Method for improving a detection of at least one object in surroundings of a motor vehicle by way of an indirect measurement by sensors, controller, driver assistance system, and motor vehicle

• US 10,564,282 B2
• Filed: 08/05/2016
• Issued: 02/18/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 03/18/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Valeo Schalter und Sensoren GmbH (Valeo SE)
• Original Assignee: Valeo Schalter und Sensoren GmbH (Valeo SE)
• Inventors: Milschewski, Tino, Bariant, Jean-Francois
• Primary Examiner(s): King, Curtis J
• Application Number:
  US16/084,518
• Publication Number:
  US 20190079188A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,292 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/46 Indirect determination of position data
• 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 15/878 wherein transceivers are operated, either sequentially or simultaneously, both in bi-static and in mono-static mode, e.g. cross-echo mode
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/931 of land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2015/465 by Trilateration, i.e. two transducers determine separately the distance to a target, whereby with the knowledge of the baseline length, i.e. the distance between the transducers, the position data of the target is determined
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2015/938 in the bumper area

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for detecting at least one object (3) in surroundings (4) of a motor vehicle (1), in which a first sensor (6) is actuated to emit a sensor signal, sensor data are received from a second sensor (6), which describe the sensor signal reflected from the at least one object (3), a fuzzy feature (x_U) is determined from the sensor data as an object feature (x_P, x_L, x_U) for describing the at least one object (3), wherein the fuzzy feature (x_U) describes a distance between the at least one object (3) and the first sensor (6) and a distance between the at least one object and the second sensor (6), wherein the fuzzy feature (x_U) is described as an ellipse (x_E), a further object feature (x_P, x_L), which describes the at least one object (3), is determined on the basis of sensor data of at least one further measurement of the first and/or the second sensor (6), the further object feature (x_P, x_L) and the fuzzy feature (x_U) are transferred using an innovation function (h) into a common state space, wherein the innovation function (h) describes a similarity between the fuzzy feature (x_U) and the further object feature (x_P, x_L), and a merged object feature is determined from the further object feature (x_P, x_L) on the basis of the innovation function (h).

Claims

1. A method for detecting at least one object in surroundings of a motor vehicle, the method comprising:

actuating a first sensor to emit a sensor signal;

receiving sensor data from a second sensor, which describe the sensor signal reflected from the at least one object;

generating a fuzzy feature from the sensor data as an object feature for describing the at least one object, wherein the fuzzy feature describes a distance between the at least one object and the first sensor and a distance between the at least one object and the second sensor, wherein the fuzzy feature is described as an ellipse;

generating a further object feature, which describes the at least one object on the basis of sensor data of at least one further measurement of the first and/or the second sensor; and

transferring the further object feature and the fuzzy feature into a common coordinate system;

determining, based on an innovation function that describes a similarity between the fuzzy feature and the further object feature, that the fuzzy feature and the further object feature are associated with a single object of the at least one object; and

generating, in response to said determining, a merged object feature from the fuzzy feature and the further object feature, wherein the merged object feature improves reliability of detecting the at least one object in the surroundings of the motor vehicle.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein focal points of the ellipse are determined on the basis of a position of the first sensor and a position of the second sensor, a length of a semi-major axis of the ellipse is determined on the basis of a runtime of the sensor signal and a length of a semi-minor axis of the ellipse is determined on the basis of the focal points and the length of the semi-major axis.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein an eccentricity of the ellipse is determined on the basis of a distance of the focal points and the length of the semi-minor axis is determined from the length of the semi-major axis and the eccentricity.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the further object feature is determined and entered in a digital surroundings map, which describes the surroundings of the motor vehicle, and subsequently the fuzzy feature is determined and entered in the surroundings map.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein to determine the merged object feature from the further object feature, a linear mapping rule is determined, which comprises the innovation function and an amplification factor for the innovation function, wherein the amplification factor is dependent on a spatial uncertainty of the further object feature and a spatial uncertainty of the fuzzy feature.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the amplification factor is determined such that a spatial uncertainty of the merged object feature is minimal.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein a point feature or a line feature is determined as the further object feature.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein to determine the innovation function, a measurement model is determined, which describes a distance between the fuzzy feature and a point feature or a distance between the fuzzy feature and a line feature.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein when the further object feature is the point feature, to determine the measurement model a generated ellipse is determined such that the point feature lies on the generated ellipse.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein when the further object feature is the line feature, to determine the measurement model a generated ellipse is determined such that the line feature extends tangentially to the generated ellipse.

11. The method according to claim 8, wherein an innovation, which describes an output of the innovation function, is determined on the basis of a difference between the length of the semi-major axis of the ellipse and the measurement model.

12. A controller for a driver assistance system of a motor vehicle, the controller being configured to:

actuate, by a computer processor, a first sensor to emit a sensor signal;

receive, by the computer processor, sensor data from a second sensor, which describe the sensor signal reflected from the at least one object;

generate, by the computer processor, a fuzzy feature from the sensor data as an object feature for describing at least one object, wherein the fuzzy feature describes a distance between the at least one object and the first sensor and a distance between the at least one object and the second sensor, wherein the fuzzy feature is described as an ellipse;

generate, by the computer processor, a further object feature, which describes the at least one object on the basis of sensor data of at least one further measurement of the first and/or the second sensor;

transfer, by the computer processor, the further object feature and the fuzzy feature into a common coordinate system;

determine, by the computer processor based on an innovation function that describes a similarity between the fuzzy feature and the further object feature, that the fuzzy feature and the further object feature are associated with a single object of the at least one object; and

generate, by the computer processor in response to said determining, a merged object feature from the fuzzy feature and the further object feature, wherein the merged object feature improves reliability of detecting the at least one object in the surroundings of the motor vehicle.

13. A driver assistance system for a motor vehicle comprising:

a first sensor;

a second sensor; and

a controller configured to;

actuate, by a computer processor, a first sensor to emit a sensor signal;

receive, by the computer processor, sensor data from a second sensor, which describe the sensor signal reflected from the at least one object;

generate, by the computer processor, a fuzzy feature from the sensor data as an object feature for describing at least one object, wherein the fuzzy feature describes a distance between the at least one object and the first sensor and a distance between the at least one object and the second sensor, wherein the fuzzy feature is described as an ellipse;

generate, by the computer processor, a further object feature, which describes the at least one object on the basis of sensor data of at least one further measurement of the first and/or the second sensor;

transfer, by the computer processor, the further object feature and the fuzzy feature into a common coordinate system;

determine, by the computer processor based on an innovation function that describes a similarity between the fuzzy feature and the further object feature, that the fuzzy feature and the further object feature are associated with a single object of the at least one object; and

generate, by the computer processor in response to said determining, a merged object feature from the fuzzy feature and the further object feature, wherein the merged object feature improves reliability of detecting the at least one object in the surroundings of the motor vehicle.

14. The driver assistance system according to claim 13, wherein the first sensor and the second sensor are ultrasound sensors.

15. A motor vehicle comprising a driver assistance system, wherein the driver assistance system comprises:

a first sensor;

a second sensor; and

a controller configured to;

actuate, by a computer processor, a first sensor to emit a sensor signal;

receive, by the computer processor, sensor data from a second sensor, which describe the sensor signal reflected from the at least one object;

generate, by the computer processor, a fuzzy feature from the sensor data as an object feature for describing at least one object, wherein the fuzzy feature describes a distance between the at least one object and the first sensor and a distance between the at least one object and the second sensor, wherein the fuzzy feature is described as an ellipse;

generate, by the computer processor, a further object feature, which describes the at least one object on the basis of sensor data of at least one further measurement of the first and/or the second sensor;

transfer, by the computer processor, the further object feature and the fuzzy feature into a common coordinate system;

determine, by the computer processor based on an innovation function that describes a similarity between the fuzzy feature and the further object feature, that the fuzzy feature and the further object feature are associated with a single object of the at least one object; and

generate, by the computer processor in response to said determining, a merged object feature from the fuzzy feature and the further object feature, wherein the merged object feature improves reliability of detecting the at least one object in the surroundings of the motor vehicle.