Vehicle communication system for cloud-hosting sensor-data

• US 10,235,875 B2
• Filed: 08/16/2016
• Issued: 03/19/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 08/16/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Aptiv Technologies AG (Aptiv PLC)
• Original Assignee: Aptiv Technologies Limited (Aptiv PLC)
• Inventors: Wieskamp, Jonathan L., Pitambare, Uday
• Primary Examiner(s): Pollack, Melvin H
• Application Number:
  US15/237,729
• Publication Number:
  US 20180053403A1
• Time in Patent Office: 945 Days
• Field of Search: 709224
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/931 of land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9316 combined with communication equipment with other vehicles or with base stations
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9321 Velocity regulation, e.g. cruise control
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9325 for inter-vehicle distance regulation, e.g. navigating in platoons
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/93271 in the front of the vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/93272 in the back of the vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/93274 on the side of the vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0072 Transmission between mobile stations, e.g. anti-collision systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/003 Transmission of data between radar, sonar or lidar systems and remote stations
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0257 using a radar radar systems designed for anti-collision purposes between land vehicles or between land vehicle and fixed obstacles G01S13/931
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0297 by controlling means in a control room
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0112 from the vehicle, e.g. floating car data [FCD]
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0133 for classifying traffic situation
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/162 event-triggered
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/164 Centralised systems, e.g. external to vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/12 Avoiding congestion; Recovering from congestion
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/04 Registration at HLR or HSS [Home Subscriber Server]

Abstract

A vehicle communication system for cloud-hosting sensor-data from a plurality of vehicles where each of the vehicles is equipped with one or more sensors used to detect objects proximate to each of the vehicles includes a transceiver and a controller. The transceiver is used to communicate sensor-data from a first-sensor on a first-vehicle and from a second-sensor on a second-vehicle. The controller is configured to receive, via the transceiver, first-data from the first-sensor and second-data from the second-sensor, and determine when the first-data and the second-data are both indicative of an object proximate to the first-vehicle and the second-vehicle, where the first-data is characterized by a first-confidence and the second-data is characterized by a second-confidence. The controller is configured to prevent communication of the second-data to the first-vehicle when the first-confidence is greater than the second-confidence.

Claims

1. A vehicle communication system for cloud-hosting sensor-data from a plurality of vehicles, wherein each of the vehicles is equipped with one or more sensors used to detect objects proximate to each of the vehicles, said system comprising:

a transceiver used to communicate sensor-data from a first-sensor on a first-vehicle and from a second-sensor on a second-vehicle; and

a controller configured to receive, via the transceiver, first-data from the first-sensor and second-data from the second-sensor, determine when the first-data and the second-data are both indicative of an object proximate to the first-vehicle and the second-vehicle, wherein the first-data is characterized by a first-confidence and the second-data is characterized by a second-confidence, and the controller is configured to prevent communication of the second-data to the first-vehicle when the first-confidence is greater than the second-confidence.

2. The system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the system is configured to disable the second-sensor when the first-confidence is greater than the second-confidence.

3. The system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the first-confidence is based on a first-distance from the first-sensor to the object, the second-confidence is based on a second-distance from the second-sensor to the object, and the first-confidence is greater than the second-confidence when the first-distance is less than the second-distance.

4. The system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the first-confidence is based on a first-resolution that the object is indicated by the first-sensor, the second-confidence is based on a second-resolution that the object is indicated by the second-sensor, and the first-confidence is greater than the second-confidence when the first-resolution is greater than the second-resolution.

5. The system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to communicate the first-data to a third-vehicle equipped with a third-sensor when a view to the object from the third-sensor is obstructed.

6. The system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the controller configured to receive, via the transceiver, third-data from a third-sensor on a third-vehicle, determine when the first-data, the second-data, and the third-data should all be indicative of the object, and classify the third-sensor as faulty when the third-data is not indicative of the object.

7. The system in accordance with claim 6, wherein the controller configured to communicate the first-data to the third-vehicle for operating the third-vehicle when the third-sensor is classified as faulty.