Method for calibrating a plurality of environment sensors in a vehicle

• US 9,274,213 B2
• Filed: 09/09/2013
• Issued: 03/01/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/20/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Continental Teves AG & Co. OHG (Continental AG), Conti Temic Microelectronic GmbH (Continental AG)
• Original Assignee: Continental Teves AG & Co. OHG (Continental AG), Conti Temic Microelectronic GmbH (Continental AG)
• Inventors: Hegemann, Stefan, Komar, Matthias, Lueke, Stefan
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Dalena
• Application Number:
  US14/377,297
• Publication Number:
  US 20150012172A1
• Time in Patent Office: 904 Days
• Field of Search: 701/45, 701/117, 701/408, 701/423, 701/36, 340/937, 340/935, 340/8.1, 340/933, 382/103, 382/104, 382/181
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/52 Discriminating between fixed and moving objects or between objects moving at different speeds
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/862 Combination of radar systems with sonar systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/867 Combination of radar systems with cameras
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/931 of land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/931 of land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9316 combined with communication equipment with other vehicles or with base stations
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9323 Alternative operation using light waves
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9325 for inter-vehicle distance regulation, e.g. navigating in platoons
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/93271 in the front of the vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/93272 in the back of the vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/93274 on the side of the vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/40 Means for monitoring or calibrating
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/497 Means for monitoring or calibrating
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52004 Means for monitoring or calibrating short-range imaging G01S7/5205

Abstract

A method and a device are provided for calibrating a plurality of environment sensors in a vehicle. Traffic light signals are detected and identified from the data of at least one environment sensor or from data received by a car-2-X communication unit. A calibration of the plurality of environment sensors is activated and performed in response to a determination that a traffic light signal pertaining to the vehicle has turned red.

Claims

1. A method of calibrating a plurality of environment sensors in a vehicle, comprising

performing detection and identification of a traffic light signal that is relevant for the vehicle by electronically processing data provided by at least one electronic environment sensor or by a vehicle communication unit,

evaluating the data to determine whether the traffic light signal has turned red, and

performing an automatic electronic calibration of a plurality of environment sensors in response to it having been determined that the traffic light signal relevant for the vehicle has turned red.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising electronically sensing whether the vehicle is stationary, and performing the calibration only after the vehicle is stationary.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the calibration is performed based on data regarding at least one stationary object in an environment of the vehicle, which stationary object is detected by at least two different ones of the environment sensors.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one environment sensor which provides the data for the detection and identification of the traffic light signal comprises a camera sensor.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the detection and identification of the traffic light signal is performed with the data provided by the vehicle communication unit (Car-2-X).

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising preparing to perform the calibration already when it has been determined that the traffic light signal relevant for the vehicle has completed a green phase.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein during the calibration the environment sensors are functional to a limited extent.

8. The method according to claim 7, further comprising ending the calibration and restoring a full functionality of the environment sensors when it has been determined that the traffic light signal relevant for the vehicle has completed a red phase.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the calibration is performed by two monocular sensors of a stereo camera included among said environment sensors.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the calibration is performed by camera sensors of a panorama view sensor system included among said environment sensors.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the calibration is performed by at least one environment sensor of a first type and at least one environment sensor of a second type, and wherein the calibration comprises entering the data of the environment sensors of the first and second types into a common occupancy grid.

12. A device for calibrating a plurality of environment sensors in a vehicle, comprising a first unit for detection and identification of traffic light signals by electronically processing data of at least one environment sensor, a calibration unit for automatically electronically calibrating a plurality of environment sensors, and a decision unit that activates the calibration unit in response to when the first unit determines that a traffic light signal relevant for the vehicle has turned red.

13. A method of calibrating sensors of a motor vehicle, comprising steps:

a) in an electronic processing unit of the motor vehicle, receiving data regarding a signal state of a traffic light that pertains to the motor vehicle;

b) in the electronic processing unit, electronically processing the data to determine whether the signal state of the traffic light is a red light state; and

c) if at least the step b) determines that the signal state of the traffic light is the red light state, then in response thereto activating and performing an automatic sensor calibration of at least two sensors among plural sensors of the motor vehicle.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the data is data that indicates the signal state of the traffic light and that is transmitted by the traffic light, and wherein the step a) is performed by a vehicle communication unit of the motor vehicle that receives the data transmitted from the traffic light.

15. The method according to claim 13, wherein:

the plural sensors of the motor vehicle include a camera sensor,

the method further includes a step of capturing an image of the traffic light with the camera sensor and producing image data representing the image,

the data received by the electronic processing unit in the step a) is the image data, and

the electronic processing performed by the electronic processing unit in the step b) comprises electronic image processing of the image data to detect and identify the signal state of the traffic light from the image data.

16. The method according to claim 13, further comprising a step d) of electronically detecting whether the vehicle is stationary, and wherein the step c) comprises activating and performing the automatic sensor calibration only if at least both the step b) determines that the signal state of the traffic light is the red light state and the step d) detects that the vehicle is stationary.

17. The method according to claim 13, wherein the at least two sensors comprise two environment sensors that detect objects in an environment outside of the motor vehicle, and the automatic sensor calibration comprises detecting a stationary object among the objects in the environment and calibrating the two environment sensors relative to one another so that the two environment sensors respectively produce data consistent with one another regarding at least one of the position, the distance and the size of the stationary object.

18. The method according to claim 13, further comprising, in the electronic processing unit, electronically processing subsequent data regarding the signal state of the traffic light to determine whether the red light state has ended, and terminating the automatic sensor calibration in response to determining that the red light state has ended.