SYSTEMS AND METHODS TO ENABLE OR DISABLE AUTONOMOUS DRIVING

• US 20170176991A1
• Filed: 12/18/2015
• Published: 06/22/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/18/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: General Motors LLC (General Motors Company)
• Inventors: HOSKERI, NIKHIL L., HAY, CURTIS
• Granted Patent: US 9,958,865 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/04 including control of propulsion units
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/184 with wheel brakes
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/20 including control of steering systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2552/05 Type of road, e.g. motorways, local streets, paved or unpaved roads
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/40 High definition maps
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/50 of positioning data, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System] data
• 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 50/082 Selecting or switching between different modes of propelling
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/14 Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 60/0053 from vehicle to occupant
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/28 with correlation of data from several navigational instruments
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/34 Route searching; Route guidance
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/01 Satellite radio beacon positioning systems transmitting time-stamped messages, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System], GLONASS [Global Orbiting Navigation Satellite System] or GALILEO
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/43 using carrier phase measurements, e.g. kinematic positioning; using long or short baseline interferometry
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/47 the supplementary measurement being an inertial measurement, e.g. tightly coupled inertial
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0061 for transition from automatic pilot to manual pilot and vice versa

Abstract

An autonomous driving system for a vehicle is provided. The system includes a location unit configured to determine a current location of the vehicle; a database storing mapping information; and a control unit coupled to the location unit and the database, the control unit configured to selectively generate autonomous driving commands for the current location in view of the mapping information.

Claims

1. An autonomous driving system for a vehicle, comprising:

a location unit configured to determine a current location of the vehicle;

a database storing mapping information; and

a control unit coupled to the location unit and the database, the control unit configured to selectively generate autonomous driving commands for the current location in view of the mapping information.

2. The autonomous driving system of claim 1, further comprising at least one of an engine control module, a steering mechanism, and a braking arrangement coupled to the control unit for automatically operating the vehicle according to the autonomous driving commands.

3. The autonomous driving system of claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to evaluate the current location in view of the mapping information to determine if the vehicle is operating within or proximate to a precisely mapped road network.

4. The autonomous driving system of claim 3, wherein the control unit is configured to enable autonomous operation upon determining that the vehicle is operating within or proximate to the precisely mapped road network.

5. The autonomous driving system of claim 4,

wherein the location unit is configured to determine the current location based on Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals and selectively based on GNSS correction signals, and

wherein the control unit is configured to enable the autonomous operation by initiating receipt of the GNSS correction signals.

6. The autonomous driving system of claim 5, wherein the control unit is configured to initiate the receipt of the GNSS correction signals via a cellular receiver.

7. The autonomous driving system of claim 6, wherein the control unit is configured to evaluate the current location in view of the mapping information to determine if the vehicle is operating on a precisely mapped road.

8. The autonomous driving system of claim 7,

further comprising a user interface coupled to the control unit,

wherein the control unit is configured to generate a message to a driver of the vehicle via the user interface upon determining that the vehicle is operating on the precisely mapped road, the message indicating the availability of the autonomous operation.

9. The autonomous driving system of claim 8, wherein the user interface is configured to accept a user input to initiate the autonomous operation, and wherein the control unit is configured to generate the autonomous driving commands upon receipt of the user input.

10. The autonomous driving system of claim 1, wherein, during autonomous operation, the control unit is configured to evaluate the current location in view of the mapping information to determine if the vehicle is proximate to an end of a precisely mapped road network.

11. The autonomous driving system of claim 10,

further comprising a user interface coupled to the control unit,

wherein, during the autonomous operation, the control unit is configured to generate a message to a driver of the vehicle via the user interface upon determining that the vehicle is proximate to an end of a precisely mapped road network, the message indicating that the vehicle is proximate to the end of the precisely mapped road network.

12. The autonomous driving system of claim 11, wherein the control unit is configured to initiate preparation for manual operation upon determining that the vehicle is proximate to the end of the precisely mapped road network.

13. The autonomous driving system of claim 12,

wherein the location unit is configured to determine the current location based on Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals and selectively based on GNSS correction signals, and

wherein the control unit is configured to initiate the preparation for manual operation by discontinuing receipt of the GNSS correction signals.

14. The autonomous driving system of claim 13, wherein the control unit is configured to evaluate the current location in view of the mapping information to determine if the vehicle is operating on a precisely mapped road.

15. The autonomous driving system of claim 14, wherein the control unit is configured to disable the autonomous operation upon determining that the vehicle is not operating on the precisely mapped road.

16. A method for operating a vehicle, comprising the steps of:

determining a current location of the vehicle from at least GNSS signals;

evaluating the current location in view of mapping information stored in a database, the mapping information including mapped coordinates; and

selectively receiving GNSS corrections when the current location corresponds to at least one of the mapped coordinates.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the selectively receiving step includes receiving the GNSS corrections only when the current location corresponds to at least one of the mapped coordinates.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

updating the current location based on the GNSS corrections; and

enabling autonomous operation of the vehicle when the updated current location corresponds to at least one of the mapped coordinates.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising

monitoring the updated current location in view of the mapping information;

and

discontinuing the receiving the GNSS corrections and disabling the autonomous operation when the updated current location no longer corresponds to at least one of the mapped coordinates.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the receiving step includes receiving the GNSS corrections as precise point positioning (PPP) data over a cellular network.