Adaptive vehicle control system with driving style recognition based on vehicle launching

• US 8,170,740 B2
• Filed: 07/24/2008
• Issued: 05/01/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/24/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Inventors: Huang, Jihua, Lin, William C., Chin, Yuen-Kwok
• Primary Examiner(s): MCPARTLIN, SARAH BURNHAM
• Application Number:
  US12/179,073
• Publication Number:
  US 20100023196A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,377 Days
• Field of Search: 701/1, 701/29, 701/70
• US Class Current: 701/29
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 13/0285 using neural networks and fuzzy logic

Abstract

An adaptive vehicle control system that classifies a drivers driving style based on vehicle launching maneuvers. A process determines whether the vehicle speed signal during a predetermined time window is greater than a speed threshold, whether the vehicle speed signal before the time window is less than the speed threshold and whether the average of the vehicle longitudinal acceleration during the time window is greater than a first longitudinal acceleration threshold and, if so, determines if the vehicle is in a vehicle launching maneuver. The process then determines that the vehicle launching maneuver has ended if the average of the vehicle longitudinal acceleration during a second time window is less than the longitudinal acceleration threshold. The style characterization processor can then classify the vehicle launching maneuver using selected discriminant features.

Claims

1. A method for identifying whether a vehicle maneuver is a vehicle launching maneuver, said method comprising:

reading a vehicle speed signal from a vehicle sensor and determining a vehicle longitudinal acceleration signal;

determining whether the vehicle speed signal during a predetermined time window is greater than a predetermined speed threshold;

determining whether the vehicle speed signal before the predetermined time window is less than the predetermined speed threshold;

determining whether the average of the vehicle longitudinal acceleration during the predetermined time window is greater than a first longitudinal acceleration threshold;

determining, using a processor, that the vehicle is in a vehicle launching maneuver if the vehicle speed during the predetermined time window is greater than the speed threshold, the vehicle speed before the time window is less than the speed threshold and the average of the vehicle longitudinal acceleration during the time window is greater than the first longitudinal acceleration threshold; and

determining that the vehicle launching maneuver has ended if the average of the vehicle longitudinal acceleration during a second time window is less than a second longitudinal acceleration threshold.

2. The method according to claim 1 further comprising classifying the maneuver to determine a driver'"'"'s driving style if the maneuver is a vehicle launching maneuver.

3. The method according to claim 2 wherein classifying the vehicle launching maneuver includes using selected discriminant features obtained or derived from the vehicle launching maneuver.

4. The method according to claim 3 wherein the discriminant features are obtained or derived by the group comprising a final vehicle speed at the end of the maneuver, an average acceleration during the maneuver and an array of throttle indexes during the maneuver based on the distribution of the throttle opening.

5. The method according to claim 2 wherein classifying the maneuver includes using a classification technique selected from the group comprising fuzzy logic, clustering, neural networks, self-organizing maps and threshold-based logic.

6. The method according to claim 2 wherein classifying the maneuver includes using a neural network.

7. The method according to claim 2 wherein classifying the maneuver includes classifying the vehicle launching maneuver as either a straight-line launching maneuver or a launching and turning maneuver.

8. The method according to claim 1 wherein determining a vehicle longitudinal acceleration signal includes measuring the vehicle longitudinal acceleration or calculating the vehicle longitudinal acceleration from a vehicle longitudinal speed.

9. A method for identifying whether a vehicle maneuver is a vehicle launching maneuver, said method comprising:

reading a vehicle speed signal from a vehicle sensor and determining a vehicle longitudinal acceleration signal;

determining whether the vehicle speed signal during a predetermined time window is greater than a predetermined speed threshold;

determining whether the vehicle speed signal before the time window is less than the speed threshold;

determining whether the average of the vehicle longitudinal acceleration during the time window is greater than a first longitudinal acceleration threshold;

determining, using a processor, that the vehicle is in a vehicle launching maneuver if the vehicle speed signal during the predetermined time window is greater than the speed threshold, the vehicle speed signal before the time window is less than the speed threshold and the average of the vehicle longitudinal acceleration during the time window is greater than the first longitudinal acceleration threshold;

determining that the vehicle launching maneuver has ended if the average of the vehicle longitudinal acceleration during a second time window is less than a second longitudinal acceleration threshold; and

classifying the vehicle launching maneuver to determine a driver'"'"'s driving style by using selected discriminant features obtained or derived from the vehicle launching maneuver.

10. The method according to claim 9 wherein classifying the vehicle launching maneuver includes using selected discriminant features derived from the vehicle launching maneuver.

11. The method according to claim 10 wherein the discriminant features are obtained or derived by the group comprising a final vehicle speed at the end of the maneuver, an average acceleration during the maneuver and an array of throttle indexes during the maneuver based on the distribution of the throttle opening.

12. The method according to claim 9 wherein classifying the maneuver includes using a classification technique selected from the group comprising fuzzy logic, clustering, neural networks, self-organizing maps and threshold-based logic.

13. The method according to claim 9 wherein classifying the vehicle launching maneuver includes using a neural network.

14. The method according to claim 9 wherein classifying the maneuver includes classifying the vehicle launching maneuver as either a straight-line launching maneuver or a launching and turning maneuver.

15. A system for identifying whether a vehicle maneuver is a vehicle launching maneuver, said system comprising:

means for providing a vehicle speed signal and a vehicle longitudinal acceleration signal;

means for determining whether the vehicle speed signal during a predetermined time window is greater than a predetermined speed threshold;

means for determining whether the vehicle speed signal before the time window is less than the speed threshold;

means for determining whether the average of the vehicle longitudinal acceleration during the time window is greater than a first longitudinal acceleration threshold;

means for determining that the vehicle is in a vehicle launching maneuver if the vehicle speed signal during the predetermined time window is greater than the speed threshold, the vehicle speed signal before the time window is less than the speed threshold and the average of the vehicle longitudinal acceleration during the time window is greater than the first longitudinal acceleration threshold; and

means for determining that the vehicle launching maneuver has ended if the average of the vehicle longitudinal acceleration during a second time window is less than a second longitudinal acceleration threshold.

16. The system according to claim 15 further comprising means for classifying the maneuver to determine a driver'"'"'s driving style if the maneuver is a vehicle launching maneuver.

17. The system according to claim 16 wherein the means for classifying the vehicle launching maneuver includes using selected discriminant features obtained or derived from the vehicle launching maneuver.

18. The system according to claim 17 wherein the discriminant features are obtained or derived from the group comprising final vehicle speed at the end of the maneuver, an average acceleration during the maneuver and an array of throttle indexes during the maneuver based on the distribution of the throttle opening.

19. The system according to claim 16 wherein the means for classifying the maneuver includes using a classification technique selected form the group comprising of fuzzy logic, clustering, neural networks, self-organizing maps and threshold-based logic.

20. The system according to claim 16 wherein the means for classifying the vehicle launching maneuver includes using a neural network.

21. The system according to claim 16 wherein the means for classifying the maneuver includes means for classifying the vehicle launching maneuver as either a straight-line launching maneuver or as a launching and turning maneuver.