METHOD FOR SPECTRALLY EFFICIENT DETERMINATION OF COLLECTIVE ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION FOR COOPERATIVE AND/OR AUTONOMOUS DRIVING

• US 20180005460A1
• Filed: 06/28/2017
• Published: 01/04/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Volkswagen AG
• Original Assignee: Volkswagen AG
• Inventors: ALIEIEV, Roman, HEHN, Thorsten
• Granted Patent: US 10,388,082 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096791 where the origin of the information is another vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/163 involving continuous checking
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/166 for active traffic, e.g. moving vehicles, pedestrians, bikes
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/22 Platooning, i.e. convoy of communicating vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/024 Guidance services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/46 for vehicle-to-vehicle communication [V2V]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]

Abstract

A method for the acquisition of collective surroundings information for cooperative and/or autonomous driving. The method includes a vehicle equipped with an on-board unit and surroundings observation apparatus which produces a report about a detected vehicle not equipped with an on-board unit and transmits the report to the further vehicles which are moving or are located in the respective area. The further vehicles which receive the report transmit back a confirmation message to the reporting vehicle and confirm that the further vehicles are happy with the report. The further vehicles then refrain from transmitting a separate report about the unequipped vehicle.

Claims

1. A method for acquiring collective surroundings information in which a vehicle equipped with a communication module and surroundings observation means produces a report about a detected vehicle not equipped with a communication module and transmits said report to the further vehicles which are moving or are located in the respective area and/or to a central server, wherein the further vehicles which receive the report transmit back a confirmation message to the reporting vehicle with which the further vehicles indicate that the further vehicles are happy with the report about the unequipped vehicle, and the further vehicles then themselves refrain from transmitting a separate report about the unequipped vehicle.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the reporting vehicle assigns an unambiguous identifier to the unequipped vehicle and adds this identifier to the report.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the further vehicles transmit back, in the confirmation message, the unambiguous identifier to the unequipped vehicle together with a hash value of the report to the reporting vehicle.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the reporting vehicle transmits a sign-off message to the further vehicles and/or to the central server if a central server exists the respective area, and in that a vehicle which for its part detects the unequipped vehicle continues the production of a report about the unequipped vehicle, wherein said vehicle continues to use the previously allocated unambiguous identifier of the unequipped vehicle.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the unambiguous identifier is derived at least from the observed position of the unequipped vehicle.

6. A reporting vehicle for use in the method according to claim 1, having computing means, a communication module and having surroundings observation means, wherein the computing means produce a report about a vehicle which is not equipped with a communication module if the surroundings observation means have detected the unequipped vehicle in a respective area, wherein the communication module transmits the report to the further vehicles which are moving or are located in the respective area and/or to a central server, wherein the communication module waits, before the further production of a report about the unequipped vehicle, for the confirmation message from at least one further vehicle which received the report, with which confirmation message the further vehicle indicates that the further vehicle is happy with the report about the unequipped vehicle.

7. The reporting vehicle of claim 6, wherein the computing means assign an unambiguous identifier to the unequipped vehicle and add this identifier to the report.

8. The reporting vehicle of claim 6, wherein the communication module transmits a sign-off message to the further vehicles and/or the central server if the reporting vehicle exits the respective area.

9. A further vehicle for use in the method according to claim 1, having computing means, a communication module and having surroundings observation means, wherein the communication module transmits back confirmation message to the reporting vehicle if said vehicle has received a report about an unequipped vehicle, wherein the confirmation message indicates that the further vehicle is happy with the report about the unequipped vehicle, and in that the communication module refrains from transmitting a separate report about the unequipped vehicle.

10. The further vehicle of claim 9, wherein the communication module transmits back, in the confirmation message, the unambiguous identifier to the unequipped vehicle together with a hash value of the report to the reporting vehicle.

11. The further vehicle of claim 9, wherein the computing means and the communication module continue the production of a report about the unequipped vehicle if the surroundings observation means detect the unequipped vehicle and a sign-off message has been received from the reporting vehicle, wherein the computing means continue to use the previously allocated unambiguous identifier of the unequipped vehicle for the continuation of the production of a report.

12. A vehicle according to claim 6, wherein the surroundings observation means comprise at least one element of the components”

radar sensor;

video camera;

stereo camera;

plenoptics camera;

lidar sensor;

laser sensor;

ultrasound sensor; and

inclination sensor.

13. The vehicle of claim 12, wherein the communication module directs vehicle communication in the LTE-V mobile radio system (long term evolution vehicle) or in the mobile radio system 5G or for direct vehicle communication according to the WLAN standard IEEE 802.11p.

14. The vehicle of claim 12, further comprising position-determining means with which the position of the unequipped vehicle is determined or estimated in the spatial and/or chronological direction.

15. The vehicle of claim 14, wherein the position determining means relate to a vehicle navigation system basis.