APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR SHARING VEHICLE INFORMATION

• US 20150241880A1
• Filed: 02/24/2015
• Published: 08/27/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/26/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute
• Original Assignee: Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute
• Inventors: KIM, Ju Wan, CHOI, Jeong Dan, KIM, Jung Sook
• Granted Patent: US 9,261,882 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/00 Input parameters relating to objects
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/45 External transmission of data to or from the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/65 Data transmitted between vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/0097 Predicting future conditions
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0055 with safety arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0287 involving a plurality of land vehicles, e.g. fleet or convoy travelling traffic control systems for road vehicles G08G1/00, particularly anticollision systems G08G1/16
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/09626 where the origin of the information is within the own vehicle, e.g. a local storage device, digital map
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096725 where the received information generates an automatic action on the vehicle control
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096791 where the origin of the information is another vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/162 event-triggered
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/163 involving continuous checking
• 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

Abstract

Provided are an apparatus and method for sharing vehicle information among autonomous vehicles. According to the apparatus and method, not only current driving-related information and future driving-related information of a self vehicle but also current driving-related information and future driving-related information of another vehicle is acquired and used to control travel of the self vehicle. Accordingly, the safety of travel is improved, and efficient autonomous travel is enabled.

Claims

1. An apparatus for sharing vehicle information, the apparatus comprising:

a self sensor processor configured to acquire driving-related information through a sensor of a self vehicle;

a self future prediction sensor processor configured to generate future driving-related information of the self vehicle based on the driving-related information;

a remote virtual sensor processor configured to receive driving-related information and future driving-related information of another vehicle;

a dynamic map processor configured to collect the driving-related information of the vehicles including the self vehicle and generate dynamic map data; and

a cooperative sensor interface configured to analyze driving-related information requested by the dynamic map processor and request the driving-related information from at least one of the self sensor processor, the self future prediction sensor processor, and the remote virtual sensor processor.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the cooperative sensor interface checks whether the driving-related information requested by the dynamic map processor is the driving-related information and the future driving-related information of the self vehicle or the driving-related information and the future driving-related information of the other vehicle, and requests the driving-related information requested by the dynamic map processor from the corresponding sensor processor.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the cooperative sensor interface checks whether or not the driving-related information requested by the dynamic map processor is acquirable by the self sensor processor, and requests the driving-related information.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, when the driving-related information requested by the dynamic map processor is not acquirable by the self sensor processor or the self future prediction sensor processor, the cooperative sensor interface requests the driving-related information from the other vehicle present in an area in which it is possible to communicate with the self vehicle through the remote virtual sensor processor.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, when the self vehicle enters a dangerous zone, the cooperative sensor interface requests the driving-related information from the other vehicle present within a predetermined distance from the self vehicle through the remote virtual sensor processor.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the self sensor processor generates the driving-related information including information on the self vehicle and an obstacle around the self vehicle by processing sensing data collected by the sensor of the self vehicle.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the self future prediction sensor processor generates the future driving-related information including time-specific position information and speed information of the self vehicle based on the driving-related information of the self vehicle.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the remote virtual sensor processor receives information on a static object in the driving-related information of the other vehicle at regular intervals of time.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a static map processor configured to provide static map data including road information; and

a path generator configured to generate a driving path of the self vehicle using the static map data provided by the static map processor and the dynamic map data generated by the dynamic map processor.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the self future prediction sensor processor generates the future driving-related information of the self vehicle using the static map data provided by the static map processor and the driving-related information of the self vehicle.

11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the self future prediction sensor processor generates the future driving-related information of the self vehicle using the driving path generated by the path generator and the driving-related information of the self vehicle.

12. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the path generator checks the future driving-related information of the self vehicle and the future driving-related information of the other vehicle, and adjusts the driving path of the self vehicle dependent on the future driving-related information of the self vehicle not to overlap a driving path dependent on the future driving-related information of the other vehicle.

13. A method of sharing vehicle information, the method comprising:

acquiring driving-related information through a sensor of a self vehicle;

generating future driving-related information of the self vehicle based on the driving-related information of the self vehicle;

receiving driving-related information and future driving-related information of another vehicle; and

controlling travel of the self vehicle using the driving-related information of the vehicles including the self vehicle.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the receiving of the driving-related information and the future driving-related information of the other vehicle includes, when the self vehicle cannot acquire or generate driving-related information required for the self vehicle through the sensor, requesting the driving-related information from the other vehicle present in an area in which it is possible to communicate with the self vehicle.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the receiving of the driving-related information and the future driving-related information of the other vehicle includes receiving, by the self vehicle, driving-related information received by a first vehicle present in an area in which it is possible to communicate with the self vehicle from a second vehicle present in another area in which it is impossible to communicate with the self vehicle and it is possible to communicate with the first vehicle, through the first vehicle.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the receiving of the driving-related information and the future driving-related information of the other vehicle includes, when the self vehicle enters a dangerous zone, receiving the driving-related information and the future driving-related information from the other vehicle present within a predetermined distance from the self vehicle.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the generating of the future driving-related information of the self vehicle includes generating the future driving-related information of the self vehicle using the driving-related information of the self vehicle and static map data.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein the generating of the future driving-related information of the self vehicle includes generating a driving path of the self vehicle using dynamic map data generated based on the driving-related information of the vehicles including the self vehicle.

19. The method of claim 13, wherein the acquiring of the driving-related information through the sensor of the self vehicle includes generating the driving-related information including information on the self vehicle and an obstacle around the self vehicle using sensing data collected by the sensor of the self vehicle.

20. The method of claim 13, wherein the controlling of the travel of the self vehicle includes controlling the travel of the self vehicle so that a driving path dependent on the future driving-related information of the self vehicle does not overlap a driving path dependent on the future driving-related information of the other vehicle.