Vehicle path-planner monitor and controller

• US 10,635,109 B2
• Filed: 10/17/2017
• Issued: 04/28/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 10/17/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NIO Technology Company Limited (Shanghai Anbin Technology Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Nio Usa Inc.
• Inventors: Guo, Bo, Liu, Xiaodong
• Primary Examiner(s): Edwards, Jerrah
• Application Number:
  US15/786,373
• Publication Number:
  US 20190113916A1
• Time in Patent Office: 924 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02 Detecting, measuring or recording pulse, heart rate, blood pressure or blood flow; Combined pulse/heart-rate/blood pressure determination; Evaluating a cardiovascular condition not otherwise provided for, e.g. using combinations of techniques provided for in this group with electrocardiography or electroauscultation; Heart catheters for measuring blood pressure
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6893 Cars
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 28/02 responsive to conditions relating to the driver
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/20 including control of steering systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/0075 Automatic parameter input, automatic initialising or calibrating means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/022 Actuator failures
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/45 External transmission of data to or from the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/08 Active safety systems predicting or avoiding probable or impending collision or attempting to minimise its consequences
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/08 related to drivers or passengers
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/02 Ensuring safety in case of control system failures, e.g. by diagnosing, circumventing or fixing failures
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/0205 Diagnosing or detecting failures; Failure detection models
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/029 Adapting to failures or work around with other constraints, e.g. circumvention by avoiding use of failed parts
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/14 Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 60/001 Planning or execution of driving tasks
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 60/0015 specially adapted for safety
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0055 with safety arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0061 for transition from automatic pilot to manual pilot and vice versa
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0088 characterized by the autonomous decision making process, e.g. artificial intelligence, predefined behaviours using knowledge based models G06N5/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0212 with means for defining a desired trajectory involving a plurality of land vehicles G05D1/0287

Abstract

Systems of an autonomous vehicle and the operations thereof are provided. Autonomous vehicles may rely on data inputs, processes, and output commands. Errors due to translation errors, failed or faulty equipment, connections, and other components may cause a dynamic vehicle path to approach a dynamic safe zone. If so, a warning message may be sent and processed by the motion control system, when the vehicle is responding to commands correctly, or actuator control, when the vehicle is not responding to commands correctly. Should the vehicle'"'"'s path approach the safe zone, a failure message is sent to the appropriate system for mitigation.

Claims

1. An autonomous driving system, comprising:

a processor, the processor further comprising circuitry and a memory;

a sensor, in communication with the processor;

an actuator control programmed to receive a motion control command and convert the motion control command into an actuator command;

an actuator configured, in response to receiving an actuator command, to execute an operation controlling an aspect of locomotion for a vehicle and further provide an actuator feedback signal;

a motion control system programmed to determine a path boundary and provide motion control commands to the actuator to cause the vehicle to traverse the path boundary, wherein the path boundary defines an expected location of the vehicle for a particular timeframe; and

wherein the processor, in communication with the actuator control and the motion control system, is programmed to;

access a safe zone boundary for the vehicle, wherein the safe zone boundary defines a dynamic envelope that the vehicle may operate in to avoid identified objects while traversing the path boundary;

determine whether the path boundary has breached the safe zone boundary;

in response to determining that the safe zone boundary has been breached, determine whether the actuator feedback is divergent from the motion control command;

in response to determining that the actuator feedback is divergent from the motion control command, process a failure in accordance with an actuator failure; and

wherein processing the failure comprises executing a mitigating action to mitigate the vehicle'"'"'s breach or potential breach of the safe zone boundary.

2. The autonomous driving system of claim 1, wherein the processor, in response to determining the actuator feedback is not divergent from the motion control command, processing the failure in accord with a motion control failure.

3. The autonomous driving system of claim 2, wherein processing the failure, when in accord with the motion control failure, is further processed by the motion control system to cause the motion control system to execute a mitigating action.

4. The autonomous driving system of claim 1, wherein processing the failure, when in accord with the actuator failure, is further processed by the actuator control to cause the actuator control system to execute a mitigating action.

5. The autonomous driving system of claim 1, wherein the processor further:

receives a current location of the vehicle from the sensor; and

wherein the processor determines whether the path boundary has breached the safe zone boundary further comprises the processor determining whether the current location of the vehicle has breached the safe zone boundary.

6. The autonomous driving system of claim 5, wherein the processor, in response to determining the actuator feedback is not divergent from the motion control command, executing a motion control warning.

7. The autonomous driving system of claim 6, the motion control warning, when in accord with the motion control warning, further causes the motion control system to utilize an alternate motion control system or portion thereof.

8. The autonomous driving system of claim 5, wherein processing the mitigating action, when in accord with the actuator failure, is further processed by the actuator control system to cause the actuator control system to execute an actuator control warning to further limit the vehicle'"'"'s position within the safe zone boundary.

9. The autonomous driving system of claim 5, wherein the processor determines the observed path has breached the path envelope, further comprises the processor determining the observed path, absent a corrective action, will breach the safe zone boundary.

10. The autonomous driving system of claim 1, wherein the processor determines the observed path has breached the safe zone boundary, further comprises the processor determining the observed path, absent a corrective action, will breach the safe zone boundary.

11. The autonomous driving system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the path envelope or the safe zone boundary is dynamically generated by the processor comprising inputs from at least one of stored data comprising static roadway features or sensor data comprising observed roadway features.

12. The autonomous driving system of claim 1, wherein the mitigating action comprises at least one of, alerting an occupant of the vehicle to resume manual control, alerting persons nearby with a visual and/or audible distress signal, applying the brakes, or navigating the vehicle to a portion of the roadway having reduced hazard.

13. A method, comprising:

accessing, by a processor, a safe zone boundary, wherein the safe zone boundary defines a dynamic envelope that a vehicle may operate in to avoid identified hazards while traversing a path boundary, wherein the path boundary defines an expected location of the vehicle for a particular timeframe;

receiving, by the processor, indicia of a current location of the vehicle relative to the safe zone boundary;

determining, by the processor, whether the current location has breached the safe zone boundary;

in response to determining that the safe zone boundary has been breached, determining, by the processor, whether the actuator feedback is divergent from the motion control commands;

in response to determining that the actuator feedback is divergent from the motion control command, processing, by the processor, a failure in accordance with an actuator failure;

in response to determining that the actuator feedback is not divergent from the motion control command, processing, by the processor, the failure in accordance with a motion control failure; and

performing, by the processor, a mitigating action to mitigate the vehicle'"'"'s breach or potential breach of the safe zone boundary.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein:

the mitigating action, when the failure is in accord with the motion control failure, is provided to a motion control system to execute the mitigating action comprising utilization of an alternate motion control system or portion thereof; and

the mitigating action, when the failure is in accord with the actuator failure, is provided to an actuator control system to execute a mitigating action to further limit the vehicle'"'"'s position within the safe zone boundary.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

accessing a current path of the vehicle from a sensor; and

wherein determining whether the path boundary has breached the safe zone boundary further comprises the determining whether the current location of the vehicle has breached the safe zone boundary.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein:

the mitigating action, when the failure is associated with the motion control failure, further comprises utilization of an alternate motion control system or portion thereof; and

the mitigating action, when the failure is associated with the actuator failure, further comprises applying a distance limit to the vehicle'"'"'s position within the safe zone boundary.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the mitigating action comprises a limit on at least one of the vehicle'"'"'s speed, rate of speed change, turning, and/or rate of turn.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein the mitigating action comprises at least one of alerting an occupant of the vehicle to resume manual control, alerting persons nearby with a visual and/or audible distress signal, applying the brakes, or navigating the vehicle to a portion of the roadway having reduced hazard.

19. A system for autonomously driving a vehicle, comprising:

a processor, the processor further comprising circuitry and a memory;

a sensor, in communication with the processor;

an actuator control that receives a motion control command and converts the motion control command into an actuator command;

an actuator that, in response to receiving an actuator command, executes an operation controlling an aspect of locomotion for a vehicle and further provides an actuator feedback signal;

a motion control system programmed to determine a path boundary and provide motion control commands to the actuator to cause the vehicle to traverse the path boundary, wherein the path boundary defines an expected location of the vehicle for a particular timeframe; and

wherein the processor, in communication with the actuator control and the motion control system, is programmed to;

access a safe zone boundary for the vehicle, wherein the safe zone boundary defines a dynamic envelope that the vehicle may operate in to avoid identified hazards while traversing the path boundary;

determine that the path boundary has breached the safe zone boundary;

in response to determining that the safe zone boundary has been breached, determine whether the actuator feedback is divergent from the motion control command;

in response to determining that the actuator feedback is divergent from the motion control command, process a failure in accordance with an actuator failure;

in response to determining that the actuator feedback is not divergent from the motion control command, process the failure in accordance with a motion control failure; and

wherein processing the failure comprises executing a mitigating action to mitigate the vehicle'"'"'s breach of the safe zone boundary.

20. The system for autonomously driving a vehicle of claim 19, wherein the processor:

accesses a current location of the vehicle from a sensor; and

wherein the processor determines whether the path boundary has breached the safe zone boundary further comprises the processor determining whether the current location of the vehicle has breached the safe zone boundary.