Method for monitoring whether a vehicle has crossed the boundary of a driving area and driver assistance system

Abstract

The present invention relates to a computer-implemented method for monitoring whether a vehicle (1) moving along a track (T) has crossed a boundary of a drivable area by determining the direction of rotation.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of driver assistance systems for vehicles, and in particular to a robust method for checking whether a vehicle guided by a driver assistance system has exceeded the boundaries of an allowable free space when traveling along a trajectory. [Background technology]

[0002] Driver assistance systems in vehicles are generally known. Distance-based methods are also known, which involve checking whether a vehicle to be moved on a track maintains a certain distance from the boundary of the drivable area along the entire movement path represented by the track. This is done taking into account the vehicle geometry, i.e. in particular the surface area created by projecting the outline of the vehicle body onto the road.

[0003] Also known are methods which involve checking whether an intersection occurs between the driving path of the vehicle, i.e. the area covered by the projection of the vehicle body contour onto the road when the vehicle is moving along the track, and the boundary of the drivable area, i.e. whether the driving path crosses the boundary of the drivable area. In the known methods, the intersection with the boundary of the drivable area must be calculated.

[0004] The problem with the known method is that it is very computationally intensive, since in each case an equation must be solved to determine the distance of the vehicle from the boundary line of the drivable area or the intersection of the boundary line with a part of the body contour. Moreover, it is not always possible to guarantee that the solution of the equation is a real solution. If no real solution is found, further checks must be performed. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Proceeding from this, the object of the invention is to identify a method which makes it possible to reliably check, with little computational effort, whether the boundaries of the drivable region have been exceeded. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] This object is achieved by a method having the features of the independent claim 1. The dependent claims relate to preferred embodiments. Equivalent patent claim 11 relates to a driver assistance system designed to check whether the boundaries of the drivable area have been exceeded.

[0007] According to a first aspect, what is disclosed is a method for checking whether a vehicle has crossed a boundary of a drivable area. The vehicle comprises a driver assistance system designed to move the vehicle along a trajectory in an automated or partially automated manner. The driver assistance system is additionally configured to execute the checking method comprising the following steps:

[0008] First, information regarding at least one boundary of the drivable area is received. The information may be provided by a surroundings detection unit of the vehicle, which creates an environmental model of the vehicle's surroundings. As an example, the boundary may identify a boundary in free space that defines, in particular, a lane in which the vehicle is to be traveled. Alternatively, the boundary may characterize a surrounding object in the vehicle's environment.

[0009] In addition, information is received about the driving corridor of the vehicle, which is the area covered by the projection of the vehicle body contour onto the road when traveling on the track. In other words, the driving corridor is a tubular area having a width at least equal to the vehicle width (or larger if a safety buffer is incorporated).

[0010] Preferably, the boundary line is defined by a number of points, i.e. by a polyline consisting of a number of straight lines, each straight line extending between two adjacent points. Alternatively, the boundary line may be formed by a continuous line.

[0011] A first and a second point on the boundary line of the drivable area are selected, the first point being in this case located behind the second point in the direction of travel of the vehicle, which points thus define a section of the boundary line for which a check is performed as to whether the boundary line will be crossed when traveling along the track.

[0012] A third point is also identified, which is located at the edge of the driving path of the vehicle. The driving path of the vehicle may be defined by a continuous line or by a number of body contours positioned at different positions along the trajectory. The body contour may be formed, for example, by a polygon, in particular a rectangle, which at least approximately represents the body contour when the vehicle is viewed from above. The body contour may be selected to be larger than the actual body contour in order to obtain a safety buffer zone.

[0013] The position of the third point relative to the line between the first and second points is then ascertained by checking whether a first rotation direction, clockwise or counterclockwise, exists when traversing a polygonal polyline formed from the first point via the second point to the third point. In other words, three points, two of which are located on the boundary line and one of which represents a point of the driving corridor of the vehicle, are connected by a polyline. This polyline may be open, i.e. terminated at the third point, or may be closed resulting in a triangle. The rotation direction that occurs when traversing the polyline to traverse in the direction of travel a path between two points on the boundary line of the drivable area may then be checked. Alternatively or additionally, it may be checked whether the first to third points are collinear, i.e. lie on a straight line.

[0014] Additionally, at least one fourth point different from the third point is identified that is located at an edge of a driving path of the vehicle.

[0015] The position of the fourth point relative to the line between the first and second points is then ascertained by checking whether a second rotation direction, clockwise or counterclockwise, exists when traversing a polyline formed from the first point via the second point to the fourth point. In other words, three points, two of which are located on the boundary line and one of which indicates a further point of the driving corridor of the vehicle, are connected by a polyline. This polyline may be open, i.e. terminate at the fourth point, or may be closed resulting in a triangle. The rotation direction that occurs when traversing the polyline to traverse in the direction of travel a path between two points on the boundary line of the drivable area may then be checked. Alternatively or additionally, it may be checked whether the first, second and fourth points are collinear, i.e. lie on a straight line.

[0016] Finally, it is checked whether the operable region boundary has been crossed. This is done by comparing the first and second rotation directions. If they are identical, this indicates that the operable region boundary has not been crossed. A different rotation direction, on the other hand, indicates that the operable region boundary has been crossed. Alternatively or additionally, the results of the collinearity check may be used to identify whether the operable region boundary has been crossed.

[0017] The method has the technical advantage that the checking method based on the direction of rotation allows for a technically simple check with low computational effort, since the checking method is point-based, which means that computationally efficient vector calculation methods can be used and therefore no computationally intensive equations need to be solved. In addition, the checking method makes it possible to identify whether the drivable region has already been completely left, which increases the safety of the checking method.

[0018] According to one exemplary embodiment, the third and fourth points are vertices of a polygon reproducing the body contour. The third and fourth points relate to a common side line of the body contour. The third and fourth points are vertices of the right or left side line of the body contour, respectively. This makes it easy to check whether the side line of the body contour crosses the boundary line of the drivable area. From any other additional information that may be available, further relevant conclusions can be drawn, for example whether the left or right corner of the body contour is involved or whether the first and second points are located on the left or right boundary line of the vehicle, e.g. whether the vehicle is located completely outside the drivable area, etc.

[0019] According to one exemplary embodiment, when checking whether the boundary of the drivable area has been crossed, it is ascertained whether the first and second rotation directions are the same or different. If the first and second rotation directions are the same, it may be concluded from this that the third and fourth points are located on the same side of the boundary line. In the case of different rotation directions, it may be concluded that the third and fourth points are located on different sides of the boundary line and therefore that there is a risk of entering an area where the vehicle is not intended to travel when traveling on the track or of a collision with a surrounding object.

[0020] According to one exemplary embodiment, at least one boundary line of the drivable area is approximated by a plurality of points spaced apart from each other. Pairs of boundary line points are selected successively at times as first and second points and used to verify the first and second rotation directions and to check whether the boundary line of the drivable area has been crossed. This allows iterative checking of whether the drivable area has been crossed based only on the boundary line point pairs, without the use of equations.

[0021] According to one exemplary embodiment, the drivable area has left and right boundary lines spaced apart from each other and defining a lane. The vehicle body contour is approximated by a rectangle having a pair of left corners and a pair of right corners. A first and a second rotation direction are ascertained for the pair of left corners, i.e. a first rotation direction for one of the left corners and a second rotation direction for the other left corner. Based on the first and second rotation directions, it is checked whether the vehicle has crossed the left boundary line of the drivable area. The method can thus be applied advantageously and with little computational effort to achieve adaptation to the left boundary line of a given lane.

[0022] According to one exemplary embodiment, the drivable area has left and right boundary lines spaced apart from each other and defining a lane. The vehicle body contour is approximated by a rectangle having a pair of left corners and a pair of right corners. A first and a second rotation direction are checked for the pair of right corners, i.e. a first rotation direction for one of the right corners and a second rotation direction for the other right corner. Based on the first and second rotation directions, it is checked whether the vehicle has crossed the right boundary line of the drivable area. The method can thus be applied advantageously and with little computational effort to achieve adaptation to the right boundary line of a given lane.

[0023] According to one exemplary embodiment, the drivable area has left and right boundary lines spaced apart from each other and defining a lane. The body contour is approximated by a rectangle having two left corners and two right corners. The positions of the at least two left corners are checked relative to a line between a first and a second point located on the left boundary line. In this case, a rotation direction is determined for each of the two left corners by determining a rotation direction for each corner when crossing a polyline formed from a first point through a second point to the respective corner of the body contour in order to ascertain at least two rotation directions. Then, it is checked whether the rotation direction is oriented clockwise. This makes it possible to ascertain whether the vehicle is located to the right of the left boundary line. If necessary, the rotation direction may be determined and checked for more than two corners, in particular for all four corners of a rectangle reproducing the body contour.

[0024] According to one exemplary embodiment, the drivable area has left and right boundary lines spaced apart from each other and defining lanes. The vehicle body contour is approximated by a rectangle having two left corners and two right corners. The positions of the at least two right corners are checked relative to a line between a first and a second point located on the right boundary line. In this case, a rotation direction is determined for each of the two right corners by determining a rotation direction for each corner when crossing a polyline formed from the first point through the second point back to the respective corner to ascertain at least two rotation directions. Then, it is checked whether the rotation direction is oriented counterclockwise. This makes it possible to ascertain whether the vehicle is located to the left of the right boundary line.

[0025] According to one exemplary embodiment, the boundary of the drivable area is related to the boundary of a localized surrounding object in the surrounding area of ​​the vehicle. The surrounding object is represented by a bounding box. The first and second points define a line of the bounding box related to the side of the surrounding object facing the vehicle. This makes it possible to check whether a collision occurs between the vehicle and the surrounding object when traveling along a trajectory.

[0026] According to one exemplary embodiment, the body contour is approximated by a rectangle having four corners. The surrounding objects are approximated by a rectangular bounding box having four corners. For each line of the rectangular bounding box, the positions of all corners of the rectangle of the body contour relative to the respective line are in each case determined by determining the rotation direction in traversing the polyline between the end point of the respective line of the rectangular bounding box and the respective corner of the rectangle of the body contour. A large amount of rotation direction information is thereby obtained. After the rotation directions have been determined, it is checked whether all of the rotation directions are the same.

[0027] This makes it possible to check whether or not there has been a collision with a surrounding object in the longitudinal or lateral direction.

[0028] According to a further aspect, the invention relates to a driver assistance system designed to check whether the vehicle has crossed the boundaries of a drivable area, the driver assistance system comprising a number of sensors arranged in a distributed manner around the vehicle and a computation unit for processing the information provided by the sensors, the computation unit being adapted to: - receiving information about at least one boundary of a drivable area; - receiving information about a driving path of the vehicle, the driving path being the area covered by the projection of a vehicle body contour onto a road when driving on a track; - selecting a first and a second point on a boundary line of the drivable area, the first point being located behind the second point in a direction of travel of the vehicle; - identifying a third point located at an edge of a driving path of the vehicle; - ascertaining the position of the third point relative to the line between the first and second points by checking whether there is a first clockwise or counterclockwise rotation direction or collinearity between the first, second and third points when traversing a polygonal polyline formed from the first point, via the second point, to the third point; - identifying at least one fourth point different from the third point, the fourth point being located at an edge of a driving path of the vehicle; - ascertaining the position of the fourth point relative to the line between the first and second points by checking whether there is a second clockwise or counterclockwise rotation direction or collinearity between the first, second and fourth points when traversing a polygonal polyline formed from the first point, via the second point, to the fourth point; - checking whether a boundary of the operable region has been exceeded by comparing the results of the first and second rotational directions and / or collinearity checks.

[0029] For the purposes of the present invention, the terms "approximately", "substantially" or "about" refer to deviations of ±10%, preferably ±5%, from the respective exact value and / or deviations that are not significant for functionality.

[0030] Further developments, advantages and possible applications of the invention can also be seen from the following description of exemplary embodiments and from the drawings, in which all the features described and / or illustrated in the figures, either on their own or in any desired combination, are essentially subject matter of the invention, regardless of the combination of claims or their subsequent references, the subject matter of which also becomes part of this description.

[0031] The invention will now be explained in more detail by means of exemplary embodiments and with reference to the drawings. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0032] [Figure 1] As an example, a schematic plan view of a vehicle with a driver assistance system comprising a number of sensors and a computing unit is shown. [Diagram 2] As an example, different configurations of points A, B, C are shown which indicate the resulting rotation direction depending on a given rotation direction of the points. [Diagram 3] As an example, we show the movement of a vehicle along a trajectory with a pair of boundaries defining a lane, and an exemplary application of the rotation direction method to check whether a lane boundary has been crossed. [Figure 4] An example is a vehicle's movement based on trajectory along a lane, showing the left boundary of the lane being crossed. [Diagram 5] An example illustrates the movement of a track-based vehicle through a driving tube bounded laterally by a number of surrounding objects, with which collisions occur when traveling along the track. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating method steps for checking whether a drivable region boundary has been exceeded. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0033] 1 shows an exemplary schematic diagram of a vehicle 1 with a driver assistance system for performing automatic or partially automatic driving operations. The driver assistance system may be designed in particular to recognize areas in which automatic or partially automatic driving can be performed by the vehicle 1 and to control the vehicle 1 so that the vehicle does not cross any boundaries of the drivable area. As an example, the drivable area may be a lane with left and right borders. Alternatively, the drivable area may be limited by one or more surrounding objects with which collisions are to be avoided.

[0034] The vehicle 1 has a number of sensors 2, by means of which the surrounding area of ​​the vehicle 1 can be detected. The sensors 2 are coupled to a computation unit 3 of the driver assistance system, which processes the sensor information and provides information about at least one border of the drivable area. This surrounding detection gives the driver assistance system the ability to identify local areas, in which the vehicle 1 can be guided without collisions.

[0035] The driver assistance system is additionally designed to determine a trajectory along which the vehicle 1 travels during a driving maneuver, which is performed in an autonomous or partially autonomous manner. When driving through a trajectory, the vehicle travels along a driving corridor. The driving corridor is given by the area covered or temporarily occupied by the vehicle body when the vehicle is moving. The vehicle has, for example, a body circumference contour resulting from a top-down view of the vehicle 1, i.e. a bird's-eye view. The vertical downward projection of this body contour onto the road defines the area of ​​the road occupied by the vehicle 1. This area necessarily has to be driven through freely in order to be able to move the vehicle 1 without collisions. The driving corridor is therefore tubular and has a width at least equal to the width of the body contour. The driving corridor may be designed wider than the vehicle width in order to increase the safety of the method.

[0036] In order to be able to identify whether the vehicle 1 has crossed the boundaries of the drivable area, a checking method based on the direction of rotation can be applied.

[0037] FIG. 2 shows three possibilities for how the three points A, B, and C may be located. As an example, the line between points B and C forms part of the boundary of the drivable area. As an example, point A may be a vertex of the body contour of the vehicle 1. Points A, B, and C span a triangle, typically a polygon. When traversing a polyline along the points in a given order, for example from point B via point C to point A, it is possible to ascertain position information regarding point A relative to the line between points B and C. If a clockwise rotation direction occurs when traversing the polyline, it may be concluded that point A is to the right of line BC. In the opposite case, if a counterclockwise rotation direction occurs when traversing the polyline (middle view of FIG. 2), it may be concluded that point A is to the left of line BC. A third case is when all three points A, B, and C are collinear, lying on a straight line, as shown in the right view of FIG. 2.

[0038] Fig. 3 shows one exemplary application of the described method, where a vehicle 1 travels on a trajectory T in a direction of travel FR on a lane defined by a left boundary line G1 and a right boundary line G2. The boundaries G1, G2 may be reproduced by discrete points spaced apart from one another. In the exemplary embodiment according to Fig. 3, points B and C are two points of the left boundary line G1 and points B' and C' are two points of the right boundary line G2.

[0039] The body contour of the vehicle 1 is reproduced by a rectangle, the size of which is selected such that all areas of the vehicle 1 lie within this body contour, including, for example, the side mirrors of the vehicle 1.

[0040] In order to ensure that the vehicle 1 can move on the trajectory T without collisions, it is necessary to check that the driving path of the vehicle 1 resulting from the movement of the body contour along the trajectory T does not have any intersections with the boundary lines G1, G2. The driving path of the vehicle 1 may in particular be a tubular area which must be located within the boundary lines G1, G2 to ensure that the trajectory T is collision-free.

[0041] The check as to whether the trajectory T is collision-free may be performed iteratively based on discrete vehicle positions of the vehicle 1, as illustrated in FIG. 3 by a number of rectangles representing the vehicle 1.

[0042] At the defined vehicle position, it must be checked whether the left vehicle contour is located to the right of the left border G1 and whether the right vehicle contour is located to the left of the right border G2. This check may be performed in the illustrated exemplary embodiment on the basis of the front left and rear left corners or the front right and rear right corners. It is necessary to check more precisely whether the front left and rear left corners have the same position relative to the left border G1, i.e. both are to the right of the left border G1. The same applies to the front right and rear right corners relative to the right border G2. These two corners must also have the same position relative to the right border G2, i.e. both be to the left of the right border G2.

[0043] As an example, this check involves identifying a pair of points of the left boundary line G1 of the lane, which are close to the left vehicle contour line. In the illustrated exemplary embodiment, these are points B and C. The front left corner of vehicle 1 is indicated by point A. For a polyline consisting of the sequence of points BCA, this results in a clockwise rotation direction.

[0044] The same check is then performed for the rear left corner of vehicle 1 for points B and C. If the polygon polyline traverses from point B to C and returns to B via the rear left corner, this also results in a clockwise rotation direction. The result of the check is therefore that both vertices of the left vehicle contour are on the same side of the left boundary line G1, i.e. the left vehicle contour does not cross the left boundary line G1, i.e. there is no collision with the left boundary line G1. In addition, it may be identified that both vertices of the left vehicle contour are on the right side of the left boundary line G1.

[0045] A similar check is performed for the two vertices of the right vehicle contour relative to the right boundary line G2.

[0046] As shown in Fig. 3, the right boundary line G2 is also represented by a number of points, with points B' and C' defining a line forming part of the right boundary line G2. The above-described algorithm is implemented analogously for the vertices of the right vehicle contour line, in order to be able to identify whether the vehicle 1 does not cross this right boundary line G2 when passing through the driving corridor. The direction of rotation that occurs when the polygonal polyline is moved in the above-described driving direction is therefore determined for the front right corner of the vehicle contour line A' and for the resulting polyline B'-C'-A', which is counterclockwise in the illustrated exemplary embodiment.

[0047] A similar check is then performed for the rear right hand corner of the vehicle 1 with respect to points B' and C'. If the polygonal polyline traverses from point B' to C' and returns to B' via the rear right hand corner of the vehicle 1, this also results in a counterclockwise rotation direction. The result of the check is therefore that both vertices of the right hand vehicle contour are on the same side of the right boundary line G2, i.e. the right hand vehicle contour does not cross the right boundary line G2 and therefore there is no collision with the right boundary line G2. In addition, it may be identified that both vertices of the right hand vehicle contour are on the left side of the right boundary line G2.

[0048] The above described checking steps are preferably performed iteratively for multiple vehicle positions along the driving corridor and for different sections of boundary lines G1 and G2 (defined by the pair of points BC or B'-C') to ensure that there are no collisions on the trajectory T.

[0049] FIG. 4 shows an example in which the trajectory T is specified such that the driving corridor of the vehicle 1 crosses the left boundary line G1 in the area shown by the oval, and thus straddles the boundary of the drivable area.

[0050] A section of the boundary line G1 in the area of ​​the vehicle 1 is indicated by point B L and C L The front left corner of the vehicle 1 is defined by point A FL A sequence of points B L -C L -A FL For a polyline consisting of point B, this results in a counterclockwise rotation. L and C L For the boundary line G1 defined by RL When applied to the rear left corner of vehicle 1 shown as point B L -C L -A RL A clockwise rotation direction results when traversing the polyline along . Due to the different rotation directions of the front and back corners, the proposed method makes it possible to recognize the crossing of the boundary line G1.

[0051] In order to recognize that the vehicle 1 is not completely outside the drivable area, it may be useful to check the position of the left or right pair of corners of the vehicle contour relative to at least one boundary line G1, G2 in each cycle or at a longer time interval. For example, if the counterclockwise rotation direction is such that the point B L and C L and if this rotation direction results for the left corner of the vehicle contour of vehicle 1 with respect to the line identified by, and this indicates that the left corner of the body contour is located to the left of the left boundary line G1, then it may be concluded that vehicle 1 is already located outside the drivable area at this point of the trajectory T and has therefore crossed the boundary of the drivable area.

[0052] 5 shows an exemplary embodiment in which the boundaries of the drivable area are not defined by boundaries in free space, but rather the drivable area is bounded laterally by surrounding objects U having limited local extent. This method may therefore be directly used to prevent collisions with surrounding objects U.

[0053] The surrounding object U may be approximated by a surrounding object contour formed, for example, as a polygon with multiple vertices, in particular as a rectangle. To ensure that there is no collision between the vehicle 1 and the surrounding object U, there must be no collision in the lateral direction (i.e. with respect to the left or right boundary line of the surrounding object contour) and in the longitudinal direction (i.e. with respect to the front or rear boundary line of the surrounding object contour).

[0054] In FIG. 5, the corner of the body contour of the vehicle 1 is designated as point A FL , A RL , A FR , A RR The corners of the surrounding object contour are indicated by B L , C L , B R , C R In order to identify whether the vehicle 1 will collide with the surrounding object U, the following steps may be performed:

[0055] First, it is checked whether a side impact situation exists. For this purpose, for each corner of the body contour of the vehicle 1, the side contour B of the surrounding object U is calculated. L -C L and B. R -C R Its position relative to the triple point B is determined based on the rotational direction method described above. L -C L -A FL , B L -C L -A RL , B L -C L -A FR , and B L -C L -A RR Regarding triple point B R -C R -A FL , B R -C R -A RL , B R -C R -A FR , and B R -C R -A RR means that for each point, a rotational orientation is specified when traversing the polylines spanned by these points. If traversing through all of the polylines does not result in the same rotational orientation, then a side collision situation with a surrounding object exists.

[0056] It is then checked whether a longitudinal collision situation exists. For this purpose, for each corner of the body contour of the vehicle 1, the front and rear contour lines C of the surrounding object U are L -C R and B. L -B R Its position relative to the triple point C is determined based on the rotational direction method described above. L -C R -A FL , C L -C R -A RL , C L -C R -A FR , and C L -CR -A RR About and triple point B L -B R -A FL , B L -B R -A RL , B L -B R -A FR , and B L -B R -A RR means that for each point, a rotational orientation is specified when traversing the polylines spanned by these points. If traversing through all of the polylines does not result in the same rotational orientation, then a longitudinal collision situation with a surrounding object exists.

[0057] If the method steps described above identify that neither a side nor a longitudinal collision situation exists, the vehicle 1 can move along the trajectory without colliding with the checked surrounding objects.

[0058] As shown in FIG. 5, when multiple surrounding objects U are positioned along the trajectory T, the method described above must be applied iteratively to ensure that the vehicle 1 does not collide with any of the surrounding objects along the trajectory.

[0059] FIG. 6 shows a block diagram illustrating the steps of a method for checking whether a vehicle moving along a track has crossed a boundary of the drivable area.

[0060] Information regarding at least one boundary line of the drivable area is first received (S10), which boundary line may in this case be a boundary line in free space or a boundary line relating to surrounding objects.

[0061] In addition, information is received regarding the driving lane of the vehicle, which is the area covered by the projection of the vehicle body contour onto the road when traveling on a track (S11). This driving lane must be located in the drivable area or must be collision-free in order to avoid collisions between the vehicle and surrounding objects.

[0062] Next, a first and a second point on the boundary line of the drivable area are selected, the first point being located behind the second point in the direction of travel of the vehicle (S12).

[0063] A third point located at the edge of the driving path of the vehicle is also identified (S13), this third point being in particular a point on the body contour of the vehicle, for example defining a corner of the body contour.

[0064] The position of the third point relative to the line between the first and second points is then ascertained by checking whether there is a first clockwise or counterclockwise rotation direction or collinearity between the first, second and third points when traversing a polyline formed from the first point through the second point to the third point (S14).

[0065] In addition, at least one fourth point different from the third point is identified (S15), which is located at an edge of the driving path of the vehicle, in particular a point on the body contour of the vehicle, for example defining a further corner of the body contour.

[0066] The position of the fourth point relative to the line between the first and second points is then confirmed by checking whether there is a second clockwise or counterclockwise rotation direction or collinearity between the first, second and third points when traversing a polygonal polyline formed from the first point through the second point to the fourth point (S16).

[0067] Finally, it is checked whether the boundary of the operable region has been exceeded by comparing the first and second rotation directions and / or the results of the collinearity check (S17).

[0068] The invention has been described above by means of exemplary embodiments, it being understood that numerous variations and modifications are possible hereby without departing from the scope of protection defined by the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0069] 1 vehicle 2 Sensors 3. Computational Unit A FL Third point A RL Fourth point B. First point C. Second point Front body contour FR moving direction G1 Left Border G2 right border T orbit U Surrounding objects

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for checking whether a vehicle (1) moving along a trajectory (T) has crossed a boundary of a drivable region, comprising: a) receiving information regarding at least one boundary line (G1, G2) of said drivable area (S10); b) receiving information about a driving path of the vehicle (1), the driving path being the area covered by the projection of a vehicle body contour (F) onto a road when traveling on the track (T); c) selecting a first and a second point (B, C) on the boundary line (G1) of the drivable area, the first point (B) being located behind the second point (C) in the traveling direction (FR) of the vehicle (1); and d) a third point (A) located at the edge of the driving path of the vehicle (1); ＦＬ ) (S13); e) from the first point (B) through the second point (C) to the third point (A ＦＬ When traversing the polyline formed up to the first, second and third points (A ＦＬ The third point (A,C) is aligned with respect to a line between the first and second points (B,C) by checking whether there is a first rotation direction, clockwise or counterclockwise, or collinearity between the first and second points (A,C). ＦＬ (S14) confirming the position of f) the third point (A), located at the edge of the driving path of the vehicle (1); ＦＬ At least one fourth point (A ＲＬ ) (S15); g) from the first point (B) through the second point (C) to the fourth point (A ＲＬ When traversing the polyline formed up to the first, second and fourth points (A ＲＬ The fourth point (A,B) is aligned with respect to the line between the first and second points (B,C) by checking whether there is a second rotation direction, clockwise or counterclockwise, or collinearity between the first and second points (B,C). ＲＬ (S16) confirming said position of h) checking whether the boundary of the operable region has been exceeded by comparing the results of the first and second rotation directions and / or collinearity checks (S17); The method includes:

2. The third and fourth points (A ＦＬ , A ＲＬ ) are vertices of a polygon that reproduces the vehicle body contour, and the third and fourth points (A ＦＬ , A ＲＬ 2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that each of the first and second vertices is related to a common lateral line of the body contour and is a vertex of a right or left lateral line of the body contour, respectively.

3. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that when checking whether the boundary of the operable region has been exceeded, it is ascertained whether the first and second directions of rotation are the same or different.

4. 4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the at least one boundary line (G1, G2) of the operable area is approximated by a plurality of points spaced apart from one another, and pairs of boundary line points are selected at successive times as first and second points (B, C) and used to verify the first and second rotation directions and to check whether the boundary of the operable area has been crossed.

5. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the drivable area has left and right boundary lines (G1, G2) spaced apart from each other and defining a lane, the vehicle body contour is approximated by a rectangle having a pair of left corners and a pair of right corners, first and second rotation directions are ascertained for the pair of left corners, and based on the first and second rotation directions it is checked whether the vehicle (1) has crossed the left boundary line (G1) of the drivable area.

6. 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the drivable area has left and right boundary lines (G1, G2) spaced apart from each other and defining a lane, the vehicle body contour is approximated by a rectangle having a pair of left side corners and a pair of right side corners, a first and a second rotation direction are ascertained for the pair of right side corners, and based on the first and second rotation directions it is checked whether the vehicle (1) has crossed the right boundary line (G2) of the drivable area.

7. 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the drivable area has left and right boundary lines (G1, G2) spaced apart from each other and defining lanes, the vehicle body contour is approximated by a rectangle having two left and two right corners, the positions of the at least two left corners relative to a line between the first and second points located on the left boundary line (G1) are checked at least intermittently, and a rotation direction is determined for each of the at least two left corners by determining a rotation direction for each left corner when traversing a polyline formed from the first point through the second point to the respective corner, and checking whether the two rotation directions are oriented clockwise.

8. 8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the drivable area has left and right boundary lines (G1, G2) spaced apart from each other and defining lanes, the vehicle body contour is approximated by a rectangle having two left and two right corners, the positions of the two right corners relative to the line between the first and second points located on the right boundary line (G2) are checked at least intermittently, a rotation direction is determined for each of the two right corners by determining a rotation direction for each right corner when traversing a polyline formed from the first point through the second point to the respective corner, and checking whether the two rotation directions are oriented counterclockwise.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the boundary line of the drivable area relates to a boundary line of a localized peripheral object (U) in the peripheral area of ​​the vehicle (1), the peripheral object (U) being represented by a bounding box, and the first and second points (B, C) define a line of the bounding box that relates to a side of the peripheral object (U) facing the vehicle (1).

10. 10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that the body contour is approximated by a rectangle having four corners and the surrounding object (U) is approximated by a rectangular bounding box having four corners, and for each line of the rectangular bounding box, in each case the positions of all the corners of the rectangle of the body contour relative to the respective line are determined by determining a rotation direction in traversing the polyline between an end point of the respective line of the rectangular bounding box and the respective corner of the rectangle of the body contour, and after the rotation directions have been determined it is checked whether all of the rotation directions are the same.

11. A driver assistance system designed to check whether a vehicle (1) has crossed a boundary of a drivable area, said driver assistance system comprising a number of sensors (2) arranged in a distributed manner around the vehicle (1) and a calculation unit (3) for processing information provided by said sensors (2), said calculation unit (3) comprising: a) receiving information regarding at least one boundary of the drivable area; b) receiving information about a driving path of the vehicle (1), the driving path being the area covered by the projection of the vehicle body contour onto the road when traveling on a track; c) selecting a first and a second point (B, C) on the boundary line of the drivable area, the first point (B) being located behind the second point (C) in the direction of travel of the vehicle (1); d) a third point (A) located at the edge of the driving path of the vehicle (1); ＦＬ ) identifying e) from the first point (B) through the second point (C) to the third point (A ＦＬ When traversing the polyline formed up to the first, second and third points (A ＦＬ The third point (A,C) is aligned with respect to a line between the first and second points (B,C) by checking whether there is a first rotation direction, clockwise or counterclockwise, or collinearity between the first and second points (A,C). ＦＬ locating the f) the third point (A), located at the edge of the driving path of the vehicle (1); ＦＬ At least one fourth point (A ＲＬ ) identifying g) from the first point (B) through the second point (C) to the fourth point (A ＲＬ When traversing the polyline formed up to the first, second and fourth points (A ＲＬ The fourth point (A,B) is aligned with respect to the line between the first and second points (B,C) by checking whether there is a second rotation direction, clockwise or counterclockwise, or collinearity between the first and second points (B,C). ＲＬ ) determining said location; h) checking whether a boundary of the operable region has been exceeded by comparing the results of the first and second rotational direction and / or collinearity checks; A driver assistance system configured to:

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