Inter-vehicle communication control for vehicles in a convoy

Abstract

Various aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to sensor systems. In some aspects, a method may include determining a classification of a first vehicle of a plurality of vehicles traveling in a convoy. The method may include causing the first vehicle to share sensor data with a second vehicle in the convoy according to a sensor data sharing profile based at least in part on the classification, the sensor data being associated with a sensor system of the first vehicle. Numerous other aspects are provided.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to vehicle sensors and, more particularly, to a sensor data sharing system for sharing sensor data between vehicles. [Background technology]

[0002] A vehicle may include a sensor system including one or more sensors for determining characteristics associated with the vehicle and / or the vehicle's environment. For example, such a sensor system may be configured to detect proximity to objects, weather conditions, road conditions, vehicle speed, traffic conditions, vehicle location, etc. Summary of the Invention [Means for solving the problem]

[0003] In some aspects, a method performed by the device may include determining a classification of a first vehicle of a plurality of vehicles traveling in a convoy and causing the first vehicle to share sensor data with a second vehicle in the convoy in accordance with a sensor data sharing profile based at least in part on the classification, the sensor data being associated with a sensor system of the first vehicle.

[0004] In some aspects, the device may include a memory and one or more processors operatively coupled to the memory. The memory and the one or more processors may be configured to determine a classification of a first vehicle of a plurality of vehicles traveling in a convoy and cause the first vehicle to share sensor data with a second vehicle in the convoy according to a sensor data sharing profile based at least in part on the classification, the sensor data being associated with a sensor system of the first vehicle.

[0005] In some aspects, a non-transitory computer-readable medium may store one or more instructions that, when executed on one or more processors of a device, may cause the one or more processors to receive a classification identifier from a master vehicle traveling in a convoy, share sensor data associated with the sensor system with one or more vehicles in the convoy according to a sensor data sharing profile associated with the classification identifier, detect characteristics associated with the convoy, and override parameters associated with the sensor data sharing profile to adjust the sensor data sharing with the one or more vehicles.

[0006] In some aspects, an apparatus for wireless communication may include means for receiving a classification identifier from a master vehicle traveling in a convoy, means for sharing sensor data associated with a sensor system with one or more vehicles in the convoy according to a sensor data sharing profile associated with the classification identifier, means for detecting characteristics associated with the convoy, and means for overriding parameters associated with the sensor data sharing profile to adjust the sensor data sharing with the one or more vehicles.

[0007] Aspects generally include methods, apparatus, systems, computer program products, non-transitory computer-readable media, user devices, wireless communication devices, and processing systems, as fully described herein with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings and this specification.

[0008] The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technical advantages of examples according to the present disclosure so that the following Detailed Description may be better understood. Additional features and advantages are described below. The concepts and examples disclosed may be readily used as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present disclosure. Such equivalent structures do not depart from the scope of the appended claims. The nature of the concepts disclosed herein, both their organization and methods of operation, together with associated advantages, will be better understood from the following description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Each of the figures is provided for the purpose of illustration and explanation, and not as a definition of the limits of the claims.

[0009] So that the above-mentioned features of the present disclosure may be understood in detail, a more detailed description may be had by referring to embodiments, some of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. It should be noted, however, that the accompanying drawings illustrate only some typical embodiments of the present disclosure and therefore should not be considered as limiting its scope, since the present description may admit of other equally effective embodiments. The same reference numbers in different drawings may identify the same or similar elements. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 conceptually illustrates an example environment in which the sensor data sharing system described herein may be implemented, in accordance with various aspects of the disclosure. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 conceptually illustrates example components of one or more devices shown in FIG. 1 in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 conceptually illustrates an example relating to sensor data sharing between vehicles in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 conceptually illustrates an example relating to sensor data sharing between vehicles in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. [Diagram 5]FIG. 1 conceptually illustrates an example relating to sensor data sharing between vehicles in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] 4 is a flow chart of an example process for sensor data sharing between vehicles. [Figure 7] 4 is a flow chart of an example process for sensor data sharing between vehicles. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] Various aspects of the present disclosure will be described more fully below with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present disclosure may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to any particular structure or function presented throughout the present disclosure. Rather, these aspects are configured so that the disclosure will be exhaustive and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. Based at least in part on the teachings herein, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the scope of the present disclosure encompasses any aspect of the present disclosure disclosed herein, whether implemented independently of or in combination with any other aspect of the present disclosure. For example, an apparatus may be implemented or a method may be practiced using any number of the aspects described herein. In addition, the scope of the present disclosure is intended to encompass such an apparatus or method practiced using other structures, functions, or structures and functions in addition to or other than the various aspects of the present disclosure described herein. It will be understood that any aspect of the present disclosure disclosed herein may be embodied by one or more elements of a claim.

[0012] In some examples, the vehicles may be configured to communicate with each other (e.g., via the vehicles' electronic control units (ECUs)). For example, advances in communication technology have enabled vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication. Additionally, one or more roadside units (RSUs) of the roadside platform may be configured to facilitate communication between the vehicles, receive information related to and / or from the vehicles moving along the road, provide information related to and / or to the vehicles moving along the road, etc. In such cases, the vehicles may be configured to share sensor data generated by sensors onboard the respective vehicles. For example, a first vehicle may share sensor data with a second vehicle to enable the second vehicle to determine characteristics of the first vehicle's environment (e.g., the environment surrounding the second vehicle), the speed of the first vehicle, the location of the first vehicle, etc. In this way, the second vehicle may be able to determine the position of the first vehicle relative to the second vehicle, detect objects near the first vehicle that cannot be detected by the second vehicle's sensor system (e.g., because the object is in the sensor system's blind spot, the second vehicle is out of range of the object, etc.), detect road obstacles (e.g., potholes) that cannot be detected by the second vehicle's sensor system, etc.

[0013] In some examples, multiple vehicles traveling together on a road (referred to herein as a “platoon”) may communicate with each other to share information related to each of the vehicles in the platoon. A convoy of vehicles may be formed via a series of communications specifying communication parameters for communicating with each other and / or with RSUs (e.g., via V2V communications) while traveling in the convoy. In such examples, the vehicles in the convoy may often share sensor data related to the same objects (e.g., the same obstacles detected or the same vehicles not in the convoy), the same characteristics of the convoy (e.g., the speed of the convoy, the location of the convoy, etc.). As a result, such sensor data is redundant and a waste of computing resources (e.g., processing and / or memory resources used to generate and / or process communications between the vehicles in the convoy), and / or communication resources (e.g., used to transmit or receive the redundant sensor data).

[0014] Moreover, some sensor data for determining some information about the convoy (or the environment of the convoy) may be more valuable (e.g., more accurate, more relevant, etc.) from one of the vehicles in the convoy than from another vehicle in the convoy. For example, the last vehicle at the back of the convoy may provide more valuable sensor data related to the environment behind the convoy than a vehicle located in the middle rather than the back of the convoy because there are other vehicles (including the last vehicle) behind the middle vehicle. In such a case, the middle vehicle will waste resources related to the sensed environment behind the middle vehicle because the last vehicle is detecting more accurate information about the environment behind the convoy (because the last vehicle is not blocked by other vehicles in the convoy).

[0015] According to certain aspects described herein, a sensor data sharing system reduces redundant sharing of sensor data between vehicles in a convoy (e.g., via V2V communications, roadside platforms, etc.) according to characteristics of the convoy and / or individual vehicles in the convoy. For example, a master vehicle of the convoy (e.g., an ECU of the master vehicle) may receive information related to member vehicles of the convoy and / or their sensor systems and determine a sensor data sharing profile for the member vehicles according to a classification of the member vehicles based at least in part on the information. The sensor data sharing profile may specify how often the member vehicles share sensor data (including specific types of sensors), what types of sensor data are shared (or not shared) by the member vehicles, what types of information are shared (or not shared) by the member vehicles, etc. In this manner, the master vehicle can reduce the amount of redundant sensor data and / or redundant V2V communications shared throughout the convoy of vehicles.

[0016] As another example, a member vehicle may independently monitor and / or detect when the member vehicle is transmitting and / or receiving redundant communications. For example, despite being configured to share sensor data according to a sensor data sharing profile provided by a master vehicle of the convoy, the member vehicle may override certain parameters associated with sharing the sensor data as defined in the sensor data sharing profile to reduce redundancy associated with the sensor data.

[0017] As described herein, reducing the amount of redundantly generated, provided, and / or processed sensor data frees up computing resources, communication resources, power resources, etc. of the individual vehicles in the convoy. The increase in available resources can enable the vehicles to program other processing, receive and / or transmit emergency communications, process and / or detect other information related to the individual vehicles and / or convoy, etc., that they otherwise cannot perform using the examples described herein. Accordingly, such processing, communication, and / or information can further provide benefits including improved safety, improved data processing performance (e.g., improved speed), improved communication performance (e.g., improved reliability, reduced latency, etc.), etc.

[0018] According to certain aspects described herein, the sensor data sharing system may be configured within one or more ECUs of one or more vehicles in the convoy (e.g., as respective on-board systems) and / or within one or more RSUs of a roadside platform that may be communicatively coupled to the vehicles.

[0019] In this manner, the sensor data sharing system may determine the reliability of sensor data generated by a sensor system of a vehicle. In response, the sensor data sharing system may detect unreliable sensor data associated with the sensor system and prevent the vehicle from using and / or sharing the unreliable sensor data. Additionally or alternatively, the sensor data sharing system may compare the reliability of sensor data received from another vehicle with sensor data generated on the vehicle and use the sensor data that is determined to be more reliable. In this manner, the sensor data sharing system may ensure that the sensor data shared with and / or used by a vehicle is the most reliable sensor data available to that vehicle, thus increasing the likelihood that the ECU of that vehicle can most accurately determine characteristics of that vehicle (e.g., the speed of the vehicle, the proximity of the vehicle to an object, etc.), characteristics of the vehicle's environment (e.g., weather conditions, distance to a particular location or object, etc.), etc. Furthermore, if the sensor data is determined to be unreliable, the sensor data sharing system may prevent the sensor data from being shared, thus avoiding and / or preventing the waste of resources (e.g., computing resources, network resources, etc.) associated with sharing unreliable sensor data that should not be used by the receiving vehicle.

[0020] 1 is a diagram of an example environment 100 in which systems and / or methods described herein may be implemented. As shown in FIG. 1, environment 100 may include a roadside platform 110 hosted via one or more computing resources 115 (individually referred to as “computing resource 115” and collectively referred to as “computing resources”) of a cloud computing environment 120, one or more vehicles 130-1-130-N (individually referred to as “vehicle 130” and collectively referred to as “vehicle 130”) having corresponding ECUs 132-1-132-N (individually referred to as “ECU 132” and collectively referred to as “ECU 132”), one or more sensor information platforms (individually referred to as “sensor information platform 140” and collectively referred to as “sensor information platform 140”), and a network 150. 1 with one corresponding ECU 132 (e.g., the ECU 132 is co-located with the vehicle), one or more vehicles 130 in environment 100 may include one or more ECUs 132. The devices of environment 100 may be interconnected via wired connections, wireless connections, or a combination of wired and wireless connections. As described herein, the sensor data sharing system is included within roadside platform 110 and / or at least one of the one or more ECUs 132.

[0021] Roadside platform 110 includes one or more computing resources allocated to receive, generate, process and / or provide information related to sensor data sharing as described herein. For example, roadside platform 110 may be a platform implemented by cloud computing environment 120 that may receive sensor information related to sensors of vehicle 130 and determine a classification of vehicle 130 and / or a sensor data sharing profile for vehicle 130 based at least in part on vehicle 130 being in a convoy. In some aspects, roadside platform 110 is implemented by computing resources 115 of cloud computing environment 120.

[0022] The roadside platform 110 may include a server device or a group of server devices. For example, the roadside platform 110 may include one or more roadside units including one or more server devices. Such roadside units may be configured along the road to enable communication with the ECUs 132 of the vehicles 130. In some aspects, the roadside platform 110 may be hosted in a cloud computing environment 120. Notably, although aspects described herein describe the roadside platform 110 as being hosted in a cloud computing environment 120, in some aspects the roadside platform 110 may be non-cloud based or partially cloud based.

[0023] Cloud computing environment 120 may include a computing-as-a-service delivery environment, whereby shared resources, services, and the like may be provided to ECU 132 of vehicle 130. Cloud computing environment 120 may provide computation, software, data access, storage, and / or other services that do not require end-user knowledge of the physical location and configuration of the systems and / or devices that deliver the services. As shown, cloud computing environment 120 may include computing resources 115. Computing resources 115 may correspond to roadside units of roadside platform 110 described herein. Computing resources 115 may be configured to form at least a portion of a sensor data sharing system described herein. Accordingly, computing resources 115 of roadside platform 110 may enable one or more capabilities of the sensor data sharing system supported within cloud computing environment 120.

[0024] The computing resources 115 include one or more computers, server devices, or another type of computing and / or communication devices. In some aspects, the computing resources 115 may host the roadside platform 110. Cloud resources may include compute instances running within the computing resources 115, storage devices provided within the computing resources 115, data transfer devices provided by the computing devices 115, etc. In some aspects, the computing resources 115 may communicate with other computing resources 115 via wired connections, wireless connections, or a combination of wired and wireless connections.

[0025] As further shown in FIG. 1, the computing resources 115 may include a group of cloud resources, such as one or more applications (“APP”) 115-1, one or more virtual machines (“VM”) 115-2, virtualization storage (“VS”) 115-3, and one or more hypervisors (“HYP”) 115-4.

[0026] Applications 115-1 include one or more software applications (e.g., software applications associated with a sensor data sharing system) provided to or accessed by ECU 132. Applications 115-1 may obviate the need to install and run software applications on ECU 132. For example, applications 115-1 may include software associated with roadside platform 110 and / or any other software that may be provided via cloud computing environment 120. In some aspects, one application 115-1 may send information to and receive information from one or more other applications 115-1 via virtual machine 115-2.

[0027] Virtual machine 115-2 includes the software aspects of a machine (e.g., a computer) that executes programs like a physical machine. Virtual machine 115-2 may be either a system virtual machine or a process virtual machine, depending on the extent to which virtual machine 115-2 uses and matches any real machine. A system virtual machine may provide a complete system platform that supports the execution of a complete operating system ("OS"). A process virtual machine may execute a single program and support a single process. In some aspects, virtual machine 115-2 may run on behalf of a user (e.g., a user associated with vehicle 130) and manage the infrastructure of cloud computing environment 120, such as data management, synchronization, or long-term data transfer.

[0028] The virtualized storage 115-3 includes one or more storage systems and / or one or more devices that use virtualization techniques within the storage systems or devices of the computing resources 115. In some aspects, in the context of storage systems, types of virtualization may include block virtualization and file virtualization. Block virtualization may refer to the abstraction (or separation) of logical storage from physical storage, such that the storage system may be accessed without consideration of the physical storage or heterogeneous structure. The separation may give the administrator of the storage system flexibility in how they manage the storage to the end users. File virtualization may remove the dependency between the data accessed at the file level and the location where the file is physically stored. This may enable optimization of storage usage, server consolidation, and / or performance of non-disruptive file migration. In some aspects, the virtualized storage 115-3 may store information related to one or more sensor systems of one or more of the vehicles 130 to enable the sensor data sharing system to determine a classification of the vehicles 130 and / or a sensor data sharing profile for the vehicles 130.

[0029] Hypervisor 115-4 provides hardware virtualization techniques that allow multiple operating systems (e.g., "guest operating systems") to run simultaneously on a host computer, such as computing resource 115. Hypervisor 115-4 may present a virtual operating platform to the guest operating systems and manage the execution of the guest operating systems. Multiple instances of different operating systems may share virtualized hardware resources.

[0030] Vehicle 130 may include any vehicle that includes a sensor system described herein. For example, vehicle 130 may be a consumer vehicle, an industrial vehicle, a commercial vehicle, etc. Vehicle 130 may be capable of traveling and / or providing transportation via public roads, being used in operations related to a workplace (e.g., a construction site), etc.

[0031] According to aspects described herein, two or more of the vehicles 130 may travel in a convoy. As an example, five vehicles 130-1-130-5 may be designated as a convoy according to any suitable technique. The convoy of vehicles 130-1-130-5 may be configured manually by a user. Additionally or alternatively, the convoy may be configured dynamically by one or more of the five vehicles 130-1-130-5. In such a case, based at least in part on one or more of the five vehicles determining from V2V communications between each other that the five vehicles are traveling in the same direction, at the same relative speed, and within a threshold distance of at least one of the other vehicles. Additionally, a first vehicle 130-1 in the convoy may be designated as a master vehicle that configures the communication settings of the convoy of vehicles 130-1-130-5 including the remaining member vehicles 130-2-130-5. The selection of a master vehicle for the convoy may be determined according to any suitable technique (e.g., based at least in part on the position within the convoy, based at least in part on the sensing capabilities of the master vehicle, based at least in part on the communication capabilities of the master vehicle, based at least in part on the processing capabilities of the master vehicle, etc.).

[0032] The vehicle 130 may be controlled by the ECU 132 and may include one or more devices capable of receiving, generating, storing, processing and / or providing information related to the sensor sharing and / or sensor data sharing system described herein. For example, the ECU 132 may include a communication device and / or a computing device, such as an on-board computer, a control console, an operator station, or a similar type of device. In some aspects, the ECU 132 may include and / or be used to implement the sensor data sharing system described herein. For example, the ECU 132 may enable the vehicle 130 to have one or more on-board capabilities related to the sensor data sharing system (e.g., determining characteristics of other vehicles 130, determining classifications of other vehicles 130, processing sensor data from other vehicles 130, determining whether to use shared sensor data from other vehicles 130, determining whether to share sensor data with other vehicles 130, providing sensor data information to another vehicle 130 or to the roadside platform 110, etc.).

[0033] Sensor information platform 140 includes one or more devices that can store, process, and / or route information related to the sensor systems of one or more of vehicles 130 and / or one or more vehicles representative of vehicles 130. In some embodiments, sensor information platform 140 may include a communication interface that enables sensor information platform 140 to receive information from and / or transmit information to other devices in environment 100.

[0034] The sensor information platform 140 may include one or more online or web-based platforms associated with third-party entities. Such third-party entities may not be associated with one or more entities associated with the vehicle 130 (e.g., the owner of the vehicle 130, the operator of the vehicle 130, the manufacturer of the vehicle 130, the dealer of the vehicle 130, etc.). For example, such a third-party entity may be a trusted entity that performs one or more services related to determining a classification of the vehicle according to the characteristics of the vehicle 130 (e.g., the sensing capabilities of the sensors on the vehicle 130, the sensor configuration on the vehicle 130, the type of sensors on the vehicle 130, etc.). The sensor information platform 140 may provide information related to the vehicle 130 (e.g., information corresponding to the classification and / or a sensor data sharing profile corresponding to the classification) to the roadside platform 110 and / or the ECU 132. In some aspects, the sensor information platform 140 and the roadside platform 110 may be associated with the same entity (e.g., owned, operated, managed, etc. by the same entity).

[0035] Network 150 includes one or more wired and / or wireless networks. For example, network 150 may include a cellular network (e.g., a long-term evolution (LTE) network, a code division multiple access (CDMA) network, a 3G network, a 4G network, a 5G network, other types of next generation networks, etc.), a public land mobile network (PLMN), a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a telephone network (e.g., a public switched telephone network (PSTN)), a private network, an ad-hoc network, an intranet, the Internet, a fiber optic-based network, a cloud computing network, etc., and / or a combination of these or other types of networks.

[0036] The number and arrangement of devices and networks shown in Figure 1 are provided as one or more examples. In practice, there may be additional devices and / or networks, fewer devices and / or networks, different devices and / or networks, or differently arranged devices and / or networks than those shown in Figure 1. Furthermore, two or more devices shown in Figure 1 may be implemented within a single device, or a single device shown in Figure 1 may be implemented as multiple distributed devices. Additionally or alternatively, a set of devices (e.g., one or more devices) of environment 100 may perform one or more functions described as being performed by another set of devices of environment 100.

[0037] 2 is a diagram of example components of a device 200. The device 200 may correspond to the roadside platform 110, the computing resources 115, the ECU 132, the sensor information platform 140, etc. In some aspects, the roadside platform 110, the computing resources 115, the ECU 132, and / or the sensor information platform 140 may include one or more devices 200 and / or one or more components of the device 200. As shown in FIG. 2, the device 200 may include a bus 210, a processor 220, a memory 230, a storage component 240, an input component 250, an output component 260, a communication interface 270, and one or more sensors 280 (individually referred to as “sensors 280” and collectively referred to as “sensors 280”).

[0038] The bus 210 includes components that enable communication between multiple components of the device 200. The processor 220 is implemented in hardware, firmware, and / or a combination of hardware and software. The processor 220 is a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), an accelerated processing unit (APU), a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a digital signal processor (DSP), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or another type of processing component. In some aspects, the processor 220 includes one or more processors that may be programmed to perform functions. The memory 230 includes a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), and / or another type of dynamic or static storage device (e.g., flash memory, magnetic memory, and / or optical memory) that stores information and / or instructions for use by the processor 220.

[0039] The storage component 240 stores information and / or software related to the operation and use of the device 200. For example, the storage component 240 may include a hard disk (e.g., a magnetic disk, an optical disk, and / or a magneto-optical disk), a solid-state drive (SSD), a compact disk (CD), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a floppy disk, a cartridge, a magnetic tape, and / or another type of non-transitory computer-readable medium along with a corresponding drive.

[0040] Input components 250 include components that enable device 200 to receive information, such as via user input (e.g., a touchscreen display, a keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, buttons, switches, and / or a microphone). Additionally or alternatively, input components 250 may include components for determining location (e.g., a Global Positioning System (GPS) component) and / or sensors (e.g., an accelerometer, a gyroscope, an actuator, another type of positional or environmental sensor, etc.). Output components 260 include components that provide output information from device 200 (e.g., via a display, a speaker, a haptic feedback component, an audible or visual indicator, etc.).

[0041] Communications interface 270 includes transceiver-like components (e.g., a transceiver, a separate receiver, a separate transmitter, etc.) that enable device 200 to communicate with other devices via a wired connection, a wireless connection, or a combination of wired and wireless connections, etc. Communications interface 270 may enable device 200 to receive information from and / or provide information to another device. For example, communications interface 270 may include an Ethernet interface, an optical interface, a coaxial interface, an infrared interface, a radio frequency (RF) interface, a universal serial bus (USB) interface, a Wi-Fi interface, a cellular network interface, etc.

[0042] Device 200 may perform one or more processes described herein. Device 200 may perform these processes based at least in part on processor 220 executing software instructions stored by a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as memory 230 and / or storage component 240. As used herein, the term "computer-readable medium" refers to a non-transitory memory device. A memory device includes memory space within a single physical storage device or memory partitions distributed across multiple physical storage devices.

[0043] Software instructions may be read into memory 230 and / or storage component 240 from another computer-readable medium or another device via communications interface 270. When executed, the software instructions stored in memory 230 and / or storage component 240 may cause processor 220 to perform one or more processes described herein. Additionally, or instead, hardware circuitry may be used in place of or in combination with software instructions to perform one or more processes described herein. Thus, the aspects described herein are not limited to any specific combination of hardware circuitry and software.

[0044] Sensors 280 may include one or more devices capable of sensing one or more characteristics of device 200's environment. For example, sensors 280 may include one or more of a camera, a light detection and ranging (LIDAR) sensor, a radio detection and ranging (RADAR) sensor, and the like. Accordingly, sensors 280 may include any suitable sensors configured within a sensor system to perform one or more operations, generate sensor data to enable one or more operations to be performed, and the like. For example, sensors 280 may be configured within a sensor system to detect the presence of one or more objects within device 200's environment, detect proximity to one or more objects within device 200's environment, determine a location of device 200, determine a speed associated with device 200, and the like. As described herein, sensor data generated by sensors 280 may be communicated to another device (e.g., via communication interface 270) to enable the sensor data to be used by the other device to perform one or more operations.

[0045] Additionally or alternatively, the sensors 280 may include magnetometers (e.g., Hall effect sensors, anisotropic magnetoresistive (AMR) sensors, giant magnetoresistive sensors (GMR), etc.), location sensors (e.g., Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers, Local Positioning System (LPS) devices (e.g., using triangulation, multilateration, etc.), etc.), gyroscopes (e.g., Microelectromechanical System (MEMS) gyroscopes or similar type devices), accelerometers, speed sensors, motion sensors, infrared sensors, temperature sensors, pressure sensors, etc.

[0046] In some aspects, device 200 includes a means for performing one or more processes described herein and / or a means for performing one or more operations of the processes described herein. For example, the means for performing the processes and / or operations described herein may include a bus 210, a processor 220, a memory 230, a storage component 240, an input component 250, an output component 260, a communication interface 270, a sensor 280, and / or any combination thereof.

[0047] The number and arrangement of components shown in Figure 2 are given as an example. In practice, device 200 may include additional components, fewer components, different components, or components arranged differently than those shown in Figure 2. Additionally or alternatively, a set of components (e.g., one or more components) of device 200 may perform one or more functions that are described as being performed by another set of components of device 200.

[0048] FIG. 3 is a diagram conceptually illustrating an example 300 relating to sensor data sharing among vehicles, according to various aspects of the disclosure. The example 300 includes four vehicles, denoted as “MV”, “V1”, “V2”, and “V3”, which may correspond to vehicles 130 and are collectively referred to herein as “vehicles”, a base station (e.g., a base station of network 150), and a roadside unit (e.g., a roadside unit of roadside platform 110). In the example 300, the vehicles form a convoy and perform sensor data sharing according to the exemplary aspects described herein. Once established in the convoy, each of the vehicles in the convoy will share sensor data with the other vehicles in the convoy. For example, V2 will share sensor data related to characteristics (e.g., location, speed, etc.) of V2 and / or environment of V2, thereby allowing vehicles V1, V3, and / or MV to obtain information related to the operation (or movement) of V2 and / or environment of V2.

[0049] As described herein, the environment of the convoy may correspond to an environment defined by the sensing ranges of sensors of the vehicles in the convoy. Accordingly, the environment of a vehicle may correspond to an environment defined by the sensing ranges of sensors of that vehicle. In this manner, the environment of a vehicle is considered to be within the environment of the convoy.

[0050] As described herein, when referring to a vehicle in a convoy performing an action (e.g., receiving information, communicating with another entity, determining the reliability of a sensor system, enabling use of sensor data, using sensor data, etc.), it should be understood that an ECU of the vehicle may be performing the action.

[0051] As shown in FIG. 3 by reference numeral 310, the vehicles initiate convoy communication and designate a master vehicle. For example, one or more of the vehicles (e.g., MVs) may detect that another vehicle in example 300 (or other vehicles) is moving in the same direction, at the same speed, and / or within a threshold distance of each other. In response, the vehicles may communicate with each other to form a convoy to enable convoy communication using any suitable technique. For example, the vehicles may provide vehicle identification information, communication capabilities, location information, speed information, destination information, etc. From those communications and / or information, a master vehicle is selected according to any suitable technique (e.g., based at least in part on which vehicle has the best communication capabilities, which vehicle has the best sensor capabilities, which vehicle initiated the convoy communication request, which vehicle is leading the convoy, etc.).

[0052] In example 300, one of the vehicles, MV, is designated as the lead vehicle, the master vehicle, and the remaining vehicles (V1, V2, and V3) are designated as member vehicles. As described herein, the master vehicle is configured to control communication between the vehicles of the convoy. Additionally or alternatively, the master vehicle may determine whether another vehicle can join the convoy (e.g., when it is determined that another vehicle is traveling in the same direction, at the same speed, and / or is within a threshold distance of one of the vehicles of the convoy) and / or may detect whether one of the member vehicles has left the convoy. Furthermore, for example, if the master vehicle leaves the convoy (e.g., moves more than a threshold distance from a member vehicle), the master vehicle may hand over the capabilities or responsibilities of the master vehicle to one of the member vehicles.

[0053] In this manner, a vehicle may establish a master vehicle to initiate convoy communications and enable the master vehicle to configure a sensor data sharing profile for the member vehicles based at least in part on vehicle-specific information associated with the member vehicles.

[0054] As further indicated in FIG. 3 by reference numeral 320, the member vehicles provide vehicle-specific information to the master vehicle. For example, the master vehicle indicates characteristics of the sensors included within the member vehicles' respective sensor systems (e.g., type, range, field of view (relative to the direction of travel), resolution, etc.). Additionally or alternatively, the member vehicles may provide location and / or speed information to the master vehicle. According to some implementations, the member vehicles may provide information related to the member vehicle itself (e.g., make / model, year of manufacture, mileage, etc.).

[0055] In this manner, based at least in part on receiving the vehicle-specific information, the master vehicle may determine an individual sensor data sharing profile for the vehicle based at least in part on the vehicle-specific information.

[0056] As further shown in FIG. 3 by reference numeral 330, the master vehicle configures sensor data sharing for the convoy. For example, the master vehicle determines a sensor data sharing profile for each of the vehicles in the convoy (including the master vehicle). For example, the master vehicle may determine a classification of the member vehicles for the convoy. The classification may be relative to other members of the convoy and / or correspond to a hierarchy regarding which vehicles should share what sensor data or information at what time. For example, the classification may be determined at least in part based on the sensor capabilities of each of the vehicles in the convoy, at least in part based on the position of the vehicle in the convoy, etc. As a specific example, as shown in FIG. 3, V3 has a sensor system with sensing capabilities in two directions (forward and backward of V3), while V2 has a sensor system with omnidirectional sensing capabilities. In response, the master vehicle may determine that the classification for V3 is relatively lower than the classification for V2. According to the classification, V2V communications with V2 may be given higher priority in the convoy than V2V communications of V3 (e.g., by allocating a higher communication bandwidth to V2 during V2V communications, by having V2 communicate more frequently than V3, etc.) Based at least in part on the determined classification, the master vehicle may determine (or select) a sensor data sharing profile for the vehicles in the convoy that corresponds to the classification, to cause the member vehicles to share data according to the member vehicles' classifications.

[0057] In some aspects, classifications and / or corresponding sensor data sharing profiles for vehicles for use in connection with the aspects described herein may be pre-configured (e.g., by a manufacturer) for vehicles capable of using and / or providing V2V communications. Additionally or alternatively, the classifications and / or sensor data sharing profiles may be determined and / or provided by a third party entity (e.g., a V2V standardization committee, a government agency, etc.). In some implementations, the classifications and / or sensor data sharing profiles may be dynamically determined for individual characteristics of a particular vehicle in the convoy. In this manner, the classifications and / or sensor data sharing profiles may be customized (e.g., by a master vehicle) for a particular convoy based at least in part on the characteristics of the convoy and / or the characteristics (or sensing capabilities) of the vehicles in the convoy. The classifications and / or sensor data sharing profiles may be configured to reduce redundant generation, distribution and / or processing of sensor data by vehicles in the convoy.

[0058] As described herein, a sensor data sharing profile for a vehicle may specify a transmission frequency associated with the vehicle sharing sensor data with the convoy (e.g., every 100 milliseconds (ms), every 300 ms, every 500 ms, etc.), a particular type of sensor data (e.g., associated with a particular type of sensor) to be shared with the convoy, a particular type of information to be shared by the vehicle (e.g., information associated with a particular area of ​​the vehicle's environment or the convoy's environment, information associated with a particular object, etc.), etc.

[0059] Accordingly, the sensor data sharing profile for each of the member vehicles and the master vehicle may differ according to the vehicle-specific information of the vehicles in the convoy. In this manner, the master vehicle may determine the sensor data sharing profile for the member vehicles and provide the sensor data sharing profile to the member vehicles to cause the member vehicles to share sensor data according to their respective sensor data sharing profiles.

[0060] As further illustrated in FIG. 3 by reference numeral 340, the member vehicles will share sensor data according to the sensor data sharing profile. For example, the member vehicles may share data at a defined frequency of the sensor data sharing profile, may share a particular type of sensor data according to the sensor data sharing profile, may share a particular type of information related to the vehicle and / or the vehicle's environment, etc. Based at least in part on receiving the sensor data sharing profile, the member vehicles may configure different sensor sharing message generation rules according to the sensor data sharing profile. In some implementations, the master vehicle and / or the member vehicles may identify the classification of the member vehicle (e.g., via a classification identifier) ​​when sharing information, so that other vehicles in the convoy can select which sensor data to use to perform one or more actions. In some implementations, based at least in part on some characteristics of the member vehicle, as described herein, the member vehicle can adjust its sensor sharing operations (e.g., based at least in part on local processing or traffic characteristics, classification identifiers of other member vehicles, types of data received from other vehicles, etc.). Additionally, similar to adjusting sensor sharing operations, the vehicles may adjust sensor-related operations. For example, if a member vehicle does not want to share sensor data associated with a particular sensor, the member vehicle may disable or power down that sensor to conserve power and / or resources associated with that sensor.

[0061] According to some implementations, one or more of the member vehicles may override some parameters of the sensor data sharing profile provided by the master vehicle. For example, the master vehicle may determine that both V1 and V2 are in the same classification and, accordingly, shall share data according to the same sensor data sharing profile. In such a case, the sensor data sharing profile may cause both V1 and V2 to share sensor data related to the same portion of the convoy's environment (e.g., a portion of the environment that includes both V1's environment and V2's environment). In some implementations, V2 may determine that sharing such sensor data is redundant based at least in part on receiving sensor data related to the same object or including the same information as detected and / or provided by V1. In such a case, V2 may modify parameters associated with the sensor data sharing profile to reduce redundant sharing of sensor data related to the same object and / or information. For example, V2 may reduce the frequency of sending the sensor data sharing profile, increase the time period between sharing data related to a particular object detected by both V1 and V2, increase the time period between sharing data related to the same information generated and / or shared by both V1 and V2, etc. In this manner, a member vehicle may autonomously override parameters of the sensor data sharing profile provided by the master vehicle. In some implementations, a member vehicle may notify the master vehicle that such parameters have been overridden (e.g., to allow the master vehicle to adjust the sensor data sharing profile and / or classifications for the member vehicle).

[0062] In this manner, acquisition, sharing, and / or processing of redundant sensor data by vehicles in a convoy may be reduced according to the characteristics of the vehicle and / or convoy (e.g., because unnecessary or less reliable sensor data is not acquired, shared, or processed relative to corresponding sensor data from other sources or vehicles). Accordingly, as described herein, the sensor data sharing system may free up resources that would otherwise be consumed by previous techniques. Accordingly, as described herein, the sensor data sharing system may improve safety with respect to vehicles having more available resources during operation (e.g., thus preventing damage, harm to hardware resources or vehicles, etc.) and / or avoiding wasting resources in connection with sharing unreliable sensor data.

[0063] As noted above, Figure 3 is provided merely as one or more examples. Other examples may differ from the example described with respect to Figure 3.

[0064] 4 is a diagram conceptually illustrating an example 400 relating to sensor data sharing between vehicles, in accordance with various aspects of the disclosure. In the example of FIG. 4, a remote vehicle ("RV") is joining a convoy that includes a member vehicle ("V1") and a master vehicle ("MV") of the convoy, as well as a remote vehicle ("RV") joining the convoy. As shown, the remote vehicle is joining the convoy at the rear of the convoy. As further shown in FIG. 4, the example 400 includes a call flow between the remote vehicle, the member vehicles, and the master vehicle.

[0065] In example 400 of FIG. 4, the master vehicle may determine that the vehicles in the convoy are designated with two classifications: classification A and classification B. A vehicle in the convoy determined to be in classification A will receive a first sensor data sharing profile indicating that the vehicle is to share sensor data every 100 ms and to share data related to a detected object if the speed of the object (e.g., another vehicle, an obstacle, a vulnerable roadside unit (VRU), a road sign, etc.) has changed by 0.5 meters per second (m / s) since data related to that object was last shared. A vehicle in the convoy determined to be in classification B will receive a second sensor data sharing profile indicating that the vehicle is to share sensor data every 500 ms and to share data related to a detected object if the speed of the object has changed by 2 m / s since data related to that object was last shared. In example 400, member vehicle V1 is initially in category A, which allows member vehicle V1 to frequently share information related to the rear of the convoy (e.g., while other member vehicles may be in category B, which reduces sharing of data related to the rear of the convoy because V1 blocks the view of the rear of the convoy from other member vehicles in the convoy).

[0066] As shown in FIG. 4 by reference numeral 410, a remote vehicle may send a request to the master vehicle to join the convoy. For example, the request from the remote vehicle may include a vehicle identifier, a motion state of the remote vehicle (e.g., speed, location, etc.), a sensor capability of the remote vehicle, a data processing capability of the remote vehicle, a communication capability of the remote vehicle, etc. Based at least in part on the request, the master vehicle may respond to the remote vehicle as described herein, as shown by reference numeral 420. For example, the response from the master vehicle to the remote vehicle may include that the request was accepted, the convoy member identifier, the convoy information, and a sensor data sharing profile determined by the master vehicle based at least in part on the information in the request. More specifically, as shown, due to determining that the remote vehicle is positioned at the rear of the convoy, the master vehicle may indicate that the remote vehicle is designated as being in classification A and receive the first sensor data sharing profile.

[0067] Based at least in part on the remote vehicle joining the convoy and being at the rear of the convoy, the master vehicle may send a convoy update to the member vehicles, as indicated by reference numeral 430. The convoy update may reassign the member vehicles to classification B to reduce redundancy associated with sharing sensor data related to both the remote vehicle's environment and the member vehicle's environment, to reduce distribution associated with relatively low quality sensor data associated with sensing the environment behind the member vehicles due to the remote vehicle being located in a space (blocking much of the view of the sensors behind the member vehicles), etc. In this manner, redundant sensor sharing is reduced in accordance with example 400 of FIG.

[0068] As noted above, Figure 4 is provided merely as one or more examples. Other examples may differ from the example described with respect to Figure 4.

[0069] FIG. 5 is a diagram conceptually illustrating an example 500 relating to sensor data sharing between vehicles, according to various aspects of the disclosure. In the example of FIG. 5, a convoy is comprised of a master vehicle ("MV") and member vehicles ("V1", "V2", "V3", "V4", "V5"). As shown in FIG. 5, MV, V2, and V4 are assigned to classification B (e.g., corresponding to sensor data sharing parameters associated with the second sensor data sharing profile of example 400), and V1, V3, and V5 are assigned to classification A (e.g., corresponding to sensor data sharing parameters associated with the first sensor data sharing profile of example 400). A remote vehicle ("RV") begins to move. As shown, the remote vehicle is blocked from the field of view of V1 and V3 (by the presence of a truck) and is in the field of view of V2. Example 500 includes a call flow between V2 and the remaining vehicles of the convoy (MV, V1, V3, V4, V5), according to examples described herein.

[0070] 5 by reference numeral 510, V2 detects a remote vehicle. As indicated by reference numeral 520, V2 provides remote vehicle detection data according to transmission parameters for vehicles of classification B and / or according to a second sensor data sharing profile.

[0071] As indicated by reference numeral 530, V2 may detect a timeout in response to not receiving sensor data associated with the remote vehicle (e.g., because the remote vehicle is blocked from the view of the sensors of the other vehicles). In response, as indicated by reference numeral 540, V2 may adjust parameters for sharing sensor data associated with the RV. For example, V2 may override parameters in the sensor data sharing profile provided by the master vehicle to increase the frequency of sharing sensor data, improve reliability associated with communications involving sensor data, reduce latency associated with providing sensor data, etc. Such adjustments may be temporary (e.g., for only a duration corresponding to detecting the remote vehicle). As indicated by reference numeral 550, V2 provides RV data to the remaining vehicles in the convoy according to the parameters of classification A.

[0072] In this manner, a member vehicle may override certain parameters of the sensor data sharing profile assigned to the member vehicle in order to improve the sensing capabilities of the convoy overall.

[0073] As noted above, Figure 5 is provided merely as one or more examples. Other examples may differ from the example described with respect to Figure 5.

[0074] 6 illustrates an example process 600 performed, for example, by a sensor data sharing system, according to various aspects of the disclosure. The example process 600 is an example in which a sensor data sharing system (e.g., a sensor data sharing system of a roadside platform 110, a sensor data sharing system of an ECU 132, etc.) performs operations related to vehicle-to-vehicle communication control for vehicles in a convoy.

[0075] 6, in some aspects, process 600 may include determining a classification of a first vehicle of a plurality of vehicles traveling in the convoy (block 610). As described above, for example, the sensor data sharing system (e.g., using computing resources 115, ECU 132, processor 220, memory 230, storage component 240, input component 250, output component 260, communication interface 270, sensor 280, etc.) may determine a classification of a first vehicle of a plurality of vehicles traveling in the convoy.

[0076] 6, in some aspects, the process 600 may include having the first vehicle share the sensor data with the second vehicle in the convoy according to the sensor data sharing profile based at least in part on the classification, and the sensor data is associated with the sensor system of the first vehicle (block 620). As described above, for example, the sensor data sharing system (e.g., using the computing resources 115, the ECU 132, the processor 220, the memory 230, the storage component 240, the input component 250, the output component 260, the communication interface 270, the sensor 280, etc.) may have the first vehicle share the sensor data with the second vehicle in the convoy according to the sensor data sharing profile based at least in part on the classification. In some aspects, the sensor data is associated with the sensor system of the first vehicle.

[0077] Process 600 may include additional aspects, such as any single aspect or any combination of aspects described below and / or with respect to one or more other processes described elsewhere herein.

[0078] In a first aspect, the classification is determined based at least in part on at least one of a position of the first vehicle in the convoy and a sensed characteristic of the sensor system. In a second aspect, alone or in combination with the first aspect, the classification is determined at least in part on vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications received from the first vehicle.

[0079] In a third aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first and second aspects, the V2V communication includes at least one of a request to join a convoy, sensor information associated with a sensory system of the first vehicle that includes a sensor system, or a location of the first vehicle.

[0080] In a fourth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first to third aspects, the sensor data sharing profile is selected from a plurality of stored sensor data sharing profiles configured to control sensor data sharing among a plurality of vehicles.

[0081] In a fifth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first to fourth aspects, the sensor data sharing profile identifies at least one of a transmission frequency associated with the first vehicle transmitting sensor data to the second vehicle, a sensor data indicator that identifies whether to share a certain type of sensor data of the sensor system, or an information type indicator that identifies whether to share a certain type of information related to the sensor data.

[0082] In a sixth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first to fifth aspects, causing the first vehicle to share the sensor data may include at least one of providing the first vehicle with a classification identifier or providing the first vehicle with a sensor data sharing profile.

[0083] In a seventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through sixth aspects, causing the first vehicle to share the sensor data may include detecting an event associated with the convoy, and causing the first vehicle to share the sensor data is based at least in part on the event.

[0084] In an eighth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through seventh aspects, the sensor data is first sensor data, the sensor data sharing profile is a first sensor data sharing profile, and the process 600 may include determining a characteristic of the second vehicle and, based at least in part on the second characteristic, causing the second vehicle to share second sensor data with the first vehicle in accordance with a second sensor data sharing profile that is different from the first sensor data sharing profile, and the second sensor data is associated with a sensor of the second vehicle.

[0085] In a ninth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first to eighth aspects, the sensor data sharing profile is selected from a plurality of sensor data sharing profiles available for controlling sensor data sharing among a plurality of vehicles. In a tenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first to ninth aspects, the sensor data sharing system is co-located with a second vehicle.

[0086] 6 illustrates example blocks of process 600, in some aspects process 600 may include additional, fewer, different, or differently arranged blocks compared to those illustrated in FIG 6. Additionally or alternatively, two or more of the blocks of process 600 may be performed in parallel.

[0087] 7 illustrates an example process 700 performed, for example, by a sensor data sharing system, according to various aspects of the disclosure. The example process 700 is an example in which a sensor data sharing system (e.g., a sensor data sharing system of a roadside platform 110, a sensor data sharing system of an ECU 132, etc.) performs operations related to vehicle-to-vehicle communication control for vehicles in a convoy.

[0088] 7, in some aspects, process 700 may include receiving a classification identifier from a master vehicle traveling in the convoy (block 710). As described above, for example, a sensor data sharing system (e.g., using computing resources 115, ECU 132, processor 220, memory 230, storage component 240, input component 250, output component 260, communication interface 270, sensor 280, etc.) may receive the classification identifier from a master vehicle traveling in the convoy.

[0089] 7, in some aspects, process 700 may include sharing sensor data associated with the sensor system with one or more vehicles in the convoy according to a sensor data sharing profile associated with the classification identifier (block 720). As described above, for example, the sensor data sharing system (e.g., using computing resources 115, ECU 132, processor 220, memory 230, storage component 240, input component 250, output component 260, communication interface 270, sensors 280, etc.) may share sensor data associated with the sensor system with one or more vehicles in the convoy according to a sensor data sharing profile associated with the classification identifier.

[0090] Process 700 may include additional aspects, such as any single aspect or any combination of aspects described below and / or with respect to one or more other processes described elsewhere herein.

[0091] In a first aspect, the characteristic relates to at least one of a position of another vehicle in the convoy that has a higher sensing capability than the sensor system and shares data according to the sensor data sharing profile, or an object moving within a field of view of a sensor of the sensor system. In a second aspect, alone or in combination with the first aspect, the sensor data sharing profile is received from a master vehicle.

[0092] In a third aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first and second aspects, the parameters relate to at least one of a transmission frequency associated with sharing sensor data, sharing a type of sensor data of the sensor system, or sharing a type of information associated with the sensor data.

[0093] In a fourth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to third aspects, the parameter is overridden without notifying the master vehicle.

[0094] In a fifth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fourth aspects, the parameters are overridden until the characteristic is no longer detected.

[0095] Although Figure 7 illustrates example blocks of process 700, in some aspects process 700 may include additional, fewer, different, or differently arranged blocks compared to those illustrated in Figure 7. Additionally or alternatively, two or more of the blocks of process 700 may be performed in parallel.

[0096] The above disclosure provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the embodiments to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations may be made in light of the above disclosure or may be acquired from practice of the embodiments.

[0097] As used herein, the term "component" is intended to be broadly interpreted as hardware, firmware, and / or a combination of hardware and software. As used herein, a processor is implemented in hardware, firmware, and / or a combination of hardware and software.

[0098] Several aspects are described herein with respect to thresholds. As used herein, "satisfying a threshold" can refer to a value being greater than the threshold, greater than or equal to the threshold, less than the threshold, less than or equal to the threshold, equal to the threshold, not equal to the threshold, etc.

[0099] Although particular combinations of features are recited in the claims and / or disclosed herein, these combinations do not limit the disclosure of the various aspects. Indeed, many of these features may be combined in ways not specifically recited in the claims and / or disclosed herein. Although each dependent claim listed below may depend directly on only one claim, the disclosure of the various aspects includes each dependent claim in combination with every other claim in the claim set. A phrase referring to a list of "at least one of" items refers to any combination of those items, including single members. As an example, "at least one of a, b, or c" is intended to include a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, and abc, as well as any combination having multiples of the same element (e.g., aa, aaa, aab, aac, abb, acc, bb, bbb, bbc, cc, and ccc, or any other order of a, b, and c).

[0100] No element, act, or instruction used herein should be construed as critical or required unless explicitly described. Also, as used herein, the articles "a" and "an" include one or more items and may be used interchangeably with "one or more." Additionally, as used herein, the article "the" includes one or more items mentioned with the article "the" and may be used interchangeably with "one or more." Additionally, as used herein, the terms "set" and "group" include one or more items (e.g., related items, unrelated items, combinations of related and unrelated items, etc.) and may be used interchangeably with "one or more." When only one item is intended, the phrase "only one" or similar language is used. Also, as used herein, terms such as "has," "have," "having," and the like are intended to be open-ended terms. Additionally, the phrase "based on" is intended to mean "based at least in part on," unless otherwise specified. Additionally, as used herein, the term "or" is intended to be inclusive when used in a consecutive manner, and may be used interchangeably with "and / or" unless otherwise noted (e.g., when used in combination with "either" or "only one of"). [Explanation of symbols]

[0101] 100 Environment 110 Roadside Platform 115 Computing Resources 115-1 Application 115-2 Virtual Machine 115-3 Virtualization Storage Device 115-4 Hypervisor 120 Cloud Computing Environment 130 vehicles 130-1 Vehicle 130-N Vehicle 132 Electronic Control Unit (ECU) 132-1 ECU 132-N ECU 140 Sensor Information Platform 150 Network 200 devices 210 Bus 220 Processor 230 Memory 240 Memory Components 250 Input Components 260 Output Components 270 Communication Interface 280 Sensors 300 Examples 310 Reference Number 320 Reference Number 330 Reference Number 340 Reference Number 400 Examples 410 Reference Number 420 Reference Number 430 Reference Number 500 Examples 510 Reference Number 520 Reference Number 530 Reference Number 540 Reference Number 550 Reference Number 600 processes 610 Block 620 Block 700 processes 710 Block 720 Block

Claims

1. 1. A computer-implemented method comprising: determining, by the device, a classification of each of a first vehicle and a second vehicle of a plurality of vehicles moving in the convoy based on vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication; causing the first vehicle and the second vehicle to share first and second sensor data with each other in accordance with a first sensor data sharing profile of the first vehicle and a second sensor data sharing profile of the second vehicle, respectively, that correspond to the classification, by the device and based at least in part on the classification, and coordinating operation of a particular sensor system other than a sensor system associated with the sensor data to be shared; Including, the first sensor data is associated with a first sensor system of the first vehicle, and the second sensor data is associated with a second sensor system of the second vehicle; The first vehicle classification and the second vehicle classification are i) the sensor capabilities of the sensor system of each of said vehicles; ii) determined based in part on at least one of the types of sensors of the sensor system of each vehicle, the determined classification of the first vehicle and the determined classification of the second vehicle being different from one another; The first sensor data sharing profile and the second sensor data sharing profile are different from each other, i) a sensor data indicator that identifies whether to share a type of sensor data of the respective vehicle's sensor system; or ii) one or more of an information type indicator that identifies whether a type of information associated with the sensor data is to be shared; method.

2. The V2V communication is A request to join said motorcade; information about sensor capabilities associated with a perception system of the first vehicle that includes the sensor system; or The location of the first vehicle. The method of claim 1 , comprising at least one of:

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the sensor data sharing profile is selected from a plurality of stored sensor data sharing profiles configured to control sensor data sharing among the plurality of vehicles.

4. The sensor data sharing profile includes: a transmission frequency associated with the first vehicle transmitting the sensor data to the second vehicle; a sensor data indicator that identifies whether the sensor system shares a certain type of sensor data; or An information type indicator that identifies whether to share a certain type of information related to the sensor data The method of claim 1 , further comprising identifying at least one of:

5. Having the first vehicle share the sensor data includes: providing said first vehicle with an identifier for said classification; or Providing the sensor data sharing profile to the first vehicle. The method of claim 1 , comprising at least one of:

6. Having the first vehicle share the sensor data includes: detecting an event associated with the convoy; causing the first vehicle to share the sensor data based at least in part on the event, the event including determining that a remote vehicle has been positioned at the rear of a convoy; 2. The method of claim 1, comprising:

7. The sensor data is first sensor data, the sensor data sharing profile is a first sensor data sharing profile, and the method further comprises: determining a second characteristic of the second vehicle; and causing the second vehicle to share second sensor data with the first vehicle according to a second sensor data sharing profile different from the first sensor data sharing profile based at least in part on the second characteristic; The method of claim 1 , wherein the second sensor data is associated with a sensor of the second vehicle.

8. Memory, one or more processors operably coupled to the memory, determining a classification of each of a first vehicle and a second vehicle of a plurality of vehicles traveling in a convoy based on the V2V communication; causing the first vehicle and the second vehicle to share first and second sensor data with each other in accordance with a first sensor data sharing profile of the first vehicle and a second sensor data sharing profile of the second vehicle, respectively, corresponding to the classification based at least in part on the classification, and adjusting operation of a particular sensor other than a sensor associated with the sensor data to be shared; configured to: the first sensor data is associated with a sensor system of the first vehicle, and the second sensor data is associated with a second sensor system of the second vehicle; The first vehicle classification and the second vehicle classification are i) the sensor capabilities of the sensor system of each of said vehicles; ii) determined based in part on at least one of the types of sensors of the sensor system of each vehicle, the determined classification of the first vehicle and the determined classification of the second vehicle being different from one another; The first sensor data sharing profile and the second sensor data sharing profile are different from each other, i) a sensor data indicator that identifies whether to share a type of sensor data of the respective vehicle's sensor system; or ii) an information type indicator that identifies whether a type of information associated with the sensor data is to be shared; One or more processors A device comprising:

9. 10. The device of claim 8, wherein the sensor data sharing profile is selected from a plurality of sensor data sharing profiles available for controlling sensor data sharing among the plurality of vehicles.

10. The sensor data sharing profile includes: a transmission frequency associated with the first vehicle transmitting the sensor data to the second vehicle; a sensor data indicator that identifies whether the sensor system shares a certain type of sensor data; or An information type indicator that identifies whether to share a certain type of information related to the sensor data The device of claim 8, further comprising:

11. Having the first vehicle share the sensor data includes: providing said first vehicle with an identifier for said classification; or Providing the sensor data sharing profile to the first vehicle The device of claim 8, comprising at least one of:

12. The sensor data is first sensor data, the sensor data sharing profile is a first sensor data sharing profile, and the one or more processors further: determining a second characteristic of the second vehicle; and causing the second vehicle to share second sensor data with the first vehicle according to a second sensor data sharing profile different from the first sensor data sharing profile based at least in part on the second characteristic; configured to: The device of claim 8 , wherein the second sensor data is associated with a sensor of the second vehicle.

13. The device of claim 8 , wherein the device is co-located with the second vehicle.

14. 14. The device of claim 13, wherein the second vehicle is a lead vehicle in the convoy and the first vehicle is traveling behind the second vehicle.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing one or more instructions, the one or more instructions comprising: When executed by one or more processors of a device, the one or more processors receiving, from a master vehicle traveling in the convoy, a classification identifier corresponding to a classification determined for one or more vehicles traveling in the convoy; receiving from the master vehicle a sensor data sharing profile determined for each vehicle in the convoy based at least in part on the classification identifier, each of the sensor data sharing profiles being different; sharing sensor data associated with a sensor system with one or more vehicles in the convoy in accordance with a sensor data sharing profile associated with the classification identifier and coordinating operation of a particular sensor system other than the sensor system associated with the shared sensor data; Detecting a characteristic associated with the convoy; and overriding parameters associated with the sensor data sharing profile to adjust sensor data sharing with the one or more vehicles using the characteristics; [0023] The characteristics are Another vehicle in the convoy that has a higher sensing capability than the sensor system and shares data in accordance with the sensor data sharing profile; or an object moving within the field of view of a sensor of said sensor system; at least one of A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the sensor data sharing profile is received from the master vehicle.

17. The parameters are: a transmission frequency associated with sharing the sensor data; sharing certain types of sensor data of said sensor system; or Will you share any type of information related to the sensor data? 16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, relating to at least one of:

18. 16. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the parameters are overridden without notifying the master vehicle.

19. 16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the parameter is overridden until the characteristic is no longer detected.

20. 1. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: means for receiving a classification identifier from a master vehicle traveling in the convoy; means for sharing sensor data associated with a sensor system with one or more vehicles in the convoy in accordance with a sensor data sharing profile associated with the classification identifier corresponding to a classification determined for one or more vehicles traveling in the convoy, and for coordinating operation of a particular sensor system other than the sensor system associated with the shared sensor data; means for receiving from the master vehicle a sensor data sharing profile determined for each vehicle in the convoy based at least in part on the classification identifier, the sensor data sharing profiles being different from one another; means for detecting a characteristic associated with the convoy; means for overriding parameters associated with the sensor data sharing profile to adjust sensor data sharing with the one or more vehicles using the characteristics; Including, The characteristics are another vehicle in the convoy that has a higher sensing capability than the sensor system and shares data in accordance with the sensor data sharing profile; or An object moving within the field of view of a sensor of said sensor system at least one of Device.

21. The apparatus of claim 20 , wherein the sensor data sharing profile is received from the master vehicle.

22. The parameters are: a transmission frequency associated with sharing the sensor data; sharing certain types of sensor data of said sensor system; or Will you share any type of information related to the sensor data? The apparatus of claim 20, wherein at least one of

23. 21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the parameter is overridden without notifying the master vehicle.

24. 21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the parameter is overridden until the characteristic is no longer detected.

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