Path planning

• US 8,428,820 B2
• Filed: 12/07/2006
• Issued: 04/23/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/09/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hella Gmbh & Co. Kgaa (Forvia SE)
• Original Assignee: Hella KGaA Hueck & Company
• Inventors: Ottenhues, Thomas, Magyar, Peter, Wassmuth, Joachim, Hver, Norbert, Heinig, Sven
• Primary Examiner(s): Black, Thomas
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nolan, Peter D
• Application Number:
  US12/096,329
• Publication Number:
  US 20080255728A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,329 Days
• Field of Search: 701/23, 701/25, 701/26, 701/41, 701/300, 701/301, 700/253, 700/255
• US Class Current: 701/41
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/0019 Control system elements or transfer functions
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/14 Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 15/0285 Parking performed automatically

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method of determining the path of a vehicle along a two-dimensional plane intended to control the movement of the vehicle by means of a driver-assisting system, where the path interconnects an initial state and a terminal state and each of the states Zi=[xi, yi, ψi, ci] along the path is characterized by four state coordinates with xi and yi being the Cartesian coordinates of a point Pi, ψi being the direction angle of the tangent line, and ci being the curvature of the path at point Pi, and where the path is made up of a number of elementary paths meeting at junction points JPi such that the four state coordinates of state Zi are characterized by a continuous transition at the junction points JPi.

Claims

1. A method of computing the path of a motor vehicle along a two-dimensional plane required to control the motion of the motor vehicle by means of a driver-assisting system, comprising:

providing a path connecting an initial state with a terminal state wherein each of states Zi=[xi, yi, ψ

i, ci] along the path is characterized by four state coordinates with xi and yi being the Cartesian coordinates of a point Pi, ψ

i being the direction angle of the tangent, and ci being the curvature of the path at point Pi;

assembling the path from a number of elementary paths joining at junction points JPi such that the four state coordinates of state Zi have a continuous transition in the junction points JPi;

assigning the path at least one isosceles planar triangle with vertices Δ

(P0, P3, P5), where P0 is the starting position and P3 is terminal position of at least a section of the path;

determining where point P5 is located opposite the base of the planar triangle P₀P₃| by the intersection of the two legs P₀P₅ and P₅P₃ of the planar triangle such that the two legs P₀P₅, P₅P₃, are of the same length and, together with side P₀P₃| of the planar triangle, form the same vertical angle ψ

i, with angle ψ

i at vertex P0 of the planar triangle by the angle formed by the tangent of the path and side P₀P₃| of the triangle;

determining the parameters of the elementary paths by the parameters of the planar triangle; and

signaling a control setting of a vehicle steering mechanism according to said determinations.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the path is assembled from at least two clothoids.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein at least one straight line and/or at least one circular line are added to the path.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein at least some of the path is assembled from symmetrical elementary paths.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein an isosceles planar triangle is allocated to each of the symmetrical elementary paths and that the planar triangles are joined such that the two sides of any two adjoining planar triangles form a straight line in the shared junction point.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the planar triangles are joined by a straight line going through the junction points such that the straight line extends the adjacent legs of the planar triangles.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein at least some section of the elementary path is a symmetrical double clothoid.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the symmetrical double clothoid is assigned an isosceles planar triangle Δ

(P0, P3, P5) that is cut into two right triangles Δ

(P0, P5, P2) and Δ

(P3, P5, P2) by a bisecting line going through point P5 such that the triangles Δ

(P0, P5, P2) and Δ

(P3, P5, P2) share angle ψ

1 and identical major catheti x01= P₀P₂ = P₂P₃| and that each of the right triangles is allocated to one half of the symmetrical double clothoid.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the two clothoids meet in a point P1 on side P₂P₅ and also connect points P0 and P3 with point P1 such that the two clothoid paths have their maximum curvature c1=P(ψ

1)/x01 at junction point JP1.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the polynomial P(ψ

1) characterizing the clothoid path computes as P(ψ

₁)=2ψ

₁└

P_y(ψ

₁)tgψ

₁+P_x(ψ

₁)┘

cos ψ

₁ and that equations

11. The method of claim 1, wherein variables controlling the motor vehicle'"'"'s steering mechanism are set by using the following formulae, i.e.

12. A processor configured to compute the path of a motor vehicle along a two-dimensional plane, comprising:

said processor being configured to provide a path connecting an initial state with a terminal state wherein each of states Zi=[xi, yi, ψ

i, ci] along the path is characterized by four state coordinates with xi and yi being the Cartesian coordinates of a point Pi, ψ

i being the direction angle of the tangent, and ci being the curvature of the path at point Pi;

said processor being further configured to assemble the path from a number of elementary paths joining at junction points JPi such that the four state coordinates of state Zi have a continuous transition in the junction points JPi;

said processor being further configured to assign the path at least one isosceles planar triangle with vertices Δ

(P0, P3, P5), where P0 is the starting position and P3 is terminal position of at least a section of the path;

said processor being further configured to determine where point P5 is located opposite the base of the planar triangle P₀P₃| by the intersection of the two legs P₀P₅ and P₅P₃ of the planar triangle such that the two legs P₀P₅, P₅P₃ are of the same length and, together with side P₀P₃| of the planar triangle, form the same vertical angle ψ

i;

said processor being further configured to determine angle ψ

i at vertex P0 of the planar triangle by the angle formed by the tangent of the path and side P₀P₃| of the triangle, such that the parameters of the elementary paths are determined by the parameters of the planar triangle; and

said processor being further configured to signal to a vehicle steering mechanism a setting according to said determinations.

13. The processor of claim 12 wherein the path is assembled from at least two clothoids.

14. The processor of claim 12 wherein an isosceles planar triangle is allocated to each of the symmetrical elementary paths and that the planar triangles are joined such that the two sides of any two adjoining planar triangles form a straight line in the shared junction point.

15. The processor of claim 12 wherein the planar triangles are joined by a straight line going through the junction points such that the straight line extends the adjacent legs of the planar triangles.

16. The processor of claim 12 wherein at least some section of the elementary path is a symmetrical double clothoid.

17. The processor of claim 12 wherein the symmetrical double clothoid is assigned an isosceles planar triangle Δ

(P0, P3, P5) that is cut into two right triangles Δ

(P0, P5, P2) and Δ

(P3, P5, P2) by a bisecting line going through point P5 such that the triangles Δ

(P0, P5, P2) and Δ

(P3, P5, P2) share angle ψ

1 and identical major catheti x01= P₀P₂= P₂P₃| and that each of the right triangles is allocated to one half of the symmetrical double clothoid.

18. The processor of claim 12 wherein the two clothoids meet in a point P1 on side P₂P₅ and also connect points P0 and P3 with point P1 such that the two clothoid paths have their maximum curvature c1=P(ψ

1)/x01 at junction point JP1.

19. The processor of claim 12 wherein the polynomial P(ψ

1) characterizing the clothoid path computes as P(ψ

₁)=2 ψ

₁[P_y(ψ

₁)tgψ

₁+P_x(ψ

₁)] cosψ

₁ and that equations

20. The processor of claim 12 wherein variables controlling the motor vehicle'"'"'s steering mechanism are set by using the following formulae, i.e.