Control system and method for determining an irregularity of a road surface

• US 10,106,167 B2
• Filed: 01/10/2017
• Issued: 10/23/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 01/11/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TRW Automotive GmbH (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: TRW Automotive GmbH (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Mohamed, Manoj Peer
• Primary Examiner(s): Shaawat, Mussa A
• Application Number:
  US15/402,320
• Publication Number:
  US 20170197630A1
• Time in Patent Office: 651 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2420/403 Image sensing, e.g. optical camera
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2520/10 Longitudinal speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2520/125 Lateral acceleration
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2520/14 Yaw
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2552/35 Road bumpiness, e.g. potholes
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/10 Historical data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2710/223 Stiffness
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2710/226 Damping
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2754/10 Spatial relation or speed relative to objects
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/143 Speed control B60W30/16 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/06 Road conditions
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30256 Lane; Road marking
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30261 Obstacle
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/70 Determining position or orientation of objects or cameras camera calibration G06T7/80
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/58 Recognition of moving objects or obstacles, e.g. vehicles or pedestrians; Recognition of traffic objects, e.g. traffic signs, traffic lights or roads
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/588 Recognition of the road, e.g. of lane markings; Recognition of the vehicle driving pattern in relation to the road

Abstract

Control system, which is adapted for application in a vehicle and intended to recognize vehicles driving in front on the basis of environmental data which are obtained from at least one environmental sensor (110) disposed on the vehicle. The at least one environmental sensor (110) is adapted to provide an electronic controller (200) of the control system with the environmental data which reflect the area (115) in front of the vehicle. The control system is at least adapted and intended to detect another vehicle (alter) participating in traffic in front of the own vehicle (ego) with the at least one environmental sensor (110) during a predetermined time period or continuously and to recognize a position change of the other vehicle (alter). If a position change of the other vehicle (alter) is recognized, a signal (255) is output, which is suitable to warn a driver of the own vehicle (ego) of an irregularity in the road surface and/or to adjust a speed and/or a vehicle setting of the own vehicle (ego).

Claims

1. A control system, which is adapted for application in an own vehicle and intended to detect vehicles driving in front on the basis of environmental data which are obtained from at least one environmental sensor (110) disposed on the own vehicle, wherein the at least one environmental sensor (110) is adapted to provide an electronic controller (200) of the control system with the environmental data (210, 215) which reflect the area (115) in front of the own vehicle, and wherein the control system is at least adapted and intended

to detect another vehicle (alter) participating in traffic in front of the own vehicle (ego) by means of the at least one environmental sensor (110) during a predetermined time period or continuously,

to calculate a vertical position change of the other vehicle (alter), and

if a vertical position change of the other vehicle (alter) is recognised, to output a signal (255), which is suitable to warn a driver of the own vehicle (ego) of a vertical irregularity in the road surface, and/or to adjust a speed and/or vehicle setting of the own vehicle (ego) in response to the vertical irregularity in the road surface.

2. The control system according to claim 1, wherein the at least one environmental sensor comprises a camera (110) directed forwards in the travel direction of the own vehicle (ego), and the control system is further adapted and intended to receive the environmental data from the camera (110) comprising image data, and to recognise the vertical position change of the other vehicle (alter) in the image data received.

3. The control system according to claim 2, which is further adapted and intended to recognise at least one feature (140) of the other vehicle (alter) in temporally first image data, to detect a vertical position respectively of the at least one feature (140) of the other vehicle (alter) in following second image data received during the predetermined time period or continuously, and to calculate the vertical position change of the other vehicle (alter) with reference to at least two of the vertical positions detected in the first and second image data of the at least one feature (140) of the other vehicle (alter).

4. The control system according to claim 2, wherein the camera (110) is a camera of a lane assistance system of the own vehicle (ego).

5. The control system according to claim 1, which is further adapted and intended to detect a movement of the own vehicle (ego) by a measuring unit (230), and to recognise the vertical position change of the other vehicle (alter) as a vertical position change relative to the own vehicle (ego) taking the movement of the own vehicle (ego) into account.

6. The control system according to claim 5, wherein the measuring unit (230) comprises a sensor (235) to determine a yaw rate of the own vehicle (ego), a sensor (236) to determine a vertical and/or horizontal acceleration of the own vehicle (ego), a sensor (245) to determine a speed (in the travel direction) of the own vehicle (ego) and/or a sensor to determine a steering movement of the own vehicle (ego).

7. The control system according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle setting is a degree of springing of the wheel suspension.

8. A control method, which in an own vehicle recognises vehicles driving in front based on environmental data obtained from at least one environmental sensor (110) disposed on the own vehicle, with the steps of:

providing an electronic controller (200) in the own vehicle (ego) by means of the at least one environmental sensor (110) with environmental data reflecting the area (115) in front of the own vehicle,

detecting another vehicle (alter) participating in traffic in front of the own vehicle (ego) with the at least one environmental sensor (110) during a predetermined time period or continuously,

calculating a vertical position change of the other vehicle (alter), and

if a vertical position change of the other vehicle (alter) is recognised, outputting a signal (255), which is suitable to warn a driver of the own vehicle (ego) of a vertical irregularity in the road surface, and/or adjusting a speed and/or a vehicle setting of the own vehicle (ego) in response to the vertical irregularity in the road surface.

9. Control method according to claim 8, wherein the at least one environmental sensor comprises a camera (110) directed forwards in the travel direction of the own vehicle (ego), with the steps of:

receiving the environmental data from the camera (110) comprising image data, and

recognizing a vertical position change of the other vehicle (alter) in the image data received.

10. Control method according to claim 9, with the steps of:

recognising at least one feature (140) of the other vehicle (alter) in temporally first image data,

detecting a vertical position respectively of the at least one feature (140) of the other vehicle (alter) in following second image data received during the predetermined time period or continuously, and

calculating the vertical position change of the other vehicle (alter) with reference to at least two positions of the at least one feature (140) of the other vehicle (alter) detected in the first and second image data.

11. Control method according to claim 8, with the steps of:

detecting a movement of the own vehicle (ego) by a measuring unit (230), and

recognizing the vertical position change of the other vehicle (alter) as a vertical position change relative to the own vehicle (ego) taking the movement of the own vehicle (ego) into account.

12. Control method according to claim 11, wherein the detection of the movement of the own vehicle (ego) comprises a detection of a yaw rate of the own vehicle (ego), a vertical and/or horizontal acceleration of the own vehicle (ego), a speed (in the travel direction) of the own vehicle (ego) and/or a steering movement of the own vehicle (ego).

13. A control method for detecting other vehicles driving in front of an own vehicle on a road surface, comprising:

capturing environmental data at first and second times each reflecting an area in front of the own vehicle and including a vertical position of the other vehicle; and

calculating a vertical position change of the other vehicle based on comparing captured environmental data from the first and second times; and

warning a driver of the own vehicle of a vertical irregularity in the road surface in response to the calculated vertical position change.

14. Control method according to claim 13 further comprising:

recognizing at least one feature of the other vehicle in the captured environmental data from the first and second times;

detecting a vertical position of the at least one feature of the other vehicle at each of the first and second times; and

calculating the vertical position change of the other vehicle based on the detected vertical positions at the first and second times.

15. Control method according to claim 13 further comprising:

detecting a movement of the own vehicle by a measuring unit; and

recognizing the vertical position change of the other vehicle as a vertical position change relative to the own vehicle taking the movement of the own vehicle into account.