Object sensing apparatus

• US 20050062615A1
• Filed: 09/17/2002
• Published: 03/24/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 10/05/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Original Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Inventors: Bocker, Jurgen, Heinebrodt, Martin, Braeuchle, Goetz
• Granted Patent: US 7,012,560 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/903
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 31/0008 including means for detecting potential obstacles in vehicle path
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/20 Data confidence level
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/16 Control of distance between vehicles, e.g. keeping a distance to preceding vehicle
• 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 13/87 Combinations of radar systems, e.g. primary radar and secondary radar
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/931 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 2013/9315 Monitoring blind spots
• 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 7/40 Means for monitoring or calibrating

Abstract

An object sensing apparatus for driver assistance systems in motor vehicles, including at least two sensor systems which measure data concerning the location and/or motion status of objects in the vicinity of the vehicle, and whose detection regions overlap one another, characterized by an error recognition device that checks the data measured by the sensor systems for absence of contradictions, and outputs an error signal upon detection of a contradiction.

Claims

1-12. -12. (Canceled).

13. An object sensing device for a driver assistance system in a motor vehicle, comprising:

at least two sensor systems configured to measure data concerning at least one of a location status and a motion status of objects in a vicinity of the vehicle, detection regions of the sensor systems overlapping one another; and

an error recognition device configured to check the data measured by the sensor systems for absence of contradictions and to output an error signal upon detection of a contradiction.

14. The object sensing device of claim 13, wherein the sensor systems include at least one of a radar system, a lidar system, and a video system.

15. The object sensing device of claim 13, wherein the sensor systems include a first sensor system for a long-range region and a second sensor system for a short-range region.

16. The object sensing device of claim 15, wherein the first sensor system includes one of a radar system and a lidar system.

17. The object sensing device of claim 15, wherein the second sensor system includes one of a radar system, a lidar system, and a video system.

18. The object sensing device of claim 13, wherein one of the sensor systems includes a video system including at two cameras configured to acquire a stereo image of the object.

19. The object sensing device of claim 15, wherein the error recognition device is configured to check, on a basis of the data of at least one sensor system, whether the object is located in an overlap region between a detection region of the at least one sensor system and a detection region of another sensor system, and to output the error signal one of if the object is not located by the another sensor system and if data measured by the another sensor system, taking into account error limits, deviate from data measured by the at least one sensor system.

20. The object sensing apparatus of claim 13, wherein for objects that are located in an overlap region of several sensor systems, the error recognition device is configured to weight the data measured by the several sensor systems in accordance with reliability and to combine the weighted mutually corresponding data into data that output to the driver assistance system.

21. The object sensing device of claim 13, wherein the error recognition arrangement is configured to identify, on a basis of a type of contradiction ascertained, the sensor system that is causing the error.

22. The object sensing device of claim 21, further comprising a correction device configured to correct an ascertained error by one of realignment and recalibration of one of the sensor system that is causing the error and an evaluation unit belonging to that sensor system.

23. The object sensing device of claim 21, further comprising a statistics module configured to record and store ascertained errors.

24. The object sensing device of claim 23, wherein the statistics module is configured to output an error message to a driver when an error ascertained by the error recognition device occurs with a certain statistical frequency.

25. An object sensing device for a driver assistance system in a motor vehicle, comprising:

means including at least two sensor systems for measuring data concerning at least one of a location status and a motion status of objects in a vicinity of the vehicle, detection regions of the sensor systems overlapping one another; and

error recognition means for checking the data measured by the sensor systems for absence of contradictions and for outputting an error signal upon detection of a contradiction.