Method and system for minimizing the required bandwidth for a cloud based unicast communication with a vehicle

• US 9,912,608 B2
• Filed: 07/06/2016
• Issued: 03/06/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 07/13/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Volvo Car Corporation (AB Volvo)
• Original Assignee: Volvo Car Corporation (AB Volvo)
• Inventors: Israelsson, Erik, Jonsson, Karl-Johan
• Primary Examiner(s): Butler, Rodney A
• Application Number:
  US15/203,048
• Publication Number:
  US 20170019349A1
• Time in Patent Office: 608 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/26 specially adapted for navigation in a road network
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0088 characterized by the autonomous decision making process, e.g. artificial intelligence, predefined behaviours using knowledge based models G06N5/00
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0112 from the vehicle, e.g. floating car data [FCD]
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096716 where the received information does not generate an automatic action on the vehicle control
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096741 where the source of the transmitted information selects which information to transmit to each vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096775 where the origin of the information is a central station
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/20 Monitoring the location of vehicles belonging to a group, e.g. fleet of vehicles, countable or determined number of vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/80 Actions related to the user profile or the type of traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/026 using orientation information, e.g. compass
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/027 using movement velocity, acceleration information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/44 for communication between vehicles and infrastructures, e.g. vehicle-to-cloud [V2C] or vehicle-to-home [V2H]

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a method and system for minimizing the required bandwidth for a cloud based unicast communication with a vehicle operating within a road network, where the cloud comprises a cloud logic and the vehicle comprises a vehicle internal logic. The method comprising the steps of: determining a current position with direction of the vehicle within the road network; setting an interval at which the vehicle is to report an update on its position based on a most probable path of the vehicle and the complexity thereof, where the most probable path is a set of possible paths a predetermined distance ahead of the vehicle that it is most probable to travel along given its current position with direction within the road network; communicating the set interval to the vehicle internal logic; and reporting an updated current position of the vehicle to the cloud with the set reporting interval.

Claims

1. A method for minimizing a required bandwidth for a cloud based unicast communication with a vehicle which is connected to a cloud and operates within a road network, where the cloud comprises a cloud logic and the vehicle comprises a vehicle internal logic, the method comprising:

determining, by a positioning arrangement, a current position including direction of the vehicle within the road network;

setting, by an interval setting arrangement, an interval at which the vehicle is to report an update on the current position of the vehicle to the cloud based on a most probable path of the vehicle and the complexity of this most probable path, where the most probable path of the vehicle is a set of possible paths a predetermined distance ahead of the vehicle that the vehicle is most probable to travel along given the current position including direction of the vehicle within the road network;

communicating, by a communication arrangement, the set interval to the vehicle internal logic; and

reporting, by a reporting arrangement, the current position of the vehicle as an updated current position of the vehicle to the cloud with the set interval.

2. The method according to claim 1 wherein the cloud logic or the vehicle internal logic is configured to set the interval at which the vehicle is to report an update on its position through determining the most probable path of the vehicle and analyze the determined most probable path with respect to complexity using a map of the road network.

3. The method according to claim 2 wherein the cloud logic or the vehicle internal logic is configured to reduce the interval at which the vehicle is to report the update on its position if the complexity of the determined most probable paths increases between position reports, and to increase the interval at which the vehicle is to report the update on its position if the complexity of the determined most probable paths decreases between position reports.

4. The method according to claim 2 wherein the cloud logic or the vehicle internal logic is configured to determine the interval at which the vehicle is to report an update on its position using a map of the road network comprising speed limits for road segments included in the most probable path and to reduce the interval at which the vehicle is to report the update on its position if the speed limits of the determined most probable paths increases between position reports, and to increase the interval at which the vehicle is to report the update on its position if the speed limits of the determined most probable paths decreases between position reports.

5. The method according to claim 2 wherein the cloud logic or the vehicle internal logic is configured to set the interval at which the vehicle is to report an update on its position using the actual speed of the vehicle and to reduce the interval at which the vehicle is to report the update on its position if the actual speed of the vehicle increases between position reports, and to increase the interval at which the vehicle is to report the update on its position if the actual speed of the vehicle decreases between position reports.

6. The method according to claim 1 wherein the cloud logic or the vehicle internal logic is configured to use a look-up table with stored reporting intervals for given positions including directions in the road network, where the stored reporting intervals of the look-up table are based on most probable paths of the vehicle and the complexity of these most probable paths for the given positions including directions in the road network.

7. The method according to claim 6 wherein, if the look-up table is missing a stored reporting interval for a position reported by the vehicle including direction, the cloud logic or the vehicle internal logic is configured to calculate a reporting interval for that position including direction in the road network and populate that reporting interval in the look-up table.

8. The method according to claim 6 wherein a stored reporting interval for a given position including direction within the road network is set to have an expiry time in the look-up table, and the stored reporting interval is deleted from the look-up table once it has passed its expiry time.

9. The method according to claim 8 wherein the reporting interval for a given position including direction within the road network is re-calculated directly following deletion thereof, and the look-up table is populated with this re-calculated reporting interval for that given position including direction in the road network.

10. The method according to claim 1 wherein the vehicle internal logic is configured to control reporting of a current position of the vehicle to the cloud with the set interval and, upon receiving a new set interval communication, to adapt the report interval to the new set interval.

11. The method according to claim 10 wherein the vehicle internal logic is configured to control reporting of a current position of the vehicle to the cloud with the set interval using a first default reporting interval if no set interval communication has been received.

12. The method according to claim 10 wherein the vehicle internal logic is configured to control reporting of a current position of the vehicle to the cloud to revert to a second default reporting interval if no set interval communication has been received within a predetermined time period, where the second default reporting interval is shorter than that of a most recently previously received set interval communication.

13. The method according to claim 1 wherein the cloud based unicast communication with the vehicle comprises safety related information related to one or more positions within the road network ahead of the vehicle, and wherein either the cloud logic or the vehicle internal logic is configured to reduce the interval at which the vehicle is to report the update on its position upon the vehicle, as determined from at least two position reports, approaching a position within the road network ahead of the vehicle associated with such safety related information.

14. The method according to claim 1 further comprising using an historical travel pattern of the vehicle within the road network to optimize the most probable path of this specific vehicle through arranging or configuring the cloud logic or the vehicle internal logic to keep track of typical routes within the road network that this specific vehicle often follows and use this historical travel pattern within the road network to predict a unique most probable path for this specific vehicle.

15. A system for minimizing a required bandwidth for a cloud based unicast communication with a vehicle which is connectable to a cloud and operable within a road network, where the cloud comprises a cloud logic and the vehicle comprises a vehicle internal logic, the system comprising:

a positioning arrangement for determining a current position including direction of the vehicle within the road network;

an interval setting arrangement for setting an interval at which the vehicle is to report an update on the current position of the vehicle to the cloud based on a most probable path of the vehicle and the complexity of this most probable path, where the most probable path of the vehicle is a set of possible paths a predetermined distance ahead of the vehicle that the vehicle is most probable to travel along given the current position including direction of the vehicle within the road network;

a communication arrangement for communicating the set interval to the vehicle internal logic; and

a reporting arrangement for reporting the current position of the vehicle as an updated current position of the vehicle to the cloud with the set interval.