Method and device for operating a trajectory follow-up controller of a vehicle

Abstract

The invention relates to a device (101) for operating a trajectory follow-up controller (200) for the automated longitudinal and / or transverse guidance of a vehicle (100). The device (101) is configured to ascertain, taking a planned trajectory (110) for the vehicle (100) as a basis, a reference state (212) of the vehicle (100) and a reference guidance specification (215) for the longitudinal and / or transverse guidance of the vehicle (100), to ascertain, using a follow-up controller and taking a comparison of an actual state (213) of the vehicle (100) with the reference state (212) as a basis, a correction value for the reference guidance specification (215), to determine, taking the correction value as a basis, whether or not the trajectory follow-up controller (200) is degraded, to ascertain, taking the correction value and the reference guidance specification (215) as a basis, a basic target guidance specification (216) and to provide same as a checked target guidance specification (216) for the longitudinal and / or transverse guidance of the vehicle (100) if the trajectory follow-up controller (200) is not degraded, and otherwise to provide a degraded guidance specification different from the basic target guidance specification (216) as a checked target guidance specification (216) for the longitudinal and / or transverse guidance of the vehicle (100) if the trajectory follow-up controller (200) is degraded.

Description

[0001] Method and device for operating a trajectory follower controller of a vehicle

[0002] The invention relates to a method and a corresponding device designed to effect a reliable and robust trajectory following control for the automated longitudinal and / or lateral guidance of a vehicle.

[0003] A vehicle can have one or more driving functions configured to automatically guide the vehicle longitudinally and / or laterally. During operation of the driving function, a planned trajectory can be determined using a vehicle planning unit, which specifies a planned state of the vehicle for a sequence of future points in time. One or more longitudinal and / or lateral guidance actuators, such as a drive motor and / or a steering actuator, can be operated depending on the planned trajectory to automatically guide the vehicle longitudinally and / or laterally along the planned trajectory.

[0004] This document addresses the technical problem of providing a particularly reliable and robust trajectory tracking control system for the automated longitudinal and / or lateral guidance of a vehicle. This problem is solved by each of the independent claims. Advantageous embodiments are described, among other things, in the dependent claims. It is pointed out that additional features of a patent claim dependent on an independent patent claim, without the features of the independent patent claim or only in combination with a subset of the features of the independent patent claim, can form a separate invention independent of the combination of all features of the independent patent claim, which can be made the subject of an independent claim, a divisional application, or a subsequent application.This applies equally to technical teachings described in the description, which may constitute an invention independent of the features of the independent patent claims.

[0005] According to one aspect, a device for operating a trajectory tracking controller for the automated longitudinal and / or lateral guidance of a (motor) vehicle is described. A longitudinal trajectory tracking controller can be operated for the longitudinal guidance and a lateral trajectory tracking controller can be operated for the lateral guidance. The trajectory tracking control can be effected based on a planned trajectory. A planned longitudinal trajectory can be provided for the longitudinal guidance and a planned lateral trajectory can be provided for the lateral guidance.

[0006] The steps described below are typically performed at a time point from a sequence of consecutive points in time. A newly planned trajectory is provided for each point in time. Furthermore, current, verified target guidance specifications are determined for each point in time, which are then used for the automated longitudinal and / or lateral guidance of the vehicle.

[0007] The device is configured to determine, on the basis of a planned trajectory for the vehicle (for the respective point in time), a reference state of the vehicle (for the respective point in time) and a reference guidance specification for the longitudinal and / or lateral guidance of the vehicle (for the respective point in time). The planned trajectory for the vehicle can specify a sequence of planned states of the vehicle and a corresponding sequence of planned guidance specifications for the longitudinal and / or lateral guidance of the vehicle (for a corresponding sequence of subsequent points in time). The planned trajectory can thus proactively specify a planned state and a planned guidance specification. The planning horizon of the planned trajectory can be, for example, 5 seconds or more.

[0008] For longitudinal guidance, a state of the vehicle can include the longitudinal position and / or the longitudinal speed of the vehicle as a state variable. Furthermore, a guidance specification for the longitudinal guidance of the vehicle can include the acceleration of the vehicle. For lateral guidance, a state of the vehicle can include the lateral offset (within a lane) and / or the heading angle of the vehicle (within a lane) as a state variable. Furthermore, a guidance specification for the lateral guidance of the vehicle can include the curvature of the vehicle's travel path.

[0009] The planned guidance specifications of the planned trajectory can specify how the vehicle should be guided so that the vehicle exhibits the planned states of the planned trajectory. The planned trajectory can be determined based on a motion model of the vehicle. Furthermore, one or more boundary conditions (such as collision avoidance) can be taken into account when determining the planned trajectory.

[0010] The device can be configured to determine time information with respect to the current point in time. The time information can be determined, for example, based on one or more timers of the vehicle. The reference state and the reference guidance specification can be determined based on the time information from the sequence of planned states or from the sequence of planned guidance specifications of the planned trajectory.

[0011] The device is further configured to determine a correction value for the reference control input using a follow-up controller and based on a comparison of the (measured) actual state of the vehicle with the reference state. By comparing the actual state and the reference state, a control error can be determined, which is then passed to the follow-up controller as an input variable. The correction value can be provided as the output variable of the follow-up controller.

[0012] The follow-up controller can be designed to determine the correction value of the reference control specification in such a way that at least one state variable (in particular the longitudinal position or the transverse offset) of the actual state is asymptotically approximated to the corresponding state variable of the reference state.

[0013] The device is further configured to determine, based on the correction value, whether the trajectory follower controller is degraded or not. In particular, a relatively high correction value can lead to a degradation of the trajectory follower controller.

[0014] The device can be configured to determine a base target guidance specification based on the correction value and the reference guidance specification. The base target guidance specification can be determined based on, in particular as the sum of, the reference guidance specification and the correction value. The device can further be configured to compare the base target guidance specification with one or more planned guidance specifications from the sequence of planned guidance specifications, and to determine whether or not the trajectory follower controller is degraded based on the comparison of the base target guidance specification with the one or more planned guidance specifications from the sequence of planned guidance specifications.

[0015] In particular, it can be checked whether the baseline target guidance specification deviates by more than a deviation threshold from the one or more planned guidance specifications from the sequence of planned guidance specifications. Furthermore, it can be determined that the trajectory follower controller is downgraded if the baseline target guidance specification deviates by more than the deviation threshold from the one or more planned guidance specifications from the sequence of planned guidance specifications.

[0016] A relatively large deviation of the baseline target guidance specification from one or more planned guidance specifications may be an indication of a malfunction of the trajectory following controller, which leads to a degradation of the trajectory following controller.

[0017] The device can be configured to determine the deviation threshold based on one or more planned control specifications from the sequence of planned control specifications (i.e., based on the planned trajectory) and based on a vehicle model for the vehicle's driving dynamics. The deviation threshold can thus be adjusted to account for the vehicle's dynamics. This allows for feedforward control of the control system to be taken into account. By adjusting the deviation threshold, the reliability of detecting a malfunction of the trajectory follower controller can be further increased.

[0018] The device is configured to provide the basic target guidance specification as a verified target guidance specification for the longitudinal and / or lateral guidance of the vehicle if the trajectory follower controller is not downgraded. On the other hand, the device is configured to provide a degraded guidance specification that deviates from the basic target guidance specification as a verified target guidance specification for the longitudinal and / or lateral guidance of the vehicle if the trajectory follower controller is downgraded. The degraded guidance specification can be determined, for example, based on a permissible maximum value for the verified target guidance specification. Alternatively or additionally, the degraded guidance specification can be determined based on a verified target guidance specification determined and / or provided for a previous point in time.For example, a verified target guidance specification determined in the past (before the degradation of the trajectory follower controller) can be retained for one or more subsequent points in time.

[0019] The device can further be configured to determine, using a vehicle guidance controller on the basis of the verified target guidance specification, control variables for controlling one or more longitudinal and / or lateral guidance actuators (e.g. for controlling a drive motor, a steering actuator and / or a brake actuator) of the vehicle.

[0020] Thus, a device is described which enables efficient monitoring of the trajectory following controller in order to increase the reliability and robustness of the trajectory following control.

[0021] As already explained, the device can be configured to determine a reference state and a reference command specification for the respective time for a sequence of consecutive points in time, each based on a planned trajectory for the respective time. Using the follower controller and based on a comparison of the actual state with the reference state for the respective time, a correction value for the reference command specification for the respective time can then be determined. Furthermore, a verified target command specification for the respective time can be provided depending on the respectively determined correction value. This can ensure permanently reliable and robust operation of the trajectory follower controller.

[0022] According to a further aspect, a (road) motor vehicle (in particular a passenger car or a truck or a bus or a motorcycle) is described which comprises the device described in this document.

[0023] According to one aspect, a method for operating a trajectory follower controller for the automated longitudinal and / or lateral guidance of a vehicle is described. The method comprises determining, based on a planned trajectory for the vehicle, a reference state of the vehicle and a reference guidance specification for the longitudinal and / or lateral guidance of the vehicle. Furthermore, the method comprises determining, using a follower controller and based on a comparison of the actual state of the vehicle with the reference state, a correction value for the reference guidance specification.

[0024] The method further comprises determining, based on the correction value, whether the trajectory follower controller is degraded or not. Furthermore, the method comprises determining, based on the correction value and the reference guidance specification, a base target guidance specification as a verified target guidance specification for the longitudinal and / or lateral guidance of the vehicle if the trajectory follower controller is not degraded. On the other hand, the method comprises determining a degraded guidance specification that deviates from the base target guidance specification as a verified target guidance specification for the longitudinal and / or lateral guidance of the vehicle if the trajectory follower controller is degraded.

[0025] It should be noted that the aspects described in connection with the device, in particular the claims described in connection with the device, are also to be applied to the method as corresponding method features.

[0026] According to another aspect, a software (SW) program is described. The SW program can be configured to be executed on a processor (e.g., on a vehicle control unit) and thereby to carry out the method described in this document.

[0027] According to a further aspect, a storage medium is described. The storage medium can comprise a software program configured to be executed on a processor and thereby to carry out the method described in this document.

[0028] It should be noted that the methods, devices, and systems described in this document can be used both alone and in combination with other methods, devices, and systems described in this document. Furthermore, any aspects of the methods, devices, and systems described in this document can be combined in a variety of ways. In particular, the features of the claims can be combined in a variety of ways. Furthermore, features listed in parentheses are to be understood as optional features.

[0029] The invention will be described in more detail below using exemplary embodiments.

[0030] Figure 1a shows exemplary components of a vehicle;

[0031] Figure 1b shows an exemplary planned trajectory for the automated longitudinal and / or lateral guidance of a vehicle;

[0032] Figure 2 shows an exemplary trajectory follower controller; and

[0033] Figure 3 shows a flowchart of an exemplary method for operating a trajectory following controller. As initially explained, this document deals with reliable and robust trajectory following control for the automated longitudinal and / or lateral guidance of a (motor) vehicle. In this context, Fig. 1a shows an exemplary vehicle 100 with one or more environmental sensors 102, each configured to acquire sensor data (also referred to as environmental data) relating to the environment of the vehicle 100. Exemplary environmental sensors 102 are a camera, a radar sensor, a lidar sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, etc. The vehicle 100 further comprises one or more vehicle sensors 105 configured to acquire sensor data relating to the (actual) state of the vehicle 100, such as the position of the vehicle 100, the speed of the vehicle 100, the acceleration of the vehicle 100, and / or the yaw rate of the vehicle 100.

[0034] A (control) device 101 of the vehicle 100 can be configured to evaluate the environmental data, e.g., to detect one or more objects (e.g., other vehicles) in the environment of the vehicle 100. The device 101 can further be configured to effect automated longitudinal and / or lateral guidance of the vehicle 100 based on the environmental data, in particular based on the one or more detected objects, and based on the sensor data of the one or more vehicle sensors 105. For this purpose, one or more longitudinal and / or lateral guidance actuators 103 (e.g., a drive motor, a braking device, and / or a steering device) of the vehicle can be controlled.

[0035] Within the scope of the automated longitudinal and / or lateral guidance of the vehicle 100, a planned trajectory for the vehicle 100 can be determined based on the sensor data from one or more environmental sensors 102 and on the sensor data from one or more vehicle sensors 105 (as shown by way of example in Fig. 1b). The planned trajectory 110 can specify a planned state 111 of the vehicle 100 at the respective point in time for a sequence of future points in time. Furthermore, the planned trajectory 110 can specify a planned guidance specification 112 for the vehicle guidance for the sequence of future points in time, which ensures that the vehicle 100 follows the planned trajectory 110 (and thus has the sequence of planned states 111).

[0036] The planned trajectory 110 can be determined taking into account one or more boundary conditions, such as

[0037] • a constraint that the vehicle 100 remains within a lane of a roadway; and / or

[0038] • a boundary condition to the effect that a collision with objects in the vicinity of the vehicle 100 is avoided; and / or

[0039] • a boundary condition to the effect that the planned trajectory 110 can be driven by the vehicle 100, taking into account the technical requirements of the vehicle 100.

[0040] Furthermore, a movement model of the vehicle 100 can be taken into account when determining the planned trajectory 110.

[0041] A dedicated planned trajectory 110 can be determined for the longitudinal guidance and for the lateral guidance of the vehicle 100. The planned trajectory 110 for the longitudinal guidance can specify the following as planned state variables (of the planned state 111):

[0042] • the longitudinal position of the vehicle 100 on the lane travelled by the vehicle 100; and / or

[0043] • the longitudinal speed of the vehicle 100.

[0044] The planned target 112 may correspond to the longitudinal acceleration of the vehicle 100 (which is related to a drive torque of the drive motor of the vehicle 100).

[0045] The planned trajectory 110 for the lateral guidance can be considered as planned

[0046] State variables (of the planned state 111), • the lateral offset of the vehicle 100 within the lane traveled by the vehicle 100; and / or

[0047] • the heading angle of the vehicle 100 (relative to the course of the lane traveled by the vehicle 100).

[0048] The planned target 112 may correspond to the curvature of the travel path of the vehicle 100 (which is related to the steering angle of the steering of the vehicle 100).

[0049] The longitudinal acceleration can be used in the longitudinal guidance and / or the curvature can be used in the lateral guidance as a guidance input to cause the vehicle 100 to be guided along the planned trajectory 110.

[0050] During operation of the vehicle 100, the actual state of the vehicle 100 may deviate from the planned state 111 of the vehicle 100. The actual state of the vehicle 100 may include the actual longitudinal position and / or the actual longitudinal speed during longitudinal guidance. Furthermore, the actual state of the vehicle may include the actual lateral offset and / or the actual heading angle during lateral guidance.

[0051] Using a trajectory follower controller, the vehicle 100 can be returned to the planned trajectory 110. For this purpose, a control error can be determined based on the actual state and the planned state 111, which is converted into a correction value for correcting the guidance specification from the planned trajectory 110 using a follower controller. The corrected guidance specification (which in this document is also referred to as the (possibly verified) target guidance specification) can then be transferred to a vehicle guidance controller, which is configured to determine manipulated variables, e.g., a drive torque and / or a steering angle, for the one or more longitudinal and / or lateral guidance actuators 103 of the vehicle 100 based on the corrected guidance specification. Fig. 2 shows an exemplary trajectory follower controller 200 that takes over the planned trajectory 110 from the planning unit.The controller 200 includes a reference unit 201 configured to determine a reference state 212 for the vehicle 100 based on the planned trajectory 110 and on the basis of time information relating to the current point in time. The reference state 212 may correspond to a planned state 111 or a combination and / or a projection of one or more planned states 111 from the planned trajectory 110. The reference state 212 may indicate the state that the vehicle 100 should have at the current point in time in order to travel on the planned trajectory 110.

[0052] Furthermore, the reference unit 201 can be configured to determine a reference guidance specification 215 for the vehicle guidance based on the planned trajectory 110 and on the basis of the time information, e.g. as a combination and / or as a projection of one or more planned guidance specifications 112 of the planned trajectory 110. The reference guidance specification 215 can indicate the specification to the vehicle guidance that should be implemented in order to keep the vehicle 100 on the planned trajectory 110.

[0053] As already explained, the vehicle 100 is typically not exactly on the planned trajectory 110, so that (at the current time) the actual state 213 of the vehicle 100 deviates from the reference state 212. In the control unit 202, the one or more state variables of the actual state 213 can be compared with the corresponding one or more state variables of the reference state 212 (using a follow-up controller). For longitudinal guidance, in particular the state variables position in the longitudinal direction and / or longitudinal speed can be considered. For lateral guidance, in particular the state variables lateral offset and / or heading angle can be considered. Based on the determined deviation between the actual state 213 and the reference state 212, a correction value for the reference guidance specification 215 can be determined.Based on the combination, in particular based on the sum, of the reference value 215 and the correction value, a corrected or (basic) target guidance value 214 can be determined. For longitudinal guidance, the (basic) target guidance value 214 can correspond to a target longitudinal acceleration. For lateral guidance, the target guidance value 214 can correspond to a target curvature.

[0054] To increase the robustness of the trajectory follower controller 200, the trajectory follower controller 200 can comprise a monitoring unit 204 configured to compare the determined (basic) target guidance specification 214 with the planned trajectory 110, in particular with the planned guidance specifications 112. In particular, it can be checked whether the (basic) target guidance specification 214 deviates from one or more planned guidance specifications 112 of the planned trajectory 110 by more than a (predefined or determined) deviation threshold value. If this is the case, a degradation unit 203 can be caused to adapt the target guidance specification 214 determined by the trajectory follower controller 200 and / or to determine a degraded guidance specification. As part of the degradation, it can be effected, for example, that

[0055] • the (valid) target guidance specification 214 determined in a previous time step (as verified target guidance specification 216) is retained for the current time step; and / or

[0056] • the (basic) target guidance specification 214 is limited to a maximum permissible deviation from the corresponding planned guidance specification 112, and is thus provided in a limited manner as a verified target guidance specification 216; and / or

[0057] • the target guidance specification 214 is limited to a maximum permissible value, and thus the maximum permissible value is provided as a verified target guidance specification 216.

[0058] The deviation threshold can be determined and / or adjusted based on one or more planned guidance specifications 112 from the planned trajectory 110 and based on a model for the underlying dynamics of the vehicle 100. In this way, a dynamic component of the deviation can be taken into account efficiently and reliably. Based on one or more planned guidance specifications 112 and based on the model for the underlying dynamics of the vehicle 100, the permissible or expected dynamic course of the guidance specification (in particular the (base) target guidance specification 214) can be determined and used to calculate the permissible deviation, i.e., the deviation threshold.

[0059] Thus, the degradation unit 203 can determine a verified target guidance specification 216 that corresponds to the (base) target guidance specification 214 if no degradation occurs, and that corresponds to a degraded target guidance specification if degradation occurs (whereby the degraded target guidance specification can be determined as set forth in the list above). The verified target guidance specification 216 can be transferred to the vehicle guidance controller in order to use the vehicle guidance controller to determine the manipulated variables for the one or more longitudinal and / or lateral guidance actuators 103 of the vehicle 100.

[0060] Fig. 3 shows a flow diagram of a (possibly computer-implemented) method 300 for operating a trajectory following controller 200 for the automated longitudinal and / or lateral guidance of a (motor) vehicle 100. The trajectory following controller 200 can be designed to guide the vehicle 100 (back) to a planned trajectory 110. The method 300 can be executed by a (control) device 101 of the vehicle 100. The method 300 can be executed for a point in time from a sequence of successive points in time and repeated at the successive points in time. The points in time can follow one another at a constant time interval (e.g., every 20 ms or every 100 ms). The method 300 comprises (at orfor the respective point in time) the determination 301, based on a planned trajectory 110 for the vehicle 100, a reference state 212 of the vehicle 100, and a reference guidance specification 215 for the longitudinal and / or lateral guidance of the vehicle 100. The planned trajectory 110 can be newly determined for the respective point in time. Furthermore, the planned trajectory 110 can specify a planned state 111 and a planned guidance specification 112 for the individual points in time of a sequence of subsequent points in time, from which the reference state 212 and the reference guidance specification 215 can be determined.

[0061] Furthermore, the method 300 comprises determining 302, using a follow-up controller (e.g. a proportional, integral and / or differential controller) and based on a comparison of the (measured) actual state 213 of the vehicle 100 with the reference state 212, a correction value for the reference command specification 215. The follow-up controller can be designed to approximate a state variable (in particular the longitudinal position or the transverse offset) of the actual state 213 to the corresponding state variable of the reference state 212.

[0062] The method 300 further includes determining 303, based on the correction value, whether the trajectory follower controller 200 is degraded or not. In particular, a correction value that is too high (in terms of magnitude) can be an indication of an error in the trajectory follower controller 200, which can lead to degradation.

[0063] Furthermore, the method 300 includes determining 304, based on the correction value and the reference guidance specification 215, a base target guidance specification 216 as a verified target guidance specification 216 for the longitudinal and / or lateral guidance of the vehicle 100 if the trajectory follower controller 200 is not degraded. The base target guidance specification 216 can, in particular, correspond to the sum of the reference guidance specification 215 and the correction value.

[0064] On the other hand, the method 300 includes determining 305 a degraded guidance specification that deviates from the base target guidance specification 216 as a verified target guidance specification 216 for the longitudinal and / or lateral guidance of the vehicle 100 when the trajectory follower controller 200 is degraded. In particular, a limited-value guidance specification can be used as the degraded guidance specification.

[0065] As explained above, a baseline target control specification 216 can be determined based on the correction value and on the reference control specification 215. The baseline target control specification 216 can be compared with one or more planned control specifications 112 from the planned trajectory 110. In particular, it can be checked whether the baseline target control specification 215 deviates by more than a deviation threshold value from the one or more planned control specifications 112 from the planned trajectory 110. The deviation threshold value can be determined based on the planned trajectory 110 based on a vehicle model for the driving dynamics of the vehicle 100. Thus, it can also be determined based on the distance threshold value whether the trajectory follower controller 200 is degraded or not. This allows for particularly reliable and robust degradation of the trajectory follower controller 200.

[0066] The measures described in this document can achieve particularly reliable and robust trajectory following control for the automated longitudinal and / or lateral guidance of a vehicle 100.

[0067] The present invention is not limited to the embodiments shown. In particular, it should be noted that the description and figures are intended only to illustrate the principle of the proposed methods, devices, and systems by way of example.

Claims

Claims 1) Device (101) for operating a trajectory follower controller (200) for the automated longitudinal and / or lateral guidance of a vehicle (100); wherein the device (101) is configured - to determine a reference state (212) of the vehicle (100) and a reference guidance specification (215) for the longitudinal and / or transverse guidance of the vehicle (100) on the basis of a planned trajectory (110) for the vehicle (100); - using a follow-up controller and based on a comparison of an actual state (213) of the vehicle (100) with the reference state (212), a correction value for the reference control specification (215) to be determined; - to determine on the basis of the correction value whether the trajectory follower controller (200) is degraded or not; - to determine a basic target guidance specification (216) on the basis of the correction value and on the basis of the reference guidance specification (215) and to provide it as a verified target guidance specification (216) for the longitudinal and / or lateral guidance of the vehicle (100) if the trajectory follower controller (200) is not degraded; and - a degraded management specification deviating from the basic target management specification (216) as a verified target management specification (216) for the longitudinal and / or lateral guidance of the vehicle (100) when the trajectory follower controller (200) is degraded. 2) Device (101) according to claim 1, wherein - the planned trajectory (110) for the vehicle (100) specifies a sequence of planned states (111) of the vehicle (100) and a corresponding sequence of planned guidance specifications (112) for the longitudinal and / or transverse guidance of the vehicle (100); and - the device (101) is arranged - to compare the baseline target guidance specification (214) with one or more planned guidance specifications (112) from the sequence of planned guidance specifications (112); and - to determine, on the basis of the comparison of the base target guidance specification (214) with one or more planned guidance specifications (112) from the sequence of planned guidance specifications (112), whether the trajectory follower controller (200) is degraded or not. 3) Device (101) according to claim 2, wherein the device (101) is arranged - to check whether the base target guidance specification (214) deviates by more than a deviation threshold from one or more planned guidance specifications (112) from the sequence of planned guidance specifications (112); and - to determine that the trajectory follower controller (200) is degraded if the base target guidance specification (214) deviates by more than the deviation threshold from one or more planned guidance specifications (112) from the sequence of planned guidance specifications (112). 4) Device (101) according to claim 2, wherein the device (101) is configured to determine the deviation threshold value on the basis of one or more planned guidance specifications (112) from the sequence of planned guidance specifications (112) and on the basis of a vehicle model for driving dynamics of the vehicle (100). 5) Device (101) according to one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the device (101) is arranged - to determine time information with respect to a current point in time; and - to determine the reference state (212) and the reference control specification (215) on the basis of the time information from the sequence of planned states (111) or from the sequence of planned control specifications (112). 6) Device (101) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the device (101) is arranged to determine the degraded guidance specification, - based on a permissible maximum value for the verified target guidance specification (216); and / or - on the basis of a verified target management specification provided for a previous point in time (216). 7) Device (101) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the device (101) is configured to determine the basic target guidance specification (214) on the basis of, in particular as the sum of, the reference guidance specification (215) and the correction value. 8) Device (101) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the device (101) is configured to determine, using a vehicle guidance controller on the basis of the verified target guidance specification (216), manipulated variables for controlling one or more longitudinal and / or lateral guidance actuators (103) of the vehicle (100). 9) Device (101) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the follow-up controller is designed to determine the correction value of the reference control specification (215) in such a way that at least one state variable of the actual state (213) asymptotically corresponds to the corresponding state variable of the reference state (212) is approximated. 10) Device (101) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the device (101) is arranged for a sequence of successive points in time, - to determine a reference state (212) and a reference guidance specification (215) for the respective point in time on the basis of a planned trajectory (110); - using the slave controller and based on a comparison of the actual state (213) with the reference state (212) for the respective time, to determine a correction value for the reference command specification (215) for the respective time; and - to provide a verified target guidance specification (216) for the respective point in time depending on the respective determined correction value. 11) Device (101) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein - for the longitudinal guidance, a state (212, 213) of the vehicle (100) comprises a longitudinal position and / or a longitudinal speed of the vehicle (100) as a state variable; and - for the longitudinal guidance, a guidance specification (215, 214, 216) for the longitudinal guidance of the vehicle (100) comprises an acceleration of the vehicle (100); and / or - for the lateral guidance, a state (212, 213) of the vehicle (100) comprises a lateral offset and / or a heading angle of the vehicle (100) as a state variable; and - for the transverse guidance, a guidance specification (215, 214, 216) for the transverse guidance of the vehicle (100) comprises a curvature of a travel path of the vehicle (100). 12) Method (300) for operating a trajectory follower controller (200) for the automated longitudinal and / or lateral guidance of a vehicle (100); wherein the method (300) comprises - determining (301), on the basis of a planned trajectory (110) for the vehicle (100), a reference state (212) of the vehicle (100) and a reference guidance specification (215) for the longitudinal and / or transverse guidance of the vehicle (100); - determining (302), using a follow-up controller and based on a comparison of an actual state (213) of the vehicle (100) with the reference state (212), a correction value for the reference command specification (215); - determining (303), on the basis of the correction value, whether the trajectory follower controller (200) is degraded or not; - determining (304), on the basis of the correction value and on the basis of the reference guidance specification (215), a basic target guidance specification (216) as a verified target guidance specification (216) for the longitudinal and / or lateral guidance of the vehicle (100), if the trajectory follower controller (200) is not degraded; and - determining (305) a degraded guidance specification deviating from the basic target guidance specification (216) as a verified target guidance specification (216) for the longitudinal and / or lateral guidance of the vehicle (100) when the trajectory follower controller (200) is degraded.

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