Method and device for automated driving of a motor vehicle approaching an intersection

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for automated driving of a motor vehicle (1) approaching an intersection in the vicinity of which a pedestrian is located. The invention also relates to a computing device (100) implementing such a method, as well as to a motor vehicle (1) comprising such a device. Figure for the abstract: 1

Description

Title of the invention: Method and device for automated driving of a motor vehicle approaching an intersection Technical field of the invention

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of driving assistance systems for motor vehicles. The invention relates in particular to a method for automated driving of a motor vehicle implemented by a computer device on board the vehicle. The invention also relates to a device implementing such a method, as well as a motor vehicle comprising such a device. The invention applies to motor vehicles such as land motor vehicles, in particular cars. State of the prior art

[0002] Automobile manufacturers are currently seeking to enable fully automated or autonomous driving of motor vehicles in all driving environments. To do this, vehicle driver assistance systems must therefore be able to manage certain critical driving situations, in particular those in which the vehicle is approaching an intersection. However, with known driver assistance systems, managing these driving situations still remains laborious. This is particularly the case for situations in which the autonomous vehicle is approaching an intersection at the moment when a pedestrian is crossing a pedestrian crossing located there.Indeed, known driver assistance systems are generally not capable of differentiating between this pedestrian crossing near the intersection, who in some cases may not hinder the safe movement of the vehicle, and another vehicle approaching or moving away from the intersection, which must on the contrary in all cases force the vehicle to stop when approaching the intersection for safety reasons. As a result, the driver assistance system sometimes makes mistakes, which then creates an inconvenience for the occupants who do not understand an unexpected stop. This also impairs the flow of traffic when the driver assistance system causes an unexpected stop due to a pedestrian crossing when their presence in no way hinders the safe movement of the vehicle. Summary of the invention

[0003] The invention aims to overcome these drawbacks. Its aim is to provide a method and a device which allow better differentiation between the two situations mentioned above, i.e. to be able to better differentiate between a pedestrian crossing near an intersection and another vehicle approaching it or moves away from it. In this way, the invention aims to enable more ergonomic automated driving that does not unnecessarily disrupt traffic flow.

[0004] In order to achieve these objectives, the invention relates, according to a first aspect, to a method for automated driving of a motor vehicle implemented by a computer device on board the vehicle, said method comprising the steps of: i. determine whether the vehicle is approaching an intersection; ii. obtain data characterizing the location of the ends of the intersection; iii. determine data characterizing a first angle formed between the direction of movement of the vehicle and the intersection; iv. determine data characterizing a second angle formed between the direction of movement of the vehicle and the direction of movement of an object located near the intersection; and v. manage the vehicle's driving based on the absolute value of the difference between the first angle and the second angle.

[0005] According to a variant, step iv) may comprise a step consisting of determining whether a pedestrian crossing is present near the intersection.

[0006] According to another variant, step iv) may comprise a step of determining whether the object is at a distance from the intersection which is less than a first predefined value.

[0007] According to yet another variant, step v) may comprise a step consisting of causing the vehicle to stop when the absolute value of the difference between the first angle and the second angle is greater than a second predefined value.

[0008] According to yet another variant, the second angle can be determined as a function of data characterizing the longitudinal speed and the lateral speed of the object.

[0009] According to a second aspect, the invention relates to a device for automated driving of a motor vehicle, the device comprising an information processing unit, with one or more processors, and a data storage medium, which are configured to implement a method as described above.

[0010] According to a third aspect, the invention relates to a computer program comprising program code instructions for executing the steps of a method as described above when said program is executed by at least one processor.

[0011] According to a fourth aspect, the invention relates to a computer-readable medium on which a program as described above is recorded.

[0012] According to a fifth aspect, the invention relates to a motor vehicle which has a device as described above. Brief description of the drawings

[0013] Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will appear on examining the detailed description below, and the appended drawings, in which:

[0014] [Fig-1] is a schematic illustration of a motor vehicle according to the invention;

[0015] [Fig.2] is a functional diagram of a device according to the invention;

[0016] [Fig.3] is a flowchart of the steps of a method according to the invention;

[0017] [Fig.4] is a schematic illustration of the implementation of at least one step of the method according to the invention;

[0018] [Fig.5] is a schematic illustration of the implementation of at least one step of the method according to the invention; and

[0019] [Fig.6] is a schematic illustration of the implementation of at least one step of the method according to the invention. Detailed description of the invention

[0020] [Fig.l] shows a schematic illustration of a motor vehicle 1 according to the invention. This comprises a driving assistance system 2, which conventionally comprises at least one detection device (e.g. radar, lidar, camera, etc.) for perceiving the driving environment of the vehicle 1 as well as means for controlling the operation of the actuators of the vehicle in order to be able to autonomously manage its driving. The vehicle 1 according to the invention also comprises a navigation system 3, which conventionally interacts with a satellite positioning system in order to be able, in particular, to determine the current location of the vehicle 1, and which conventionally accesses an on-board or off-board map which provides information in particular on the topography of the roads, in particular their intersections.

[0021] Advantageously, the vehicle 1 according to the invention also carries a device 100 for automated driving of a motor vehicle within the meaning of the present invention, as described below, which implements a method for automated driving of a motor vehicle within the meaning of the present invention, as briefly summarized below and described in detail below.

[0022] When implementing the method, the device 100 according to the invention monitors when driving situations occur in which the vehicle 1 approaches an intersection. When this is the case, the device 100 according to the invention then determines whether an object that is in the vicinity of the intersection is moving substantially in the direction of the intersection, meaning that the object is a pedestrian crossing the intersection, or, on the contrary, whether the movement of the object deviates significantly from the direction of the intersection, meaning that the object is potentially another vehicle that is approaching or moving away from the intersection. In the second case, the device 100 according to the invention causes the vehicle to stop, thus enabling the implementation of safe automated driving. Conversely, when it has determined that the object is a pedestrian crossing the intersection, the device 100 according to the invention then refrains from causing the vehicle to stop, potentially by defining a low importance threshold for the object which is taken into account when the driving assistance system 2 manages the automated driving of the vehicle 1. This minimizes the risk that the vehicle 1 according to the invention unnecessarily disrupts the flow of traffic.

[0023] In [Fig. 2] the device 100 for automated driving of a motor vehicle according to the invention is illustrated in more detail. It is essentially a computer device, which comprises at least one information processing unit 101, comprising one or more processors, a data storage medium 102, on which is recorded in particular a program which comprises program code instructions for executing the steps of the method according to the invention described below, and an input and output interface 103 allowing the reception and transmission of data.

[0024] Preferably, the device 100 according to the invention is integrated into an independent computer and it interacts via its input and output interface 103 and by means of a wired communication network of the vehicle (e.g. CAN, Ethernet, MOST) - shown in [Fig.l] by the two-way arrows - with the driving assistance system 2 and with the navigation system 3. Alternatively, the device 100 according to the invention is partially or fully part of the driving assistance system 2. Whatever the embodiment, the device 100 according to the invention can therefore, in particular, determine whether the vehicle is approaching an intersection, it can obtain data characterizing the location of the intersection and it can manage the driving of the vehicle 1.

[0025] According to the invention, all the elements described above contribute to enabling the implementation of a method for automated driving of a motor vehicle, as described below in connection with figures 1, 3-6.

[0026] [Fig. 3] illustrates by means of a flowchart the steps of the method according to the invention. According to a first step 201 of the method according to the invention, the device 100 according to the invention determines whether the vehicle is approaching an intersection. To do this, it interacts preferentially with the navigation system 3, which uses its mapping to determine such a situation as a function of the current location of the vehicle. Alternatively, the device 100 according to the invention interacts with the driving assistance system 2 when the latter is configured to determine the presence of an intersection in the driving environment of the vehicle by means of its detection apparatus and hardware and / or software means configured for this purpose, by example an artificial neural network trained to recognize an intersection based on detection data fed to it. And when it establishes that such a situation occurs, i.e. when the vehicle is indeed approaching an intersection, as is schematically illustrated in [Fig.4], the device 100 according to the invention carries out the following steps of the method according to the invention described below.

[0027] According to a second step 202 of the method according to the invention, the device 100 according to the invention obtains data characterizing the location of the ends of the intersection. To do this, it preferentially interacts with the navigation system 3, the mapping of which makes it possible to determine the location of the points A1 and A2 which are represented in [Fig.4]. From the locations of these points, the device 100 according to the invention is thus able to determine their coordinates (xl, yl) and (x2, y2) in a Cartesian reference system having the vehicle 1 as its origin. The intersection I between the road on which the vehicle 1 is traveling and another intersecting road which corresponds to the segment [A1A2] is thus completely defined.

[0028] According to a third step 203 of the method according to the invention, the device 100 according to the invention determines data characterizing a first angle formed between the direction of movement of the vehicle and the intersection I. Thus, if we now refer to [Fig. 5], the device 100 according to the invention proceeds at this stage by determining the angle a formed between the segment [A1A2] and the movement of the vehicle 1. In fact, the angle a is equal to 90° if the two roads intersect perpendicularly and, otherwise, we have aa = atan ((y2-yl) / (x2-xl). Thus, at the end of this third step 203 of the method, the device 100 according to the invention advantageously knows the angle formed by the intersection I with the movement of the vehicle 1, in other words the heading that it follows.

[0029] According to a fourth step 204 of the method according to the invention, the device 100 according to the invention determines data characterizing a second angle formed between the direction of movement of the vehicle and the direction of movement of an object located near the intersection. Thus, if we now refer to [Fig. 6], the device 100 according to the invention proceeds at this stage by determining the angle [3 formed between the movement of the object O and the movement of the vehicle 1. To do this, the device 100 according to the invention interacts with the driving assistance system 2 in order to determine in a first step whether an object O is present near the intersection, in particular at a distance from the intersection which is less than a predefined value, for example three meters.If it establishes that the object O is close to the intersection, the device 100 according to the invention then interacts with the navigation system 2 or the driving assistance system 3 to determine, either based on mapping or detection, whether a pedestrian crossing is located near the intersection. Then, the device 100 according to the invention interacts with the driving assistance system 3 to . obtain an estimate of the angle [3, which the driving assistance system 3 determines by means of its detection apparatus. Alternatively, when the driving assistance system 3 is only able to determine the longitudinal speed Vx and the lateral speed Vy of the object O, the device 100 according to the invention determines the angle [3 by calculating [3 = Vy / Vx.

[0030] According to a fifth step 205 of the method according to the invention, the device 100 according to the invention manages the driving of the vehicle as a function of the absolute value of the difference between the first angle and the second angle. Indeed, when the absolute value between the angle α and the angle β is greater than a pre-established value, for example 15 degrees, this means that the trajectory of the object O diverges significantly from the intersection I, which implies that the object O is most likely a vehicle approaching or moving away from the intersection I. In this case, the device 100 according to the invention therefore causes the vehicle 1 to stop, by interacting to do so with the driving assistance system 2. Conversely, when the two angles are similar, this means that the object O is moving parallel to the intersection I, which implies that the object O is most likely a pedestrian crossing the intersection I.In this case, the device 100 according to the invention terminates the implementation of the method. Alternatively or cumulatively, it assigns a low level of importance to the object O, which is taken into account by the driving assistance system 2 to manage the automated driving of the vehicle 1 without taking into account the presence of the object O.

[0031] Consequently, thanks to the method and the device according to the invention described above, a driving assistance system for a motor vehicle is enabled to better differentiate between a pedestrian crossing near an intersection and another vehicle approaching or moving away from it. This enables more ergonomic automated driving that does not unnecessarily impede the flow of traffic.

Claims

Claims

1. Method for automated driving of a motor vehicle (1) implemented by a computer device (100) on board the vehicle, characterized in that the method comprises the steps of: i. determining whether the vehicle (1) is approaching an intersection (I); ii. obtaining data characterizing the location of the ends (A1, A2) of the intersection; iii. determining data characterizing a first angle (a) formed between the direction of movement of the vehicle (1) and the intersection (I); iv. determining data characterizing a second angle (|3) formed between the direction of movement of the vehicle (1) and the direction of movement of an object (0) located near the intersection (I); and v. managing the driving of the vehicle as a function of the absolute value of the difference between the first angle (a) and the second angle (P).

2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that step iv) comprises a step of determining whether a pedestrian crossing is present near the intersection (I).

3. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that step iv) comprises a step of determining whether the object (0) is at a distance from the intersection (I) which is less than a first predefined value.

4. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that step v) comprises a step of causing the vehicle (1) to stop when the absolute value of the difference between the first angle (a) and the second angle (P) is greater than a second predefined value.

5. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the second angle (P) is determined as a function of data characterizing the longitudinal speed (Vx) and the lateral speed (Vy) of the object (0).

6. Device (100) for automated driving of a motor vehicle (1), characterized in that said device comprises a processing unit information (101), with one or more processors, and a data storage medium (102), which are configured to implement a method according to any one of the preceding claims.

7. A computer program comprising program code instructions for executing the steps of a method according to any one of claims 1 to 5 when said program is executed by at least one processor.

8. Computer-readable medium, characterized in that a program according to claim 7 is recorded therein.

9. Motor vehicle (1), characterized in that said vehicle carries a device (100) according to claim 6.

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