Collision avoidance system and method

• US 9,250,315 B2
• Filed: 03/04/2009
• Issued: 02/02/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/04/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America Incorporated (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Yonak, Serdar H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lubin, Valerie
• Assistant Examiner(s): Reyes, Reginald R
• Application Number:
  US12/397,552
• Publication Number:
  US 20100228482A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,526 Days
• Field of Search: 701/301
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 3/8083 determining direction of source
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/18 using ultrasonic, sonic, or infrasonic waves
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52001 Auxiliary means for detecting or identifying sonar signals or the like, e.g. sonar jamming signals
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/166 for active traffic, e.g. moving vehicles, pedestrians, bikes

Abstract

Apparatus and methods for assisting collision avoidance between a vehicle and an object include receiving an acoustic signal from the object using microphones supported by the vehicle, and determining a location of the object using the acoustic signal and an acoustic model of the environment, the environment including a structure that blocks a direct view of the object from the vehicle.

Claims

1. A method of assisting avoidance of a collision between a vehicle and an object, the vehicle being a land vehicle, the object and the vehicle being located within an environment, the method comprising:

obtaining topographic data relating to the environment, the topographic data including a spatial arrangement of structures within the environment;

receiving an acoustic signal from the object using microphones supported by the vehicle, said acoustic signal including acoustic data from areas in the environment outside the line of sight from said vehicle due to diffraction and reflection of the acoustic data;

creating an acoustic model of the environment using the topographic data relating to the environment, the acoustic model being a model of acoustic properties of the environment and including areas outside the line of sight from the vehicle;

determining a position of the object using the acoustic signal and the acoustic model of the environment, the object being out of a direct line of sight from the vehicle; and

identifying the object by spectral analysis of the acoustic signal,

the structures including a structure that blocks a direct view of the object from the vehicle,

the object being a second vehicle, a pedestrian, or an animal,

activating an alert device which generates a visual, audible, or haptic alert.

2. The method of claim 1, the structures including buildings.

3. The method of claim 1, the environment including an intersection between a first road and a second road,

the vehicle being on the first road,

the object being on the second road,

the structure that blocks a direct view of the object from the vehicle being a building proximate the intersection.

4. The method of claim 3, the topographic data including an arrangement of buildings proximate the intersection.

5. The method of claim 4, the topographic data including data from a sensor system, the sensor system including one or more sensors from the group consisting of a radar sensor, a laser sensor, a lidar sensor, and an image sensor.

6. The method of claim 4, the intersection being identified using a position sensor on the vehicle,

the topographic data including a previously determined arrangement of structures within the environment.

7. The method of claim 6, the position sensor being a global positioning system (GPS),

the acoustic model being created using an approximate intersection geometry obtained using GPS data.

8. The method of claim 1, the location of the object being obtained from the acoustic signal using matched field processing.

9. The method of claim 8, the matched field processing being performed by processor, the processor receiving signal data from the microphones.

10. The method of claim 1, the acoustic signal being obtained using a microphone array located beneath a trim element of the vehicle.

11. A method of assisting collision avoidance between a vehicle and an object within an environment, the vehicle being a land vehicle, the method comprising:

obtaining topographic data relating to the environment, the topographic data including a spatial arrangement of structures within the environment;

receiving an acoustic signal from the object using microphones supported by the vehicle, said acoustic signal including acoustic data from areas in the environment outside the line of sight from said vehicle due to diffraction and reflection of the acoustic data;

creating an acoustic model of the environment using the topographic data, the acoustic model being a model of acoustic properties of the environment and including areas outside the line of sight from the vehicle;

locating the object using matched field processing of the acoustic signal, using the acoustic model of the environment; and

providing an alert so as to assist avoidance of a collision between the vehicle and the object,

the object being a second vehicle, a pedestrian, or an animal,

the object being hidden from view from the vehicle,

the object being identified by spectral analysis of the acoustic signal,

activating an alert device which generates a visual, audible, or haptic alert.

12. The method of claim 11, the environment including an intersection of a first road and a second road,

the vehicle being on the first road, and

the object being a second vehicle on the second road,

the second vehicle being visually concealed from the vehicle by a building proximate the intersection.

13. The method of claim 11, the object being a pedestrian.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising filtering the acoustic signal using a filter matched to the acoustic signal from the object.

15. The method of claim 11, further including:

determining the position of the vehicle using a position sensor;

the topographic data including an arrangement of buildings within the environment.

16. The method of claim 11, the environment including the vehicle and the object, the topographic data including the arrangement of structures within 500 meters of the vehicle or the object.

17. An apparatus operable to assist avoidance of a collision between a vehicle and an object within an environment, the object being a collision hazard out of direct line of sight from the vehicle, the object producing an acoustic signal, the apparatus comprising:

microphones supported by the vehicle and operable to receive the acoustic signal, said acoustic signal including acoustic data from areas in the environment outside the line of sight from said vehicle due to diffraction and reflection of the acoustic data;

a matched field processor, receiving microphone signals from the microphones, and operable to use an acoustic model of the environment to determine the location of the object within the environment and including areas outside the line of sight from the vehicle; and

an alert device, operable to provide an alert indicative of the location of the object, the location being out of direct line of sight from the vehicle, said alert device activated upon location of the object at said location out of direct line of sight from the vehicle,

the vehicle being a land vehicle,

the microphones being located behind a trim component of the vehicle,

the matched field processor being provided by a computer having a processor, a memory, and a clock,

the apparatus generating the acoustic model of the environment from topographic data relating to the environment, the topographic data including a spatial arrangement of structures within the environment,

the matched field processor determining the location of the object using matched field processing.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, the trim component being a bumper cover.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, the trim component including depressions aligned with the microphones so as to act as acoustic cavities.

20. The apparatus of claim 17, the object being a second vehicle or a pedestrian.

21. The apparatus of claim 17, further including a position sensor providing a position signal,

the position signal being used to determine the acoustic model of the environment.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, the apparatus further including a memory including a database of topographic data, the position signal being used to retrieve topographic data for the environment.

23. The apparatus of claim 17, the apparatus further including a filter operable to remove noise from the received acoustic signal, the filter being a band-pass filter having a lower band-pass frequency and an upper band-pass frequency,

the lower band-pass frequency being between 10 Hz and 1 kHz,

the upper band-pass frequency being between 2 kHz and 20 kHz.