Method for coordinating the operation of motor vehicles

• US 9,715,829 B2
• Filed: 06/06/2014
• Issued: 07/25/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/13/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Audi AG (Volkswagen AG)
• Original Assignee: Audi AG (Volkswagen AG)
• Inventors: Buchholz, Jan, Lorenz, Stephan
• Primary Examiner(s): SOOFI, YAZAN A
• Application Number:
  US14/298,106
• Publication Number:
  US 20140372016A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,145 Days
• Field of Search: 701117
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/54 of traffic, e.g. cars on the road, trains or boats
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0116 from roadside infrastructure, e.g. beacons
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/04 using optical or ultrasonic detectors
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/161 Decentralised systems, e.g. inter-vehicle communication
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/164 Centralised systems, e.g. external to vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/166 for active traffic, e.g. moving vehicles, pedestrians, bikes

Abstract

A method for coordinating operation of motor vehicles with a coordination device having a sensor, a computing device and a communication device includes determining from sensor data location and movement information of the motor vehicles, calculating an expected trajectory for each motor vehicle from the location and movement information, checking whether trajectories of different motor vehicles spatially and temporally overlap so as to create a conflict, in the event of a conflict transmitting a driving instruction to at least one motor vehicle, and executing the driving instruction or displaying the driving instruction on a display device of the at least one motor vehicle.

Claims

1. A method for coordinating an operation of at least one first and at least one second motor vehicle by way of at least one coordination device selected by a control device of the at least one first and second motor vehicles based upon a feature of the coordination device, the coordination device configured as part of a third motor vehicle that is different from the at least one first and the at least one second motor vehicle, with the at least one coordination device comprising at least one sensor, a computing device and a communication device, the method comprising:

recording sensor data with the at least one sensor of the at least one coordination device,

determining with the computing device location information and movement information of the first and the second motor vehicle by using the sensor data,

calculating with the computing device at least one expected trajectory for each of the first and the second motor vehicle by using the respective location information and movement information,

checking with the computing device the at least one expected trajectory for each of the first and the second motor vehicle for conflicts that occur due to a spatial and temporal overlap of the at least one trajectory of the first motor vehicle with the at least one trajectory of the second motor vehicle,

determining with the computing device a driving instruction for at least one of the first and second motor vehicle when a conflict has been determined to exist,

transmitting with the communication device the driving instruction to the at least one first and second motor vehicle, and

executing the driving instruction automatically with the at least one first and second motor vehicle by influencing the expected trajectory for the first or second motor vehicle to eliminate or lessen a severity of the conflict.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising

upon detection of the first and second motor vehicle by the sensors of at least two of the coordination devices and prior to determining the driving instruction, selecting one of the at least two coordination devices with the computing device of at least one coordination device or with a control device of the at least one first and second motor vehicle, with only the computing device of the selected coordination device determining the driving instruction.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising

storing a corresponding motor vehicle priority information in the control device of the first and second motor vehicle, and

depending on the motor vehicle priority information, determining the motor vehicle having the control device that selects the selected coordination device.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising

storing coordination device priority information in each the at least two coordination devices, and

determining the selected coordination device depending on the coordination device priority information.

5. The method of claim 2, further comprising

determining location information and movement information of the first and the second motor vehicle with the at least two coordination devices, whose at least one sensor detects the first and the second motor vehicle, and

determining an expected residence time of the two motor vehicles in a detection range of the respective sensor(s), wherein the coordination device is selected depending on the expected residence time.

6. The method of claim 2, further comprising

detecting with the at least one coordination device, which is not the selected coordination device, and its at least one sensor at least one of the first and second motor vehicle, and

transmitting to the selected coordination device at least one of sensor data, location information, movement information, and at least one calculated trajectory.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the sensor is an image-acquisition sensor, further comprising determining at least one of the location information and the movement information of the at least one first and second motor vehicle using an image recognition algorithm.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the image-acquisition sensor is a camera.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the communication device is configured to receive messages from the first and the second motor vehicle.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein at least one of the first and second motor vehicle includes a determination device for determining location data, the method further comprising

transmitting the location data to the at least one coordination device, and

identifying the motor vehicle in the sensor information or determining the location information for the motor vehicle by using the computing device.

11. The method of claim 9, further comprising

transferring to the coordination device driving maneuvers planned by at least one of the first and second motor vehicle.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising

determining at least two expected trajectories are for each of the at least one first and second motor vehicle, and

determining for each of the expected trajectories a probability value describing a probability with which the respective expected trajectory will be driven.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein only trajectories with a specified minimum probability are considered when determining the conflicts.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein an expected time until an occurrence of a conflict is taken into account when calculating the driving instruction.

15. A coordination device selected by a control device of at least one first and at least one second motor vehicles based upon a feature of the coordination device, the coordination device configured as part of a third motor vehicle that is different from the at least one first and at least one second motor vehicle, for coordinating an operation of the at least one first and the at least one second motor vehicle, comprising

a sensor, a computing device and a communication device, wherein the coordination device is configured to

record sensor data with the at least one sensor of the coordination device,

determine with the computing device location information and movement information of the first and the second motor vehicle by using the sensor data,

calculate with the computing device at least one expected trajectory for each of the first and the second motor vehicle by using the respective location information and movement information,

check with the computing device the at least one expected trajectory for each of the first and the second motor vehicle for conflicts that occur due to a spatial and temporal overlap of the at least one trajectory of the first motor vehicle with the at least one trajectory of the second motor vehicle,

determine with the computing device a driving instruction for at least one of the first and second motor vehicle when a conflict has been determined to exist,

transmit the driving instruction to the at least one first and second motor vehicle, and

execute the driving instruction automatically with the at least one first and second motor vehicle by influencing the expected trajectory for the at least one first or second motor vehicle to eliminate or lessen a severity of the conflict.

16. A motor vehicle comprising a coordination device selected by a control device of at least one first and at least one second motor vehicles based upon a feature of the coordination device, the coordination device configured as part of a third motor vehicle that is different from the at least one first motor vehicle and from the at least one second motor vehicle, for coordinating an operation of the motor vehicle with the at least one second motor vehicle, the coordination device comprising

a sensor, a computing device and a communication device, wherein the coordination device is configured to

record sensor data with the at least one sensor of the coordination device,

determine with the computing device location information and movement information of the motor vehicle and the at least one second motor vehicle by using the sensor data,

calculate with the computing device at least one expected trajectory for each of the motor vehicle and the at least one second motor vehicle by using the respective location information and movement information,

check with the computing device the at least one expected trajectory for each of the motor vehicle and the at least one second motor vehicle for conflicts that occur due to a spatial and temporal overlap of the at least one trajectory of the motor vehicle with the at least one trajectory of the at least one second motor vehicle,

determine with the computing device a driving instruction for at least one of the motor vehicle and the at least one second motor vehicle when a conflict has been determined to exist,

transmit the driving instruction to the motor vehicle and the at least one second motor vehicle, and

execute the driving instruction automatically with the motor vehicle and the at least one second motor vehicle by influencing the expected trajectory for the motor vehicle and the at least one second motor vehicle to eliminate or lessen a severity of the conflict.