Vehicles with offset exteroceptive sensors

Abstract

The present invention relates to a vehicle for transporting goods and / or people in a right-hand driving or left-hand driving traffic lane, comprising, for a given exteroceptive sensor model, a single sensor of this model (called the single front sensor) located at the front of the vehicle to obtain information about the environment in which the vehicle is located. In the case of right-hand driving, the single front sensor is offset to the left from a midsagittal plane separating the left and right parts of the vehicle, and in the case of left-hand driving, the front sensor is offset to the right.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The field of the invention is robotics, and more specifically, autonomous vehicles and driver assistance systems. [Background technology]

[0002] In the field of autonomous vehicles and driver assistance systems, two types of sensors are traditionally used: exteroceptive sensors to observe the environment (laser-based remote sensing sensors known as LiDAR, cameras, radar and satellite-based positioning sensors) and proprioceptive sensors, which focus on internal states.

[0003] Certain models of exoceptive sensors, such as LiDARS, if you choose to mount two on your vehicle, may be mounted near the front-left and front-right corners of the vehicle for the purposes of detecting obstacles and other road users, or may be positioned on the front and rear roof in the mid-sagittal plane of the vehicle (i.e. in the middle of its width) for purposes of localization, for example via SLAM ("Simultaneous Localization and Mapping").

[0004] In the former case, this choice is necessitated by the desire to have a redundant solution where, when one of the two sensors is lost, the most important field of view (FOV) remains covered by the other sensor. Placing them at or near each front corner is especially true for scanning LiDARs, which are rotating LiDARs that scan a horizontal angle of up to 360°. If they can be observed by each other due to their FOV and orientation, as long as they are not single-layer LiDARs and provide a vertical FOV that is not reduced to a spot (VFOV, not horizontal FOV or HFOV), this configuration also has the advantage of allowing detection at a certain height range of the observation sensor level by the observation sensor.

[0005] When these sensors are placed at a low position, their mutual observation compensates for the fact that at the origin of the observation sensor's FOV the latter has the problem of not being able to detect the size of very close obstacles, and is therefore potentially susceptible to the effects of dust and rain. Mutual observation makes it possible to evaluate the thickness of detected obstacles and exclude false positives.

[0006] If these sensors are located at a height close to the roof, this usually indicates that they are also used for localization. However, since the two sensors are closer together than in the second option, where they are usually placed at the front and rear, the accuracy of the orientation measurement is reduced and the risk of an obstacle simultaneously reducing the FOV of both sensors is greater than if they were spaced farther apart.

[0007] The second case, where the two sensors are placed on the roof in the mid-sagittal plane of the vehicle, shows that the need for localization is addressed first, even if they can also be used for obstacle detection beyond the first few meters. This solution, which was preferred for symmetrical vehicles that did not distinguish between front and rear, tends to disappear with the abandonment of bidirectionality in favor of a simple central sensor or two-sensor solutions such as the LiDAR mentioned above.

[0008] It should be noted that a particular vehicle may choose to place four scanning LiDARs at the four corners of the vehicle, so that if a LiDAR is lost, the entire horizontal field that it covered remains covered by the LiDARs in the two adjacent corners.

[0009] It was also noted that, to keep costs down, when exteroceptive sensors are installed alone for localization purposes and / or detection of obstacles and other road users, they are systematically placed in the mid-sagittal plane of the vehicle. This position ensures symmetry of perception obtained on the left and right sides of the vehicle. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0010] The present invention aims to improve the perception of the environment of a vehicle travelling along a lane when a single sensor of a particular exteroceptive sensor model is mounted at the front of the vehicle. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] For this reason, the invention relates to a vehicle for transporting goods and / or people in a right-hand driving or left-hand driving traffic lane, comprising, for a first predefined exteroceptive sensor model, a single sensor of this first model (called single front sensor) placed at the front of the vehicle for obtaining information about the environment in which the vehicle is located, in the case of right-hand driving, the single front sensor is offset to the left from a mid-sagittal plane separating the left and right parts of the vehicle, and in the case of left-hand driving, the front sensor is offset to the right from a mid-sagittal plane separating the left and right parts of the vehicle.

[0012] Some preferred, but non-limiting aspects of this vehicle are as follows: - The vehicle has a left side, a right side, and a front connecting the left and right sides, and a single front sensor is located at the front of the vehicle at the junction between the left side and the front for right-hand driving and at the junction between the right side and the front for left-hand driving. - A single front sensor is located in the upper part of the front of the vehicle. - The vehicle has a roof with a left front at the junction between the left side and the front and a right front at the junction between the right side and the front, and a single front sensor is positioned near the left front in case of right-hand driving and near the right front in case of left-hand driving. - A single front sensor is located on the roof. - The unobstructed horizontal field of view of the single front sensor covers an angle of more than 180°, preferably at least 270°. - the vehicle further includes a single sensor of a second predetermined exteroceptive sensor model, identical or different from the first sensor model, of this second model, located at the rear of the vehicle for obtaining information about the environment in which the vehicle is located (referred to as the single rear sensor), the single rear sensor being offset from a midsagittal plane separating the left and right portions of the vehicle. - For right-hand driving, the single rear sensor is offset to the right from the midsagittal plane separating the left and right portions of the vehicle, and for left-hand driving, the rear sensor is offset to the left from the midsagittal plane separating the left and right portions of the vehicle. - A single front sensor is disposed at a first height in front of the vehicle and a single rear sensor is disposed at a second height in the rear of the vehicle, the first height and the second height differing from each other by up to 20% of the height of the vehicle. - A single rear sensor is located in the roof. - The single front sensor can be a LiDAR sensor, camera or radar.

[0013] Other aspects, objects, advantages and features of the present invention will become more apparent on reading the following detailed description of some preferred embodiments of the invention, given as non-limiting examples and made with reference to the attached drawings, in which right-hand driving is taken as an example. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1A] FIG. 13 illustrates the increase in unobstructed area of ​​view for a single front exteroceptive sensor placed on a vehicle in accordance with the present invention when the vehicle is behind another vehicle whose view is partially obstructed, compared to the same exteroceptive sensor placed in the mid-sagittal plane of the vehicle. [Figure 1B] FIG. 13 illustrates the increase in unobstructed area of ​​view for a single front exteroceptive sensor placed on a vehicle in accordance with the present invention when the vehicle is behind another vehicle whose view is partially obstructed, compared to the same exteroceptive sensor placed in the mid-sagittal plane of the vehicle. [Figure 2A] FIG. 13 illustrates the increase in detection distance when a single front exteroceptive sensor is laterally offset from the mid-sagittal plane in accordance with the present invention compared to when a single front exteroceptive sensor is positioned in this mid-sagittal plane of the vehicle. [Figure 2B] FIG. 13 illustrates the increase in detection distance when a single front exteroceptive sensor is laterally offset from the mid-sagittal plane in accordance with the present invention compared to when a single front exteroceptive sensor is positioned in this mid-sagittal plane of the vehicle. [Figure 3A] It shows a side view at a height of 1m20 in the field of view of a single front exteroceptive sensor placed centrally at the front of the vehicle, and through the side view at a height of 1m20, it shows that the field of view of a single front exteroceptive sensor placed in the midsagittal plane cannot detect children close to the vehicle, who are at highest risk. [Figure 3B] It shows a top view cross-section at a height of 1 m20 in the field of view of a single front exteroceptive sensor placed in the centre of the front of the vehicle, and through the top view cross-section at a height of 1 m20 it shows that the field of view of a single front exteroceptive sensor placed in the midsagittal plane cannot detect children close to the vehicle who are at highest risk. [Figure 3C] FIG. 13 shows, through a top cross-sectional view at a height of 1m20, that a child is now within the field of view of a single front exteroceptive sensor when the sensor is laterally offset in accordance with the present invention. [Figure 4A] FIG. 13 illustrates the field of view of a single front exteroceptive sensor at an acute intersection depending on whether the sensor is located in front of the mid-sagittal plane of the vehicle, located on the vehicle in accordance with the present invention, or on the side of the vehicle. [Figure 4B] FIG. 13 illustrates the perception limits of a single front exteroceptive sensor depending on whether the sensor is located on the mid-sagittal plane in front of the vehicle or located on the vehicle in accordance with the present invention. [Figure 5A]FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of the invention in which a single front exoceptive sensor arranged in accordance with the invention is positioned high on the vehicle and therefore capable of viewing beyond the user on the road immediately adjacent to the vehicle. [Figure 5B] 5B illustrates the placement of the sensors of FIG. 5A and shows the placement of the vehicle on the road relative to other users on the road when arriving at an intersection or a roundabout on a 1×2 lane road, respectively. [Figure 5C] 5B illustrates the placement of the sensors of FIG. 5A and shows the placement of the vehicle on the road relative to other users on the road when arriving at an intersection or a roundabout on a 1×2 lane road, respectively. [Figure 6] FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of the invention in which the fields of view of a single front exoceptive sensor and a single rear exoceptive sensor each cover an angle of 270°, and the combination of the two fields of view allows for a 360° horizontal field of view around the vehicle, providing redundancy for the front right portion and the rear left portion. [Figure 7] A vertical cross-section along the right side of the vehicle shows how a single right rear exoceptive sensor allows observation of a side access door or loading door at the curb side in an embodiment where the two sensors are, for example, scanning LiDARs. [Figure 8] This diagram compares the lateral distance that the centre of the front axle of a vehicle with two steered wheels moves when turning with the lateral distance that the centre of the rear axle moves, showing that the side of a vehicle with two steered wheels is just as likely to strike a pedestrian as the front. [Figure 9A] Vertical cross-section comparing the field of view of a single exteroceptor sensor at the right rear with that when positioned near the right front edge, visualizing the blind spots associated with each position. [Figure 9B] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view in the horizontal plane comparing the field of view of a single exteroceptor sensor at the right rear with that when placed near the right front edge, visualizing the blind spots associated with each position. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0015] All diagrams above assume right-hand driving. The arrangement of the single front sensor for a particular model, and, if applicable, the arrangement of the single rear sensor for a particular model which may be the same or different from that of the single front sensor, are reversed for left-hand driving.

[0016] The present invention relates to a vehicle for transporting goods and / or people. The vehicle is typically composed of a left side, a right side, a front side connecting the left and right sides, and a rear side connecting the left and right sides. A central sagittal plane of the vehicle (a vertical plane running from rear to front at the center of the vehicle) separates the left and right portions of the vehicle.

[0017] One and / or the other of these sides may be contoured and the invention is not limited to brick-shaped vehicles but extends to any shape, including protrusions on which sensors may be mounted. The edges or connections joining the sides may be more or less pronounced and may take the form of dashed or solid lines.

[0018] The vehicle may further include a roof having a left front portion at a junction between the left side and the front, a right front portion at a junction between the right side and the front, a left rear portion at a junction between the left side and the rear, and a right rear portion at a junction between the right side and the rear.

[0019] The vehicle may be an assisted driving vehicle (ADAS) or an autonomous vehicle, for example, it is a vehicle equipped with an electric motor.

[0020] According to a first embodiment, the vehicle according to the invention comprises, for a given exteroceptive sensor model, a single instance of this sensor at the front of the vehicle in order to obtain information about the environment in which the vehicle is located. For ease of understanding, in the following, a "single front sensor" is understood to mean a single instance of the given model placed at the front of the vehicle, although other sensor models, including exteroceptive sensors, may coexist in this part. If, according to the regulations in force, the vehicle drives in a lane for right-hand driving, the single front exteroceptive sensor is located at the front of the vehicle, offset to the left of the midsagittal plane. Conversely, if, according to the regulations in force, the vehicle drives in a lane for left-hand driving, the single front exteroceptive sensor is located at the front of the vehicle, offset to the right of the midsagittal plane. Thus, regardless of the traffic direction valid in the vehicle's environment, the single front sensor is located opposite the traffic direction.

[0021] The single front sensor can be located anywhere in the front of the vehicle, from the grille to the roof, including on the side of the hood and windshield, In one embodiment, the single front sensor is held by an arm fixed to the vehicle.

[0022] A single front exteroceptive sensor may be, for example, but not limited to, a LiDAR, a scanning LiDAR, a camera, a hypergonal camera, a catadioptric camera, a radar, or a housing containing multiple LiDARs, cameras, or radars.

[0023] Information about the environment in which the vehicle is located, provided by a single front sensor, can be used, for example, for obstacle detection, localization (relative and / or absolute), and / or mapping.

[0024] The present invention does not exclude the presence of other sensors at the front of the vehicle that do not constitute an instance of an exteroceptive sensor model: for example, in addition to the single front sensor mentioned above, there may be a LiDAR at the bottom center of the front and two different LiDARs occupying the two front corners, all for obstacle detection but with different detection capabilities.

[0025] 1A and 1B show a typical situation where a vehicle 200 is positioned on a road in an urban or other type of environment, with a second vehicle 210 of equal or larger size temporarily in front of it. Vehicle 200 has a single front instance of a particular exteroceptive sensor model, offset to the left of the mid-sagittal plane. Vehicle 200 is traveling on the right side.

[0026] In particular, Figure 1A shows in vertical stripes 101 the portion of the field of view of sensor 100 of vehicle 200 that is not obstructed by vehicle 210. In this case, a single front exteroceptive sensor is offset significantly to the left with the sensor having a field of view less than 180°, with the gain being proportional to the offset. For comparison, horizontal stripes 051 show the portion of the field of view that is not obstructed when the same model of sensor 050 is placed in the midsagittal plane in front of vehicle 200. Similarly, Figure 1B shows this for a sensor model that covers a field of view of more than 180° (here at least 270°). The portion of the unobstructed field of view 051 of a sensor in a central position in front of vehicle 200 is shown with horizontal hatching, while the portion of the unobstructed field of view of a sensor in a lateral position is shown with vertical hatching.

[0027] According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the full horizontal field of view of the single front sensor covers an angle of 180° or more, preferably an angle of 270°. The single front sensor is for example a scanning LiDAR.

[0028] Whatever sensor is used that has sufficient field of view, offsetting the front exoceptive sensor of vehicle 200 to the left will increase the unobstructed field of view toward the left front at the angle bounded by lines 054 and 104, with some loss to the right front, and will also increase the unobstructed field of view of other lanes of traffic (zone 101). In effect, offsetting the sensor laterally will result in fewer blocked rays.

[0029] Therefore, if the sensor is used for location, offsetting the sensor laterally has the advantage of leaving more of the light beam unobstructed by vehicles ahead, and, if driving on the right side, offsetting it to the left has the advantage of providing a better view ahead and beyond vehicles in the left lane.

[0030] As shown in FIG. 1B, locating a single front exoceptive sensor near the edge between the front and left side of the vehicle 200 is particularly advantageous for sensors with a wide horizontal field of view, e.g., a scanning LiDAR, whose field of view exceeds 180°. Indeed, locating the sensor in this way allows the rearward-facing portion of the sensor's FOV to be utilized. If such a sensor is not located near the edge between the front and left side, the rearward-facing light beam of the FOV will be partially unusable if the sensor is located at roof level, or completely unusable otherwise, because this light beam will hit the vehicle body. Advantageously locating this sensor in a corner ensures that the rearward-facing light beam is not blocked. This also applies to sensors with a horizontal field of view less than 180°, but oriented at a non-zero angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, allowing part of the FOV to look to the rear.

[0031] This allows for greater spatial coverage, thereby increasing the amount of contextually relevant information used for localization.

[0032] This is also an answer to the quest to minimize the risk that a large part of the sensor's field of view is occupied by moving or temporarily stationary obstacles that are mistakenly determined by the algorithm to be an integral part of the static reference environment. This is why, for example, ultra-wide-angle cameras are commonly preferred in visual SLAM localization applications.

[0033] Another way to avoid blocking part of the light beam would be to raise the sensor significantly above the roof, however this alternative would have the effect of increasing the overall height of the vehicle, which is undesirable due to height restrictions (height restrictions in car parks, restrictions on transport in containers), aerodynamic losses, etc.

[0034] 2A and 2B show another common situation for driving in and around cities. In this situation, a pedestrian 220 emerges from behind a vehicle parked alongside, and the field of view of the sensor is limited along line 054 by the parked vehicle. From FIGS. 2A and 2B, it can be seen that the vehicle according to the invention is able to detect the pedestrian 220 when he crosses line 105. In comparison, a vehicle with a sensor at the mid-sagittal axis would only detect the pedestrian from line 055. Thus, the detection distance is increased. Gaining valuable hundreds of milliseconds by anticipating detection several meters ahead can reduce the number and severity of accidents. This is advantageously achieved by offsetting the single front exteroceptive sensor of the vehicle 200 to the left.

[0035] 4A and 4B show another situation where a vehicle according to the invention is particularly advantageous. This concerns the monitoring of intersections. It is not uncommon that city maps do not follow a checkerboard layout. Thus, intersections are not all at right angles and the driver has to look over his left shoulder more than 90° to see what is happening or use his side mirrors. This is also the case for acceleration / entry lanes.

[0036] Such sharp intersections are very rare on the right side - in fact, even if there are passengers or vehicle pillars on the right side, they would block the driver's view of the intersection, so the infrastructure usually allows vehicles to turn around over the last few meters to revert to the case of a right-angle intersection.

[0037] FIG. 4A thus illustrates a scenario of an acute intersection, where it is clear that the horizontally striped field of view 050 of a sensor placed in the midsagittal plane in front of the vehicle will not be able to observe a vehicle arriving from the left side. If the sensor is placed closer to the left front edge, it can observe horizontally over 270°, as shown by field of view 101, where the vertical stripes indicate the portion of the field of view observing the intersection. In the case where the intersection is partially obstructed by the presence of an obstacle 240, this arrangement makes it possible to maintain a much better observation of the intersection, limited above the dotted line 104, than a sensor set back to the left, where the portion of the field of view 150 observing the intersection is limited above the dashed line 154.

[0038] Similarly, FIG. 4B illustrates, with dotted line 104 and dashed line 054, the recognition boundaries when the sensor is centered and when it is offset significantly to the left of the vehicle when a vehicle 250 or other element is affecting the view of the intersection.

[0039] To best view intersections of the type shown in Figures 4A and 4B, it is particularly advantageous to place the sensor near the left front edge of the vehicle so that it can view as far back as the FOV will allow. This avoids the need to add an additional sensor to view this side. Finally, this allows for a better view of the intersection than would be possible with a sensor located on the left side, as it improves visibility in situations where the view is partially obscured by buildings, vegetation, or poorly parked vehicles at the intersection.

[0040] Another factor to consider is that in urban environments, it is important to have good perceptual coverage of the right front of the vehicle, since it is on the right side of the bike lane or sidewalk, and thus vehicles in this part of the road are the first to be involved in accidents with weaker road users. Furthermore, when turning at an intersection with a 2x1 lane two-way road, the right turn is primarily the narrowest, while the left turn is wider. However, considering a small child and a scanning LiDAR type sensor placed relatively high, given its cone-shaped field of view, offsetting the sensor one meter to the left of the center can advantageously cover an area one meter closer to the vehicle, thus ensuring detection of the child, as shown in Figure 3.

[0041] Figures 3A, 3B and 3C show the advantage of offsetting a sensor such as a LiDAR towards the left front corner to better cover the zone close to the vehicle. More specifically, Figure 3A shows a side view where the sensor 050 is laterally centered and the lowest LiDAR beam 052 of the field of view 051 passes over the head of the child 221. Figure 3B shows a top view of a horizontal section that includes a cross section of the field of view 051 and displays only elements below 1.20 m in height. Figure 3C shows the same view with the same LiDAR 100 offset towards the left front corner. From this view, it can be seen that the child 221 is within the field of view 101 of the sensor.

[0042] In a particular embodiment of the vehicle according to the invention, the sensor is located at the front of the vehicle at the junction between the left side and the front face for right-hand driving, and at the junction between the right side and the front face for left-hand driving. Without being limited thereto, the single front sensor is located, for example, in the upper part of the front of the vehicle. In particular, it can be located near the left front part of the roof for right-hand driving, or near the right front part of the roof for left-hand driving. The sensor can be located on the roof or in the upper part of the front.

[0043] Placing the sensor high up, or on the roof, is a particularly advantageous embodiment for gaining awareness beyond the view of road users whose proximity to the vehicle may block much of the field of view of sensors placed below. Furthermore, because the sensor is placed high on the left front of the roof, the sensor is more likely to be able to observe 270° of the scene.

[0044] 5A, 5B and 5C illustrate situations where a high sensor placement may be particularly advantageous, such as when stopping at a traffic light on a 2×2 lane road (not shown) or when arriving at a roundabout intersection. In FIGS. 5A, 5B and 5C, the single front sensor 100 is placed high on the vehicle 200, making it less susceptible to partial obstruction of the field of view 101 by other road users (such as vehicles 250 and motorcycles 251) than a lower-placed sensor 110. Furthermore, when placed on the left front, the single front sensor 100 can more easily observe 270° of the scene, and therefore can sense a vehicle 252 arriving from the left and better navigate the intersection in FIG. 5B or the roundabout intersection in FIG. 5C.

[0045] According to another embodiment, the vehicle according to the invention comprises, in addition to a single front sensor of a first predefined model, a single rear exteroceptive sensor for obtaining information about the environment in which the vehicle is located. For ease of understanding, "single rear sensor" is understood here to mean a single instance of a second predefined exteroceptive sensor model for the rear part of the vehicle, this second predefined model may be identical or different from the model of the single front sensor, and multiple sensor models may coexist in the same part of the vehicle. For example, the single front sensor is an instance of a first LiDAR model and the single rear sensor is an instance of a second LiDAR model different from the first model. In another example, the single front sensor is an instance of a scanning LiDAR model and the single rear sensor is an instance of a camera model with a horizontal FOV of 360°.

[0046] If the vehicle is driving on the right side, the single rear sensor is offset to the right of the midsagittal plane. If the vehicle is driving on the left side, the single rear exteroceptive sensor is positioned so that it is offset to the left of the midsagittal plane. Similar placements (e.g., whether at a height, on the roof, etc.) as described above for the single front sensor can also be used for the single rear sensor.

[0047] Therefore, a single rear sensor and a single front sensor are not located on the same side. - If the single front sensor is offset to the left, the single rear sensor is offset to the right. - Respectively, if the single front sensor is offset to the right, the single rear sensor is offset to the left.

[0048] As explained above for the state of the art, when it comes to localization, the choice is usually to place two sensors in the mid-sagittal plane at the front and rear of the vehicle, which allows for greater accuracy in assessing the vehicle's orientation. As explained above for the single sensor case, placing the rear sensor in the center is also not optimal.

[0049] If you want to observe vehicles that may be overtaking, it may be advisable to offset to the left relative to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, i.e. on the same side as the front sensor, however for several other reasons it may be advisable to offset to the right instead.

[0050] Therefore, offsetting to the right further increases the distance between the sensors, providing even greater directional accuracy.

[0051] It is also desirable to place the rear sensor directly opposite the front sensor, in order to avoid both sensors being blocked at the same time by a vehicle arriving to the left of your own vehicle (especially if the other vehicle is large), if it is used primarily for location purposes.

[0052] Furthermore, Figure 6 shows how the placement of a single rear sensor 300 complements the placement of a single front sensor 100, allowing the vehicle to observe its surroundings with a 360° horizontal field of view while providing redundancy in the right front portion 302, which is the most sensitive for vulnerable users in urban spaces. There is also redundancy in the left rear area, where vehicles preparing to overtake may be located.

[0053] So, for example, if two sensors can each cover a horizontal field of view of nearly 270°, then placing the second sensor at the extreme rear right would allow the two sensors to cover 360° around the vehicle, with the second sensor responsible for the rear and right side of the vehicle.

[0054] Moreover, in the case of public transport vehicles and freight vehicles, these open to the right on the pedestrian side (unless the latter are rear-loaded), so this second sensor is advantageously placed in the right corner of the vehicle to monitor the side access.

[0055] 7 thus illustrates, in one embodiment, a vertical cross-section along the right side of a vehicle of the vertically striped field of view 101 of a left forward-scanning LiDAR and the horizontally striped field of view 301 of a right rear-scanning LiDAR 300. In particular, the lower periphery of this field of view is shown by rays 302, showing how much of the field of view of this sensor covers the side access door 500 of the vehicle.

[0056] Finally, it remains important to monitor the right front part of the vehicle. Firstly, because on this side there are most often weaker road users, and secondly, because in the case of vehicles with two steering wheels, the rear axle does not follow the trajectory of the front axle exactly when cornering, but crosses this trajectory. So, when turning, the side of the vehicle has a component of movement in the horizontal plane perpendicular to the vehicle axis, which is observed towards the front of the vehicle and becomes even more important the sharper the turn. Figure 8 illustrates this by comparing the lateral distance 602 that the centre of the front axle 601 of a vehicle with two steering wheels 600 moves when turning, with the lateral distance 604 that the centre of the rear axle 603 moves. In other words, the side of the vehicle can hit a pedestrian, cyclist or other road user, the closer it is to the front end of the vehicle, the stronger the impact. However, if the second sensor is installed high due to the main requirement of localization, the vertical field of view (FOV) of most sensors is limited, so that the most dangerous lateral zones may not be within their FOV if the sensor is placed above this front zone. Figure 9 shows the blind spots of the danger zones for pedestrians, cyclists and other vulnerable road users, located under the diagonally striped field of view 401 of a sensor placed at the right front 400, compared with the field of view of a sensor 300 placed at the right rear. This figure is shown in vertical section in Figure 9A and in horizontal section in Figure 9B. It should be noted that for representational reasons, the length associated with the field of view stops where the first ray touches the ground. In reality, the ray that does not encounter an obstacle will naturally extend beyond this distance. Therefore, again, it is advantageous to place the sensor near the right rear edge to be able to monitor this area.

[0057] So we are left with a comparison with the option commonly found in non-bidirectional vehicles, namely two sensors, one on each side of the vehicle's front structure. This arrangement allows, first of all, to ensure perceptual redundancy in front of the vehicle, even if one of the sensors fails mechanically, electrically, electronically, in the data analysis software for obtaining high-level information, or due to environmental conditions that lead to perceptual artifacts. However, as is happening in aviation with engines, sensors as a system are becoming more reliable, both in terms of hardware issues and in the intelligence of the algorithms that use their data. So the need for redundancy is almost gone.

[0058] Also, as the available vertical field of view becomes increasingly larger, it becomes technologically feasible to shorten the minimum distance at which the vertical dimension of an apparent obstacle can be observed, allowing better discrimination of droplets from real obstacles, and therefore reducing the contribution of sensors positioned to observe each other.

[0059] Therefore, ultimately choosing to use two sensors eliminates the primary benefit justifying placing the sensors in the front left and right corners, and a comparative analysis of the contributions of each configuration leads to the conclusion that placing this second sensor in the right rear corner meets the most requirements. [Explanation of symbols]

[0060] 100 Front Sensor 101 Field of view 110 Sensors 150 field of view 200 vehicles 210 vehicles 220 Pedestrians 221 Children 240 Obstacles 250 vehicles 251 Motorcycle 252 vehicles 300 Rear Sensor 301 Field of view 401 Field of view 500 Side Access Door 600 Steering Wheel 601 front axle 603 rear axle

Claims

1. A vehicle for transporting goods and / or people in a traffic lane intended for right-hand driving or left-hand driving, With respect to a first predefined exoceptive sensor model, a single sensor of said first model, called a single front sensor, is arranged at the front of said vehicle in order to obtain information about the environment in which said vehicle is located, for right-hand driving, the single front sensor is offset leftward from a midsagittal plane separating a left portion from a right portion of the vehicle; 11. A vehicle as claimed in claim 10, wherein for left-hand driving, the front sensor is offset to the right from the midsagittal plane separating the left side portion of the vehicle from the right side portion.

2. 2. The vehicle of claim 1, comprising a left side, a right side, and a front side connecting the left side and the right side, the single front sensor being disposed at the front of the vehicle at the junction between the left side and the front side for right-hand driving or at the junction between the right side and the front side for left-hand driving.

3. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the single front sensor is located at an upper portion of the front of the vehicle.

4. 4. The vehicle of claim 3, further comprising a roof having a front left portion at the junction between the left side and the front face and a front right portion at the junction between the right side and the front face, the single front sensor being positioned near the front left portion for right-hand driving and near the front right portion for left-hand driving.

5. The vehicle of claim 4 , wherein the single front sensor is located on the roof.

6. 2. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the unobstructed horizontal field of view of the single front sensor covers an angle of 180° or more, preferably at least 270°.

7. 2. The vehicle of claim 1, further comprising a single sensor of a second model, referred to as a single rear sensor, located at a rear of the vehicle to obtain information regarding an environment in which the vehicle is located, for a second predetermined exteroceptive sensor model that is the same or different from the first sensor model, the single rear sensor being offset from a midsagittal plane separating a left portion from a right portion of the vehicle.

8. for right-hand driving, the single rear sensor is offset to the right from a midsagittal plane separating a left portion from a right portion of the vehicle; 8. The vehicle of claim 7, wherein for left-hand driving, the rear sensor is offset to the left from the midsagittal plane separating the left side portion from the right side portion of the vehicle.

9. 8. The vehicle of claim 7, wherein the single front sensor is positioned at a first height at a front of the vehicle and the single rear sensor is positioned at a second height at a rear of the vehicle, the first height and the second height differing from one another by up to 20% of the height of the vehicle.

10. 8. The vehicle of claim 7, wherein the single rear sensor is located on the roof.

11. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the single front sensor is a LiDAR sensor, a camera, or a radar.

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