Method and system for detecting objects external to a vehicle

• US 20050134440A1
• Filed: 01/12/2005
• Published: 06/23/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 10/22/1997
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: American Vehicular Sciences LLC (Acacia Research Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Intelligent Technologies International'L Incorporated
• Inventors: Breed, David S.
• Granted Patent: US 7,202,776 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/435
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/2863 backward facing
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/06 including control of combustion engines
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/18 including control of braking systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/20 including control of steering systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/0071 Controller overrides driver automatically
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/0073 Driver overrides controller
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/0075 Automatic parameter input, automatic initialising or calibrating means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/50 of positioning data, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System] data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/02 Control of vehicle driving stability
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/04 related to roll-over prevention
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/14 Adaptive cruise control
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/16 Control of distance between vehicles, e.g. keeping a distance to preceding vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/18154 Approaching an intersection
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/18172 Preventing, or responsive to skidding of wheels
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/06 Road conditions
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/072 Curvature of the road
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/076 Slope angle of the road
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/00 Details of control systems for road vehicle drive control not related to the control of a particular sub-unit , e.g. process diagnostic or vehicle driver interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/14 Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/18 wherein range gates are used
• 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 17/89 : for mapping or imaging
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/931 : of land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/17 : Emergency applications
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/41 : Differential correction, e.g. DGPS [differential GPS]
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/42 : Determining position
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/50 : whereby the position solution is constrained to lie upon a particular curve or surface, e.g. for locomotives on railway tracks
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2007/4975 : of sensor obstruction by, e.g. dirt- or ice-coating, e.g. by reflection measurement on front-screen
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9315 : Monitoring blind spots
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9316 : combined with communication equipment with other vehicles or with base stations
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9318 : Controlling the steering
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/93185 : Controlling the brakes
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9319 : Controlling the accelerator
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/932 : using own vehicle data, e.g. ground speed, steering wheel direction
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9321 : Velocity regulation, e.g. cruise control
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9322 : using additional data, e.g. driver condition, road state or weather data
• 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 2013/93273 : on the top of the vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9329 : cooperating with reflectors or transponders
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/024 : in combination with a laser lasers per se H01S
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/161 : Decentralised systems, e.g. inter-vehicle communication
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/163 : involving continuous checking
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/164 : Centralised systems, e.g. external to vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/165 : for passive traffic, e.g. including static obstacles, trees
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/166 : for active traffic, e.g. moving vehicles, pedestrians, bikes
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/167 : Driving aids for lane monitoring, lane changing, e.g. blind spot detection

Abstract

Method and system for obtaining information about objects in the environment outside of and around a vehicle and preventing collisions involving the vehicle includes directing a laser beam from the vehicle into the environment, receiving from an object in the path of the laser beam a reflection of the laser beam at a location on the vehicle, and analyzing the received laser beam reflections to obtain information about the object from which the laser beam is being reflected. Analysis of the laser beam reflections preferably entails range gating the received laser beam reflections to limit analysis of the received laser beam reflections to only those received from an object within a defined (distance) range such that objects at distances within the range are isolated from surrounding objects.

Claims

1. A method for obtaining information about objects in the environment outside of and around a vehicle, comprising:

directing a laser beam from the vehicle into the environment;

receiving from an object in the path of the laser beam a reflection of the laser beam at a location on the vehicle; and

analyzing the received laser beam reflections to obtain information about the object from which the laser beam is being reflected,

the analyzing step comprising range gating the received laser beam reflections to limit analysis of the received laser beam reflections to only those received from an object within a defined range such that objects at distances within the range are isolated from surrounding objects.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the analyzing step obtains information about the distance between the vehicle and the object.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the laser beam is infrared.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising controlling the direction of the laser beam.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing a digital map including information relating to roads on which the vehicle can travel or is traveling;

defining a field into which the laser beam will be directed based on the map; and

directing the laser beam into the defined field.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

scanning with the laser beam at a high scanning speed; and

scanning with an additional laser beam at a slower scanning speed.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the analyzing step comprises analyzing the received laser beam reflections to detect the presence of objects potentially affecting operation of the vehicle, the range gating step being performed once the presence of each object is detected and the range being determined to encompass any objects whose presence has been detected.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the analyzing step further comprising narrowing the range such that laser beam reflections from only the object whose presence is detected and other objects in the same range are analyzed.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the analysis of the received laser beam reflections to detect the presence of objects is performed using a pattern recognition algorithm.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the analyzing step further comprises ascertaining the identity of or identifying each object and proceeding to obtain information about the distance between the object and the vehicle based on the identity or identification of the object.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising alerting a driver of the vehicle if the information obtained about an object in the environment outside of and around the vehicle indicates that a collision with the object is about to occur.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the laser beam reflections are received by an image sensor.

13. A method for avoiding collisions between a vehicle and another object, comprising:

mounting a laser beam projector on the vehicle;

directing a laser beam from the projector outward from the vehicle;

determining whether an object is present in the path of the laser beam based on reception of reflections of the laser beam caused by the presence of the object in the path of the laser beam;

when an object is determined to be present,

setting a distance range including a distance between the vehicle and the object;

processing only received reflections of the laser beam emanating from objects in the set distance range to determine whether each object may impact the vehicle; and

if a determination is made that the object may impact the vehicle, effecting a countermeasure with a view toward preventing the impact.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

providing a digital map including information relating to roads on which the vehicle can travel or is traveling;

defining a field into which the laser beam will be directed based on the map; and

directing the laser beam into the defined field.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

scanning with the laser beam at a high scanning speed; and

scanning with an additional laser beam at a slower scanning speed.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the processing step comprises applying a pattern recognition technique to ascertain the identity of or identify each object in the set distance range and assessing the potential for and consequences of an impact between the vehicle and the object based on the identity or identification of the object.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the countermeasure effected entails alerting a driver of the vehicle about the possible impact and/or altering the travel of the vehicle.

18. A system for avoiding collisions between a vehicle and another object, comprising:

a laser beam projector arranged on the vehicle to directing a laser beam outward from the vehicle;

a receiving unit for receiving reflections of the laser beam which reflect off of objects in the path of the laser beam; and

a processor arranged to process any received reflections to determine whether an object is present in the path of the laser beam and when an object is determined to be present, said processor being arranged to set a distance range including a distance between the vehicle and the object, process only received reflections of the laser beam emanating from objects in the set distance range to determine whether each object may impact the vehicle, and if a determination is made that the object may impact the vehicle, cause a countermeasure to be effected with a view toward preventing the impact.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein said processor includes a pattern recognition algorithm which ascertains the identity of or identifies each object in the set distance range and assesses the potential for and consequences of an impact between the vehicle and the object based on the identity or identification of the object.

20. The system of claim 18, further comprising a driver notification system or a vehicle control system, the countermeasure caused by said processor being activation of the driver notification system to alert the driver of the impending impact or activation of the vehicle control system to vary the travel of the vehicle to avoid the impending impact.