Driver assistance apparatus and method for operating the same

• US 10,407,060 B2
• Filed: 12/27/2016
• Issued: 09/10/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 10/27/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai Motor Group)
• Original Assignee: Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai Motor Group)
• Inventors: Kim, Eung Seo, Sung, Dong Hyun, Lee, Sang Min, Min, Suk Ki
• Primary Examiner(s): Badii, Behrang
• Assistant Examiner(s): Testardi, David A
• Application Number:
  US15/391,355
• Publication Number:
  US 20170106859A1
• Time in Patent Office: 987 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/18 including control of braking systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/184 with wheel brakes
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/20 including control of steering systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/0095 Automatic control mode change
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2420/403 Image sensing, e.g. optical camera
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2420/408 Radar; Laser, e.g. lidar
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2420/54 Audio sensitive means, e.g. ultrasound
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2520/10 Longitudinal speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2520/14 Yaw
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/18 Steering angle
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/215 Selection or confirmation of options
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/00 Input parameters relating to objects
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2710/18 Braking system
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2710/20 Steering systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/00 Purposes of road vehicle drive control systems not related to the control of a particular sub-unit, e.g. of systems using conjoint control of vehicle sub-units
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/09 Taking automatic action to avoid collision, e.g. braking and steering
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/095 Predicting travel path or likelihood of collision
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/0953 the prediction being responsive to vehicle dynamic parameters
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/0956 the prediction being responsive to traffic or environmental parameters
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/114 Yaw movement
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/86 : Combinations of radar systems with non-radar systems, e.g. sonar, direction finder
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/862 : Combination of radar systems with sonar systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/865 : Combination of radar systems with lidar systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/867 : Combination of radar systems with cameras
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/931 : of land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/86 : Combinations of sonar systems with lidar systems; Combinations of sonar systems with systems not using wave reflection
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/931 : of land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/86 : Combinations of lidar systems with systems other than lidar, radar or sonar, e.g. with direction finders
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/931 : of land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9318 : Controlling the steering
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/93185 : Controlling the brakes
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/932 : using own vehicle data, e.g. ground speed, steering wheel direction
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9323 : Alternative operation using light waves
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9324 : Alternative operation using ultrasonic waves
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/93271 : in the front of the vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2015/938 : in the bumper area
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/166 : for active traffic, e.g. moving vehicles, pedestrians, bikes

Abstract

A method for operating a driver assistance apparatus includes: recognizing a driving environment of a vehicle; determining a driving mode based on the driving environment; determining whether the vehicle is driven using at least one sensor based on the driving mode; and controlling steering and braking of the vehicle based on whether the vehicle is driven using the at least one sensor.

Claims

1. A method for operating a driver assistance apparatus, comprising:

recognizing a driving environment of a vehicle using at least one sensor that senses images around a vehicle, a distance between the vehicle and an obstacle, and vehicle state information, wherein the at least one sensor is configured to detect at least one of an ultrasonic sensor detection region, a radar detection region, and a camera detection region;

determining a driving mode based on a driving speed of the vehicle, a pedestrian density, and a surrounding environment, the driving mode including a first mode and a second mode, wherein the first mode is a mode in which the driving speed is less than or equal to a reference speed and the second mode is a mode for pedestrian protection;

sensing at least a pedestrian in the camera detection region or the ultrasonic sensor detection region;

measuring a position of the pedestrian in a driving path of the vehicle;

measuring a distance between the vehicle and the pedestrian;

in response to the driving mode being determined as the second mode, determining whether there is a collision possibility between the vehicle and the pedestrian based on the measured distance between the vehicle and the pedestrian by using information acquired by a camera and an ultrasonic sensor; and

controlling steering and braking of the vehicle based on the collision possibility,

wherein sensing the pedestrian includes using the camera and the ultrasonic sensor to sense the pedestrian near the driving path of the vehicle when the pedestrian is positioned in front of the vehicle.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

estimating the driving path of the vehicle based on the vehicle state information.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein estimating the driving path comprises estimating the driving path based on a steering angle of the vehicle and a yaw rate of the vehicle which are acquired by the at least one sensor.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein measuring the distance between the vehicle and the pedestrian comprises measuring the distance between the vehicle and the pedestrian using at least one of the camera and the ultrasonic sensor.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one sensor is selected from the group consisting of:

the camera, a radar, a LiDAR, and the ultrasonic sensor.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein measuring the distance between the vehicle and the pedestrian comprises measuring the distance between the vehicle and the pedestrian using one or more of the ultrasonic sensor and the camera.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the reference speed is 30 km/h.

8. A driver assistance apparatus, comprising:

a sensor module including at least one sensor that senses images around a vehicle, a distance between the vehicle and an obstacle, and vehicle state information; and

a controller configured to;

recognize a driving environment of the vehicle using the at least one sensor so as to sense at least a pedestrian in a driving path of the vehicle, determine a driving mode based on a driving speed of the vehicle, a pedestrian density, and a surrounding environment, the driving mode including a first mode and a second mode, wherein the first mode is a mode in which the driving speed is less than or equal to a reference speed and the second mode is a mode for pedestrian protection,

sense the pedestrian in a camera detection region or an ultrasonic sensor detection region,

measure a position of the pedestrian in the driving path of the vehicle,

measure a distance between the vehicle and the pedestrian,

in response to the driving mode being determined as the second mode, determine whether there is a collision possibility between the vehicle and the pedestrian based on the measured distance between the vehicle and the pedestrian by using information acquired by a camera and an ultrasonic sensor, and

control steering or braking of the vehicle based on based on the collision possibility,

wherein the at least one sensor is configured to detect at least one of the ultrasonic detection region, a radar detection region, or the camera detection region, and

wherein the controller senses the pedestrian using the camera and the ultrasonic sensor to sense the pedestrian near the driving path of the vehicle when the pedestrian is positioned in front of the vehicle.

9. The driver assistance apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the controller is further configured to estimate the driving path of the vehicle based on vehicle state information.

10. The driver assistance apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the controller is further configured to estimate the driving path based on a steering angle of the vehicle and a yaw rate of the vehicle which are acquired by the at least one sensor.

11. The driver assistance apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the controller is further configured to measure the distance between the vehicle and the pedestrian using at least one of the camera and the ultrasonic sensor.

12. The driver assistance apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the at least one sensor is selected from a group consisting of:

the camera, a radar, a LiDAR, and the ultrasonic sensor.

13. The driver assistance apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the controller is further configured to measure the distance between the vehicle and the pedestrian comprises measuring the distance between the vehicle and the pedestrian using one or more of the ultrasonic sensor and the camera.

14. The driver assistance apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the reference speed is 30 km/h.