Vehicle relative position estimation apparatus and vehicle relative position estimation method

• US 8,594,920 B2
• Filed: 02/27/2009
• Issued: 11/26/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 02/27/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Shida, Mitsuhisa
• Primary Examiner(s): Algahaim, Helal A
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kan, Yuri
• Application Number:
  US12/999,172
• Publication Number:
  US 20110301779A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,733 Days
• Field of Search: 701/300, 701/408, 701/480, 701/536, 342/357.34
• US Class Current: 701/300
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/46 the supplementary measurement being of a radio-wave signal type
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/51 Relative positioning
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9316 combined with communication equipment with other vehicles or with base stations
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/932 using own vehicle data, e.g. ground speed, steering wheel direction
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9325 for inter-vehicle distance regulation, e.g. navigating in platoons
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0072 Transmission between mobile stations, e.g. anti-collision systems
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0293 Convoy travelling
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 2201/0213 Road vehicle, e.g. car or truck
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/161 Decentralised systems, e.g. inter-vehicle communication
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/22 Platooning, i.e. convoy of communicating vehicles

Abstract

A vehicle relative position estimation apparatus includes: a motional state acquiring unit that acquires vehicle control information for controlling the motional state of a vehicle or the motional state of the vehicle detected by an in-vehicle apparatus of the vehicle, and vehicle control information for controlling the motional state of another vehicle or the motional state of another vehicle detected by an in-vehicle apparatus of another vehicle; a relative position acquiring unit that acquires the relative position detected by the in-vehicle apparatus provided in the vehicle or another vehicle; an estimation unit that receives the vehicle control information or the motional state of the vehicle, and the vehicle control information or the motional state of another vehicle acquired by the motional state acquiring unit and estimates the relative position with a Kalman filter using the relative position acquired by the relative position acquiring unit as the amount of observation.

Claims

1. A vehicle relative position estimation apparatus that estimates the position of a first vehicle relative to a second vehicle, comprising:

a motional state acquiring unit that acquires vehicle control information for controlling the motional state of the first vehicle and vehicle control information for controlling the motional state of the second vehicle;

a relative position acquiring unit that acquires the relative position detected by the in-vehicle apparatus provided in the first vehicle or the second vehicle; and

an estimation unit that receives the vehicle control information of the first vehicle and the vehicle control information of the second vehicle acquired by the motional state acquiring unit, and estimates the relative position with a Kalman filter using the relative position acquired by the relative position acquiring unit as the amount of observation, wherein

the estimation unit changes a degree of fusion by the Kalman filter in correspondence with the capture state of the in-vehicle apparatus that is provided in the first vehicle or the second vehicle and detects the relative position between the first vehicle and the second vehicle.

2. The vehicle relative position estimation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the motional state acquiring unit acquires acceleration as the motional state, and the relative position acquiring unit uses GPS information as the relative position.

3. The vehicle relative position estimation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the estimation unit changes the gain of the Kalman filter that is calculated in advance, in correspondence with the capture state of the in-vehicle apparatus that is provided in the first vehicle or the second vehicle and detects the relative position.

4. The vehicle relative position estimation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, when the relative position acquiring unit cannot acquire the relative position from the in-vehicle apparatus that is provided in the first vehicle or the second vehicle and detects the relative position, the estimation unit estimates the relative position on the basis of the vehicle control information of the first vehicle, and the vehicle control information of the second vehicle acquired by the motional state acquiring unit.

5. A vehicle relative position estimation method that estimates the position of a first vehicle relative to a second vehicle, comprising:

a motional state acquiring step of acquiring vehicle control information for controlling the motional state of the first vehicle and vehicle control information for controlling the motional state of the second vehicle;

a relative position acquiring step of acquiring the relative position detected by the in-vehicle apparatus provided in the first vehicle or the second vehicle; and

an estimation step of receiving the vehicle control information of the first vehicle and the vehicle control information of the second vehicle acquired in the motional state acquiring step, and estimating the relative position with a Kalman filter using the relative position acquired in the relative position acquiring step as the amount of observation, wherein

a degree of fusion by the Kalman filter is changed in correspondence with the capture state of the in-vehicle apparatus that is provided in the first vehicle or the second vehicle and detects the relative position between the first vehicle and the second vehicle.

6. The vehicle relative position estimation method according to claim 5, wherein, in the motional state acquiring step, an acceleration is acquired as the motional state, and in the relative position acquiring step, GPS information is used as the relative position.