Vehicle platoon intersection decision-making system and method thereof

Abstract

To provide a technology for a vehicle platoon intersection decision-making method.SOLUTION: A vehicle platoon intersection decision-making system includes a plurality of vehicles. When executing an intersection decision-making process, a captain vehicle determines whether a platoon can pass through an intersection at the current speed command, if so, the captain vehicle instructs each vehicle to maintain driving at the current speed command and pass through the intersection, and if not, the captain vehicle generates first optimized speed control information through a first speed decision-making process, makes the platoon's speed decrease before the platoon reaches the intersection so that the platoon passes through the intersection, and makes it start accelerating at the acceleration critical point. When the platoon passes through the intersection at the current speed command, no energy is wasted for acceleration or deceleration. The platoon decreases at first, then starts accelerating at an appropriate time to pass through the intersection, and bypasses or abbreviates the time required to wait for signals at the intersection.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an intersection decision-making system and method, and more particularly, to a vehicle platoon intersection decision-making system and method.

Background Art

[0002] 2. Description of Related Art In recent years, autonomous driving technology has been developing rapidly, mainly focusing on three core parts, namely, sensing, decision-making, and control. The sensing unit uses sensing devices such as radar, LIDAR, and cameras to collect information on the surrounding environment such as object recognition and road conditions. The decision-making unit includes route planning and behavior prediction, and evaluates various driving options through complex algorithms to determine the safest and best route. Finally, the control unit converts the decision into specific control commands and enables the automatic driving of the vehicle, including behaviors such as acceleration, deceleration, and lateral adjustment and steering.

[0003] A vehicle platoon adopting autonomous driving technology consists of a plurality of vehicles moving in a column and provides more efficient driving compared to a single vehicle operating autonomously. This has become one of the most in-demand markets in recent years. In addition to implementing the above-described aspects of sensing, decision-making, and control, vehicle platoons also include cooperative technologies within the vehicle, including complex integration technologies such as vehicle-to-vehicle communication, relative distance detection, and collective decision-making and control.

[0004] When a vehicle platoon adopting autonomous driving technology passes through a road intersection, the factors to be considered are more complex than those for a single vehicle traveling in a single lane. Not only is the total length of the vehicle platoon long, but the platoon may also be interrupted by other vehicles during travel. The traffic lights at the intersection may be in a passable or non-passable state with different remaining times respectively. If the vehicle platoon speeds up and crosses the intersection at an inappropriate time, it may cause traffic obstruction. Conversely, if it decelerates and stops despite having enough time to cross, it may reduce the driving efficiency of the vehicle platoon or cause traffic congestion.

[0005] Patent Document 1 relates to a vehicle having an autonomous driving function. The autonomous vehicle is suitable for at least two different driving modes. These driving modes include a first driving mode configured for a first type of autonomous driving and a second driving mode configured to enable the autonomous vehicle to follow and be guided by a preceding vehicle. Patent Document 1 does not mention the situation where the autonomous vehicle and the preceding vehicle pass through a road intersection.

[0006] As a conclusion, a method for controlling a vehicle platoon to safely and efficiently pass through an intersection is one of the urgent problems that need to be addressed.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0007]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0008] The object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle platoon intersection decision-making method technology.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0009] To achieve the above object, a vehicle platoon intersection decision-making system includes a vehicle platoon having a plurality of vehicles arranged in sequence, and the plurality of vehicles include a captain vehicle that travels based on a current speed command and a vehicle platoon including a plurality of member vehicles. Communication devices of the vehicles are communicably connected to each other. A positioning device that generates absolute position information and relative position information. An environment recognition device that generates environment situation information. A computing device connected to the communication device for communicating with other vehicles, connected to the positioning device for receiving absolute position information and relative position information, and connected to the environment recognition device for receiving environment situation information. The computing device of the captain vehicle (hereinafter referred to as the captain computing device) executes an intersection decision-making process, and based on the intersection signal information and intersection distance information in the environment recognition information, the relative position information of each vehicle, the absolute position information of the captain vehicle, and the current speed command, determines whether the vehicle platoon can pass through the intersection at the current speed command. If the answer is "yes", the computing device of the captain vehicle controls the vehicle to maintain travel at the current speed command so that the vehicle platoon can pass through the intersection. If the answer is "no", the computing device of the captain vehicle generates first optimized speed control information through a first speed determination process, transmits the first optimized speed control information to other vehicles via the communication device, and controls the vehicle platoon to decelerate to the acceleration critical point before reaching the intersection so that the vehicle platoon can pass through the intersection, and a computing device that starts acceleration. Each vehicle is provided with one respectively.

[0010] In a vehicle platoon, all vehicles are equipped with a communication device, a positioning device, an environmental monitoring device, and a computing device. The absolute position information, relative position information, and environmental state information generated by each vehicle can be synchronized to at least the captain vehicle via the communication device. The captain vehicle determines the overall situation of the vehicle platoon based on the information from each vehicle, generates a control signal to be transmitted to other vehicles, i.e., member vehicles, and can adjust the travel control of all vehicles accordingly.

[0011] When the captain vehicle decides to enter the intersection decision-making process, first, based on the signal information, intersection distance information, current speed command, and position information in the environmental detection information, it is determined whether the vehicle platoon can pass through the intersection at the current speed command. If so, the captain vehicle instructs the vehicle platoon to continue passing through the intersection at the current speed command. If not, the first optimized speed control information is generated via the first speed determination process, enabling the vehicle platoon to decelerate and delay its arrival time at the intersection. Also, the captain vehicle continues to determine whether the acceleration critical point has been reached based on the aforementioned information, and when the acceleration critical point is reached, it starts to accelerate to pass through the intersection, thus avoiding stopping and waiting at the red signal in front of the intersection.

[0012] Through the above intersection decision-making process, the vehicle platoon effectively and safely determines how to pass through the intersection as it approaches. If it is possible to go straight at the current speed command, there is no need to consume energy for acceleration and deceleration to change the driving state of the vehicle platoon. If the platoon cannot directly pass through at the current speed command, by first generating the optimized speed control information, the platoon first decelerates, starts to accelerate at an appropriate timing to pass through the intersection, avoids or shortens the stop and waiting time at the signal, thereby improving the smoothness and energy efficiency of the moving vehicle platoon.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0013]

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Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0014] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the vehicle queue intersection decision - making system of the present invention mainly includes a vehicle queue (hereinafter referred to as "queue") 1. The queue consists of a plurality of vehicles 10 lined up in a row that travels based on the current speed command in the team - up mode.

[0015] Definitions of terms used in the present invention are provided herein to indicate a vehicle 10 at a particular location. "Leading vehicle" refers to a vehicle 10 that is in front and is followed by another vehicle 10. "Following vehicle" refers to a vehicle 10 that is behind and follows another vehicle 10. "Head vehicle" refers to the vehicle 10 located at the very front of the queue 1. "Rear vehicle" refers to the vehicle 10 at the very end of the queue 1.

[0016] Each vehicle 10 within the queue 1 includes a communication device 11, a positioning device 12, an environment recognition device 13, and a computing device 14, respectively. The communication device 11 of each vehicle 10 communicates with the communication devices 11 of other vehicles 10, exchanges and synchronizes information with other vehicles 10, or transmits and receives control signals and requests, etc., like in a C-V2V system. The communication device 11 can further include communication modules such as a Road Side Unit (RSU) communication module 111 and a traffic signal communication module 112. The positioning device 12 is used to generate absolute position information and relative position information. Here, the absolute position information represents the absolute position of the vehicle 10 on the ground or on the road. The positioning device 12 includes, for example, a Global Positioning System (GPS) calculation module 121, generates absolute position coordinates based on the Global Positioning System, or receives the road position information of the vehicle 10 on the road from a Road Side Unit (RSU) 20 that is returned via the RSU communication module 111 of the communication device 11. The relative position information is the relative distance between the vehicle 10 and a leading vehicle or a following vehicle.

[0017] The environment recognition device 13 includes, for example, at least one or a combination of a camera module 131, a radar sensor module 132, and a road electromagnetic induction line sensor module 133, and generates at least environmental situation information such as obstacle information or preceding vehicle identification information. Also, based on an image from the camera module 131, it is possible to determine the state of the traffic signal 30 at the intersection ahead to generate intersection signal information or calculate intersection distance information. The intersection distance information is calculated, for example, based on the distance between the front end of the vehicle 10 and the stop line 31 of the intersection in the image from the camera module 131. In a preferred embodiment, when the intersection is equipped with the RSU 20, the environment recognition device 13 can also receive the road condition information returned by the RSU 20 and generate intersection signal information, intersection distance information, etc. Also, the relative position information of the positioning device 12 is, for example, the result of a calculation based on information returned from the radar sensor module 132 or the camera module 131.

[0018] Referring to FIG. 1, in the platoon 1, one vehicle 10 is designated as the captain vehicle 10A, and the other vehicles 10 other than the captain vehicle 10A are defined as member vehicles 10B. The determination of the driving direction of the platoon 1 is the responsibility of the computing device 14A of the captain vehicle 10A (hereinafter referred to as the captain computing device 14A). Also, in addition to receiving its absolute position information, relative position information, and environmental condition information, the captain computing device 14A receives, via the communication device 11, its absolute position information, relative position information, environmental condition information, other information or requests regarding the driving direction from the member vehicles 10B, and transmits control information to the member vehicles 10B via the communication device 11 of the captain vehicle 10A.

[0019] Since all vehicles 10 within queue 1 have the ability to share information via communication device 11, in actual implementation, any vehicle 10 within queue 1 can be defined as the captain vehicle 10A, and the present invention can still be fully realized. In a preferred embodiment, it is preferable that the captain vehicle 10A is the leading vehicle. For clarity, the embodiments of the present invention will be described with the leading vehicle as the captain vehicle 10A.

[0020] The vehicle queue intersection decision-making method is mainly executed by the captain vehicle 10A in the queue of the vehicle queue intersection decision-making system. Please also refer to the method flowchart shown in FIG. 3. In Embodiment 1 of the present invention, when the captain computing device 14A executes the intersection decision-making process (step S101), first, based on the intersection signal information, intersection distance information, relative position information of each vehicle 10, absolute position information of the captain vehicle 10A, and the current speed command, it is determined whether queue 1 Current speed command can pass through the intersection (step S102). If yes, the captain computing device 14A controls the vehicle 10 to maintain driving at the current speed command so that queue 1 passes through the intersection (step S103). If no, the captain computing device 14A generates the first optimized speed control information through the first speed decision-making process (step S104), and transmits the first optimized speed control information to each vehicle 10 via the communication device 11, so that queue 1 decelerates to the critical acceleration point before reaching the intersection, starts to accelerate, and passes through the intersection.

[0021] The determination methods for each step will be described in detail below.

[0022] In step S101, the captain computing device 14A determines to execute intersection decision-making processing based on specific conditions. Generally speaking, the captain computing device 14A determines whether to execute intersection decision-making processing based on whether the distance to the intersection indicated by the intersection distance information is less than a predetermined distance threshold. The predetermined distance threshold may be 100 meters.

[0023] Referring to FIG. 4, in step S102, when the captain computing device 14A determines whether queue 1 can pass through the intersection with the current speed command, first, the captain computing device 14A determines whether the signal state of the intersection signal 30 is a passing state based on the intersection signal information (S1021). The passing state refers to when the traffic signal 30 provides a green signal or a yellow signal, and the non-passing state (non-passing state) refers to when the traffic signal 30 provides a red signal.

[0024] If the signal state of the traffic signal is a passing state, that is, if the result of step S1021 is "yes", the captain computing device 14A calculates the intersection passing time of the rearmost vehicle of vehicle 10 based on the intersection distance information, the current speed command, and the relative position information of vehicle 10, and determines whether the intersection passing time of the rearmost vehicle is less than the remaining passing time of the intersection traffic signal (step S1022). If the intersection passing time of the rearmost vehicle is less than the remaining passing time, queue 1 can pass through the intersection with the current speed command (step S1023). If the intersection passing time of the rearmost vehicle is greater than or equal to the remaining passing time, queue 1 cannot pass through the intersection with the current speed command (step S1024).

[0025] The determination in step S1022 can be made according to the following first conditional expression.

Equation

[0026] Referring to FIG. 1, D lastis the distance between the rearmost vehicle and the intersection, and V last is the current speed of the rearmost vehicle, and T G +T Y is the remaining passing time, and T G is the remaining seconds of the green signal, and T Y is the remaining seconds of the yellow signal. T G , T Y can be known from the return message of the RSU 20 or recognized from the image recognition result of the camera module 131 of the environment recognition device 13. The present invention is not limited thereto.

[0027] In some preferred embodiments, the first conditional expression can be optimized as follows.

Equation

[0028] D last and V last When satisfy the above first conditional expression (1´), it indicates that the rearmost vehicle can pass through the intersection before the passing state of the traffic signal ends. Therefore, the queue 1 can pass through the intersection while maintaining the current speed command.

[0029] When the traffic signal 30 is Non-passing state that is, when step S1021 is "no", first, the captain computing device 14A calculates the intersection passing time of the rearmost vehicle among the vehicles based on the intersection distance information, Current speed command , the relative position information of each vehicle 10, and when the intersection passing time is the remaining Non-passing timeDetermine whether it is greater than, and determine whether the value obtained by subtracting the remaining non - passing time from the intersection passing time is less than the passing time of traffic signal 30 (step S1025). If both are correct, it means that queue 1 can pass through the intersection with the current speed command (step S1023). On the contrary, if either one is incorrect, queue 1 cannot pass through the intersection with the current speed command (step S1024).

[0030] The determination in step S1025 can be made by the following second conditional expression.

Number

[0031] In some preferred embodiments, the second conditional expression can be optimized as follows.

Number

[0032] D last and V last If satisfy the above - mentioned second conditional expression (2´), it indicates that after the non - passing state of the traffic signal ends, the rearmost vehicle can pass through the intersection, and can pass through the intersection before the next passing state of the traffic signal ends. Therefore, queue 1 can maintain the current speed command and pass through the intersection.

[0033] When the Captain Computing Device 14A determines that platoon 1 can pass through the intersection at the current speed command (step S1023), that is, when step S102 is "Yes", the Captain Computing Device 14A controls each vehicle 10 to continue traveling at the current speed command and pass through the intersection (step S103). Conversely (step S1024), that is, when step S102 is "No", the Captain Computing Device 14A proceeds to the first speed determination process.

[0034] Referring to FIG. 5, in the second embodiment, when the Captain Computing Device 14A determines that platoon 1 cannot pass through the intersection at the current speed command, that is, when step S102 is "No", the Captain Computing Device 14A further determines whether platoon 1 can pass through the intersection by cooperating with the intersection signal based on the intersection distance information, the current speed command, the relative position information of the vehicles, and the intersection signal information (step S201). If the answer is "Yes", the Captain Computing Device 14A communicates in cooperation with the traffic signal 30 so that platoon 1 can pass through the intersection. Otherwise, the Captain Computing Device 14A executes the first speed determination process (step S104) to generate the first optimized speed control information, and transmits the first optimized speed control information to the vehicle 10 via the communication device 11 so that platoon 1 decelerates before reaching the intersection.

[0035] In one embodiment, when executing step S201, the captain computing device 14A first determines whether the intersection passing time of the rearmost vehicle is shorter than the time obtained by adding a preset extension time to the remaining passing time of the traffic signal 30. If so, the queue 1 can pass through the intersection in cooperation with the traffic signal 30 (step S201 is "yes"). When the captain computing device 14A communicates in cooperation with the traffic signal 30 (step S202), actually, it requests to extend the remaining passing time of the traffic signal 30 by a predetermined extension time (step S202'). Otherwise, it is determined that the queue 1 cannot pass through the intersection in cooperation with the traffic signal 30 (step S201 is "no"). Therefore, the first speed determination process (step S104) is executed.

[0036] Hereinafter, the first speed determination process and the second speed determination process will be further described.

[0037] Summarizing the above description, the prerequisite for entering the first speed determination process (step S104) is that the queue 1 cannot pass through the intersection at the current speed. Under this situation, the purpose of the first speed determination process is to decelerate the queue 1 to the coasting speed and start acceleration at the critical acceleration point so that the queue 1 can pass through the intersection when the traffic signal changes from the non-passing state to the passing state.

[0038] Referring to FIG. 6, the first speed determination process (step S104) includes generating first optimized speed control information based on a preset deceleration value so that the current speed command decelerates to the coasting speed value (step S1041); continuously calculating the arrival time at the intersection based on the maximum acceleration value, the current speed command, and the intersection distance information, and determining whether the intersection signal is in the passing state when the leading vehicle of the queue 1 arrives at the intersection based on the arrival time (step S1042). If so, it is determined that the current time is the critical acceleration point, and after the intersection signal 30 changes from the non-passing state to the passing state, until the queue 1 passes through the intersection, the current speed command Maximum acceleration valueAdjusting the first optimized speed control information to increase only (step S1043).

[0039] Calculating whether the traffic signal 30 is in a passing state when the leading vehicle reaches an intersection where it accelerates at the maximum acceleration value is determined, for example, based on the following formula. [Number]

[0040] Here, D lead is the distance from the leading vehicle to the intersection, a max is the value of the maximum acceleration preset by the system, T allow is the time required for the leading vehicle to pass through the intersection at the value of e maximum acceleration, D lead0 is the current speed of the leading vehicle. T allow ∈T G indicates that, based on the time currently calculated for the leading vehicle to pass through the intersection, the traffic signal 30 is in a passing state when the leading vehicle reaches the intersection.

[0041] The prerequisite for entering the second speed determination process (step S203) is that queue 1 cannot pass through the intersection at the current speed, and the captain computing device 14A can cooperate with the traffic signal 30 to allow queue 1 to pass through the intersection. More specifically, the captain computing device 14A can request the traffic signal 30 to extend for a predetermined extension time, so that the last vehicle in queue 1 can pass through the intersection within the time obtained by adding the predetermined extension time to the remaining passing time.

[0042] Preferably, the second speed determination process (step S203) generates second optimized speed control information based on the maximum speed value and the corresponding maximum acceleration value, and the second optimized speed control information gradually increases the current speed command to the maximum speed value. In this way, the second speed determination process enables the queue 1 to accelerate through the intersection in order to ensure that the queue 1 passes through the intersection within the time obtained by adding the preset extension time to the remaining passing time.

[0043] Figures 7 and 8 respectively show the experimental verification results of the first speed determination process and the second speed determination process. Among these, the four graphs from top to bottom represent the queue speed (speed) (Kph), the queue acceleration (acceleration) (m / s 2 ), the queue length (distance) (m), and the distance to the intersection (traffic distance) (m), respectively. In the queue speed diagram, there are two waveforms of the target speed (V_target) and the actual speed (V_host), in the queue acceleration chart, there are two waveforms of the target acceleration (Ax_target) and the actual acceleration (Ax_host), and in the queue length diagram, there are two waveforms of the actual length (Dr) and the target length (D_follow). It can be seen that the target speed and the actual speed, and the target length and the actual length are almost the same, but the response of the actual acceleration is slightly delayed compared to the target acceleration.

[0044] Referring to Figure 7, when the first speed determination process is executed, at time point t1, the Captain Computing Device 14A determines that queue 1 cannot pass through the intersection with the current speed command. Therefore, the target acceleration is set to the preset deceleration value, that is, the first optimized speed control information is generated with the preset deceleration value. As a result, queue 1 starts to decelerate to the coasting speed, and then coasts at a nearly constant speed. At time point t2, the Captain Computing Device 14A determines that it is the critical acceleration time point and sets the target acceleration to the maximum acceleration value. That is, the first optimized speed control information is adjusted with the maximum acceleration value to start accelerating queue 1 until it reaches and passes through the intersection at time point t3. However, at this time point, the distance to the intersection is 0m.

[0045] Referring to FIG. 8, when executing the second speed determination process, at time t4, the captain computing device 14A determines that queue 1 can pass through the intersection after the traffic signal 30 extends the preset extension time. Therefore, based on the value of the maximum acceleration, the second optimized speed control information is generated, and queue 1 can start accelerating until it arrives at and passes through the intersection at time t5.

[0046] In summary, the vehicle queue intersection determination system of the present invention enables queue 1 to actively enter the intersection determination process, and determines the most effective speed control information based on the signal state of the traffic signal, the distance between queue 1 and the intersection, the length of queue 1, and the current speed of queue 1. Whether queue 1 can directly pass through the intersection, whether it can pass through the intersection by extending the signal state time, or whether it has to decelerate and cannot directly pass through the intersection, the task of passing through the intersection without reducing the speed of queue 1 to 0 can be optimally executed. Thereby, queue 1 can smoothly pass through the intersection, and the energy efficiency is effectively improved.

[0047] As shown in FIG. 9, in the third embodiment, a special situation where queue 1 is interrupted by an external vehicle 40 is further considered. When queue 1 is in a normal queue configuration, each vehicle 10 in queue 1 closely follows each other without passing through a non-queue vehicle (hereinafter referred to as an "external vehicle") 40. When an external vehicle 40 cuts in from another lane between two vehicles 10 in queue 1, an interruption situation of the external vehicle 40 occurs.

[0048] The vehicle platoon intersection decision-making method further includes the following steps executed by any one of the member vehicles 10B. Referring to FIG. 10, actually, for example, via the camera module 131 of the environment recognition device 13, or in combination with the detection information of the radar detection module 132 of any member vehicle 10B, the computing device 14 of the member vehicle 10B continuously determines whether there is an external vehicle 40 that cuts into a preset range of the target driving lane, and determines whether an intrusion situation by the external vehicle 40 has occurred (step S301). If the answer is "yes", it is determined that an intrusion situation has occurred, and the process enters the intrusion determination flow (step S302). The actual determination that the external vehicle 40 cuts into the preset range of the target driving lane is, for example, when the tire in front of the original external vehicle 40 in the adjacent lane cuts into the target driving lane by 30 cm. The intrusion determination flow (step S302) includes the following sub-steps.

[0049] Referring to FIG. 11, when an intrusion situation occurs, the member vehicle 10B (hereinafter referred to as the "overtaken vehicle 10B´") that is cut into by the external vehicle transmits an intrusion notification to other vehicles 10 in the platoon 1 via the communication device 11, notifies the captain vehicle 10A and other vehicles 10B of the intrusion situation, and executes the following general processing (step S3021). The general following process means that the overtaken vehicle 10B´ continues to follow the external vehicle 40. The overtaking vehicle 10B´ continuously determines whether the intrusion situation has been resolved (step S3022). For example, based on the environment recognition device 13 of the overtaken vehicle 10B´, the overtaken vehicle 10B´ continuously determines whether the external vehicle 40 has completely left the target driving lane, indicating that the intrusion situation has been resolved.

[0050] When the interruption situation is resolved, the computing device 14 of the overtaken vehicle 10B' determines whether the overtaken vehicle 10B' can catch up with the leading vehicle at the current speed command (S3023). If the overtaken vehicle 10B' can catch up with the leading vehicle at the current speed command, the computing device 14 of the overtaken vehicle 10B' transmits a queue formation request to the captain computing device 14A via the communication device 11 (S3024), executes queue formation processing. If the overtaken vehicle 10B' cannot catch up with the leading vehicle at the current speed command, the computing device 14 of the overtaken vehicle 10B' transmits a deceleration request to the captain computing device 14A via the communication device 11 (S3025), requests to decelerate and drive, and then executes queue formation processing (S3024).

[0051] When determining whether the overtaken vehicle 10B' can catch up with the leading vehicle at the current speed command, calculate the value obtained by subtracting the value of the distance between the overtaken vehicle 10B' and the leading vehicle divided by the maximum speed value from the time difference, and determine whether the result is less than a predetermined time. If it is less than the predetermined time, it indicates that the overtaken vehicle 10B' can catch up with the leading vehicle and a queue formation request can be directly made. If it is greater than the predetermined time, it indicates that the overtaken vehicle 10B' cannot catch up with the leading vehicle. This "time difference" refers to the ratio of the current speed and the relative distance of the vehicle during platoon driving. This is calculated based on the current speed, and the formula is the relative distance between the following vehicle and the leading vehicle divided by the current speed. For example, according to ISO15622, when the current speed exceeds 8 meters per second, this time difference must be between 1.5 and 2.2 seconds. Also, the predetermined time is, for example, 1 second.

[0052] Note that after the occurrence of an interruption situation, regardless of whether there are other member vehicles 10B behind the overtaken vehicle 10B', the overtaken vehicle 10B' is set as a temporary captain vehicle 10A'. When it is determined that general following processing is being executed and there is no interruption situation, the temporary captain vehicle 10A' generates and transmits speed control information to other member vehicles 10B behind based on the general following processing. Also, in the present invention, all the determination processes that the captain vehicle 10A should perform are executed until the interruption situation is resolved and the queue formation process with the leading vehicle / captain vehicle 10A is completed. Only at this time does the temporary captain vehicle 10A' resume its uniqueness as a member vehicle 10B. The aforementioned "general following process" refers to the following determination process that is executed when the vehicle 10 is traveling in the same lane and following the external vehicle 40. The main purpose is to maintain an appropriate driving distance from the external vehicle 40 until the external vehicle 40 leaves the target driving lane of queue 1.

[0053] The queue formation process includes a plurality of steps, including but not limited to, a step of starting the queue formation function by the captain vehicle 10A and the overtaken vehicle 10B', a step of determining whether the captain vehicle 10A and the overtaken vehicle 10B' are within the same target driving lane, a step of determining whether the communication delay between the captain vehicle 10A and the overtaken vehicle 10B' is less than a communication delay threshold value (for example, 150 ms), a step of determining whether there are no obstacles (external vehicle 40 or other obstacles) between the overtaken vehicle 10B' and the leading vehicle, and a step of determining whether the time difference obtained by subtracting the set cruise following time difference from the time difference is less than a predetermined time (for example, 0.3 seconds). Here, when the value obtained by subtracting the set navigation following time difference from the time difference is less than the predetermined time, it indicates that the current difference between the time difference and the set cruise following time difference is less than this predetermined time and the conditions for queue formation are satisfied.

[0054] Briefly, the second preferred embodiment of the present invention further provides a complete determination process when any member vehicle 10B is cut in from the front by an external vehicle 40 after entering the intersection determination process. As described above, all the vehicles 10 in the queue are equipped with a communication device 11, a positioning device 12, an environment recognition device 13, and a computing device 14 having the same capabilities. Therefore, when the external vehicle 40 cuts in and the queue is divided, the overtaken vehicle 10B' can also temporarily execute the functions of the captain vehicle 10A and continue the driving task. After the cut-in situation is resolved, the overtaken vehicle 10B' resumes the original queue mode driving according to the standard process and forms a queue with the leading vehicle / captain vehicle 10A.

Claims

1. A vehicle platoon intersection decision-making system, comprising a vehicle platoon including a plurality of vehicles arranged in sequence, wherein the plurality of vehicles include a captain vehicle and a plurality of member vehicles that travel based on a current speed command, a communication device, wherein the communication devices of the vehicles are communicably connected to each other, a positioning device that generates absolute position information and relative position information, an environment recognition device that generates environment situation information, a computing device connected to the communication device for communicating with other vehicles, connected to the positioning device for receiving the absolute position information and the relative position information, and connected to the environment recognition device for receiving the environment situation information, wherein the computing device of the captain vehicle is defined as a captain computing device, and the captain computing device executes an intersection decision-making process, and the vehicle platoon is based on the intersection signal information and intersection distance information in the environment situation information, the relative position information of each vehicle, the absolute position information of the captain vehicle, and the current speed command, determines whether the vehicle platoon can pass through the intersection with the current speed command, if "yes", the captain computing device controls the vehicle to maintain traveling at the current speed command so that the vehicle platoon can pass through the intersection, if "no", the captain computing device generates first optimized speed control information through a first speed determination process, transmits the first optimized speed control information to the other vehicles through the communication device, and controls the vehicle platoon to decelerate to an acceleration critical point before reaching the intersection so that the vehicle platoon can pass through the intersection, and starts to accelerate, a computing device A vehicle platoon intersection decision-making system provided in each vehicle.

2. When the captain computing device determines whether the vehicle platoon can pass through the intersection with the current speed command, the captain computing device first determines whether the signal state of the intersection signal is a passing state based on the intersection signal information, When the signal state of the intersection signal is in the passing state, the captain computing device calculates the intersection passing time of the rearmost vehicle among the vehicles based on the intersection distance information, the current speed command, and the relative position information of the vehicle, and determines whether the intersection passing time of the rearmost vehicle is less than the remaining passing time of the intersection signal. When the intersection passing time of the rearmost vehicle is less than the remaining passing time, the vehicle queue can pass through the intersection at the current speed command. When the intersection passing time of the rearmost vehicle is greater than or equal to the remaining passing time, the vehicle queue cannot pass through the intersection at the current speed command. When the signal state of the intersection signal is in a non-passing state, the captain computing device first calculates the intersection passing time of the rearmost vehicle among the vehicles based on the intersection distance information, the current speed command, and the relative position information of the vehicle, determines whether the intersection passing time of the rearmost vehicle is greater than the remaining non-passing time of the intersection signal, and determines whether the time obtained by subtracting the remaining non-passing time from the intersection passing time of the rearmost vehicle is less than the passing time of the intersection signal. The vehicle queue intersection decision-making system according to claim 1, wherein when both are correct, the vehicle queue can pass through the intersection at the current speed command.

3. When the captain computing device determines that the vehicle queue cannot pass through the intersection at the current speed command, the captain computing device further determines whether the vehicle queue can pass through the intersection by cooperating with the intersection signal based on the intersection distance information, the current speed command, the relative position information of the vehicle, and the intersection signal information. If the answer is "yes", the captain computing device executes cooperative communication with the intersection signal device, and generates second optimized speed control information through a second speed determination process so that the vehicle queue passes through the intersection. If the answer is "no", the captain computing device generates first optimized speed control information, transmits the first optimized speed control information to the other vehicles via the communication device, and controls the vehicle queue to decelerate and travel before reaching the intersection. The vehicle queue intersection decision-making system according to claim 1.

4. When the captain computing device determines whether the vehicle queue can pass through the intersection in cooperation with the intersection signal, the captain computing device calculates the passing time of the rearmost vehicle based on the intersection distance information, the current speed command, and the relative position information of the vehicle, and determines whether the passing time of the rearmost vehicle is less than the sum of the remaining passing time of the intersection signal and a preset extension time. If the answer is "yes", the vehicle queue can pass through the intersection by cooperating with the intersection signal. When the captain computing device performs cooperative communication with the intersection signal device, the captain computing device sends a request to the intersection signal to extend the remaining passing time by the preset extension time. If the answer is "no", the vehicle queue cannot pass through the intersection by cooperating with the intersection signal. The vehicle queue intersection decision-making system according to claim 3.

5. When the captain computing device executes the intersection decision-making process, the computing device of the vehicle determines whether an interruption situation by an external vehicle has occurred. If the answer is "no", the captain computing device determines whether the vehicle queue can pass through the intersection at the current speed command. The vehicle queue intersection decision-making system according to claim 1.

6. When the captain computing device executes the intersection decision-making process, the computing device of the vehicle determines whether an interruption situation by an external vehicle has occurred. If the answer is "yes", the vehicle being overtaken within the vehicle queue executes the general following mode and continuously determines whether the interruption situation is resolved. When the interruption situation is resolved, the computing device of the vehicle being overtaken determines whether it can catch up with the leading vehicle of the vehicle at the current speed command. If the vehicle being overtaken can catch up with the leading vehicle at the current speed command, the computing device of the vehicle being overtaken sends a queue formation request to the captain computing device via the communication device to execute queue formation processing. When the overtaken vehicle cannot catch up with the leading vehicle at the current speed command, the computing device of the overtaken vehicle transmits a deceleration request to the captain computing device via the communication device to request deceleration driving and executes the queue formation process. The vehicle queue intersection decision-making system according to claim 1.

7. The first speed determination process is generating first optimized speed control information based on a preset deceleration value so that the current speed command decreases to the coasting speed value; continuously calculating the arrival time at the intersection based on the maximum acceleration value, the current speed command, and the intersection distance information, and determining whether the intersection signal is in a passing state when the leading vehicle of the vehicle queue reaches the intersection based on the arrival time; if "yes", determining that the current time is the acceleration critical time, and adjusting the first optimized speed control information so that the current speed command increases by the maximum acceleration value so that the vehicle queue passes through the intersection when the intersection signal changes from a non-passing state to a passing state; if "no", maintaining the first optimized speed control information based on the coasting speed value. The vehicle queue intersection decision-making system according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

8. The second speed determination process is generating second optimized speed control information based on the upper speed limit value and the upper acceleration limit value so that the current speed command gradually increases to the upper speed limit value. The vehicle queue intersection decision-making system according to claim 3 or 4.

9. The communication device includes a roadside unit communication module, the environment recognition device includes at least one of a camera module, a radar detection module, or a combination thereof, The positioning device generates the absolute position information based on the road position information received from the roadside unit communication module and generates the relative position information based on the information received from the environment recognition device. The vehicle queue intersection decision-making system according to claim 1.

10. A vehicle queue intersection decision-making method implemented using a computing device of a captain vehicle in a vehicle queue, comprising: executing an intersection decision-making process; Based on the intersection signal information and intersection distance information in the environmental awareness information, the relative position information of each vehicle, the absolute position information of the captain vehicle, and the current speed command, determining whether the vehicle queue can pass through the intersection with the current speed command; If the answer is "yes", controlling the vehicle to maintain running according to the current speed command so that the vehicle queue passes through the intersection; If the answer is "no", generating first optimized speed control information through a first speed determination process, transmitting the first optimized speed control information to the other vehicles, and controlling the vehicle queue to decelerate until the critical acceleration time before reaching the intersection and then accelerate to start running so that the vehicle queue passes through the intersection; A vehicle queue intersection decision-making method comprising the above steps.

11. The vehicle includes a last vehicle, and the step of "determining whether the vehicle queue can pass through the intersection with the current speed command" is as follows: A sub-step of determining whether the signal state of the intersection signal is a passing state based on the intersection signal information; When the signal state of the intersection signal is the passing state, calculating the intersection passing time of the last vehicle among the vehicles based on the intersection distance information, the current speed command, and the relative position information of the vehicle, and determining whether the intersection passing time of the last vehicle is smaller than the remaining passing time of the intersection signal; When the intersection passing time of the last vehicle is smaller than the remaining passing time, the vehicle queue can pass through the intersection with the current speed command; When the intersection passing time of the last vehicle is greater than or equal to the remaining passing time, the vehicle queue cannot pass through the intersection with the current speed command; When the signal state of the intersection signal is a non-passing state, calculating the intersection passing time of the last vehicle among the vehicles based on the intersection distance information, the current speed command, and the relative position information of the vehicle, determining whether the intersection passing time of the last vehicle is greater than the remaining non-passing time of the intersection signal, and determining whether the time obtained by subtracting the remaining non-passing time from the intersection passing time of the last vehicle is smaller than the passing time of the intersection signal. The vehicle platoon intersection decision-making method according to claim 10, wherein when both are "yes", the vehicle platoon includes a sub-step of being able to pass through the intersection with the current speed command.

12. When it is determined that "the vehicle platoon cannot pass through the intersection with the current speed command", Based on the intersection distance information, the current speed command, the relative position information of the vehicle, and the intersection signal information, it is determined whether the vehicle platoon can pass through the intersection in cooperation with the intersection signal, When "yes", execute cooperative communication with the intersection signal device so that the vehicle platoon passes through the intersection, and generate second optimized speed control information through a second speed determination process, When "no", generate the first optimized speed control information, transmit the first optimized speed control information to the other vehicles via the communication device, and control the vehicle platoon to decelerate and travel before reaching the intersection The vehicle platoon intersection decision-making method according to claim 10, further comprising.

13. The step of "determining whether the vehicle platoon can pass through the intersection by cooperating with the intersection signal" is Calculating the passing time of the rearmost vehicle based on the intersection distance information, the current speed command, and the relative position information of the vehicle, and determining whether the passing time of the rearmost vehicle is less than the sum of the remaining passing time of the intersection signal and a preset extension time, When "yes", the vehicle platoon can pass through the intersection by cooperating with the intersection signal, and cooperating with the intersection signal device includes requesting to extend the remaining passing time of the intersection signal by the preset extension time, When "no", the sub-step that the vehicle platoon cannot pass through the intersection by cooperating with the intersection signal The vehicle platoon intersection decision-making method according to claim 12, comprising.

14. When executing the intersection decision-making process, first determine whether an interruption situation by an external vehicle has occurred, The vehicle platoon intersection decision-making method according to claim 10, wherein when "no", it is determined whether the vehicle platoon can pass through the intersection with the current speed command.

15. The computing device of at least one of the member vehicles in the vehicle queue determines whether an interruption situation by an external vehicle has occurred, if "yes", the vehicle being overtaken in the vehicle executes the general following mode, and continuously determines whether the interruption situation has been resolved, when the interruption situation has been resolved, the computing device of the overtaken vehicle determines whether the overtaken vehicle can catch up with the leading vehicle of the vehicle at the current speed command if the overtaken vehicle can catch up with the leading vehicle at the current speed command, the computing device of the overtaken vehicle transmits a queue formation request to the captain computing device via the communication device and executes queue formation processing, if the overtaken vehicle cannot catch up with the captain vehicle at the current speed command, the computing device of the overtaken vehicle transmits a deceleration request to the captain computing device via the communication device, requests the captain vehicle to decelerate and travel, and then further includes a computing device for executing the queue formation processing. The vehicle queue intersection decision-making method according to claim 10.

16. The first speed determination process is generating first optimized speed control information based on a preset deceleration value so that the current speed command decreases to the coasting speed value, continuously calculating the arrival time at the intersection based on the maximum acceleration value, the current speed command, and the intersection distance information, and determining whether the intersection signal is in a passing state when the leading vehicle of the vehicle queue reaches the intersection based on the arrival time, if "yes", determining that the current time is the acceleration critical time, and adjusting the first optimized speed control information so that the current speed command increases by the maximum acceleration value so that the vehicle queue passes through the intersection when the intersection signal changes from the non-passing state to the passing state, if "no", maintaining the first optimized speed control information based on the coasting speed value. The vehicle queue intersection decision-making method according to any one of claims 10 to 15.

17. The second speed determination process is The vehicle platoon intersection decision-making method according to claim 12 or 13, including generating second optimized speed control information based on the upper limit speed value and the upper limit acceleration value so that the current speed command gradually increases to the upper limit speed value.

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