Systems and methods for locating target vehicles

• US 10,410,074 B2
• Filed: 10/25/2016
• Issued: 09/10/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 10/25/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Inventors: Miller, Thomas Lee, Bennie, Brian
• Primary Examiner(s): Mikeska, Neil R
• Application Number:
  US15/334,039
• Publication Number:
  US 20180114076A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,050 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/80 characterised by the intended use of the viewing arrangement
• 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 20/584 of vehicle lights or traffic lights
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/667 Camera operation mode switching, e.g. between still and video, sport and normal or high- and low-resolution modes

Abstract

A vehicle includes: motor(s), local sensors, processor(s) configured to: receive an instruction including first properties of a target vehicle; verify the instruction; instruct the local sensors to scan at a first resolution; mark a scanned external vehicle, having second properties, as compatible or incompatible based on a comparison of the first and second properties; instruct the local sensors to scan at a second resolution upon marking the external vehicle as compatible.

Claims

1. A vehicle comprising:

motor(s), local sensors, cameras, processor(s) configured to;

responsive to detecting, via the cameras, a road sign comprising predetermined markings, analyze, via the cameras, additional markings within the road sign and different from the predetermined markings;

based on the additional markings, derive an instruction comprising first properties of a target vehicle;

verify the instruction;

instruct the local sensors to scan at a first resolution;

mark a scanned external vehicle, having second properties, as compatible or incompatible based on a comparison of the first and second properties; and

instruct the local sensors to scan at a second resolution upon marking the external vehicle as compatible.

2. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the second resolution exceeds the first resolution.

3. The vehicle of claim 2, wherein the local sensors are cameras configured to capture images at the first and second resolutions.

4. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the processor(s) are configured to verify the instruction by contacting an external server at a preloaded address.

5. The vehicle of claim 4, wherein the processor(s) are configured to pull the preloaded address from memory and without reference to the received instruction.

6. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the processor(s) are configured to instruct the local sensors to scan at the second resolution until a predetermined number of subsequent scans fail to include the compatible external vehicle.

7. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the local sensors comprise cameras and the vehicle further includes ultrasonic sensors.

8. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the instruction comprises a gravity of each of the first properties and the processor(s) are configured to marked the scanned external vehicle as compatible or incompatible based on the gravities.

9. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the processor(s) are configured to mark the external vehicle as being compatible even when some of the first properties fail to match some of the second properties.

10. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the processor(s) are configured to further mark the compatible external vehicle as potentially compatible and fully compatible.

11. The vehicle of claim 10, wherein the processor(s) are configured to compute a compatibility confidence when the external vehicle is potentially compatible.

12. The vehicle of claim 11, wherein the compatibility confidence is based on the comparison of the first and second properties and gravities included in the received instruction.

13. The vehicle of claim 12, wherein the processor(s) are configured to compare the compatibility confidence to a threshold confidence and transmit raw images of the external vehicle based on the compatibility confidence exceeding the threshold confidence.

14. A method of controlling a vehicle, the vehicle comprising motor(s), local sensors, cameras, and processor(s), the method comprising, via the processor(s):

responsive to detecting, via the cameras, a road sign comprising predetermined markings, analyzing, via the cameras, additional markings within the road sign and different from the predetermined markings;

based on the additional markings, deriving an instruction comprising first properties of a target vehicle;

verifying the instruction;

instructing the local sensors to scan at a first resolution;

marking a scanned external vehicle, having second properties, as compatible or incompatible based on a comparison of the first and second properties; and

instructing the local sensors to scan at a second resolution upon marking the external vehicle as compatible.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the second resolution exceeds the first resolution.

16. The method of claim 15, comprising pulling a preloaded address from memory and verifying the instruction by contacting an external server at the preloaded address.

17. The method of claim 16, comprising:

instructing the local sensors to scan at the second resolution until a predetermined number of subsequent scans fail to include the compatible external vehicle.

18. The method of claim 17, comprising:

marking the compatible external vehicle as potentially compatible or fully compatible;

computing a compatibility confidence when the external vehicle is potentially compatible, wherein the compatibility confidence is based on the comparison of the first and second properties and gravities included in the received instruction;

comparing the compatibility confidence to a threshold confidence and transmitting raw images of the external vehicle based on the compatibility confidence exceeding the threshold confidence.

19. The method of claim 14, comprising:

processing the first resolution scan at a lower frequency and processing the second resolution scan at a higher frequency.