Systems and methods to enable or disable autonomous driving

• US 9,958,865 B2
• Filed: 12/18/2015
• Issued: 05/01/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/18/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Inventors: Hoskeri, Nikhil L., Hay, Curtis
• Primary Examiner(s): Ramesh, Krishnan
• Application Number:
  US14/975,348
• Publication Number:
  US 20170176991A1
• Time in Patent Office: 865 Days
• Field of Search: 701 23
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/04 including control of propulsion units
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/184 with wheel brakes
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/20 including control of steering systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2552/05 Type of road, e.g. motorways, local streets, paved or unpaved roads
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/40 High definition maps
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/50 of positioning data, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System] data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/00 Details of control systems for road vehicle drive control not related to the control of a particular sub-unit , e.g. process diagnostic or vehicle driver interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/082 Selecting or switching between different modes of propelling
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/14 Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 60/0053 from vehicle to occupant
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/28 with correlation of data from several navigational instruments
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/34 Route searching; Route guidance
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/01 Satellite radio beacon positioning systems transmitting time-stamped messages, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System], GLONASS [Global Orbiting Navigation Satellite System] or GALILEO
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/43 using carrier phase measurements, e.g. kinematic positioning; using long or short baseline interferometry
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/47 the supplementary measurement being an inertial measurement, e.g. tightly coupled inertial
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0061 for transition from automatic pilot to manual pilot and vice versa

Abstract

An autonomous driving system for a vehicle is provided. The system includes a location unit configured to determine a current location of the vehicle; a database storing mapping information; and a control unit coupled to the location unit and the database, the control unit configured to selectively generate autonomous driving commands for the current location in view of the mapping information.

Claims

1. An autonomous driving system for a vehicle, comprising:

a location unit configured to determine a current location of the vehicle based on Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals and selectively based on GNSS correction signals;

a database storing mapping information;

a control unit coupled to the location unit and the database, the control unit configured to selectively generate autonomous driving commands for the current location in view of the mapping information; and

a user interface coupled to the control unit,

wherein the control unit is configured to evaluate the current location in view of the mapping information to determine if the vehicle is operating within or proximate to a mapped road network and to enable autonomous operation upon determining that the vehicle is operating within or proximate to the mapped road network,

wherein, during autonomous operation, the control unit is configured to evaluate the current location in view of the mapping information to determine if the vehicle is proximate to an end of the mapped road network,

wherein, during the autonomous operation, the control unit is configured to generate a first message to a driver of the vehicle via the user interface upon determining that the vehicle is proximate to the end of the mapped road network, the first message indicating that the vehicle is proximate to the end of the mapped road network,

wherein the control unit is configured to initiate preparation for manual operation upon determining that the vehicle is proximate to the end of the mapped road network by discontinuing receipt of the GNSS correction signals.

2. The autonomous driving system of claim 1, further comprising at least one of an engine control module, a steering mechanism, and a braking arrangement coupled to the control unit for automatically operating the vehicle according to the autonomous driving commands.

3. The autonomous driving system of claim 1,

wherein the control unit is configured to enable the autonomous operation by initiating receipt of the GNSS correction signals.

4. The autonomous driving system of claim 3, wherein the control unit is configured to initiate the receipt of the GNSS correction signals via a cellular receiver.

5. The autonomous driving system of claim 4, wherein, prior to enabling the autonomous operation, the control unit is configured to evaluate the current location in view of the mapping information to determine if the vehicle is operating on a mapped road.

6. The autonomous driving system of claim 5,

wherein the control unit is configured to generate a second message to a driver of the vehicle via the user interface upon determining that the vehicle is operating on the mapped road, the second message indicating the availability of the autonomous operation.

7. The autonomous driving system of claim 6, wherein the user interface is configured to accept a user input in response to the second message to initiate the autonomous operation, and wherein the control unit is configured to generate the autonomous driving commands upon receipt of the user input.

8. The autonomous driving system of claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to evaluate the current location in view of the mapping information to determine if the vehicle is operating on a mapped road.

9. The autonomous driving system of claim 8, wherein the control unit is configured to disable the autonomous operation upon determining that the vehicle is not operating on the mapped road.