Generation of a summary flow for navigation flow diagnosis

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for generating navigation streams carried in a vehicle communication network, comprising generating (201) N navigation streams from data from at least one satellite positioning system, N being an integer greater than or equal to 2, and generating (202) a synthesis stream from the N navigation streams, wherein, if at least one of the N navigation streams is invalid, the generated synthesis stream includes a predefined value. The N navigation streams and the synthesis stream are then transmitted (203) in the vehicle communication network. FIG. 2

Description

Title of the invention: Generation of a synthesis stream for navigation stream diagnosis

[0001] The present invention belongs to the field of diagnostics of data streams transported on a vehicle communication network, in particular navigation data streams from a navigation function of an on-board vehicle navigation system.

[0002] The term “vehicle” means any type of vehicle such as a motor vehicle of a private type, utility vehicle or heavy goods vehicle.

[0003] The vehicles incorporate navigation functions using satellite signals from a satellite positioning system, such as the GPS system, for "Global Positioning System" in English, or the Galileo system for example, in order to position the vehicle in space.

[0004] Satellite signals are received via an antenna installed on the roof of the vehicle, in an area called the roof. The antenna detects at least three signals from three different satellites to position the vehicle in two dimensions, or four signals from four different satellites for three-dimensional positioning of the vehicle, including the vehicle's altitude.

[0005] A telematics unit connected to the antenna can generate navigation data streams for the on-board navigation system, which can also be used, or consumed, by other vehicle functions. Such navigation data streams can be GNSS streams, for "Global Navigation Satellite Systems".

[0006] For example, the vehicle may include a driver assistance module, also called AD AS, for "Advanced Driver Assistance Systems", capable of implementing at least one vehicle driver assistance function.

[0007] Some of these AD AS functions that consume, or use, navigation data streams also require the ability to diagnose several of these data streams, or even to diagnose all navigation data streams.

[0008] This is the case, for example, of a tiling function, called REM for "Road Experience Management" in English, which is capable of generating a complete tiling of the road on which the vehicle travels, based on the vehicle's sensor data and on the database shared by other vehicles and made available to the vehicle by a service connected to the REM function.

[0009] The tiling performed by the REM function of the vehicle is also used by other AD AS functions of the vehicle, which require high precision in the descriptive data of the vehicle's environment.

[0010] In order to perform road tiling, the REM function consumes the navigation data streams generated by the navigation function and transported over a vehicle communication network, such as a CAN network. However, the navigation function of the on-board navigation system can generate a large number of navigation data streams, typically more than ten navigation data streams in the case of GNSS streams.

[0011] The REM function also requires diagnosing all the navigation data streams used by this function. However, it is not permissible to provide a dedicated vehicle diagnostic stream for each navigation data stream, as this risks introducing excessive latency on, or even completely saturating, the vehicle's communication network.

[0012] There is therefore a need to enable a function using navigation data streams transported over a vehicle's communication network to diagnose these streams, including when a large number of navigation streams are being transported.

[0013] The present invention improves the situation.

[0014] To this end, a first aspect of the invention relates to a method for generating navigation data streams transported in a vehicle communication network, comprising the following steps: - generate N navigation data streams from data from at least one satellite positioning system, N being an integer greater than or equal to 2; - generate a synthesis stream from the N navigation data streams, in which, if at least one of the N navigation data streams is invalid, the generated synthesis stream includes a predefined value; - transmit the N navigation data streams and the synthesis stream into the vehicle's communication network.

[0015] Thus, a predefined value can be inserted into a synthesis stream in the event of an invalidity of at least one navigation data stream, enabling rapid diagnostic implementation by a function consuming the navigation streams, without overloading the vehicle's communication network. The transmission of a single synthesis stream can be performed regardless of the number of navigation data streams.

[0016] According to embodiments, the method can be implemented in a vehicle device comprising at least one antenna, and the N navigation data streams can be generated on reception of satellite signals by said at least one antenna.

[0017] Thus, the device in charge of generating the navigation data streams is identical to that generating the synthesis stream, and is the device receiving the signals from satellites, which makes it possible to optimize the amount of navigation data streams transported on the vehicle's navigation network.

[0018] According to embodiments, during the generation of the N navigation data streams, if a given navigation data stream is invalid, the generated given navigation data stream may include an invalidity value indicating that the given navigation data stream is invalid, and the generated synthesis stream may include the predefined value if at least one of the N navigation data streams includes the invalidity value.

[0019] Thus, it is made possible to detect which navigation data stream is invalid, in the case where the predefined value is present in the synthesis stream, without generating vehicle diagnostic streams in addition to the navigation data streams.

[0020] According to embodiments, the vehicle may further include at least one module capable of implementing at least one function using navigation data streams, and the method may further include the module receiving the N navigation data streams and the synthesis stream, and the module diagnosing the N navigation data streams based on the synthesis stream.

[0021] Thus, the module implementing the function that consumes the navigation data streams can quickly diagnose the N navigation data streams. Furthermore, the module can implement this diagnosis for several functions that consume the navigation data streams.

[0022] In addition, the module can be a driving assistance module, and the function using navigation data streams can be a function for tiling a road on which the vehicle is traveling.

[0023] The synthesis stream is particularly useful for such a function, which requires diagnosing all N navigation data streams. This requirement is thus met without overloading the vehicle's communication network.

[0024] In addition or alternatively, the method may further include the implementation of the function using navigation data streams, depending on the diagnosis.

[0025] The implementation of the function may in particular be conditioned by the result of the diagnosis, which allows the function to be implemented on the basis of reliable data.

[0026] According to embodiments of the invention, the N navigation data streams may include one or more of the following navigation streams: - at least one stream for a longitudinal position of the vehicle; - at least one flow for a longitudinal position of the vehicle; - at least one flow for a given vehicle altitude; - a stream indicating a timestamp; - a flow indicating the vehicle's speed; - a stream indicating a total number of satellites; - a stream indicating the number of satellites in a first satellite positioning system; - a stream indicating the number of satellites of a second satellite positioning system; - a stream indicating the number of satellites from another satellite positioning system, or systems; and / or - a flow indicating a geometrically precise dilution value.

[0027] The GNSS streams used in vehicle navigation functions generally include such navigation data, which allow the vehicle to be positioned accurately.

[0028] A second aspect of the invention relates to a computer program comprising instructions for implementing the method according to the first aspect of the invention, when these instructions are executed by a processor.

[0029] A third aspect of the invention relates to a device of an on-board vehicle navigation system, the device comprising: - a processor configured to generate N navigation data streams from data from at least one satellite positioning system, N being an integer greater than or equal to 2, and to generate a synthesis stream from the N navigation data streams, in which, if at least one of the N navigation streams is invalid, the generated synthesis stream includes a predefined value; - an interface capable of transmitting the N navigation data streams and the synthesis stream in a vehicle communication network.

[0030] A fourth aspect of the invention relates to a vehicle comprising a device according to the third aspect of the invention, a module capable of implementing at least one function using the N navigation data streams generated by the device, and a communication network capable of transporting the N navigation data streams and the synthesis stream.

[0031] Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from an examination of the detailed description below, and the accompanying drawings in which:

[0032] [Fig-1] illustrates a vehicle according to embodiments of the invention;

[0033] [Fig.2] is a diagram illustrating the steps of a process for generating navigation data streams transported in a vehicle communication network, according to embodiments of the invention;

[0034] [Fig.3] is a vehicle module capable of implementing at least one function using navigation flows, according to embodiments of the invention.

[0035] Fig. 1 illustrates a vehicle 100 according to embodiments of the invention.

[0036] The vehicle 100 may include a vehicle driver assistance module 102, also called AD AS, for "Advanced Driver Assistance Systems". The AD AS 102 module is capable of implementing at least one driver assistance function based in particular on data from at least one sensor among M sensors 103.1-103.M of the vehicle 100.

[0037] No restrictions are attached to the M sensors 103.1-103.N of vehicle 100 which may include one or more cameras, a lidar, a radar and / or other types of sensors.

[0038] The term "driving assistance" for a vehicle means any method capable of assisting the driving of the vehicle. The method may thus consist of partially or totally steering the vehicle, providing any type of assistance to a person driving the vehicle, as well as performing other functions such as functions enabling energy savings and / or the preservation or protection of vehicle components.

[0039] The vehicle according to the invention comprises a device 110 of an on-board vehicle navigation system 100. The device 110 may be a telematics unit arranged on the roof of the vehicle, in an area called the roof. The telematics unit 110 may comprise at least one antenna 114 capable of receiving signals from satellites, from at least one GNSS positioning system, or from several GNSS positioning systems, such as the GPS (Global Positioning System), Galileo, GLONASS and / or BeiDou, for example.

[0040] The device 110 further includes a control unit 111 which is capable of generating, on the basis of signals received from at least one antenna 114, a set of N GNSS navigation data streams, N being greater than or equal to 2, typically greater than 10, in particular greater than 15. The GNSS navigation data streams are used by the on-board navigation function to position the vehicle, in particular in map data enabling the vehicle, or the driver of the vehicle, to be guided to a given destination.

[0041] No restrictions are attached to the N GNSS streams which may include one or more of the following streams: - at least one stream for the longitudinal position of vehicle 100. The longitudinal position can be indicated in several different formats in different GNSS streams; - at least one stream for the longitudinal position of vehicle 100. The longitudinal position can be indicated in several different formats in different GNSS streams; - at least one stream for vehicle altitude 100. The altitude can be indicated in several different formats in different GNSS streams; - a stream indicating a timestamp, or "Timestamp" in English; - a flow indicating a vehicle speed of 100; - a stream indicating a total number of satellites; - a stream indicating the number of satellites in a first satellite positioning system; - a stream indicating the number of satellites of a second satellite positioning system; - a stream indicating a number of satellites from another satellite positioning system, or systems; - a flow indicating a geometrically precise dilution value, such as a horizontal precision dilution for example; - other streams used by the navigation function of the on-board navigation system.

[0042] Thus, more than a dozen GNSS streams can be generated by the control unit 111 of the device 110.

[0043] All of these data streams enable the navigation function, and other ADAS functions, to accurately determine the position of vehicle 100 in space. Furthermore, the evolution of vehicle 100's position can be monitored in real time by continuously receiving satellite signals via the antenna and generating GNNS navigation data streams at a given frequency via device 110.

[0044] As previously explained, at least one AD AS function implemented by the vehicle's AD AS 102 module can use at least some of the N GNSS streams. According to embodiments of the invention, the AD AS 102 module is configured to implement the REM function described above, to perform road tiling, notably using data captured by the set of M sensors 103.1, 103.2... 103.M, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1. The REM function is generally based on data from a set of several sensors and also consumes the N GNSS streams generated by the device 110.

[0045] Once generated by the control unit 111, the GNSS navigation data streams can be transported over a communication network 120 of the vehicle 100, to other modules of the vehicle 100 consuming such streams, such as the AD AS module 102, and a centralized control module 101 of the vehicle 100, which may be of the ECU type, for "Electronic Control Unit" in English.

[0046] No restrictions are attached to the communication network 100, which can be a CAN-type network, for example, widely used for transporting data streams in the form of data buses in vehicles. The communication network 120 is thus used for transporting the N GNSS navigation data streams, but also other streams used for implementing other functions of the vehicle 100, which can be safety functions, ADAS functions, and / or infotainment system functions.

[0047] As explained previously, the 120 communication network is generally limited in bandwidth and is shared between several vehicle functions, which can be numerous, for the transport of data streams: thus, the addition of data streams or diagnostic streams generates at a minimum an increase in the latency associated with the transport of data in the 120 communication network, or may even completely saturate the 120 communication network.

[0048] In order to enable the diagnosis of navigation data streams without overloading the communication network 120, the invention provides that the control unit 111 generates a summary stream from the navigation data streams, called, for example, GNSS_Data_Status, indicating whether at least one of the navigation data streams is faulty or invalid. A navigation data stream is said to be invalid if the data used to generate the stream has not been received or if it contains errors.

[0049] To this end, the summary flow can indicate a predefined value, for example called NO_FIX, if at least one of the navigation flows is invalid. In the absence of such a predefined value, all navigation flows can be considered valid. Such a predefined value can thus be defined a priori as an attribute of the summary flow, which may optionally include one or more other attributes.

[0050] Thus, an AD AS function consuming navigation data streams, such as the REM function, can diagnose these navigation data streams by continuously monitoring the synthesis stream to detect whether or not the predefined value NO_FIX is present. This allows the AD AS function to quickly diagnose navigation data streams without adding a vehicle diagnostic stream for each navigation data stream, thereby reducing the load on the communication network.

[0051] Furthermore, the control unit 111 can be configured to assign an error or invalidity value to the invalid navigation data stream(s) during the generation of navigation data streams. The control unit 111 can thus proceed as follows during the generation of navigation data streams: - generate the N navigation data streams based on the signals received from the satellites, assigning an invalid value to a navigation data stream if it is invalid; - if at least one of the N navigation data streams is invalid, generate the synthesis stream with the given value NO_FIX; - if all N navigation data streams are valid, generate the summary stream without including the given value NO_FIX.

[0052] Note that the device 110 may include, in addition to the elements illustrated in [Fig.1], a first radio interface for accessing a cellular network and a second radio interface for accessing a wireless local area network, such as Wifi.

[0053] The first radio interface and the second radio interface can be integrated into the same connection manager module, also called "connection manager" in English.

[0054] Device 110 can thus obtain, via one or the other of the radio interfaces, additional data from the signals received from the satellites. Device 110 can also take this additional data into account when generating navigation data streams.

[0055] The control unit 111 may be a processor configured to communicate unidirectionally or bidirectionally, via one or more buses or via a direct wired connection, with the memory 113 of the device 110, which may be a Random Access Memory (RAM), a Read Only Memory (ROM), or any other type of memory (Flash, EEPROM, etc.). Alternatively, the memory 113 of the device 110 comprises several memories of the aforementioned types. The memory 113 is capable of storing, permanently or temporarily, at least some of the data used and / or resulting from the implementation of steps 200 to 203 of the method described with reference to [Fig. 2]. For example, the memory may temporarily store the signals received from the satellites via at least one antenna 114.

[0056] The control unit 111 is capable of executing instructions, stored in memory 113, for the implementation of steps 200 to 203 of the process according to the invention, described with reference to [Fig. 2]. Alternatively, the control unit 111 is a microcontroller designed and configured to perform steps 200 to 203 of the process according to the invention, described with reference to [Fig. 2].

[0057] Fig. 2 is a diagram illustrating the steps of a method for generating navigation data streams transported in a vehicle communication network, according to embodiments of the invention.

[0058] Steps 200 to 203 can be implemented by device 110 described with reference to [Fig. 1], and steps 210 to 212 can be implemented by a module implementing at least one function consuming data streams from navigation, such as the AD AS 102 module described earlier for implementing the REM function.

[0059] At a step 200, the device 110 receives signals from satellites, from at least one satellite positioning system, for example from several satellite positioning systems. In addition, as previously described, the device 110 can receive supplementary data from the satellite signals from one or more radio interfaces of the device 110.

[0060] At a step 201, the device 110 generates N navigation data streams from the satellite signals received at step 200, and optionally from supplementary data. As previously stated, if a given navigation data stream is invalid during its generation, for example, due to the absence of data reception enabling the generation of the given navigation stream, then an invalidity value can be included in the given navigation data stream.

[0061] At a step 202, the device 110 generates the synthesis stream based on the N navigation data streams generated at step 201. As explained previously: - if at least one of the N navigation data streams generated at step 201 is invalid, therefore includes the invalidity value, then the generated synthesis stream includes the predefined value NO_FIX as an attribute; - if all N navigation data streams generated in step 201 are valid, so none of them include the invalid value, then the generated summary stream does not include the predefined value NO_FIX as an attribute.

[0062] At a step 203, the device 110 transmits the N navigation data streams and the synthesis stream on the communication network 120. As previously stated, the communication network 120 can be shared between several functions of the vehicle 100, therefore the transmission on the communication network 120 is carried out during a time interval reserved for the navigation function.

[0063] Steps 200 to 203 are iterated, at a given frequency, so as to allow the functions of vehicle 100 to know the evolution of the position of vehicle 100.

[0064] At step 210, the module(s) connected to the communication network receive the N navigation data streams and the summary stream, following their transmission during step 203. In particular, the AD AS 102 module, implementing an AD AS function that consumes the navigation streams, specifically the REM function, receives the N navigation data streams and the summary stream. In what follows, steps 210 to 212 are considered to be implemented by the AD AS 102 module for the implementation of the REM function 211.

[0065] At step 211, the AD AS 201 module diagnoses the navigation flows from of the synthesis stream received at step 210.

[0066] During step 211, if the predefined value NO_FIX is detected in the synthesis stream, the AD AS 102 module diagnoses that at least one navigation data stream is invalid. Additionally, the AD AS module can search for the invalidity value in the navigation data streams to identify the invalid navigation data stream(s).

[0067] During step 211, if the AD AS 201 module determines that the synthesis stream does not include the given value NO_FIX, the AD AS 102 module diagnoses that the N navigation data streams are valid.

[0068] At a step 212, the AD AS 201 module implements the AD AS function consuming the navigation data streams, according to the diagnosis of step 211.

[0069] For example, if the diagnostic establishes that at least one navigation data stream is invalid, the AD AS function, for example the REM function, can be suspended. Such a suspension can be maintained until all N navigation data streams are valid again, which is detected by repeating steps 210 to 211 for new navigation data streams and a new summary stream. Alternatively, the AD AS function can be implemented based on the navigation data streams that are valid, excluding the invalid navigation data stream(s).

[0070] In the event that the diagnosis establishes that all the flows are valid, the ADAS function, for example the REM function, can be implemented on the basis of the navigation data flows.

[0071] Fig. 3 illustrates the structure of a vehicle module 300, capable of implementing a vehicle function 100 using navigation data streams from the vehicle's navigation function.

[0072] Module 300 can therefore be the ADAS 102 module previously described.

[0073] Module 300 includes a processor 301 configured to communicate from unidirectional or bidirectional communication, via one or more buses or via a direct wired connection, with a 302 memory such as Random Access Memory (RAM), Read Only Memory (ROM), or any other type of memory (Flash, EEPROM, etc.). Alternatively, the 302 memory may comprise several memories of the aforementioned types.

[0074] The memory 302 is capable of storing, permanently or temporarily, at least some of the data used and / or resulting from the implementation of steps 210 to 212 of the process described with reference to [Fig.2].

[0075] In particular, the memory 302 can store, at least temporarily, the navigation data streams and the synthesis stream, received at step 210. The memory 302 can also store data from sensors 103.1 to 130.M of the vehicle 100.

[0076] The processor 301 is capable of executing instructions, stored in memory 302, for the implementation of steps 210 to 212 of the process according to the invention, described with reference to [Fig. 2]. Alternatively, the processor 301 can be replaced by a microcontroller designed and configured to perform steps 210 to 212 of the process according to the invention, described with reference to [Fig. 2].

[0077] The module 300 may include a first interface 303 connected to the communication network 120, through which the module 300 can receive the N navigation data streams and the synthesis stream during step 210.

[0078] The module 300 may include at least one second interface 304 capable of communicating with the set of sensors 130.1 to 103.M of the vehicle, in particular when the module 300 is the AD AS 102 module.

[0079] The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above by way of example; it extends to other variants.

Claims

Demands

1. Method of generating navigation streams carried in a vehicle (100) communication network (120), comprising the following steps: - generating (201) N navigation streams from data from at least one satellite positioning system, N being an integer greater than or equal to 2; - generating (202) a synthesis stream from the N navigation streams, in which, if at least one of the N navigation streams is invalid, the generated synthesis stream includes a predefined value; - transmitting (203) the N navigation streams and the synthesis stream in the vehicle communication network.

2. A method for generating navigation streams, implemented in a device (110) of the vehicle (100) comprising at least one antenna (114), wherein the N navigation streams are generated on reception (200) of satellite signals by said at least one antenna.

3. Method according to claim 1 or 2, during the generation (201) of the N navigation streams, if a given navigation stream is invalid, the given generated navigation stream includes an invalidity value indicating that the given navigation stream is invalid, and wherein the generated synthesis stream (202) includes the predefined value if at least one of the N navigation streams includes the invalidity value.

4. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the vehicle (100) further comprises at least one module (101; 102) capable of implementing at least one function using navigation streams, and further comprising the reception (210) of the N navigation streams and the synthesis stream by the module, and the diagnosis (211) of the N navigation streams by the module on the basis of the synthesis stream.

5. A method according to claim 4, wherein the module is a driver assistance module (102), and the function using navigation flows is a function for tiling a road on which the vehicle travels.

6. Method according to claim 4 or 5, further comprising implementation (212) of the function using navigation flows, depending on the diagnosis.

7. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the N navigation streams comprise one or more of the following navigation streams: - at least one stream for a longitudinal position of the vehicle; - at least one stream for a longitudinal position of the vehicle; - at least one stream for an altitude of the vehicle; - a stream indicating a timestamp; - a stream indicating a speed of the vehicle; - a stream indicating a total number of satellites; - a stream indicating a number of satellites of a first satellite positioning system; - a stream indicating a number of satellites of a second satellite positioning system; - a stream indicating a number of satellites of another satellite positioning system, or systems; and / or - a stream indicating a geometric accuracy dilution value.

8. Computer program comprising instructions for carrying out the method according to any one of the preceding claims, when such instructions are executed by a processor (301).

9. Device (110) of an on-board navigation system of a vehicle (100), the device comprising: - a processor (301) configured to generate N navigation streams from data from at least one satellite positioning system, N being an integer greater than or equal to 2, and to generate a synthesis stream from the N navigation streams, in which, if at least one of the N navigation streams is invalid, the generated synthesis stream includes a predefined value; - an interface (303) capable of transmitting the N navigation streams and the synthesis stream in a communication network of the vehicle.

10. Vehicle (100) comprising a device (110) according to claim 9, a module capable of implementing at least one function using the N navigation streams generated by the device, and a communication network capable of carrying the N navigation streams and the synthesis stream.