Vehicle Lane Change Control Without High-Accuracy Positioning

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing lane-changing control methods for vehicles rely on high-accuracy locating systems, which are costly and resource-intensive, requiring frequent real-time position calculations and high operational capabilities from controllers.

Innovation Solution

A method and device that control lane changing using speed parameters, position-deviation parameters, and heading-angle parameters, acquired by speed sensors and onboard cameras, to determine the target steering-wheel steering angle, eliminating the need for high-accuracy locating systems.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If high-accuracy locating systems are used to realize lane-changing controlling, then the positioning precision is improved, but the device cost increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvepositioning precisionVSAvoiddevice cost
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent uses image processing to create a virtual copy of the road environment, extracting lane marking information from camera images to build a digital representation of the road layout. This virtual model serves as a substitute for physical high-precision locating systems, enabling lane-changing control through software-based position estimation rather than expensive hardware systems.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #26Copying

Solution Approach 2:

The patent replaces mechanical/physical locating systems with an optical-computational system. Instead of using GPS, inertial sensors, or other hardware-based positioning technologies, the system uses onboard cameras to capture road markings and processes the images computationally to determine vehicle position and orientation relative to lanes.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

2Measurement precision

If high-accuracy locating systems are used to realize lane-changing controlling, then the positioning precision is improved, but the controller resource occupation increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvepositioning precisionVSAvoidcontroller resource occupation
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements lane-changing control by periodically capturing images at specific intervals during the lane-changing maneuver rather than continuously processing high-frequency position data. The system captures images at key moments (before lane change, during lane change, and after lane change) and processes them to update control decisions, reducing computational load compared to continuous high-frequency processing.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #19Periodic action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent performs preliminary image processing and feature extraction to identify lane markings and road geometry before the actual lane-changing execution. By pre-processing the visual information and extracting relevant geometric features in advance, the system reduces the computational burden during the critical real-time control phase, allowing efficient resource utilization.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

3Manufacturing precision

If real-time position calculation is performed frequently, then the control accuracy is improved, but the operational capability requirement of the controller increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecontrol accuracyVSAvoidcontroller operational capability
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent divides the lane-changing control process into distinct phases (initial position acquisition, lane-changing execution, and final position verification), with image capture and processing performed at specific segments rather than continuously. This segmentation allows the system to achieve adequate control accuracy at key decision points while avoiding the need for high-frequency continuous processing that would demand excessive controller capability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentEP3798746B1Vehicle lane change control method and device
Publication Date: 2023.08.30 GREAT WALL MOTOR CO LTD
  • EP3798746B1 patent drawingFigure 1~1x
  • EP3798746B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3798746B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

The present disclosure provides a method for controlling lane changing of a vehicle, wherein the method includes: receiving a lane changing instruction (step 101); acquiring a speed parameter of the vehicle (step 102); according to the speed parameter, determining a controlling coefficient of a predetermined controller (step 103); acquiring a position-deviation parameter and a heading-angle parameter of the vehicle; if the position-deviation parameter is greater than or equal to a first threshold, or, if the heading-angle parameter is greater than or equal to a second threshold, according to the controlling coefficient, the position-deviation parameter and the heading-angle parameter, determining a target steering-wheel steering angle of the vehicle; and according to the target steering-wheel steering angle, controlling the vehicle to perform a lane changing operation, till the position-deviation parameter is less than the first threshold, and the heading-angle parameter is less than the second threshold (step 105). The speed parameter, the position-deviation parameter and the heading angle can be acquired by using a speed sensor and an onboard camera, and do not require to rely on a high-accuracy locating system, which can greatly reduce the cost of the vehicle lane changing and the occupation of the resource of the controller.