A method for evaluating the reception quality of non-terrestrial network connections, and a vehicle.

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for evaluating the reception quality of a non-terrestrial network connection, wherein satellite characteristics of a satellite (1) participating in the non-terrestrial network are collected. The method according to the present invention is performed by a computing unit in a vehicle, with the following method steps: namely, - A step to determine the current location of vehicle (2); - A step of determining and / or calling satellite characteristics, wherein the satellite characteristics include at least the orbital coordinates of at least one satellite (1) participating in a non-terrestrial network and the beam parameters of a communications beam (3) directed from the satellite (1) toward the Earth; - A step of performing a positional comparison between the vehicle's (2) location and the orbital coordinates of at least one satellite (1) in order to determine the line of sight (4) from the vehicle (2) to at least one satellite (1); - A step of detecting the surroundings using at least one peripheral sensor and determining the extent (b,h) of peripheral objects (5) that are at least within the current detection range (FOV) of the peripheral sensor; - A step of determining the obstruction (6) of the line of sight (4) from the vehicle (2) to at least one satellite (1), depending on the extent (b,h) of surrounding objects (5) within the line of sight (4); and, - A step to evaluate reception quality in inverse proportion to the obstacle (6); It is characterized by the following.

Description

Technical Field

[0002] , , ,

[0003]

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for evaluating the reception quality of non-terrestrial network connections of the type defined in detail in the superordinate concept of claim 1, and also to vehicles of the type defined in detail in the superordinate concept of claim 10.

Background Art

[0002] Modern communication networks enable humans to be always accessible. Today, it is also possible to connect to the Internet while moving through mobile wireless. Technologies based on mobile wireless such as 2G, 3G, 4G or 5G, as well as Wi-Fi networks, are also called terrestrial networks, i.e., Terrestrial Networks (TN). In that case, mobile terminal devices such as laptops, tablet computers, and smartphones are connected wirelessly to Wi-Fi hotspots or mobile wireless network base stations. The hotspots or mobile wireless networks are further connected in a cable manner to the original communication network. Wireless communication is possible only when the corresponding mobile terminal device is within the wireless reach of the hotspot or mobile wireless network base station.

[0003] Furthermore, so-called non-terrestrial networks, also known as Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTNs), are also known. In these cases, satellites, rather than ground-based transmit / receive stations, act as communication relays between mobile devices and the communication network. In particular, satellites in low-earth orbits, also called Low Earth Orbits (LEOs), are used for this purpose. Such satellites connect to ground gateways via a first communication connection, also called a feed link. The second communication connection to the user's mobile device is called a service link. To provide this second communication connection, the satellite directs one or more communication beams towards a specific area of ​​the Earth. The area covered by such beams typically has an elliptical circumferential surface and is also called a spot beam. Such spot beams move around the Earth with the satellite. Satellites may also be set up to precisely direct communication beams towards the Earth and thus project them onto a specific target area. Such satellite-assisted communications make it possible to establish communication connectivity even in remote areas or under the constraint of having limited access to mobile radio network base stations.

[0004] At this time, mobile wireless devices generally face the problem of which communication relay to use for connecting to the communication network in order to establish or utilize the most stable communication connection possible with sufficient signal quality. For this purpose, Patent Document 1 discloses an improved cell selection method for non-terrestrial networks. This method is intended to have a mobile terminal device detect one or more metrics of a non-terrestrial network connection and, depending on at least one of these metrics, select a cell in the non-terrestrial network for establishing a communication connection. Accordingly, the mobile terminal device switches to a specific satellite.

[0005] In addition, when both terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks are available simultaneously, the question arises as to which communication connection should be prioritized. Generally, the reception range of mobile radio equipment is wider with satellites than with stationary mobile radio network base stations, but satellite communications typically involve relatively high latency, so it may be preferable to establish a communication connection using established methods through ground-based mobile radio network base stations.

[0006] This problem setting is particularly important for vehicle manufacturers. For example, competitors are increasingly entering the market by preparing and providing connectivity to non-terrestrial networks. Due to competitive pressure, prices are expected to become increasingly cheaper. Wider availability and reduced costs will lead to consideration of vehicle communication connectivity via non-terrestrial networks in addition to terrestrial networks, for example, through vehicle-integrated telematics units. Vehicles such as passenger cars and trucks travel at relatively high speeds, so there is a particularly high demand for the establishment and use of stable wireless-based communication connectivity. Furthermore, Patent Document 2 discloses communication over a non-terrestrial network. In this case, a device receives a communication signal from a non-terrestrial network node, such as a satellite. This device detects the signal strength and / or signal quality and evaluates it over time. Depending on the signal strength or signal quality, the device determines whether there is a line of sight to the network node or not. Such information is stored in a location-dependent data bank. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] WO2020 / 165675A1 [Patent Document 2] WO2022 / 129679A1 [Overview of the Initiative] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0008] The object of the present invention is to provide a method for evaluating the reception quality of a non-terrestrial network connection that can reliably determine, or even predict, the reception quality without requiring the mobile radio equipment in question to be connected to a non-terrestrial network. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] According to the present invention, this problem is solved by a method for evaluating the reception quality of a non-terrestrial network connection having the features of claim 1. Advantageous configurations and developments, as well as vehicles for carrying out the method, will become apparent from the claims dependent on claim 1.

[0010] A method for evaluating the reception quality of a non-terrestrial network connection, in which satellite characteristics of satellites participating in a non-terrestrial network are collected, is developed by the present invention, and each of the following method steps is performed by a computing unit in the vehicle: - A step to determine the vehicle's current location; - A step of determining and / or calling satellite characteristics, wherein satellite characteristics include at least the orbital coordinates of at least one satellite participating in a non-terrestrial network and the beam parameters of a communications beam directed from the satellite toward the Earth; - A step of performing a positional comparison between the vehicle's location and the orbital coordinates of at least one satellite in order to determine the line of sight from the vehicle to at least one satellite; - A step of detecting the surroundings using at least one surrounding sensor and determining the extent of surrounding objects that are at least within the current detection range of the surrounding sensor; - A step of determining obstructions to the line of sight from the vehicle to at least one satellite, depending on the extent of surrounding objects within the line of sight; and, - A step to evaluate reception quality in inverse proportion to the presence of obstacles.

[0011] The method according to the present invention enables a vehicle or a computing unit within a vehicle to reliably estimate the reception quality of a non-terrestrial network connection without requiring a communication connection to the non-terrestrial network. The reception quality of a non-terrestrial network may be impaired based on surrounding objects such as mountains, hills, trees, tall buildings, walls, and fences. If such surrounding objects are within the line of sight between the vehicle and the satellite, they obstruct the vehicle's view of the satellite, resulting in insufficient data exchange. According to the present invention, the vehicle determines when and to what extent obstruction will occur due to obstacles, and how it will affect reception quality. In this case, the vehicle does not necessarily need to connect to the non-terrestrial network, thereby allowing it to continue maintaining existing communication connections with other communication networks. This improves the reliability of the vehicle's connection to communication networks.

[0012] A vehicle can determine its location using, for example, a navigation system. This could be a global navigation satellite system such as GPS, Galileo, or Beidou. However, a vehicle can also determine its location based on data generated by one or more surrounding sensors. For example, characteristic (surrounding) indicators that enable location determination can be recognized in camera images.

[0013] Satellite characteristics describe at least the orbital coordinates and beam parameters. Orbital coordinates indicate, for a particular satellite, when and where the satellite is relative to the Earth's surface. These may be fixed coordinates or orbital coordinates. The satellite may be in low, mid, or high Earth orbit. It may also be a geostationary satellite. Beam parameters describe at least the direction of the communication beam generated by the satellite relative to the Earth. To this end, a computing unit in the vehicle can determine when the vehicle enters an area of ​​the ground where non-terrestrial network connectivity provided by each satellite generally exists, i.e., when the vehicle is within each spot beam. In general, the vehicle may simultaneously receive communication beams projected to the ground from multiple satellites. In this case, the vehicle determines a separate line of sight for each satellite. Such a line of sight is also called a Line of Sight (LOS). Taking beam parameters into particular, the vehicle can select only satellites whose communication beams are directed towards the vehicle's location for implementation of the method according to the present invention.

[0014] Vehicles can utilize a wide variety of sensors to detect their surroundings, including monocular or stereo cameras, laser cameras such as LiDAR, radar sensors, and ultrasonic sensors. These surrounding sensors can be used to obtain depth information, thereby allowing for scanning of the surroundings. Accordingly, the extent of surrounding objects such as trees, mountains, and skyscrapers can be determined. In addition to static surrounding objects, dynamic surrounding objects such as other traffic participants can also be detected. The corresponding extent is particularly the width and height of the surrounding object. In this way, the vehicle can determine obstacles within its field of view (FOV).

[0015] If surrounding objects obstruct the vehicle's view of the satellite in question, i.e., if obstacles are present, the reception quality of the non-terrestrial network connection will deteriorate. The greater the impact of the obstacles, the more dramatically the reception quality will be impaired.

[0016] In particular, the computing unit can determine characteristic features of surrounding objects. Such characteristic features can be derived, for example, from camera images using image recognition algorithms. For example, a characteristic feature might indicate that the surrounding object is a broadleaf tree with leaves on its branches. Such leaves block the line of sight to the satellite, but in some cases allow a small number of data packages to pass through when a communication connection is established. In contrast, if the surrounding object is, for example, a skyscraper, the blockage of the line of sight may, in some cases, completely sever the communication connection with the satellite.

[0017] A preferred development of this method is intended to include, or constitute, the reception quality with respect to the reception probability. Such reception probability may also be called confidence. The higher the reception probability, the easier it is to establish a usable communication connection from the vehicle to the non-terrestrial network. A wide variety of quantities can be considered to calculate or determine the reception probability, such as the following: - The direction, particularly the beam angle, of communication beams projected from artificial satellites to the ground; - Radio parameters of non-terrestrial networks or terrestrial networks; - Measurement report for non-terrestrial or terrestrial networks; - Availability of individual surrounding sensors of the vehicle at the current moment; - Vehicle's location and satellite orbit coordinates; - The spread of the spot beams of each satellite in the vehicle's location; and, - The number of artificial satellites currently within range, in particular the number of artificial satellites that are currently connected to the line of sight or field of view.

[0018] If there is only a line of sight to a few satellites, a correspondingly reduced reception probability may be determined. In that case, even if there are obstacles to the available satellites, in some cases, alternative satellites for establishing a communication connection are not in sight. When one or more of the vehicle's peripheral sensors become unavailable, in some cases, peripheral detection is impaired or becomes impossible. Accordingly, the recognition of peripheral objects cannot be performed well, especially the spread thereof cannot be determined well, which makes it difficult or prevents the determination of obstacles. Similarly, the reception probability also decreases.

[0019] In another preferred embodiment of the method according to the invention, the computing unit controls a mobile radio device inside the vehicle or linked to the vehicle and switches, depending on the reception quality, the active mobile radio connection used by the mobile radio device between a purely terrestrial operation, a purely non-terrestrial operation, or a hybrid operation. The mobile radio device inside the vehicle is a telematics unit, also called, for example, a remote communication unit. A mobile radio device such as a smartphone may be linked to the vehicle in a cabled manner via, for example, a USB cable or wirelessly via, for example, NFC, Bluetooth® or Wi-Fi.

[0020] For this purpose, the mobile radio device can establish not only terrestrial but also non-terrestrial communication connections. This enables a purely terrestrial operation, a purely non-terrestrial operation, or a hybrid operation, which is due to the establishment of a mobile radio connection simultaneously via not only a terrestrial network but also a non-terrestrial network. And the computing unit can decide which operation to switch to only by considering the reception quality of the non-terrestrial network connection. In particular, under good, i.e., high, reception quality, the computing unit switches to a hybrid operation or even to a pure non-terrestrial operation.

[0021] In this way, the method according to the invention can be particularly preferably used to select a suitable network connection, thereby reliably maintaining the communication for the mobile radio device regardless of the situation.

[0022] At this time, it is preferable for the calculation unit to consider the reception quality of the terrestrial network. And the calculation unit can compare the reception quality of the non-terrestrial network connection with the reception quality of the terrestrial network connection, and can actively switch to the communication connection with better reception quality. Thus, regarding when the operation mode is switched, there is no set fixed value of reception quality, but it is determined depending on the situation. Thereby, when the reception quality of the non-terrestrial network connection deteriorates, it is possible to prevent switching to the terrestrial network even if the reception quality of the terrestrial network may not be good either. That is, in some cases, even when the reception quality of the non-terrestrial network connection deteriorates, reliable communication may still be possible rather than connecting to a terrestrial mobile radio network base station.

[0023] In another preferred embodiment of the method according to the present invention, the frequency at which reception quality is determined is increased in urban areas compared to when the vehicle is in non-urban areas. Generally, the evaluation of reception quality according to the present invention can be performed continuously. The evaluation of reception quality, i.e., at least some or all of the steps belonging to the method according to the present invention, is preferably performed discontinuously, i.e., incrementally in discrete time steps. For example, the detection of sensor data and processing by the computing unit may be associated with certain latency, and such latency leads to a certain time span being required for the execution of individual method steps. Under reduced frequency, i.e., when the relevant method step is performed relatively rarely, the computing resources of the computing unit in the vehicle are used for other roles or are less loaded. For example, in non-urban areas such as when driving in the suburbs, it is expected that tall surrounding objects that could obstruct the direct line of sight to the satellite, i.e., act as obstacles, will be encountered relatively rarely. Therefore, there is no need to recalculate reception quality frequently. In contrast, in urban areas, vehicles are often parked in areas surrounded by houses, and therefore, it is expected that rooftops and tall buildings, in particular, will frequently obstruct the view of satellites. Consequently, the dynamics of fluctuations in reception quality will increase. Accordingly, it is preferable to increase the frequency, so that it can be determined more quickly again that high reception quality of the non-terrestrial network connection is established when driving near such tall buildings. For example, the frequency can be increased from 30 Hz to 60 Hz.

[0024] Another preferred embodiment of the method according to the present invention further intends for the computing unit to generate obstacle data and store it in a data bank, in particular for registration in a digital roadmap. Obstacle data is information describing the geographical location and extent of surrounding objects. In other words, a map of the surroundings is created. Surrounding objects are preferably drawn or represented in three dimensions on such a map. Using such a data bank, particularly in the form of a digital roadmap, it is possible to predict when and where a vehicle's line of sight will be obstructed by surrounding objects.

[0025] In another preferred embodiment of the method according to the present invention, the calculation unit determines the travel path ahead and determines the reception quality for the travel path ahead. This allows for earlier initiation of a change in operating mode, unlike pure live determination of reception quality, and accordingly, the mobile radio equipment switches to purely terrestrial operation, purely non-terrestrial operation, or a mixed operation. Determining the travel path ahead is possible in various ways. For example, the vehicle can evaluate the navigation route set in the navigation system. However, the vehicle can also determine the travel path by simply considering sensor data generated by surrounding sensors. For example, if no navigation route is set, the vehicle can recognize the progress on the road ahead and estimate various travel paths. The travel path that the vehicle is most likely to take is then determined as the travel path ahead. For this purpose, for example, the steering angle, accelerator pedal position, and / or set turn signals can be additionally taken into consideration.

[0026] To determine reception quality along a driving path, data from live measurements alone can be used. In particular, when a vehicle is traveling on a relatively straight and long road, it is possible to detect surrounding objects from a distance and determine their size. In this way, reception quality can be estimated, for example, when passing near a tall building 300 meters away. However, to determine reception quality, the aforementioned data bank or digital roadmap can also be used, from which obstacle data can be extracted. This allows for a more reliable estimation or prediction of reception quality, especially when some or all of the surrounding sensors are not currently available for sufficiently accurate surrounding detection.

[0027] Another preferred embodiment of the method according to the present invention further intends for a computing unit to generate and / or procure a reception quality map and register the reception quality of terrestrial network connections and / or non-terrestrial network connections in the reception quality map. The reception quality of terrestrial network connections and / or non-terrestrial network connections can be continuously detected and registered, i.e., recorded, in the reception quality map while the vehicle is moving around the perimeter. The reception quality map can be managed internally within the vehicle or transmitted externally to a central computing device outside the vehicle, such as a vehicle manufacturer's cloud server. For example, all vehicles owned by a vehicle manufacturer can access the server to always load and, if necessary, update the latest reception quality map. In this case, it is not necessarily required to load the entire reception quality map, but only a partial map of the nearby perimeter where the vehicle is currently located needs to be loaded. In this way, less data needs to be transmitted. Using such reception quality maps, the computing unit can more reliably and earlier estimate when and to which operating mode a mobile radio device should switch—that is, whether to switch to purely terrestrial operation, purely non-terrestrial operation, or a mixed operation.

[0028] In another preferred embodiment of the method according to the present invention, a computing unit switches the detection behavior of at least one ambient sensor from standard mode to obstacle mode. Typically, ambient sensors included in a vehicle can be used for a wide variety of roles. In particular, static and dynamic ambient objects should be recognized to provide driving functions. These include safety-enhancing functions such as lane keeping assist, emergency brake assist, or adaptive cruise control, as well as comfort functions such as recognition of current traffic signs and their display on the instrument cluster. According to the present invention, it is necessary to measure the extent of ambient objects in order to determine an obstacle. In particular, the height of each ambient object is important. This means that the vehicle's ambient sensors should be directed not only at the roadway area immediately ahead, but preferably also to detect ambient areas located at relatively high elevations, both in the vicinity and in the distance. When the method according to the present invention is implemented, for example, obstacle mode can be activated as soon as the vehicle enters an urban area. In obstacle mode, for example, the scanning range of the LiDAR can be changed, thereby scanning the surroundings with a particularly large detection angle, allowing for the detection of, for example, treetops or house roofs. Switching between standard mode and obstacle mode can be done depending on a variety of results. For example, manual activation or switching is possible. Switching can also be done depending on predetermined surrounding conditions, such as when a vehicle is stationary in an urban area as described above. Another example of automatic switching from standard mode to obstacle mode is when, for example, based on fog, water spray, or when the sun is low in the sky, determining the size of surrounding objects is no longer possible purely on a camera basis, and therefore sensor data from other sensors is given more weight. In this way, the certainty that the vehicle can correctly determine the extent of surrounding objects is increased.

[0029] In a vehicle including at least one peripheral sensor and a computing unit, according to the present invention, the peripheral sensor and computing unit are set up to carry out the method described above. In particular, the vehicle includes an in-vehicle mobile radio device that has functionality for switching to a non-terrestrial network connection. The vehicle may be any vehicle, such as a passenger car, truck, bus, transporter, or construction machine. The vehicle may also be a rail-running vehicle, ship, or aircraft.

[0030] The present invention's method for evaluating the reception quality of non-terrestrial network connections, and other preferred embodiments of the vehicle, will also be apparent from the embodiments described below in detail with reference to the drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0031] [Figure 1] This is a schematic diagram showing a vehicle according to the present invention that implements the method of the present invention for evaluating the reception quality of a non-terrestrial network connection. [Figure 2] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing the vehicle in the first situation. [Figure 3] This is a schematic diagram showing the vehicle in the second scenario, as shown in Figure 1. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0032] Figure 1 shows a vehicle 2 traveling on a road in an urban area. Vehicle 2 is equipped with mobile radio equipment inside the vehicle in the form of a telematics unit. Therefore, the telematics unit can establish communication connectivity through both terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks. Such a non-terrestrial network is provided using a satellite 1. To this end, the satellite 1 directs a communication beam 3 to a specific region of the Earth to provide network coverage.

[0033] The direct connection line between vehicle 2 and satellite 1, illustrated as line of sight 4 in this example, may be obstructed by surrounding objects 5. Such obstructions are also called obstacles 6.

[0034] If obstacle 6 is inside line of sight 4, the reception quality of the non-terrestrial network connection will be impaired.

[0035] The vehicle 2 shown in Figure 1 implements the method of the present invention for evaluating the reception quality of a non-terrestrial network connection. To this end, vehicle 2 first determines its current location. Next, a computing unit within the vehicle determines and / or retrieves satellite characteristics from an external source, such as a service provider. At this time, the satellite characteristics describe at least the orbital coordinates of satellite 1 and the beam parameters of the communication beam 3 directed from satellite 1 towards the Earth. Next, the computing unit within the vehicle performs a positional comparison between the location of vehicle 2 and the orbital coordinates of satellite 1 in order to determine the line of sight 4. At this time, the computing unit considers the orientation of the communication beam 3, in particular, taking into account the beam parameters.

[0036] The vehicle uses surrounding sensors to detect its surroundings. In this example, this allows the vehicle to detect surrounding objects 5 in the form of houses or high-rise buildings and determine their extent, i.e., width and height. This enables the vehicle 2 to determine the aforementioned obstacles 6 within the receiving area FOV, also known as the Field of View, which is represented by height H and width B.

[0037] The in-vehicle computing unit then evaluates the reception quality in inverse proportion to the obstacle 6. The larger the obstacle 6, that is, the more strongly the line of sight 4 between the vehicle 2 and the satellite 1 is obstructed, the lower the reception quality is assumed to be. For example, the effect of the obstacle 6 can be evaluated as the area it occupies within the receiving field of view (FOV). That is, the largest obstacle 6 exists when the entire receiving field of view (FOV) is occupied by the obstacle 6.

[0038] Figure 2 shows vehicle 2 from the rear. Here, the communication beam 3 is directed from satellite 1 towards Earth at a specific angle α. If the tall building in question is small enough, the line of sight 4 or the communication beam 3 will not be obstructed. However, if the building is too tall, as indicated by the black hatched surface, the communication beam 3 or line of sight 4 will be obstructed by the obstacle 6, resulting in a decrease in reception quality or, furthermore, making it impossible to establish a stable communication connection with satellite 1.

[0039] Figure 3 shows another scenario in which lines of sight 4 exist simultaneously to multiple satellites 1, specifically two satellites 1 in this example. When the line of sight 4 to one of the satellites 1 is blocked by a surrounding object 5 or obstacle 6, a consistent, i.e., unblocked, communication connection can be established with a satellite 1 that has a line of sight 4. In this way, a stable communication connection for mobile radio equipment contained in a vehicle can be reliably established. Instead of mobile radio equipment inside the vehicle, a mobile radio device linked to the vehicle 2, such as a smartphone, can also be used.

[0040] In particular, the in-vehicle computing unit changes the operating mode of the mobile radio equipment depending on the reception quality. For example, the computing unit switches the mobile radio equipment between purely terrestrial network operation, purely non-terrestrial network operation, or mixed operation. This ensures the reliable and constant provision of a stable communication connection. To this end, it is sufficient to consider only the reception quality of the non-terrestrial network connection, or alternatively, in relation to the reception quality of the terrestrial network connection. The reception quality of the terrestrial network connection can be determined by established conventional methods.

Claims

1. A method for evaluating the reception quality of a non-terrestrial network connection, wherein the satellite characteristics of a satellite (1) participating in the non-terrestrial network are collected. The following method steps are performed by the computing unit within the vehicle: namely, - A step to determine the current location of vehicle (2); - Determining and / or calling satellite characteristics, wherein the satellite characteristics include at least the orbital coordinates of at least one satellite (1) participating in the non-terrestrial network and the beam parameters of a communication beam (3) directed from the satellite (1) toward the Earth; In the method having, The following are further method steps: namely, - A step of performing a positional comparison between the vehicle's (2) location and the orbital coordinates of the at least one satellite (1) in order to determine the line of sight (4) from the vehicle (2) to at least one satellite (1); - A step of detecting the surroundings using at least one peripheral sensor and determining the extent (b, h) of peripheral objects (5) that are at least within the current detection range (FOV) of the peripheral sensor; - A step of determining the obstruction (6) of the line of sight (4) from the vehicle (2) to at least one satellite (1), depending on the extent (b, h) of the surrounding objects (5) located within the line of sight (4); and, - A step of evaluating the reception quality in inverse proportion to the obstacle (6); The method characterized by the above.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the reception quality includes or is composed of a reception probability.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the computing unit controls a mobile radio device located in or linked to the vehicle (2), and switches the active mobile radio connection used by the mobile radio device between purely terrestrial operation, purely non-terrestrial operation, or mixed operation, depending on the reception quality.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that the calculation unit determines the reception quality of the terrestrial network and takes this into consideration for switching the mobile radio equipment.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the frequency at which the reception quality is determined is increased in urban areas compared to when the vehicle (2) is staying in a non-urban area.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the calculation unit generates obstacle data and stores it in a data bank, in particular registering it in a digital roadmap.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the calculation unit determines the travel path located ahead and determines the reception quality for the travel path located ahead.

8. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 6, characterized in that the calculation unit generates and / or procures a reception quality map from an external source and registers the reception quality of terrestrial network connections and / or non-terrestrial network connections in the reception quality map.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the calculation unit switches the detection behavior of at least one of the surrounding sensors from standard mode to obstacle mode.

10. A vehicle (2) including at least one peripheral sensor and a computing unit, The vehicle is characterized in that the surrounding sensors and the calculation unit are set up to carry out the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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