Controlling an automatic door opening system of a motor vehicle

Abstract

For controlling an automatic door opening system (12) of a motor vehicle (1), first sensor data is received from a first environmental sensor system (4, 5, 6, 7, 8) while driving to a target location and first object information concerning potential objects in a potential collision region (14) is determined based on the first sensor data and stored to a memory device. Second sensor data is received from a second environmental sensor system (2), wherein a field of view of the second environmental sensor system (2) covers a part of the potential collision region (14). The first object information is read from the memory device, and it is verified whether an obstacle is present in the potential collision region (14) depending on the first object information and the second sensor data. A control signal to open a door (13) automatically is generated depending on a result of the verification.

Description

[0001] Controlling an automatic door opening system of a motor vehicle

[0002] The present invention is directed to a computer-implemented method for controlling an automatic door opening system of a motor vehicle. The invention is further directed to a corresponding data processing apparatus for an automatic door opening system of a motor vehicle and to an automatic door opening system for a motor vehicle comprising such a data processing apparatus. The invention is further directed to a motor vehicle comprising such an automatic door opening system and to corresponding computer program products.

[0003] Parking assistant systems for motor vehicles are known, wherein environmental sensor systems, such as ultrasonic sensors or cameras, measure the potential parking space when the motor vehicle passes the parking space and uses the perceived information regarding the environment when controlling a parking procedure, for example for trajectory planning or maneuver planning. Such environmental sensor systems may for example be mounted at the front end or rear end of the motor vehicle and / or on the sides of the motor vehicle. In case of ultrasonic sensors, they may for example be integrated into a fender or bumper of the motor vehicle.

[0004] On the other hand, automatic door opening systems for motor vehicles are known, wherein a user can for example trigger the opening of a side door remotely and the motor vehicle controls corresponding actuators to open the door automatically. For such automatic door opening systems it is also known to use environmental sensor systems, for example ultrasonic sensor systems, which are arranged in the immediate environment of the door, to detect potential obstacles in the pivot region of the door and for example block the automatic door opening in case an obstacle is observed.

[0005] Document US 9,348,025 B2 describes a method for lateral environment detection of a motor vehicle. A motor vehicle is described, which comprises environmental sensors for parking space monitoring and additional environmental sensors for door protection. Both, a parking support device and a door protection device can operate at least one of their assigned environmental sensors, when the operating frequency, at which the parking support device operates its environmental sensors, is selected differently from the frequency, at which the door protection device operates its environmental sensors. Both operating frequencies are detuned with respect to the resonance frequency of the environmental sensors. In this way, it can be achieved to implement environmental detection for the parking support device and the door protection device with the same set of sensors simultaneously on the same side of the motor vehicle.

[0006] Potential obstacles in the pivot region of the door may, however, be located very close to the door after parking. Consequently, the obstacle may be located or partly in a blind spot or blind region of the environmental sensors usable for the door protection. Such blind spots or blind regions may for example arise due to limitations regarding the placement of the environmental sensors on the side of the vehicle. For example, the door itself may be kept free of environmental sensors such as ultrasonic sensors due to aesthetic reasons. Consequently, the reliability of the door protection for the automatic door opening system is reduced. On the other hand, a restrictive handling of edge cases to improve the reliability of the door protection may lead to false positive obstacle detections and, consequently, to a reduced availability of the automatic door opening functionality.

[0007] It is an objective of the present invention to improve the reliability of a door protection for an automatic door opening system of a motor vehicle and / or the availability of the automatic door opening functionality.

[0008] This objective is achieved by the respective subject matter of the independent claims. Further implementations and preferred embodiments are subject matter of the dependent claims.

[0009] The invention is based on the idea to use, on the one hand, first sensor data from a first environmental sensor system while the motor vehicle is driving to a target location, in order to determine information regarding potential objects in a potential collision region of the door, and store this information to a memory device. On the other hand, second sensor data are received from a second environmental sensor system, whose field of view covers a part of the potential collision region, while the motor vehicle is located at the target location. The information from the first sensor data as well as the second sensor data are used to verify whether an obstacle is actually present in the potential collision region and the automatic door opening system is controlled according to the result of the verification.

[0010] According to an aspect of the invention, a computer-implemented method for controlling an automatic door opening system of a motor vehicle is provided. Therein, first sensor data is received from a first environmental sensor system of the motor vehicle while the motor vehicle is driving to a target location, in particular a target parking location to park there with a target orientation. First object information concerning potential objects in a potential collision region for a door of the motor vehicle, in particular a side door of the motor vehicle, is determined based on the first sensor data. The first object information is stored to a memory device, in particular a memory device of the motor vehicle. Second sensor data is received from a second environmental sensor system of the motor vehicle while the motor vehicle is located at the target location, in particular is standing still or is parked at the target location, in particular with the target orientation. A field of view of the second environmental sensor system covers a part of the potential collision region.

[0011] The first object information is read from the memory device, in particular while the motor vehicle is located at the target location. It is verified whether an obstacle is present in the potential collision region depending on the read-out first object information and depending on the second sensor data. A control signal to open the door automatically is generated depending on a result of the verification.

[0012] Unless stated otherwise, all steps of the computer-implemented method may be performed by a data processing apparatus, in particular a data processing apparatus of the motor vehicle, for example of the automatic door opening system. The data processing apparatus comprises at least one computing unit, which is configured or adapted to perform the steps of the computer-implemented method. For this purpose the at least one computing unit may for example store a computer program or more than one computer program comprising instructions, which, when executed by the at least one computing unit, cause the at least one computing unit to execute the computer- implemented method.

[0013] All computing units of the at least one computing unit may be comprised by the motor vehicle. However, it is also possible that all computing units of the at least one computing unit are part of an external computing system external to the motor vehicle, for example a backend server or a cloud computing system. It is also possible that the at least one computing unit comprises at least one vehicle computing unit of the motor vehicle as well as at least one external computing unit comprised by the external computing system. The at least one vehicle computing unit may for example comprise one or more electronic control units, ECUs, and / or one or more zone control units, ZEUs, and / or one or more domain control units, DCUs, of the motor vehicle. One or more of the at least one vehicle computing unit may also be comprised by the first environmental sensor system and / or the second environmental sensor system, for example. The automatic door opening system of the motor vehicle comprises, in particular, at least one actuator, which is configured to open the door automatically depending on the control signal. For opening the door automatically, the at least one actuator may unlock the door, if necessary, and move the door at least partly into the potential collision region. The automatic opening may be triggered, as mentioned above, by a user command. It may, however, also be triggered automatically when the user is detected to approach the motor vehicle and / or depending on a predetermined time schedule. The at least one computing unit may for example detect that the user is approaching based on the second sensor data and / or based on further second sensor data generated by the second environmental sensor system and / or depending on further sensor data generated by one or more further environmental sensor systems of the motor vehicle.

[0014] The automatic door opening system may also comprise the data processing apparatus or the at least one vehicle computing unit or a part of them. The at least one vehicle computing unit may for example comprise a first vehicle computing unit, which is configured to receive the first sensor data and determine the first object information and store the first object information to the memory device. The first vehicle computing unit may for example be part of a parking assistant system of the motor vehicle. Nevertheless, in the context of the present invention and in the following explanations, the first vehicle computing unit may be considered as a part of the automatic door opening system. On the other hand, the at least one vehicle computing unit may comprise a second vehicle computing unit, which receives the second sensor data from the second environmental sensor system, reads the first object information from the memory device, carries out the verification and generates the control signal. It is noted that the distribution of the individual method steps and functions as described are merely a non-limiting example. Different configurations are possible as well. For example, but without limitation, the first vehicle computing unit may read out the first object information and transmit it to the second vehicle computing unit or carry out the verification and transmit the result of the verification to the first vehicle computing unit, which generates the control signal, for example. It is also possible that a single vehicle computing unit carries out all steps of the method and so forth.

[0015] For each implementation of the computer-implemented method according to the invention, respective implementations of a method for controlling the automatic door opening system, which are not purely computer-implemented, are directly obtained by including respective steps for generating the first sensor data by means of the first environmental sensor system and / or the second sensor data by means of the second environmental sensor system and / or opening the door automatically depending on the control signal by means of the at least one actuator.

[0016] An environmental sensor system can be understood as a sensor system, which is able to generate sensor data or sensor signals, which depict, represent or image an environment of the environmental sensor system. In particular, the ability to capture or detect electromagnetic or other signals from the environment, cannot be considered a sufficient condition for qualifying a sensor system as an environmental sensor system. For example, cameras, lidar systems, radar systems or ultrasonic sensor systems may be considered as environmental sensor systems. An environmental sensor system may also comprise more than one of such systems of the same or different types.

[0017] In particular, the first sensor data and the second sensor data are generated and received at different times or during different time periods, respectively. Therein, the second sensor data is generated and received after the first sensor data is generated and received and, in particular, after the first object information is determined and stored. The first sensor data is generated during a first time period and the second sensor data is generated during a second time period, wherein the second time period lies after the first time period.

[0018] In particular, the first time period corresponds to a time period, during which the motor vehicle is driven to the target location or passes the target location such that the first environmental sensor system can perceive objects in the vicinity of the target location, in particular assuming the motor vehicle is located at the target location with the target orientation, for example objects that are located in the potential collision region, which may also be denoted as a pivot region of the door. Afterwards, when the motor vehicle is located at the target location with the target orientation, for example after the motor vehicle has been parked at the target location with the target orientation, the potential collision region is, in general, not covered or not completely covered by the respective field of view of the first environmental sensor system.

[0019] In contrast, the second environmental sensor system may not necessarily be able to reliably perceive the vicinity of the target location while the motor vehicle is being driven to the target location. On the other hand, the field of view of the second environmental sensor system covers the part of the potential collision region, when the motor vehicle is located at the target location with the target orientation. However, the field of view of the second environmental sensor system does not cover the full potential collision region but only the part of it. In consequence, if only the second sensor data would be used to generate the control signal to open the door automatically, a significant risk for hitting an obstacle with the door, which is not reliably detected by the second environmental sensor system, would remain.

[0020] By using the first object information as well as the second sensor data, or in particular, second object information determined based on the second sensor data, the reliability of detecting an actual obstacle in the potential collision region when the motor vehicle located at the target location with the target orientation is increased. In other words, the reliability of protecting the door when controlling the automatic door opening system is improved.

[0021] Since the first object information is stored to the memory device, which may for example be a non-volatile memory device, there is no limitation regarding a time difference between the first time period and the second time period. In particular, the motor vehicle and the respective components, in particular the data processing apparatus and the memory device, may be powered off between the first time period and the second time period. Since the first object information is stored to the memory device, the verification can be carried out nevertheless, once the second sensor data is received. Furthermore, it is noted that, even though the first environmental sensor may reliably detect potential objects in the target location during the first time period, such objects may not be present anymore during the second time interval. However, since the verification is carried out based on the first object information as well as based on the second sensor data, situations, in which the automatic door opening is for example blocked even though an obstacle, which was present in the first time period but is not present anymore in the second time period, are avoided. Thus, false positive detections of obstacles are avoided and the availability of the automatic door opening functionality is increased.

[0022] Here and in the following, potential objects may be understood as objects that may or may not be present. In other words, the first object information may include information regarding the presence of one or more first objects in the target location at the target orientation, while the first object information is not limited to this information. In particular the first object information may also comprise information regarding the location, size, shape, height, length and so forth of the one or more first objects, as far as they are present. On the other hand, here and in the following, an obstacle is denoted as an object, which is present in the target location at the target orientation of the motor vehicle, in particular during the second time interval, and which would potentially lead to a collision of the door with the obstacle in case the door would be opened automatically. In particular, not every object that may be present in the target location necessarily represents an obstacle for the door. For example, objects with a relatively low height, such as curb stones, may not or may in general not represent an obstacle. The first object information may comprise information, which allow to distinguish between objects that could represent an obstacle and other objects, which are not obstacles. Alternatively or in addition, such information may be retrieved from the second sensor data as well.

[0023] The verification whether the obstacle is present in the potential collision region can be understood as a verification whether or not such an obstacle is present. Consequently the result of the verification can be positive, namely in case that an obstacle is present, or can be negative, namely in case no such obstacle is present.

[0024] According to several implementations, the memory device is a non-volatile memory device, in particular of the data processing apparatus, for example of the at least one vehicle computing unit.

[0025] Consequently, the reliability of the door protection for the automatic door opening system may also be improved in case the power supply is turned off between the first time period and the second time period, for example when the motor vehicle is parked at the parking location for an extended period of time, for example for overnight parking or the like.

[0026] According to several implementations, a vehicle computing unit of the motor vehicle, which contains the non-volatile memory device, is powered off at a first time instance when or after the motor vehicle has reached the target location, in particular with the target orientation. The vehicle computing unit is powered on at a second time instance after the first time instance. The second sensor data is received from the second environmental sensor system when or after the vehicle computing unit has been powered on at the second time instance and the first object information is read from the non-volatile memory device when or after the vehicle computing unit has been powered on at the second time instance. In particular, the first time instance lies between the first time period and the second time period and the second time instance lies after the first time instance. When the vehicle computing unit is powered off and on, respectively, also the non-volatile memory device is powered off and on, respectively. In other words, while the vehicle computing unit is powered off, the non-volatile memory device is not supplied with power.

[0027] In such scenarios implementing the memory device as a non-volatile memory device is particularly beneficial due to the reasons mentioned above.

[0028] According to several implementations, the first object information comprises a first indication whether or not one or more first objects are detected in the potential collision region according to the first sensor data. In other words, it is determined whether or not the one or more first objects are detected in the potential collision region depending on the first sensor data and the corresponding first indication is stored as a part of the first object information to the memory device. If one or more first objects are detected in the potential collision region according to the first indication, the first object information comprises a height classification for each of the one or more first objects.

[0029] The height classification, also denoted as height class, corresponds to a height of the respective first object or to a height region of the respective first object, in which the height of the respective first object lies according to the first sensor data. The height corresponds, in particular, to a maximum height of the respective first object along a height direction of the motor vehicle, which is, in particular, a direction perpendicular or essentially perpendicular to the road surface. In other words, the height does not depend on whether the object ranges from the ground surface to the maximum height position or from a position above the ground surface to the maximum height position. The maximum height is particularly relevant for deciding whether an object is an obstacle for the door or not. While the door may be opened without a collision even though objects with a very low maximum height are present, for example a curb stone, this may not be possible for higher objects like poles or other vehicles.

[0030] The height classification is a height classification of one or more predefined height classifications. In the simplest case, there are two predefined height classifications, which can be denoted as low and high, for example. However, there may also be more than two corresponding height classifications.

[0031] Consequently, the verification whether the obstacle is present can be carried out depending on the first indication and, if one or more first objects are detected, according to the height classifications of the respective one or more first objects. In other words, it can be determined depending on the respective height classifications whether an object of the one or more first objects represents an obstacle for the door or not. If the respective height classification indicates that the door can be opened without hitting the respective first object, since the height of the first object is particularly low, for example in case of a curb stone or the like, the control signal may be generated to carry out the opening of the door automatically, possibly subject to further conditions. Otherwise, possibly subject to further conditions, the opening of the door may be blocked.

[0032] In this way, the reliability of the door protection may be improved and the risk for false positive obstacle detections may be reduced, which increases the availability of the automatic door opening assistant.

[0033] According to several implementations, second object information concerning potential objects in the potential collision region is determined based on the second sensor data and the verification is carried out depending on the first object information and depending on the second object information.

[0034] According to several implementations, the second object information comprises an indication whether or not one or more second objects are detected in the potential collision region according to the second sensor data. If one or more second objects are detected in the potential collision region according to the second indication, the second object information comprises a length classification for each of the one or more second objects.

[0035] It is noted that the expressions “first object” and “second object” are used here and in the following to distinguish detections based on the first sensor data and the second sensor data, respectively. Consequently, a first object of the one or more first objects may also be a second object of the one or more second objects and vice versa. On the other hand, the one or more first objects do not necessarily contain all of the one or more second objects and vice versa.

[0036] The length classification, also denoted as length class, corresponds to a length extension of the respective second object in a length direction or longitudinal direction of the motor vehicle. The longitudinal direction is perpendicular to the height direction and perpendicular to a lateral direction of the motor vehicle. The length classification for a given second object is a length classification of two or more predefined length classifications. In the simplest case, there are two predefined length classifications, which can be denoted as long and narrow, for example. However, there may also be more than two corresponding length classifications.

[0037] Consequently, the verification whether the obstacle is present can be carried out depending on the second indication and, if one or more second objects are detected, according to the length classifications of the respective one or more second objects. In particular, the length classifications may be used to plausibilize the first object information, for example.

[0038] For example, if a very small length of the respective second object is determined, it may be assumed that the respective second object has a relatively large extension in the height direction, such as a pole, in particular a vertical pole. On the other hand, if the length classification of the second object indicates a relatively large length extension, the object may have a small height or may have a large height.

[0039] According to several implementations, if one or more first objects are detected in the potential collision region according to the first indication, the first object information comprises a further length classification for each of the one or more first objects.

[0040] The explanations above regarding the length classification carries over accordingly to the further length classification. The verification whether the obstacle is present can be carried out depending on the first indication and, if one or more first objects are detected, according to the further length classifications of the respective one or more first objects. In particular, the length classifications may be used to plausibilize the first object information by comparison with the further length classifications, for example.

[0041] In particular, the respective length classifications and the respective further length classifications of objects that are contained by the one or more first objects as well as by the one or more second objects can be compared in order to plausibilize the first object information and / or second object information, respectively. In this way, the verification and, consequently, the reliability of the door protection and / or the availability of the automatic door opening system may be improved.

[0042] According to several implementations, the door is opened automatically depending on the control signal, in particular by controlling the one or more actuators accordingly depending on the control signal, if the result of the verification is negative, such that the potential collision region is free of obstacles. Alternatively or in addition, the door is not opened automatically or, in other words, the automatic opening of the door is blocked or not carried out, if the result of the verification is positive, such an obstacle is present in the potential collision region.

[0043] According to several implementations, if no second objects are detected in the potential collision region according to the second indication, then the result of the verification is negative.

[0044] In other words, irrespective of the detection of one or more first objects based on the first sensor data, the result of the verification is negative if no second objects are detected in the collision region. In this way, it is avoided, that in a scenario where the one or more first objects have been present during the first time interval, the automatic opening of the door is blocked during the second time interval even though the corresponding objects are not present anymore. This further improves the availability of the automatic door opening system.

[0045] According to several implementations, if one or more second objects are detected in the potential collision region and the length classification corresponds to a predefined first length classification for at least one of the one or more second objects, then the result of the verification is positive. Therein, object lengths, which are smaller than a predefined minimum length, correspond to the first length classification and object lengths, which are greater than the minimum length corresponding to a second length classification.

[0046] In other words, the first length classification may correspond to narrow objects and the second length classification may correspond to long objects. In case at least one narrow second object is detected, it is for example assumed that this second object has a relevant position and / or extension in the height direction and therefore represents an obstacle. This finding can be deduced irrespective of whether or not one or more first objects have been detected according to the first object information. In this way, the reliability of the automatic door protection is increased.

[0047] According to several implementations, if one or more second objects are detected in the potential collision region and the length classification for at least one of the one or more second objects corresponds to the predefined second length classification and in addition one or more first objects are detected in the potential collision region and the height classification for at least one of the one or more first objects corresponds to a predefined first height class, then the result of the verification is positive. Therein, object heights, which are greater than a predefined minimum height, may correspond to the first height classification and object heights, which are smaller than the minimum height, correspond to a second height classification.

[0048] In other words, the first height classification corresponds to high objects and the second height classification corresponds to low objects. If the second environmental sensor system detects a long second object and the first environmental sensor system detects a high first object, then may is assumed that these objects correspond to each other and represent an obstacle. Since the second object information may not allow a reliable height classification, and the classification of the second object according to the second length classification indicates that the second object might be an obstacle, the height classification of the first object information is used to verify whether it is actually an obstacle. In this way, both the availability of the automatic door opening system as well as the reliability of the door protection may be increased.

[0049] According to several implementations, if one or more second objects are detected in the potential collision region and the length classification for at least one of the one or more second objects corresponds to the predefined second length class and in addition one or more first objects are detected in the potential collision region and the height classification for at least one of the one or more first objects corresponds to the predefined second height class, then the result of the verification is negative.

[0050] In this way, it is avoided, that low objects, which do not represent an obstacle for the door, block the automatic door opening. Therefore, the availability of the automatic door opening system is increased.

[0051] According to several implementations, the door is a side door of the motor vehicle, in particular a side door for allowing drivers or passengers to enter and exit the motor vehicle.

[0052] According to several implementations, the first environmental sensor system comprises at least one first ultrasonic sensor and / or at least one camera and / or at least one radar system and / or at least one lidar system.

[0053] In this way, a comprehensive environmental perception may be implemented by the first environmental sensor system, which increases the quality and reliability of the first object information. In case the first environmental sensor system is used as a part of the parking assistance system as well, no additional assembly space or significant costs are required to provide the first sensor data also for the purpose of the invention.

[0054] According to several implementations, the second environmental sensor system comprises at least one second ultrasonic sensor, for example two or more ultrasonic sensors.

[0055] The at least one ultrasonic sensor is, in particular, arranged on a side of the motor vehicle, which corresponds to a side of the side door. For example, the at least one second ultrasonic sensor may be arranged below the door, for example in respective side skirts of the motor vehicle. In such implementations, the computer-implemented method is particularly beneficial, since the at least one second ultrasonic sensor may not provide sufficient data to reliably determine the height of potential objects in the potential collision region.

[0056] For use cases or use situations which may arise in the method and which are not explicitly described here, it may be provided that, in accordance with the method, an error message and / or a prompt for user feedback is output and / or a default setting and / or a predetermined initial state is set.

[0057] According to a further aspect of the invention, a data processing apparatus for an automatic door opening system of a motor vehicle is provided. The data processing apparatus comprises at least one computing unit, which is adapted to carry out a computer-implemented method according to the invention.

[0058] A computing unit may in particular be understood as a data processing device, which comprises processing circuitry. The computing unit can therefore in particular process data to perform computing operations. This may also include operations to perform indexed accesses to a data structure, for example a look-up table, LUT.

[0059] In particular, the computing unit may include one or more computers, one or more microcontrollers, and / or one or more integrated circuits, for example, one or more application-specific integrated circuits, ASIC, one or more field-programmable gate arrays, FPGA, and / or one or more systems on a chip, SoC. The computing unit may also include one or more processors, for example one or more microprocessors, one or more central processing units, CPU, one or more graphics processing units, GPU, and / or one or more signal processors, in particular one or more digital signal processors, DSP. The computing unit may also include a physical or a virtual cluster of computers or other of said units.

[0060] In various embodiments, the computing unit includes one or more hardware and / or software interfaces and / or one or more memory units.

[0061] A memory unit may be implemented as a volatile data memory, for example a dynamic random access memory, DRAM, or a static random access memory, SRAM, or as a nonvolatile data memory, for example a read-only memory, ROM, a programmable read-only memory, PROM, an erasable programmable read-only memory, EPROM, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, EEPROM, a flash memory or flash EEPROM, a ferroelectric random access memory, FRAM, a magnetoresistive random access memory, MRAM, or a phase-change random access memory, PCRAM.

[0062] According to a further aspect of the invention, an automatic door opening system for a motor vehicle is provided. The automatic door opening system comprises a data processing apparatus according to the invention and the at least one actuator, which is configured to open the door automatically depending on the control signal.

[0063] According to several implementations, the automatic door opening system comprises the first environmental sensor system and / or the second environmental sensor system.

[0064] Further implementations of the automatic door opening system according to the invention follow directly from the various embodiments of the computer-implemented method according to the invention and vice versa. In particular, individual features and corresponding explanations as well as advantages relating to the various implementations of the computer-implemented method according to the invention can be transferred analogously to corresponding implementations of the automatic door opening system according to the invention. In particular, the automatic door opening system according to the invention is designed or programmed to carry out the computer-implemented method according to the invention. In particular, the automatic door opening system according to the invention carries out the computer-implemented method according to the invention.

[0065] According to a further aspect of the invention, a motor vehicle comprising an automatic door opening system according to the invention is provided. According to several implementations, the motor vehicle comprises the door and the door is a side door of the motor vehicle.

[0066] According to several implementations, the motor vehicle comprises the second environmental sensor system and the second environmental sensor system comprises at least one second ultrasonic sensor, which is arranged in a region below the door, in particular in side skirts of the motor vehicle.

[0067] According to several implementations, the motor vehicle comprises the first environmental sensor system and a field of view of the first environmental sensor system contains a region in front of the motor vehicle and / or behind the motor vehicle.

[0068] It is noted that the field of view of the first environmental sensor system may also contain a region on the side of the motor vehicle, in particular the side of the side door.

[0069] According to a further aspect of the invention, a computer program product comprising instructions is provided. When the instructions are executed by a data processing apparatus, in particular a data processing apparatus according to the invention, the instructions cause the data processing apparatus to carry out a computer-implemented method according to the invention.

[0070] The instructions may be provided as program code, for example. The program code can for example be provided as binary code or assembler and / or as source code of a programming language, for example C, and / or as program script, for example Python.

[0071] According to a further aspect of the invention, a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program according to the invention is provided.

[0072] The computer program and the computer-readable storage medium may be denoted as respective computer program products comprising the instructions.

[0073] Further features of the invention are apparent from the claims, the figures and the figure description. The features and combinations of features mentioned above in the description as well as the features and combinations of features mentioned below in the description of figures and / or shown in the figures may be comprised by the invention not only in the respective combination stated, but also in other combinations. In particular, embodiments and combinations of features, which do not have all the features of an originally formulated claim, may also be comprised by the invention. Moreover, embodiments and combinations of features, which go beyond or deviate from the combinations of features set forth in the recitations of the claims may be comprised by the invention.

[0074] In the following, the invention will be explained in detail with reference to specific exemplary implementations and respective schematic drawings. In the drawings, identical or functionally identical elements may be denoted by the same reference signs. The description of identical or functionally identical elements is not necessarily repeated with respect to different figures.

[0075] In the Figures,

[0076] Fig. 1 shows a schematic side view of a motor vehicle comprising an exemplary implementation of an automatic door opening system according to the invention;

[0077] Fig. 2 shows a schematic top view of the motor vehicle of Fig. 1 ; and

[0078] Fig. 3 shows a schematic flow diagram of an exemplary implementation of a computer-implemented method for controlling an automatic door opening system of a motor vehicle according to the invention.

[0079] Fig. 1 shows a schematic side view of a motor vehicle 1 with an exemplary implementation of an automatic door opening system 12 according to the invention and Fig. 2 shows a corresponding schematic top view of the motor vehicle 1 .

[0080] The automatic door opening system 12 comprises a data processing apparatus 9, which contains at least one computing unit 10, 11 , in the present non-limiting example of Fig. 1 two computing units 10, 11 , which is adapted to carry out a computer-implemented method for controlling the automatic door opening system 12 of the motor vehicle 1 according to the invention. As a result of the computer-implemented method, the at least one computing unit 10, 11 , for example an automatic door opening ECU 11 , generates a control signal to open a door 13, in particular a side door, of the motor vehicle 1 , automatically. The control signal is generated depending on a result of a verification whether an obstacle is present in a potential collision region 14, in particular a pivot region of the door 13 as depicted schematically in Fig. 2, wherein the potentially opened door 13’ is shown as a dashed line. One or more actuators of the motor vehicle 1 , for example of the automatic door opening system 12, may then open the door 13 automatically depending on the control signal.

[0081] The motor vehicle 1 , for example the automatic door opening system 12, comprises a first environmental sensor system 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, which may for example comprise one or more first ultrasonic sensors 5, 6. The first ultrasonic sensors 5, 6 may for example comprise an ultrasonic sensor 5 arranged on the side of a front fender or front bumper of the motor vehicle 1 and / or an ultrasonic sensor 6 arranged at a side of the rear bumper or rear fender of the motor vehicle 1 . The first environmental sensor system 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 may also comprise a front camera 8 and / or a rear camera 7 and / or a side camera (not shown) of the motor vehicle 1 . The first environmental sensor system 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 may also comprise at least one radar system and / or at least one lidar system 4 mounted, for example, in the front bumper or grille of the motor vehicle 1 or in the rear bumper et cetera.

[0082] The motor vehicle 1 , in particular the automatic door opening system 12 also comprises a second environmental sensor system 2, which contains for example at least one second ultrasonic sensor 2. The at least one second ultrasonic sensor 2 may for example be arranged below the door 13, for example in respective side skirts 3 below the door 13.

[0083] Fig. 3 shows a schematic flow diagram of an exemplary implementation of a computer- implemented method for controlling an automatic door opening system 12 according to the invention, which may be carried out by the data processing apparatus 9.

[0084] In step 300, the first environmental sensor system 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 generates the first sensor data and transmits it to the at least one computing unit 10, 11 , for example to a parking assistance ECU 10, while the motor vehicle 1 is driven to a target location. The data processing apparatus 9, for example the parking assistance ECU 10, determines in step 310 first object information concerning potential objects in the potential collision region 14 based on the first sensor data and stores the first object information to a memory device, in particular a non-volatile memory device, of the data processing apparatus 9. In optional step 320, the power supply of the memory device, for example of the data processing apparatus 9, maybe interrupted and the data processing apparatus 9 and the memory device may be powered on again at a later time. In step 330, the second environmental sensor system 2 generates second sensor data while the motor vehicle 1 is located at the target location with a target orientation, wherein a field of view of the second environmental sensor system 2 covers a part of the potential collision region 14.

[0085] In step 340, the data processing apparatus 9, for example the automatic door opening ECU 11 , reads the stored first object information from the memory device and verifies whether an obstacle is present in the potential collision region 14 depending on the first object information and depending on the second sensor data. In step 350, the data processing apparatus 9, for example the automatic door opening ECU 11 , generates the control signal to open the door 13 automatically depending on the result of the verification.

[0086] In particular, if the result of the verification is negative, or, in other words, no obstacle is detected in the potential collision region 14 according to the verification, the actuators open the door 13 automatically depending on the control signal. On the other hand, if the result of the verification is positive or, in other words, one or more obstacles are detected in the potential collision region 14, the actuators do not open the door 13 automatically. For example, the data processing apparatus 9, in particular the automatic parking ECU 11 , may block the automatic opening of the door 13 in this case.

[0087] For example, the data processing apparatus 9 may determine second object information based on the second sensor data and the verification may be carried out based on the first object information and the second object information. The first object information may for example indicate whether or not one or more objects are detected in the potential collision region 14 based on the first sensor data and the second object information may indicate whether or not one or more objects are detected in the potential collision region 14 based on the second sensor data. For all respectively detected objects, the first object information may also comprise a length classification and / or a height classification of the detected objects. In particular, the first object information may contain information that classifies each detected object either as low or high and also either as long or narrow in the longitudinal direction of the motor vehicle 1 . The second object information may comprise, in particular if the second environmental sensor system 2 is implemented as described above as the at least one second ultrasonic sensor system 2 arranged below the door 13, for each detected object a length classification but no height classification. The length classification may also classify the object as either long or narrow in the longitudinal direction. By making use of the first and the second object information, the data processing apparatus 9 may plausibilize the presence of an obstacle and avoid false positive obstacle detections, for example in scenarios when objects that have been detected by the first environmental sensor system 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 but are not present anymore when the door 13 is about to be opened.

[0088] In an exemplary scenario, when the motor vehicle 1 is parked at the target location with the target orientation, a further vehicle may be located next to the door 13 and, in particular, in the potential collision region 14. The further vehicle is detected based on the first sensor data and classified as a long and high object, for example. When the second sensor data is generated by the second environmental sensor system 2 and received by the data processing apparatus 9, the further vehicle may still be present. In this case, the data processing apparatus 9 may generate the second object information and classify the further vehicle as long. It is possible that the second sensor data may also be used to identify that the further vehicle is also high and therefore represents an obstacle in the potential collision region 14. However, in case the data processing apparatus 9 cannot determine this reliably based on the second sensor data, it may use the first object information, in particular the classification as long and high of the further vehicle, to plausibilize the second object information and verify the presence of an obstacle in the potential collision region.

[0089] Alternatively, the further vehicle may not be present anymore when the second sensor data are generated by the second environmental sensor system 2. In this case, the data processing apparatus 9 does not rely only on the first object information indicating the presence of a long and high object in the potential collision region 14 but uses the second object information indicating that there is no such obstacle present anymore for plausibilization. In this case, the door 13 may be opened automatically even though the first object information indicates the earlier presence of an object.

[0090] In another scenario, the motor vehicle 1 is parked at the target location with the target orientation such that a horizontal pole is located at a certain height above ground at the side of the door 13. The horizontal pole may be detected by the data processing apparatus 9 based on the first sensor data and also based on the second sensor data, since the horizontal pole is still present at a later time. In this case, the first object information may for example indicate the detection of a long and high object since the position of the horizontal pole may be relatively high above the ground surface. The second object information may indicate a long object. Since the first object information indicates also a long and high object, the verification results maybe such that the presence of the obstacle in the potential collision region 14 is confirmed.

[0091] On the other hand, if instead of the horizontal pole a curb stone next to the door 13 would be considered, the classification according to the first object information would be long and low instead of long and high. In this case, the data processing apparatus 9 may determine from the second object information the presence of a long object but cannot distinguish whether it is a high or low object based on the second object information alone. Using the first object information and the corresponding classification as low, the result of the verification may be such that there is no obstacle in the potential collision region 14.

[0092] As described, in particular with respect to the figures, the invention allows to improve the reliability of a door protection of an automatic door opening system and at the same time also increase the availability of the automatic door opening system in case no obstacle, which would have a risk of colliding with the door, is present.

[0093] In particular, this invention increases the availability in scenarios when the outer environment of the motor vehicle changes between respective time periods of determining the first and second environmental sensor data. On the other hand, by using the first sensor data as well as the second sensor data for verifying the presence of the obstacle, also obstacles that could not reliably be determined by the second environmental sensor system alone can be considered appropriately.

Claims

Claims1 . Computer-implemented method for controlling an automatic door opening system(12) of a motor vehicle (1 ), wherein first sensor data is received from a first environmental sensor system (4, 5, 6, 7, 8) of the motor vehicle (1 ) while the motor vehicle (1 ) is driving to a target location; first object information concerning potential objects in a potential collision region (14) for a door (13) of the motor vehicle (1) is determined based on the first sensor data and stored to a memory device; second sensor data is received from a second environmental sensor system (2) of the motor vehicle (1) while the motor vehicle (1 ) is located at the target location, wherein a field of view of the second environmental sensor system (2) covers a part of the potential collision region (14); the first object information is read from the memory device and it is verified whether an obstacle is present in the potential collision region (14) depending on the first object information and depending on the second sensor data; a control signal to open the door (13) automatically is generated depending on a result of the verification.

2. Computer-implemented method according to claim 1 , wherein the memory device is a non-volatile memory device.

3. Computer-implemented method according to claim 2, wherein a vehicle computing unit (10, 11 ) of the motor vehicle (1 ), which contains the memory device, is powered off at a first time instance when or after the motor vehicle (1) has reached the target location; the vehicle computing unit (10, 11) is powered on at a second time instance after the first time instance; and the second sensor data is received from the second environmental sensor system (2) and the first object information is read from the memory device when or after the vehicle computing unit (10, 11) has been powered on.

4. Computer-implemented method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the first object information comprises a first indication whether or not one or more first objects are detected in the potential collision region (14) according to the first sensor data; and if one or more first objects are detected in the potential collision region (14) according to the first indication, the first object information comprises a height classification for each of the one or more first objects.

5. Computer-implemented method according to claim 4, wherein second object information concerning potential objects in the potential collision region (14) is determined based on the second sensor data and the verification is carried out depending on the second object information; the second object information comprises an indication whether or not one or more second objects are detected in the potential collision region (14) according to the second sensor data; and if one or more second objects are detected in the potential collision region (14) according to the second indication, the second object information comprises a length classification for each of the one or more second objects.

6. Computer-implemented method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein, the door (13) is opened automatically, if the result of the verification is negative, such that the potential collision region (14) is free of obstacles; and / or the door (13) is not opened automatically, if the result of the verification is positive, such that an obstacle is present in the potential collision region (14).

7. Computer-implemented method according to claim 5 and claim 6, wherein, if no second objects are detected in the potential collision region (14) according to the second indication, then the result of the verification is negative.

8. Computer-implemented method according to claim 5 and according to one of claims 6 and 7, wherein, if one or more second objects are detected in the potential collision region (14) and the length classification corresponds to a predefined first length classification for at least one of the one or more second objects, then the result of the verification is positive.

9. Computer-implemented method according to claim 8, wherein, if one or more second objects are detected in the potential collision region (14) and the length classification for at least one of the one or more second objects corresponds to a predefined second length class and one or more first objects are detected in the potential collision region (14) and the height classification for at least one of the one or more first objects corresponds to a predefined first height class, then the result of the verification is positive; and / or if one or more second objects are detected in the potential collision region (14) and the length classification for at least one of the one or more second objects corresponds to the predefined second length class, and one or more first objects are detected in the potential collision region (14) and the height classification for at least one of the one or more first objects corresponds to a predefined second height class, then the result of the verification is negative.

10. Computer-implemented method according to claim 9, wherein object lengths, which are smaller than a predefined minimum length, correspond to the first length classification, and object lengths, which are greater than the minimum length, correspond to the second length classification; and object heights, which are greater than a predefined minimum height, correspond to the first height classification, and object heights, which are smaller than the minimum height, correspond to the second height classification.11 . Computer-implemented method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the door (13) is a side door (13) of the motor vehicle (1 ).

12. Computer-implemented method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the first environmental sensor system (4, 5, 6, 7, 8) comprises at least one first ultrasonic sensor (5, 6) and / or at least one camera (7, 8) and / or at least one radar system and / or at least one lidar system (4); and / or the second environmental sensor system (2) comprises at least one second ultrasonic sensor (2).

13. Data processing apparatus (9) for an automatic door opening system (12) of a motor vehicle (1), comprising at least one computing unit (10, 11), which is adapted to carry out a computer-implemented method according to one of the preceding claims.

14. Automatic door opening system (12) for a motor vehicle (1) comprising a data processing apparatus (9) according to claim 13 and at least one actuator, which is configured to open the door (13) automatically depending on the control signal.

15. Automatic door opening system (12) according to claim 14, comprising the first environmental sensor system (4, 5, 6, 7, 8) and / or the second environmental sensor system (2).

16. Motor vehicle (1 ) comprising an automatic door opening system (12), according to one of claims 13 or 14, wherein the door (13) is a side door of the motor vehicle (1 ) and the second environmental sensor system (2) comprises at least one second ultrasonic sensor (2), which is arranged in a region below the door; and a field of view of the first environmental sensor system (4, 5, 6, 7, 8) contains a region in front of the motor vehicle (1 ) and / or behind the motor vehicle (1 ).

17. Computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed by a data processing apparatus (9), cause the data processing apparatus (9) to carry out a computer-implemented method according to one of claims 1 to 12.

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