Autonomous vehicle arrangement and method for controlling an autonomous vehicle
First Claim
1. An autonomous vehicle arrangement, comprising:
- an input unit for travel orders;
a vehicle route planning unit comprising at least one position finding unit and a digital street map;
a vehicle path generating unit for generating a vehicle path from a present location to a designated destination;
a plurality of sensors including at least one range sensor for detecting objects and condition features of the vehicle path;
a collision avoidance unit;
a vehicle condition data recognition unit;
a vehicle control unit; and
a vehicle actuator control unit for controlling vehicle drive system actuators based on signals generated by the vehicle control unit;
wherein the plurality of sensors includes;
at least one range sensor located in a front area of the vehicle;
at least one range sensor located in a rear area of the vehicle;
a plurality of ultrasonic and/or microwave radar sensors located at the sides of the vehicle; and
at least one camera located in each of the front and rear areas of the vehicle.
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Abstract
An autonomous vehicle and method for controlling it includes an input unit to receive one or more travel orders, a route planning unit containing at least one position finding device and digital street map, a vehicle path generating a unit, an array of sensors including at least one range sensor for detecting objects and at least one range sensor for detecting the condition features of the route, a collision avoidance unit, a vehicle condition data recognition unit, a vehicle control unit and a unit for controlling the vehicle actuator system based on the signals generated by the vehicle control unit, wherein the array of sensors includes at least two essentially horizontally directed range sensors at the front of the vehicle, at least one range sensor at the rear area of the vehicle, at least one trackable range sensor on the roof of the vehicle and directed at the roadway, ultrasonic sensors and/or microwave radar sensors arranged on each side of the vehicle, and at least one camera located in each of the front and rear areas of the vehicle.
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Citations
31 Claims
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1. An autonomous vehicle arrangement, comprising:
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an input unit for travel orders; a vehicle route planning unit comprising at least one position finding unit and a digital street map; a vehicle path generating unit for generating a vehicle path from a present location to a designated destination; a plurality of sensors including at least one range sensor for detecting objects and condition features of the vehicle path; a collision avoidance unit; a vehicle condition data recognition unit; a vehicle control unit; and a vehicle actuator control unit for controlling vehicle drive system actuators based on signals generated by the vehicle control unit; wherein the plurality of sensors includes; at least one range sensor located in a front area of the vehicle; at least one range sensor located in a rear area of the vehicle; a plurality of ultrasonic and/or microwave radar sensors located at the sides of the vehicle; and at least one camera located in each of the front and rear areas of the vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A method for controlling an external communication system of an autonomous vehicle having an input unit for travel orders, a route planning unit containing a position finding device and a digital street map, a vehicle course generating unit for generating a vehicle course from a present location to a desired destination, an external communication system, an object recognition device, a vehicle control unit, a vehicle drive system actuation and a plurality of sensors, comprising the following steps:
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a) providing an input to the input unit representing a desired travel destination; b) transmitting the input travel destination to the route planning unit; c) detecting the current vehicle location by the position finding device; d) determining a route, defined in route segments, from the current vehicle location to the travel destination by a digital map and optimization algorithms, taking into account any traffic information provided over the external communication system; e) transmitting to the vehicle course generating unit from the route planning unit the individual route segments to be traveled and the current location of the vehicle; f) generating an optimized course for the transmitted route segments, taking into account any traffic information provided over the external communication system and infrastructure information stored in the digital map and/or detected by the plurality of sensors; g) transmitting the generated course, the vehicle condition data and the data acquired by the plurality of sensors to the vehicle control unit; h) verifying in the vehicle control unit the functionality of individual vehicle modules and sensors and any intervention in the vehicle actuator system in order to bring the vehicle into a safe condition in the event of system defects relevant to safety; i) generating a control vector for individual vehicle drive system actuators for implementing the generated course, taking into account data acquired by the object recognition device; and j) transmitting the control vector to the control unit for controlling the vehicle actuator drive system to cause the associated control data to be transmitted from the control vector to the individual vehicle actuators. - View Dependent Claims (31)
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Specification