Enhanced lane detection

• US 10,163,351 B2
• Filed: 08/26/2016
• Issued: 12/25/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 08/26/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Inventors: Lei, Oliver, Murray, Allen R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Troost, Aaron L
• Application Number:
  US15/248,508
• Publication Number:
  US 20180061238A1
• Time in Patent Office: 851 Days
• CPC Class Codes: E01F 9/529 specially adapted for signalling by sound or vibrations, e.g. rumble strips; specially adapted for enforcing reduced speed, e.g. speed bumps
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/162 event-triggered
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/167 Driving aids for lane monitoring, lane changing, e.g. blind spot detection

Abstract

A roadway lane of a host vehicle is determined based on a sound from an impact between a tire of the host vehicle and a set of protrusions in a roadway. A communication is received from a target vehicle. The communication identifies a roadway lane of the target vehicle. The roadway lane of the host vehicle is compared to the roadway lane of the target vehicle. A vehicle subsystem is controlled in accordance with the communication based at least in part on whether the roadway lane of the host vehicle is the same as the roadway lane of the target vehicle.

Claims

1. A system, comprising a processor and a memory storing instructions executable by the processor, the instructions including:

determining a roadway lane and a direction of travel of a host vehicle based on a sound from an impact between a tire of the host vehicle and a set of protrusions in a roadway;

receiving a communication from a target vehicle, the communication identifying a roadway lane and a direction of travel of the target vehicle and including a warning;

comparing the roadway lane of the host vehicle to the roadway lane of the target vehicle and comparing the direction of travel of the host vehicle to the direction of travel of the target vehicle;

ignoring the communication when the warning is a first type of warning and the roadway lane of the host vehicle is the same as the roadway lane of the target vehicle;

controlling a vehicle subsystem in accordance with the communication and the warning when the warning is a second type of warning and the roadway lane of the host vehicle is the same as the roadway lane of the target vehicle; and

ignoring the communication when the warning is a third type of warning and the direction of travel of the host vehicle is different from the direction of travel of the target vehicle.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the set of protrusions in the roadway lane of the host vehicle includes a different number of protrusions than a set of protrusions in the roadway lane of the target vehicle.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the sound from the impact between the tire of the host vehicle and the set of protrusions in the roadway lane of the host vehicle is different from a sound from an impact between a tire of the target vehicle and a set of protrusions in the roadway lane of the target vehicle.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions further include ignoring the communication from the target vehicle if the roadway lane of the target vehicle differs from the roadway lane of the host vehicle.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions further include controlling the vehicle subsystem in accordance with the communication if the roadway lane of the host vehicle is adjacent to the roadway lane of the target vehicle.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions further include ignoring the communication from the target vehicle when the direction of travel of the target vehicle differs from the direction of travel of the host vehicle and the roadway lane of the target vehicle differs from the roadway lane of the host vehicle.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions further include ignoring the communication from the target vehicle when the direction of travel of the target vehicle is the same as the direction of travel of the host vehicle and the roadway lane of the target vehicle differs from the roadway lane of the host vehicle.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions further include detecting a lane change of the host vehicle based on the sound from the impact between the tire of the host vehicle and the set of protrusions.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the communication indicates that the target vehicle has stopped in the roadway lane of the host vehicle and wherein controlling the vehicle subsystem includes controlling the vehicle subsystem to move the host vehicle to an adjacent roadway lane.

10. A method, comprising:

determining a roadway lane and a direction of travel of a host vehicle based on a sound from an impact between a tire of the host vehicle and a set of protrusions in a roadway;

receiving a communication from a target vehicle, the communication identifying a roadway lane and a direction of travel of the target vehicle and including a warning;

comparing the roadway lane of the host vehicle to the roadway lane of the target vehicle and comparing the direction of travel of the host vehicle to the direction of travel of the target vehicle;

ignoring the communication when the warning is a first type of warning and the roadway lane of the host vehicle is the same as the roadway lane of the target vehicle;

controlling a vehicle subsystem in accordance with the communication and the warning when the warning is a second type of warning and the roadway lane of the host vehicle is the same as the roadway lane of the target vehicle; and

ignoring the communication when the warning is a third type of warning and the direction of travel of the host vehicle is different from the direction of travel of the target vehicle.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the set of protrusions in the roadway lane of the host vehicle includes a different number of protrusions than a set of protrusions in the roadway lane of the target vehicle.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the sound from the impact between the tire of the host vehicle and the set of protrusions in the roadway lane of the host vehicle is different from a sound from an impact between a tire of the target vehicle and a set of protrusions in the roadway lane of the target vehicle.

13. The method of claim 10, further comprising ignoring the communication from the target vehicle if the roadway lane of the target vehicle differs from the roadway lane of the host vehicle.

14. The method of claim 10, further comprising controlling the vehicle subsystem in accordance with the communication if the roadway lane of the host vehicle is adjacent to the roadway lane of the target vehicle.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the method further comprises ignoring the communication from the target vehicle when the direction of travel of the target vehicle differs from the direction of travel of the host vehicle and the roadway lane of the target vehicle differs from the roadway lane of the host vehicle.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein the method further comprises ignoring the communication from the target vehicle when the direction of travel of the target vehicle is the same as the direction of travel of the host vehicle and the roadway lane of the target vehicle differs from the roadway lane of the host vehicle.

17. The method of claim 10, further comprising detecting a lane change of the host vehicle based on the sound from the impact between the tire of the host vehicle and the set of protrusions.

18. The method of claim 10, wherein the communication indicates that the target vehicle has stopped in the roadway lane of the host vehicle and wherein controlling the vehicle subsystem includes controlling the vehicle subsystem to move the host vehicle to an adjacent roadway lane.

19. A method, comprising:

determining a roadway lane and a direction of travel of a host vehicle based on a sound from an impact between a tire of the host vehicle and a set of protrusions in a roadway;

receiving a first communication from a first target vehicle, the first communication identifying a roadway lane and a direction of travel of the first target vehicle and including a first warning;

receiving a second communication from a second target vehicle, the second communication identifying a roadway lane and a direction of travel of the second target vehicle and including a second warning;

comparing the roadway lane of the host vehicle to the roadway lanes of the first and second target vehicles;

comparing the direction of travel of the host vehicle to the direction of travel of the first target vehicle;

based at least in part on the first warning, ignoring the first communication when the roadway lane of the host vehicle is the same as the roadway lane of the first target vehicle;

based at least in part on the first warning, ignoring the first communication when the direction of travel of the host vehicle differs from the direction of travel of the first target vehicle; and

based at least in part on the second warning, controlling a vehicle subsystem in accordance with the second communication and the second warning when the roadway lane of the host vehicle is the same as the roadway lane of the second target vehicle.