Method for controlling braking of a vehicle, electronic control unit, vehicle and computer program

Abstract

Method (100) for controlling braking of a vehicle (200) with a passenger compartment (210) adapted to accommodate seated passengers (202a) and standing passengers (202b) within the vehicle (200), wherein the method (100) comprises the steps of: - obtaining (110) a braking request (260); obtaining (115) a passenger information (265) relating to one of the following: no passenger (202a, 202b) within the passenger compartment (210), a passenger (202a) being seated within the passenger compartment (210) and / or a passenger (202b) being standing within the passenger compartment (210); determining (120), based on the passenger information (265), a braking profile (300a, 300b, 300c); and outputting (130), based on the braking profile (300a, 300b, 300c) and on the braking request (260), a brake control signal (300) for controlling braking of the vehicle (200).

Description

[0001] Method for controlling braking of a vehicle, electronic control unit, vehicle and computer program

[0002] The invention relates to a method for controlling braking of a vehicle. The invention further relates to an electronic control unit for a vehicle, to a vehicle and to a computer program.

[0003] In particular, the invention relates to a method to control braking during an emergency braking situation in a city bus.

[0004] In a conventional advanced emergency brake system (AEB system), a sensor or combination of sensors monitors a driving area in front of the host vehicle, i.e. , a bus and / or a van, to detect a possibility of a collision with a relevant target, e.g., a traffic participant on the road, such as a vehicle and / or vulnerable road user (VRU). In the event of a potential collision with such a target, the AEB system triggers a warning to the driver. Therein, the driver is first warned of the potentially imminent collision by auditory and / or visual signals, followed by a limited braking phase, before applying full emergency braking. Furthermore, conventional AEB systems are designed to be operated in vehicles where seatbelts are a pre-requisite from functional safety.

[0005] US 7,425,043 B2 discloses a method and apparatus for triggering automatic emergency braking in a vehicle, such as a truck, which provides an assistance function for avoiding or mitigating the effects of a rear end collision with a vehicle traveling ahead. A driver warning is triggered if a predefined warning condition requires that an automatic emergency braking process is triggered, but only after the expiration of a predefined warning time period, in order to avoid the vehicle having a rear end collision with the vehicle traveling ahead.

[0006] WO 2021 / 160287 A1 discloses a method for braking a vehicle for carrying passengers, having at least the following steps: - checking whether a trigger criterion for braking the vehicle for carrying passengers is present; - if the trigger criterion is met, bringing about a conditioning braking pulse through brief pulsed braking of the vehicle such that the passengers in the vehicle experience brief braking of the vehicle, and immediately thereafter - initiating a braking phase, wherein the vehicle is braked in the braking phase in at least two braking subregions, via a braking system, through a temporally changing actual ego deceleration, wherein each braking subregion extends over a braking subinterval, wherein the braking subregions transition into one another without the actual ego deceleration changing abruptly, and the actual ego deceleration is changed continuously in at least one of the braking subregions over the respective braking subinterval such that a different actual jerk arises in each braking subregion, and wherein the actual jerk behaves in a degressive manner over at least some braking subregions of the braking phase.

[0007] While designing an AEB system for a city bus, it is to be ensured that the reaction by an AEB system should not injure passengers in the bus.

[0008] At the date of filing non-published patent application IN 202211065195 describes a method for controlling braking of a vehicle, wherein the method comprises the steps of: obtaining a braking request; determining, based on the braking request, a timedependent brake control signal, wherein the brake control signal defines an application of a first braking jerk and an application of a second braking jerk, and the application of the first braking jerk and the application of the second braking jerk are separated from each other by a limited deceleration over a waiting time span; outputting the brake control signal for controlling braking of the vehicle. Optionally, the method comprises obtaining a release signal, and wherein the brake control signal defines a braking release based on the release signal.

[0009] Due to this aspect, the deceleration request from the AEB system is generally gradually increasing to reduce a jerk for passengers while requesting brake application. The peak deceleration request from the AEB system is limited compared to a conventional AEB system, e.g., for a truck. This may prevent the risk of inuring passengers within the bus. However, this reduces the speed reduction capabilities of the vehicle in case of a collision situation with a target in front.

[0010] It is an object of the present invention to provide a technological contribution and to improve at least one aspect of the prior art. In particular, an object of the invention may be to provide braking of a vehicle with a passenger compartment adapted to accommodate seated passengers and standing passengers so that a potential risk of being injured for a potentially present passenger is reduced but with improved speed reduction capabilities.

[0011] The object is solved by the subject-matter according to independent claim 1 and according to the remaining independent claims. Dependent claims relate to preferred embodiments.

[0012] According to an aspect of the invention, a method for controlling braking of a vehicle with a passenger compartment adapted to accommodate seated passengers and standing passengers within the vehicle is provided. Therein, the method comprises the steps of: obtaining a braking request; obtaining a passenger information relating to one of the following: no passenger within the passenger compartment, a passenger being seated within the passenger compartment and / or a passenger being standing within the passenger compartment; determining, based on the passenger information, a braking profile; and outputting, based on the braking profile and on the braking request, a brake control signal for controlling braking of the vehicle.

[0013] The braking request may comprise information relating to the braking of the vehicle. The braking request may define a request and / or intention to brake the vehicle. The braking request is used to determine the brake control signal.

[0014] The vehicle with the passenger compartment may be a bus and / or a city bus. The passenger compartment may accommodate no passenger, i.e. , the passenger compartment is in absence of any passenger, one or more passengers being seated, i.e., sitting on a seat within the passenger compartment, and / or one or more passengers being standing within the passenger compartment. The state of none, one or more passengers may be characterized by the passenger information.

[0015] The invention has realized that the performance of an advanced emergency braking system for such a vehicle may be improved based on the state and / or positioning of the bus occupants, i.e., passengers, and thus be based on the passenger information. Based on the passenger information the vehicle may adapt the jerk and the deceleration request to enhance the speed reduction capability of the system and to ensure the safety of the passengers inside the bus, depending on whether passengers are absent, sitting and / or standing. Therein, for different states of potential passengers, the braking profile may be determined accordingly to enable an effective braking and to minimize a potential risk of injuring a passenger.

[0016] To determine the brake control signal, the braking profile is determined. The braking profile may constitute and / or characterize a time dependence of the deceleration qualitatively and / or quantitatively so as to limit a maximal jerk and / or deceleration. The braking profile defines, with the brake request, the brake control signal.

[0017] The brake control signal may define the braking of the vehicle in a time-dependent manner. I.e. , the braking of the vehicle may be defined by the brake control signal by defining a deceleration in dependence on time. Therein, the deceleration may vary in the course of time according to the brake profile and to the brake request.

[0018] Preferably, obtaining the passenger information comprises receiving sensor data relating to none or a passenger within the passenger compartment. The sensor data may be information acquired by one or more cameras as sensing devices mounted and having a field of view within the vehicle. Alternatively or additionally, the sensing devices may comprise other sensors and / or multiple sensor combinations, e.g., a camera and / or a passive infrared sensor, such as a pyroelectric infrared (PIR) sensor. This may enable an efficient and reliable acquisition of sensor data which may be evaluated to obtain the passenger information. The sensor data may be transmitted from the one or more sensor devices to an electronic control unit to evaluate to sensor data to obtain the passenger information.

[0019] Preferably, obtaining the passenger information comprises classifying the sensor data, and determining the braking profile is based on classifying the sensor data. The classification of the sensor data may be performed by an artificial intelligence which may be trained to classify the sensor data. Such an artificial intelligence per se may be known in the prior art so that the passenger information may reliably and efficiently obtained from the sensor data. The sensor data may be classified into classes and the classes may be used to determine the braking profile in a well- defined manner. For this reason, preferably, classifying the sensor data relates the sensor data and / or a section thereof to one of the following classes: no passenger within the passenger compartment, the passenger being seated within the passenger compartment and / or the passenger being standing within the passenger compartment. Therein, a section of the sensor data may relate to a section of an image as being obtained by a camera. Typically, for image classification, an image is, by object detection, divided into sections which may be classified efficiently.

[0020] Preferably, classifying the sensor data relates the sensor data and / or a section thereof the following class: uncertain state of the passenger. This may address the possibility that a passenger’s state may not be reliably determinable. This may lead to determining a more conservative braking profile, if, e.g., a confidence level of the classifying the image is below a threshold.

[0021] Preferably, the sensor data comprises image data and / or passive infrared sensor data. Image data may relate to data being acquired by one or multiple cameras. Passive infrared sensor data may be acquired by one or more passive infrared sensors, e.g., being arranged at one or more doors of the vehicle to count passengers. Image data and / or passive infrared sensor data may comprise information relating to a state of a passenger and / or to entry and exit to estimate and / or count the number of passengers. The passive infrared sensor data may additionally or alternatively be used for thermal screening of bodies and / or parts thereof to locate their positioning within the passenger compartment.

[0022] Preferably, the method comprises: obtaining vehicle external information, and determining the braking profile is based on the vehicle external information and / or on a prediction of the passenger information based on the vehicle external information. For example, road side boards and / or traffic signs may be monitored as vehicle external information, to predict the positioning of passengers in an upcoming defined time window. The vehicle external information may be acquired by an autonomous driving assistance system (ADAS). Preferably, the braking profile comprises a dependence of a deceleration on time and / or a derivative thereof. A derivate of the deceleration is a jerk. The jerk defines the rate of change of the deceleration. The deceleration and the jerk may define the braking profile which may comprise limits for deceleration and jerk.

[0023] According to an aspect of the present invention, an electronic control unit for a vehicle is provided. The electronic control unit is configured to performing the method steps of the method as described above. Optionally, the electronic control unit is configured to performing optional, and / or preferred features of the method as described above to achieve a technical effect corresponding thereto.

[0024] According to an aspect of the present invention, a vehicle is provided. The vehicle comprises the electronic control unit as described above.

[0025] According to an aspect of the present invention, a computer program is provided. The computer program comprises instructions which, when the program is executed by a processor, causes the processor to carry out the method as described above. Optionally, the computer program comprises instructions to carry out optional and / or preferred features and / or steps of the method as described above to achieve a technical effect corresponding thereto.

[0026] Further advantages and technical features and their technical effects are disclosed in the figures and the description thereof.

[0027] The figures show preferred embodiments as follows:

[0028] Fig. 1 a schematic of a vehicle according to an embodiment of the invention;

[0029] Fig. 2 a schematic of a brake control signal according to a first braking profile for braking of a vehicle according to an embodiment of the invention;

[0030] Fig. 3 a schematic of a brake control signal according to each of a first braking profile, a second braking profile and a third braking profile for braking of a vehicle according to an embodiment of the invention;

[0031] Fig. 4 a schematic of a method for controlling braking of a vehicle according to an embodiment of the invention; and Fig 5 an alternative representation of the method for controlling braking of a vehicle according to an embodiment of the invention.

[0032] Figure 1 shows a schematic of a vehicle 200 according to an embodiment of the invention. The vehicle 200 comprises an electronic control unit 220 and a braking system 205. The electronic control unit 220 and thus the vehicle 200 is adapted to perform the method as described with reference to Figures 4 and 5.

[0033] The vehicle 200 of Figure 1 comprises a passenger compartment 210. The passenger compartment 210 is adapted to accommodate seated passengers 202a and standing passengers 202b within the vehicle 200. The passenger compartment 210 comprises seats (not shown) on each of which a seated passenger 202a may sit. The passenger compartment 210 comprises a handle (not shown) at which a standing passenger 202b may hold him- or herself. The passengers 202a, 202b may not use a passenger restraint system, such as a seat belt and / or a handle.

[0034] The vehicle 200 is adapted to be driven by a driver 201 . The driver 201 operates the vehicle 200 under the assistance of a driver assistance function that is provided by the electronic control unit 220. The driver assistance function assists the driver 201 in determining the necessity to brake the vehicle 200 and / or in performing braking of the vehicle 200. Therein, as schematically indicated by an arrow, the electronic control unit 220 may receive vehicle external information 280 from a sensor system (not shown), such as an ADAS, that is adapted to observe and / or sense the environment of the vehicle 200 and targets, such as other vehicles and / or pedestrians, within the environment of the vehicle 200. The electronic control unit 220 may also receive information from other systems of the vehicle 200, e.g., via a bus system (not shown), such as a vehicle CAN. This information may relate to a speed of the vehicle 200, a yaw rate of the vehicle 200 and / or a state relating to a steering wheel of the vehicle 200. The vehicle external information 280 may comprise information relating to an oncoming bus stop.

[0035] As schematically indicated by arrows 260, 300, the electronic control unit 220 is adapted to control the braking system 205 and to receive control signals. In particular, the electronic control unit 220 is adapted to obtain and / or generate a braking request 260. The braking request 260 is obtained by inputting the braking request 260 to the electronic control unit 220, e.g., by the driver 201 performing an actuation of a braking pedal (not shown) of the vehicle 200, and / or by determining the braking request 260 by the driver assistance function of the electronic control unit 220, e.g., if a target is sensed in front of the vehicle 200. Additionally, the braking request 260 may be directly input by the driver 201 into the braking system 205 (not illustrated). This may achieve that the braking request 260 may directly lead to performing braking the vehicle 200 without any interference by a driver assistance function of the electronic control unit 220.

[0036] The vehicle 200 comprises an image sensor 225 and a passive infrared sensor 230. The image sensor 225 comprises one or more cameras. Thus, the adaptive city collision mitigation system, also called adaptive city CMS, uses one or more cameras arranged within the vehicle 200 and which are adapted to monitor areas within the passenger compartment 210. The camera(s) setup covers a field of view of up to 360° within the passenger compartment 210 to reliably acquire relevant image data 271 . The image sensor 225 is adapted to obtain information which enables a detection of human positioning based on an image recognition, e.g., by identifying a face, a hand and / or a leg. The image sensor 225 may comprise a sensor to obtain RGB-image data and / or being comprised by a thermal camera which may improve the capability of classifying the shape of a body and discriminate between standing and sitting.

[0037] Each of the image sensor 225 and the passive infrared sensor 230 are arranged within the compartment 210. Each of the image sensor 225 and the passive infrared sensor 230 is adapted to acquire sensor data 270 relating to passenger compartment 210 and to none, one or more passengers 202a, 202b within the passenger compartment 210. The sensor data 270 comprise image data 271 being acquired by the image sensor 225 and passive infrared sensor data 272 being acquired by the passive infrared sensor 230. Each of the image sensor 225 and the passive infrared sensor 230 is communicatively connected to the electronic control unit 220. The electronic control unit 220 is adapted to receive the sensor data 270 and in particular the image data 271 from the image sensor 225 and passive infrared sensor data 272 from the passive infrared sensor 230. The electronic control unit 220 is adapted to obtain a passenger information 265 relating to one of the following: no passenger 202a, 202b within the passenger compartment 210 (i.e., neither a passenger 202a being seated within the passenger compartment 210 nor a passenger 202b being standing within the passenger compartment 210), a passenger 202a being seated within the passenger compartment 210 and / or a passenger 202b being standing within the passenger compartment 210. The passenger information 265 is based on the sensor data 270. Thus, there are three possible states: 1 ) no passenger 2) seated passenger 202a and 3) standing passenger 202b.

[0038] The electronic control unit 220 is adapted classify the sensor data 270. The sensor data 270 and / or a section thereof may thus be labelled as to relate to one of the following classes 275: no passenger 202a, 202b within the passenger compartment 210, the passenger 202a being seated within the passenger compartment 210, the passenger 202b being standing within the passenger compartment 210 and / or uncertain state of the passenger 202a, 202b. When the sensor data 270 or a section thereof is classified, each class 275 may be determined with a confidence indicator. The confidence indicator may indicate the confidence of the class 275. If the confidence indicator is below a threshold, a classification result may be deemed to relate to an uncertain state.

[0039] The electronic control unit 220 is adapted to determine the braking profile 300a, 300b, 300c based on the sensor data 270 and its classes 275. Thus, the electronic control unit 220 receives the information about passengers’ presence and positioning status from the onboard camera(s) and classifies the situation into one of three possible categories: no passengers, only seated passengers, standing passengers.

[0040] The electronic control unit 220 is adapted to determine, based on the passenger information 265, a braking profile 300a, 300b, 300c. The braking profile 300a, 300b, 300c comprises a dependence of a deceleration A on time t and / or a derivative thereof. The braking profile 300a, 300b, 300c is based on the vehicle external information 280 and / or on a prediction of the passenger information 265 based on the vehicle external information 280. If there is any target in front of the bus which is collision critical, the adaptive city CMS system requests the braking profile 300a, 300b, 300c based on the classification of the situation and optimize the performance by reducing maximum speed possible. The system can additionally monitor the traffic signs, boards and / or traffic lights on the road and input this information to choose a lesser aggressive cascade than needed based on passenger information 265 and / or class 275 to improve on safety aspects.

[0041] The electronic control unit 220 applies one of the braking profiles 300a, 300b, 300b which may be considered as a braking cascade being designed and proven to be controllable for each category of bus occupant positioning status. The electronic control unit 220 is adapted to, based on the braking request 260 and on the braking profile to determine a brake control signal 300. The brake control signal 300 is further described below. The electronic control unit 220 is adapted to output the brake control signal 300 to the braking system 205.

[0042] The braking system 205 is adapted to decelerate the vehicle 200. The braking system 205 comprises electronically, pneumatically and / or hydraulicly actuatable brakes to brake a wheel and / or an axis of the vehicle 200. The braking system 205 controls the brakes to perform braking of the vehicle 200. To control the brakes, the braking system 205 receives the brake control signal 300 from the electronic control unit 220. The brake control signal 300 defines the application and the release of the brakes in a time-dependent manner as described with reference to Figures 2 and 3.

[0043] The vehicle 200 of Figure 1 may travel with a velocity v. The braking system 205 may obtain information relating to the velocity v of the vehicle 200.

[0044] The braking system 200 is adapted to reduce the velocity v by performing braking according to the brake control signal 300. The brake control signal 300 defines a time-dependent deceleration A as described with reference to Figures 2 and 3.

[0045] Figure 2 shows a schematic of brake control signal 300 for braking of a vehicle 200 according to an embodiment of the invention. Such a vehicle 200 is described with reference to Figure 1 . Figure 2 is described under reference to Figure 1 . Figure 2 illustrates the deceleration A of the vehicle 200 in dependence on time t. Therein, the deceleration A is a negative acceleration. By braking the vehicle 200, the deceleration A may increase, i.e. , in particular the absolute value of the deceleration A may increase. A derivate of the deceleration A is a jerk. The jerk defines the rate of change of the deceleration A.

[0046] The brake control signal 300 defines braking according to a first braking profile 300a. Therein, braking is defined in a phased manner to inform the passenger 202 of an upcoming severe braking. The braking system 205 first applies a first jerk j1 , a so- called intentional jerk, to decelerate the vehicle 200 to a limited deceleration A1 . The limited deceleration A1 is constant and has an absolute value in the order of, for example, magnitude of 1 ,5 m / ss. This limited deceleration A1 is applied to the vehicle 200 and thus the passenger 202 during a waiting time span dt. The waiting time span dt defines a short duration in the order of magnitude of less than 1 s, e.g., 0,5 s, to warn the passenger of a potentially upcoming higher deceleration braking maneuver.

[0047] Following the first jerk j1 and after the waiting time span dt is passed, the braking request is ramped up by a second jerk j2, e.g., in the range of -10 m / sss to -20 m I sss, here -16 m / sss, to a maximum deceleration AM, for example in the order of magnitude of 2,5 m I ss, with the intention of avoiding and / or mitigating a collision between the vehicle 200 and a target in the environment of the vehicle 200. The second jerk j2 and its duration of application is still controllable for a standing passenger 202, while still applying maximum braking effort to reduce the host vehicle velocity v. This allows for both mitigating the potential collision event and improving standing passenger safety.

[0048] The first jerk j1 is applied during a first application period (not indicated). The first jerk j1 is constant during the first application period. The first jerk j1 and the first application period define the limited deceleration A1. The second jerk j2 is applied during a second application period (not indicated). The second jerk j2 is constant during the second application period. The second jerk j2, the first application period and the limited deceleration A1 lead to the maximum deceleration AM. Figure 3 shows a schematic of brake control signal 300 according to each of a first braking profile 300a, a second braking profile 300b and a third braking profile 300c for braking of a vehicle 200 according to an embodiment of the invention. Figure 3 is described under reference to Figure 2.

[0049] Therein, the first braking profile 300a (dash-dotted line) is described with reference to Figure 2. The first braking profile 300a may be determined, if one or more standing passengers 202b are identified within the passenger compartment 210. The first braking profile 300a conforms with C1 controllability in the sense of “ISO 26262- 1 :2018 Road vehicles — Functional safety — Part 1 : Vocabulary” as of December 2018, i.e. , the first braking profile 300a is controllable for 99% of the standing passengers 202b.

[0050] The second braking profile 300b (dotted line) defines braking of the vehicle 200 with a more effective speed reduction compared to the first braking profile 300a. The second braking profile 300b is C1 -controllable for seated passengers 202a. The second braking profile 300b may be determined, if no standing passengers 202b and one or more seated passenger 202a is present.

[0051] Compared to the first braking profile 300a, the first deceleration impulse is removed, since no standing passengers 202b are to be warned in view of a more severe braking. The second braking profile 300b comprises a deceleration request that is kept constant at a deceleration of, e.g., -2,7 m I ss, which may be marginally stronger than the maximum deceleration AM of the first braking profile 300a.

[0052] The third braking profile 300c (solid line) defines braking of the vehicle 200 with a more effective speed reduction compared to each of the first braking profile 300a and the second braking profile 300b. The third braking profile 300c is designed to achieve an enhanced speed reduction while enabling ensuring following rear traffic safety. The third braking profile 300c may be the standard braking profile of a utility vehicle and may be usable outside cities and / or in out-of-service-runs of the vehicle 200, e.g., the vehicle 200 is coming out or going to a deck and / or bus bay, no passenger has boarded yet and someone walks in front of vehicle which is not seen by driver 201 . In this case, by requesting the third braking profile 300c, collision may be avoided. Therein, similar to the first braking profile 300a, a first jerk j1 is applied to achieve a deceleration of for example -3 m / ss. A waiting time span dt (not indicated) of 1 s to 1 .5 s is applied until a second jerk j2 is applied to achieve a maximal deceleration AM of for example -6 m / ss.

[0053] Figure 4 shows a schematic of a method 100 for controlling braking of a vehicle 200 according to an embodiment of the invention. The method 100 is a method 100 for controlling braking of a vehicle 200 with a passenger compartment 210 adapted to accommodate seated passengers 202a and standing passengers 202b within the vehicle 200. The vehicle 200 is described with reference to Figure 1 . Braking of the vehicle 200 is described with reference to Figures 2 and 3. Figure 4 is described under reference to Figures 1 to 3.

[0054] The method 100 of Figure 4 comprises the step of obtaining 110 a braking request 260.

[0055] The method 100 comprises obtaining 114 vehicle external information 280.

[0056] The method 100 comprises obtaining 115 a passenger information 265 relating to one of the following: no passenger 202a, 202b within the passenger compartment 210, a passenger 202a being seated within the passenger compartment 210 and / or a passenger 202b being standing within the passenger compartment 210. Obtaining 115 the passenger information 265 comprises receiving 115a sensor data 270 relating to none or a passenger 202a, 202b within the passenger compartment 210. The sensor data 270 comprise image data 271 and / or passive infrared sensor data 272.

[0057] Obtaining 115 the passenger information 265 comprises classifying 115b the sensor data 270, and determining 120 the braking profile 300a, 300b, 300c is based on classifying 115b the sensor data 270. Classifying 115b the sensor data 270 relates the sensor data 270 and / or a section thereof to one of the following classes 275: no passenger 202a, 202b within the passenger compartment 210, the passenger 202a being seated within the passenger compartment 210, the passenger 202b being standing within the passenger compartment 210 and / or uncertain state of the passenger 202a, 202b.

[0058] The method 100 comprises determining 120, based on the passenger information 265, a braking profile 300a, 300b, 300c. The braking profile 300a, 300b, 300c comprises a dependence of a deceleration A on time t and / or a derivative thereof. Determining 120 the braking profile 300a, 300b, 300c is based on the vehicle external information 280 and / or on a prediction of the passenger information 265 based on the vehicle external information 280.

[0059] The method 100 comprises outputting 130, based on the braking profile 300a, 300b, 300c and on the braking request 260, a brake control signal 300 for controlling braking of the vehicle 200.

[0060] Steps of the method 100 may be performed in another order as illustrated in Figure 4, continuously and / or simultaneously. For example, the steps of obtaining 114 vehicle external information 280 and obtaining 115 the passenger information 265 may be performed continuously and / or simultaneously.

[0061] Figure 5 shows an alternative representation of the method 100 for controlling braking of a vehicle 200 according to an embodiment of the invention. Figure 5 is described under reference to Figure 4.

[0062] In this representation, obtaining 114 vehicle external information 280 is performed. Based on the vehicle external information 280, determining 114a a criticality of the situation external to the vehicle 200 is performed. This may lead to the conclusion that the city CMS may perform braking the vehicle 200. Then obtaining 115 the passenger information 265 is performed. The passenger information 265 relates to the assessment whether a standing passenger 202b is present. If no standing passenger 202b is present, the presence of a sitting passenger 202a is assessed. If no sitting passenger 202a is present, an absence 203 of any passengers 202a, 202b is assessed. If no passenger 202a, 202b, i.e. , an absence 203 of passengers 202a, 202b, is determined, the third braking profile 303c is applied. If no standing passengers 202b are present and one or more sitting passengers 202a are present, it is assessed whether the vehicle external information 280 indicates a bus stop within a defined travel time, e.g., next 3 seconds. If there is no such bus stop, the second braking profile 300b is applied, otherwise, if there is a bus stop, the first braking profile 300a is applied, since seated passengers 202a may stand up and / or passengers 202a, 202b may commence walking to a door of the vehicle 200.

[0063] If there is a standing passenger 202b, the first braking profile 300a is applied. In terms of speed reduction capabilities, the three braking profiles 300a, 300b, 300c are different; “No passenger cascade”, i.e., the third braking profile 300c, is most aggressive and “standing passenger cascade”, i.e., the first braking profile 300a, is least aggressive.

[0064] In case the sensing system and / or method cannot determine the occupant state confidently, the least aggressive braking profile, i.e., the first braking profile 300a, is applied to ensure to lowest risk of injuries of potentials passengers 202a, 202b.

[0065] The adaptive city CMS can also be designed by enlarging the optical and audio warning in case a collision target exterior to the vehicle 200 is detected early. By providing a longer audio warning, it can be assumed that passengers will get ready for a higher level of deceleration or emergency braking by holding their seats or handles in the bus. Based on given audio warning time, the braking request can be adapted.

[0066] Reference Signs (Part of the description)

[0067] 100 method

[0068] 110 obtaining a braking request

[0069] 114 obtaining

[0070] 114a determining criticality

[0071] 115 obtaining a passenger information

[0072] 115a receiving sensor data

[0073] 115b classifying sensor data

[0074] 120 determining a braking profile

[0075] 125 obtaining a release signal

[0076] 130 outputting a braking control signal

[0077] 200 vehicle

[0078] 201 driver

[0079] 202a seated passenger

[0080] 202b standing passenger

[0081] 203 absence

[0082] 205 braking system

[0083] 210 passenger compartment

[0084] 220 electronic control unit

[0085] 225 image sensor

[0086] 230 passive infrared sensor

[0087] 260 braking request

[0088] 265 passenger information

[0089] 270 sensor data

[0090] 271 image data

[0091] 272 passive infrared sensor data

[0092] 275 class

[0093] 280 vehicle external information

[0094] 300 brake control signal

[0095] 300a braking profile

[0096] 300b braking profile

[0097] 300c braking profile A deceleration

[0098] A1 deceleration

[0099] AM maximal deceleration dt waiting time span j1 first jerk j2 second jerk t time v velocity

Claims

Claims1 . Method (100) for controlling braking of a vehicle (200) with a passenger compartment (210) adapted to accommodate seated passengers (202a) and standing passengers (202b) within the vehicle (200), wherein the method (100) comprises the steps of:- obtaining (110) a braking request (260);- obtaining (115) a passenger information (265) relating to one of the following: no passenger (202a, 202b) within the passenger compartment (210), a passenger (202a) being seated within the passenger compartment (210) and / or a passenger (202b) being standing within the passenger compartment (210);- determining (120), based on the passenger information (265), a braking profile (300a, 300b, 300c); and- outputting (130), based on the braking profile (300a, 300b, 300c) and on the braking request (260), a brake control signal (300) for controlling braking of the vehicle (200).

2. Method (100) as claimed in claim 1 , wherein obtaining (115) the passenger information (265) comprises receiving (115a) sensor data (270) relating to none or a passenger (202a, 202b) within the passenger compartment (210).

3. Method (100) as claimed in claim 2, wherein- obtaining (115) the passenger information (265) comprises classifying (115b) the sensor data (270), and- determining (120) the braking profile (300a, 300b, 300c) is based on classifying (115b) the sensor data (270).

4. Method (100) as claimed in claim 3, wherein classifying (115b) the sensor data (270) relates the sensor data (270) and / or a section thereof to one of the following classes (275): no passenger (202a, 202b) within the passenger compartment (210), the passenger (202a) being seated within the passenger compartment (210) and / or the passenger (202b) being standing within the passenger compartment (210).

5. Method (100) as claimed in claim 3 or 4, wherein classifying (115b) the sensor data (270) relates the sensor data (270) and / or a section thereof to the following class (275): uncertain state of the passenger (202a, 202b).

6. Method (100) as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the sensor data (270) comprise image data (271 ) and / or passive infrared sensor data (272).

7. Method (100) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the method (100) comprises:- obtaining (114) vehicle external information (280), and- determining (120) the braking profile (300a, 300b, 300c) is based on the vehicle external information (280) and / or on a prediction of the passenger information (265) based on the vehicle external information (280).

8. Method (100) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the braking profile (300a, 300b, 300c) comprises a dependence of a deceleration (A) on time (t) and / or a derivative thereof.

9. An electronic control unit (220) for a vehicle (200), configured to performing the method steps of the method (100) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims.

10. A vehicle (200), comprising the electronic control unit (220) as claimed in claim 9.11 . Computer program, comprising instructions which, when the program is executed by a processor, causes the processor to carry out the method (100) of any of claims

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