be described various forms thereof, given by way of example, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an apparatus for providing a safety strategy in a vehicle in one form of the present disclosure; FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an apparatus for providing a safety strategy in a vehicle in one form of the present disclosure; FIG. 3 is a drawing illustrating an exemplary operation of an apparatus for providing a safety strategy in a vehicle in one form of the present disclosure; FIG. 4 is a drawing illustrating an exemplary operation of an apparatus for providing a safety strategy in a vehicle in one form of the present disclosure; FIG. 5 is a drawing illustrating an exemplary operation of an apparatus for providing a safety strategy in a vehicle in one form of the present disclosure; FIG. 6 is a drawing illustrating an exemplary operation of an apparatus for providing a safety strategy in a vehicle in one form of the present disclosure; FIG. 7 is a drawing illustrating an exemplary operation of an apparatus for providing a safety strategy in a vehicle in one form of the present disclosure; FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a method for providing a safety strategy in a vehicle in one form of the present disclosure; and FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a computing system in one form of the present disclosure.

[0035] The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses. It should be understood that throughout the drawings, corresponding reference numerals indicate like or corresponding parts and features.

[0037] In describing elements of some forms of the present disclosure, the terms 1 st< , 2 nd< , first, second, A, B, (a), (b), and the like may be used herein. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another element, but do not limit the corresponding elements irrespective of the nature, turn, or order of the corresponding elements. Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meanings as those generally understood by those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains. Such terms as those defined in a generally used dictionary are to be interpreted as having meanings equal to the contextual meanings in the relevant field of art, and are not to be interpreted as having ideal or excessively formal meanings unless clearly defined as having such in the present application.

[0038] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an apparatus for providing a safety strategy in a vehicle in some forms of the present disclosure.

[0039] Referring to FIG. 1, an apparatus 100 for providing a safety strategy in a vehicle in some forms of the present disclosure may include a sensor 110, a steering device 120, an acceleration device 130, a deceleration device 140, and a control circuit 150. The apparatus 100 for providing the safety strategy in FIG. 1 may be a portion of an autonomous system and may be loaded into the vehicle.

[0040] The sensor 110 may be configured to sense information about the outside and inside of the vehicle. For example, the sensor 110 may be configured to sense information about an external object. The sensor 110 may include a radar, a light detection and ranging (LiDAR), a camera, and the like, for sensing an environment outside the vehicle. For another example, the sensor 110 may include a wheel speed sensor, a yaw rate sensor, an acceleration sensor, a torque sensor, and the like, for sensing a state of the vehicle.

[0041] The steering device 120 may be configured to control a steering angle of the vehicle. The steering device 120 may include, for example, a steering wheel, an actuator interlocked with the steering wheel, and a controller for controlling the actuator and may be controlled by a driver of the vehicle and / or the autonomous system.

[0042] The acceleration device 130 may be configured to control acceleration of the vehicle. The acceleration device 130 may include, for example, a throttle, an actuator interlocked with the throttle, and a controller for controlling the actuator and may be controlled by the driver and / or the autonomous system.

[0043] The deceleration device 140 may be configured to control deceleration of the vehicle. The deceleration device 140 may include, for example, a brake, an actuator interlocked with the brake, and a controller for controlling the actuator and may be controlled by the driver and / or the autonomous system.

[0044] The control circuit 150 may be electrically connected with the sensor 110, the steering device 120, the acceleration device 130, and the deceleration device 140. The control circuit 150 may control the sensor 110, the steering device 120, the acceleration device 130, and the deceleration device 140, and may perform a variety of data processing and various arithmetic operations. The control circuit 150 may be, for example, an electronic control unit (ECU), a micro controller unit (MCU), or a sub-controller, which is loaded into the vehicle.

[0045] In some forms of the present disclosure, when a predetermined condition is met, the control circuit 150 may initiate a minimum risk maneuver (MRM). For example, after a transition demand (TD) occurs, when control authority is not handed over or when an emergency critical situation is detected, the control circuit 150 may execute the MRM. The control circuit 150 may perform stopping control or deceleration control according to a predetermined MRM.

[0046] In some forms of the present disclosure, the control circuit 150 may determine a lateral location of the vehicle based on information obtained by the sensor 110 and a location of a driving lane of the vehicle in a road. The control circuit 150 may obtain information about an external object using the sensor 110. The control circuit 150 may obtain information about whether a lane where the vehicle is located is an nth lane in a road on which the vehicle is traveling. When executing an MRM based on the information, the control circuit 150 may determine a target lateral location of the vehicle. For example, the control circuit 150 may determine the target lateral location as a location adjacent to a left or right end of the driving lane or the center of the driving lane. The control circuit 150 may control the vehicle to move to the determined lateral location while executing the MRM. After moving the vehicle to the determined lateral location, the control circuit 150 may perform stopping control or deceleration control.

[0047] In some forms of the present disclosure, while the driving lane is neighboring to one end of the road on which the vehicle is traveling, the control circuit 150 may control the vehicle to be adjacent to the one end of the road while executing an MRM. When the driving lane is not neighboring to the one end of the road, the control circuit 150 may perform a lane change to a lane neighboring to the one end of the road and may control the vehicle to be adjacent to the one end of the road neighboring to the changed lane. For example, the control circuit 150 may perform a lane change to a lane close to the driving lane between a lane neighboring to the left end of the road or a lane neighboring to the right end of the road. For another example, the control circuit 150 may perform a lane change to a lane capable of being changed within a specified time between the lane neighboring to the left end of the road or the lane neighboring to the right end of the road. For another example, the control circuit 150 may perform a lane change to a lane in a predetermined direction between the lane neighboring to the left end of the road or the lane neighboring to the right end of the road. After performing the lane change, the control circuit 150 may control the vehicle to be adjacent to the one end of the road.

[0048] When a shoulder is not included in the road on which the vehicle is traveling, the vehicle may be stopped as close to a road edge as possible by calculating a distance from an outermost lane to the road edge, without stopping at the lane center. Thus, a remote vehicle may be easy to avoid the stopped vehicle to reduce a risk of collision.

[0049] In some forms of the present disclosure, when the driving lane is not neighboring to one end of the road, the control circuit 150 may control the vehicle to be located on the center of the driving lane while executing an MRM. For example, when it is impossible to perform a lane change within a specified time (when a risk of collision is high upon a lane change), the control circuit 150 may control the vehicle to be located on the center of the driving lane without performing the lane change.

[0050] In some forms of the present disclosure, when a shoulder is included in the road, the control circuit 150 may control the vehicle to move to the shoulder while executing an MRM. For example, when it is possible to perform a lane change to the shoulder within a specified time (when there is no risk of collision upon a lane change), the control circuit 150 may control the vehicle to move to the shoulder. After the vehicle moves to the shoulder, the control circuit 150 may perform stopping control or deceleration control.

[0051] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an apparatus for providing a safety strategy in a vehicle in some forms of the present disclosure.

[0052] Referring to FIG. 2, the apparatus for providing the safety strategy in some forms of the present disclosure may include an external situation recognizing device 230, a driving risk determining device 240, a transition demand (TD) device 250, an MRM determining device 260, an MRM path generator 270, a driving controller 280, and a display controller 290. The apparatus for providing the safety strategy may determine a driving risk situation and may provide an MRM suitable for the situation.

[0053] The external situation recognizing device 230 may obtain information (e.g., a location, a speed, acceleration, an expected trajectory, and the like) about a static object, such as a structure, a guiderail, and a stopped object, and a moving object, such as an external vehicle, using a sensor 220. The external situation recognizing device 230 may obtain information about a road on which the vehicle is currently traveling (e.g., a type of the road, whether there is a shoulder, and the like), based on a map database (DB) 210.

[0054] The driving risk determining device 240 may expect a probability of collision with the static object or the moving object and a departure from an operational design domain (ODD) of autonomous control. The driving risk determining device 240 may recognize an event (e.g., a collision with the static object, a collision with the moving object, a departure from the ODD, or the like) based on the expectation and may predict a time when the event occurs, a location where the event occurs, and the like.

[0055] The TD device 250 may provide a TD to a driver of the vehicle. The TD may be changed according to a type of the event and over a time remaining until the event occurs. For example, a type of the TD (e.g., a visual notification, an audible notification, an emergency call, and the like) may be changed, and strength of the TD may be adjusted.

[0056] The MRM determining device 260 may determine an MRM suitable for a current situation. The MRM may include constant-speed driving after deceleration, stopping in a driving lane, stopping after a lane change, and the like. The MRM determining device 260 may select an MRM suitable for the current situation among various types of MRMs. When the constant-speed driving is selected, the MRM determining device 260 may calculate a final speed. For example, the MRM determining device 260 may determine whether the detected event is an event capable of performing low-speed driving (e.g., a departure from an ODD, or the like). When the detected event is the event capable of performing the low-speed driving, the MRM determining device 260 may select a strategy for constant-speed driving after deceleration. When there is a shoulder in a road on which the vehicle is traveling, the MRM determining device 260 may determine whether it is possible to perform a lane change to the shoulder. When it is possible to perform the lane change to the shoulder, the MRM determining device 260 may select a strategy for stopping in the shoulder. When there is no shoulder in the road, the MRM determining device 260 may select a strategy for stopping in a lane. When there is no shoulder in the road, the MRM determining device 260 may select the strategy for stopping in the lane and may control the vehicle to stop on a location adjacent to an edge of the road.

[0057] The MRM path generator 270 may generate a driving path according to the determined MRM. The MRM path generator 270 may output a location where the vehicle is traveling, a heading angle of the vehicle, and a speed of the vehicle. For example, when the strategy for stopping in the shoulder is selected, the MRM path generator 270 may determine whether it is possible to perform a lane change to the shoulder before an event occurs. When it is possible to perform the lane change to the shoulder, the MRM path generator 270 may generate a driving path for stopping after performing the lane change to the shoulder. When it is impossible to perform the lane change to the shoulder, the MRM path generator 270 may perform stopping control in a driving lane. For another example, when the strategy for stopping in the lane is selected, the MRM path generator 270 may calculate a target lateral location adjacent to a road edge when a current lane is a first lane or a final lane and may generate a driving path for stopping in the target lateral location. When the current lane does not correspond to the first lane or the final lane, the MRM path generator 270 may generate a driving path for stopping on the center of a driving lane.

[0058] The driving controller 280 may control a behavior of the vehicle by operating an actuator285. The driving controller 280 may control the vehicle depending on the generated path.

[0059] The display controller 290 may provide visual information to the driver through a cluster 295.

[0060] FIG. 3 is a drawing illustrating an exemplary operation of an apparatus for providing a safety strategy in a vehicle in some forms of the present disclosure.

[0061] Referring to FIG. 3, a vehicle 310 in some forms of the present disclosure may be traveling on a lane adjacent to a right end of a road. The vehicle 310 may perform autonomous control using an autonomous system. While performing the autonomous control, the vehicle 310 may detect an event for requiring to hand over control authority. The vehicle 310 may request its driver to hand over control authority. When the driver does not take over the control authority, the vehicle 310 may initiate an MRM. When the vehicle 310 is traveling on the lane adjacent to the right end of the road, it may execute a strategy for stopping on a location adjacent to the right end of the road. For example, the vehicle 310 may stop on a location away from the right end of the road at a specified distance TBD. Thus, although the vehicle 310 stops, a following vehicle may easily avoid the stopped vehicle 310.

[0062] FIG. 4 is a drawing illustrating an exemplary operation of an apparatus for providing a safety strategy in a vehicle in some forms of the present disclosure.

[0063] Referring to FIG. 4, a vehicle 410 in some forms of the present disclosure may calculate a target lateral location d Target in consideration of a current lateral location d LatOffset of the vehicle 410 from the center of a driving lane, a width d LaneWidth of the driving lane, a distance d Line2RoadEdege between a line and a road edge, a width W Ego of the vehicle 410, a safety distance d margin , and the like. An exemplary equation for calculating the target lateral location d Target is Equation 1 below. d T arg et = d LatO ffset + d LaneW idth 2 + d Line 2 RoadEdge − W Ego 2 − d m arg in

[0064] The vehicle 410 may calculate a path for moving from the current lateral location d LatOffset to the target lateral location d Target in a lateral direction. The path may be calculated as, for example, a cubic plane curve which connects the current lateral location d LatOffset with the target lateral location d Target . The vehicle 410 may control itself along the calculated path.

[0065] FIG. 5 is a drawing illustrating an exemplary operation of an apparatus for providing a safety strategy in a vehicle in some forms of the present disclosure.

[0066] Referring to FIG. 5, a vehicle 510 in some forms of the present disclosure may be traveling on a lane adjacent to a left end of a road. The vehicle 510 may perform autonomous control using an autonomous system. While performing the autonomous control, the vehicle 510 may detect an event for requiring to hand over control authority. The vehicle 510 may request its driver to hand over control authority. When the driver does not take over the control authority, the vehicle 510 may initiate an MRM. When the vehicle 510 is traveling on the lane adjacent to the left end of the road, it may execute a strategy for stopping on a location adjacent to the left end of the road. For example, the vehicle 510 may stop on a location away from the left end of the road at a specified distance. Meanwhile, the vehicle 510 may detect an external object 520. It may be difficult to perform a lane change to a right lane due to the external object 520. Thus, the vehicle 510 may execute a strategy for stopping on the location adjacent to the left end of the road without moving to a right end of the road.

[0067] FIG. 6 is a drawing illustrating an exemplary operation of an apparatus for providing a safety strategy in a vehicle in some forms of the present disclosure.

[0068] Referring to FIG. 6, a vehicle 610 in some forms of the present disclosure may be traveling on the center of a lane of a road. The vehicle 610 may perform autonomous control using its autonomous system. While performing the autonomous control, the vehicle 610 may detect an event for requiring to hand over control authority. The vehicle 610 may request its driver to hand over control authority. When the driver does not take over the control authority, the vehicle 610 may initiate an MRM. When the vehicle 610 is traveling on the center of the lane of the road, it may execute a strategy for stopping or decelerating in a driving lane. Meanwhile, the vehicle 610 may detect an external object 620. It may be difficult to perform a lane change to a right lane due to the external object 620 although there is a shoulder in the lane. Thus, the vehicle 610 may execute a strategy for stopping in the driving lane without moving to the right lane.

[0069] FIG. 7 is a drawing illustrating an exemplary operation of an apparatus for providing a safety strategy in a vehicle in some forms of the present disclosure.

[0070] Referring to FIG. 7, a vehicle 710 in some forms of the present disclosure may be traveling on a lane adjacent to a right end of a road. The vehicle 710 may initiate an MRM. When a road on which the vehicle 710 is traveling includes a shoulder, the vehicle 710 may execute a strategy for stopping in the shoulder included in the road. For example, the vehicle 710 may execute a strategy for performing a lane change to the shoulder and stopping in the shoulder.

[0071] FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a method for providing a safety strategy in a vehicle in some forms of the present disclosure.

[0072] Hereinafter, it is assumed that a vehicle including an apparatus 100 for providing a safety strategy in FIG. 1 performs a process of FIG. 8. Furthermore, in a description of FIG. 8, an operation described as being performed by the vehicle may be understood as being controlled by a control circuit 150 of the apparatus 100 for providing the safety strategy.

[0073] Referring to FIG. 8, in operation 810, the vehicle may initiate an MRM. For example, while the vehicle performs autonomous control, when an event for control authority transition occurs and when a driver of the vehicle does not take over control authority, the vehicle may execute the MRM.

[0074] In operation 820, the vehicle may determine its lateral location based on sensor information and a location of a driving lane of the vehicle in a road. For example, the vehicle may determine a target lateral location of the MRM in consideration of information about an external object, information about the road, and information about its current location. The target lateral location may be, for example, the center of a driving lane, a shoulder, or a location adjacent to a road edge.

[0075] In operation 830, while executing the MRM, the vehicle may control itself to move to the determined lateral location. For example, the vehicle may move to the location adjacent to the road edge and may perform stopping or deceleration control. For another example, the vehicle may perform stopping or deceleration control on the center of the lane. For another example, the vehicle may move to the shoulder and may perform stopping or deceleration control.

[0076] FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a computing system in some forms of the present disclosure.

[0077] Referring to FIG. 9, a computing system 1000 may include at least one processor 1100, a memory 1300, a user interface input device 1400, a user interface output device 1500, a storage 1600, and a network interface 1700, which are connected with each other via a bus 1200.

[0078] The processor 1100 may be a central processing unit (CPU) or a semiconductor device for performing processing of instructions stored in the memory 1300 and / or the storage 1600. Each of the memory 1300 and the storage 1600 may include various types of volatile or non-volatile storage media. For example, the memory 1300 may include a read only memory (ROM) and a random access memory (RAM).

[0079] Thus, the operations of the methods or algorithms described in some forms of the present disclosure disclosed in the specification may be directly implemented with a hardware module, a software module, or combinations thereof, executed by the processor 1100. The software module may reside on a storage medium (i.e., the memory 1300 and / or the storage 1600) such as a RAM, a flash memory, a ROM, an erasable and programmable ROM (EPROM), an electrically EPROM (EEPROM), a register, a hard disc, a removable disc, or a compact disc-ROM (CD-ROM). An exemplary storage medium may be coupled to the processor 1100. The processor 1100 may read out information from the storage medium and may write information in the storage medium. Alternatively, the storage medium may be integrated with the processor 1100. The processor and storage medium may reside in an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The ASIC may reside in a user terminal. Alternatively, the processor and storage medium may reside as a separate component of the user terminal.

[0080] The apparatus for providing the safety strategy in the vehicle in some forms of the present invention may enhance the safety of the vehicle in a relationship between the vehicle and a surrounding vehicle upon stopping or deceleration control by determining a target lateral location of the vehicle when executing an MRM based on sensor information and location information of the vehicle.

[0081] In addition, various effects directly or indirectly ascertained through the present invention may be provided.

Claims

1. An apparatus for providing a safety strategy (100) in a vehicle, the apparatus (100) comprising: a sensor (110) configured to sense information about an external object; and a control circuit (150) electrically connected with the sensor (110) and configured to: initiate a minimum risk strategy, MRM, when control authority is not handed over after transition demand occurs; determine a lateral location of the vehicle based on the sensed information and a location of a driving lane of the vehicle on a road; and move the vehicle to the determined lateral location during an execution of the MRM, characterized in that the control circuit determines the lateral location in consideration of a distance from an outermost lane of the road to an edge of the road.

2. The apparatus (100) of claim 1, wherein the control circuit (150) is configured to: stop or decelerate the vehicle based on the MRM.

3. The apparatus (100) of claim 1 or 2, wherein the control circuit (150) is configured to: move the vehicle adjacent to one end of the road during the execution of the MRM when the driving lane is adjoining to the one end of the road.

4. The apparatus (100) of claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the control circuit (150) is configured to: perform a lane change to a lane adjoining to the one end of the road when the driving lane is not adjoining to the one end of the road; and move the vehicle adjacent to the one end of the road that is adjoining to the changed lane during the execution of the MRM.

5. The apparatus (100) of claim 4, wherein the control circuit (150) is configured to: perform the lane change to either a lane adjoining to a left end of the road or a lane adjoining to a right end of the road such that the changed lane is close to the driving lane.

6. The apparatus (100) of claim 4, wherein the control circuit (150) is configured to: perform the lane change to either the lane adjoining to the left end of the road or the lane adjoining to the right end of the road within a predetermined amount of time.

7. The apparatus (100) of one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the control circuit (150) is configured to: move the vehicle to a center of the driving lane during the execution of the MRM when the driving lane is not adjoining to the one end of the road.

8. The apparatus (100) of claim 7, wherein the control circuit (150) is configured to: move the vehicle to the center of the driving lane when performing the lane change within the predetermined amount of time is not possible.

9. The apparatus (100) of one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the control circuit (150) is configured to: move the vehicle to a shoulder during the execution of the MRM when the shoulder is included in the road.

10. The apparatus (100) of claim 9, wherein the control circuit (150) is configured to: move the vehicle to the shoulder when performing the lane change to the shoulder within the predetermined amount of time is possible.

11. A method for providing a safety strategy in a vehicle, the method comprising: when control authority is not handed over after a transition demand occurs, initiating, with a control circuit (150), a minimum risk strategy, MRM; determining, with the control circuit (150), a lateral location of the vehicle based on sense information about an external object and a location of a driving lane of the vehicle on a road; and moving, with the control circuit (150), the vehicle to the determined lateral location during an execution of the MRM, characterized in that the determining the lateral location of the vehicle comprises determining, with the control circuit, the lateral location in consideration of a distance from an outermost lane of the road to an edge of the road.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein moving the vehicle comprises: stopping or deceleration, with the control circuit (150), the vehicle based on the MRM.

13. The method of claim 11 or 12, wherein moving the vehicle comprises: moving, with the control circuit (150), the vehicle adjacent to one end of the road during the execution of the MRM when the driving lane is adjoining to the one end of the road.

14. The method of claim 11 or 12, wherein moving the vehicle comprises: when the driving lane is not adjoining to the one end of the road, performing, with the control circuit (150), a lane change to a lane adjoining to the one end of the road; and moving, with the control circuit (150), the vehicle adjacent to the one end of the road that is adjoining to the changed lane during the execution of the MRM.

15. The method of claim 11 or 12, wherein moving the vehicle comprises: when the driving lane is not adjoining to the one end of the road, moving, with the control circuit (150), the vehicle to a center of the driving lane during the execution of the MRM.