Carriageway Recognition

• US 20150166070A1
• Filed: 11/21/2014
• Published: 06/18/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/24/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke AG
• Original Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke AG
• Inventors: Hoerwick, Marcus, Schwarz, Loren, Buchner, Martin
• Granted Patent: US 9,457,813 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2520/06 Direction of travel
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2520/10 Longitudinal speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2552/05 Type of road, e.g. motorways, local streets, paved or unpaved roads
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/02 related to ambient conditions
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/06 Road conditions
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/072 Curvature of the road
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/056 with provision for distinguishing direction of travel
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/09623 Systems involving the acquisition of information from passive traffic signs by means mounted on the vehicle G08G1/0967 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/09626 where the origin of the information is within the own vehicle, e.g. a local storage device, digital map

Abstract

An assessment of whether a roadway is directional is provided. The assessment includes stipulating a dimension if not previously calculated, and receiving of an output from an apparatus for environment recognition for a vehicle, which output is based on recognition of an environment of the vehicle at one instant. The assessment also include associating a factor with the output, wherein the factor is based on a speed of the vehicle at the instant associated with the output. The output is mapped into a rating value in accordance with a predefined mapping specification, and the factor is associated with the rating value. The dimension is then calculated based on a sum that is based on the rating value weighted with the associated factor, and on the previously calculated or stipulated dimension, after which the dimension can be provided.

Claims

1. A method for providing an assessment of whether a roadway is directional, comprising the acts of:

stipulating a dimension if not previously calculated;

receiving an output from an apparatus for environment recognition for a vehicle, which output is based on recognition of an environment of the vehicle at one instant;

associating a factor with the output, wherein the factor is based on a speed of the vehicle at the instant associated with the output;

mapping the output into a rating value in accordance with a predefined mapping specification;

associating the factor with the rating value;

calculating the dimension based on a sum that is based on the rating value weighted with the associated factor, and on the previously calculated or stipulated dimension; and

providing the dimension.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

repeating the acts of claim 1 at least once, wherein said repeating prompts reception, from the apparatus for environment recognition, of an output that is based on recognition of the environment at another instant.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising providing one of the rating value weighted with the associated factor and a dimension change.

4. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the factor is also based on a period of time, and wherein the factor is based on the distance covered by the vehicle in the period of time.

5. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the period of time is based on the period of time between said instant and said other instant.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the factor is based on the distance covered by the vehicle, and wherein the method further comprising:

outputting a distance that the vehicle would have to cover before the dimension would reach a maximum or minimum value starting from a current value of the dimension, and for repeating said calculating if the outputs from the apparatus for environment recognition were to be consistent with the last output.

7. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the factor is based on a distance covered by the vehicle, and wherein a reciprocal of the rating value is a limit distance that the vehicle would have to cover for outputs that are consistent with the last output and for repeating said calculating in order to achieve a change in the dimension by a predetermined absolute value.

8. The method as claimed in f claim 1, wherein the apparatus for environment recognition is a video camera, on a radar, on a lidar, on an ultrasonic sensor, on a navigation system or on map data.

9. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

stipulating the dimension as a predefined value if a predefined output from the apparatus for environment recognition or from another apparatus for environment recognition is received, in response to the output is received indicating that oncoming traffic is present within the physical partition or that a sign indicating the beginning or end of a freeway has been recognized.

12. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

limiting the dimension to a maximum value after which the dimension is not increased further; and

limiting the dimension to a minimum value after which the dimension is not decreased further.

14. The method as claimed in claim 12, further comprising:

providing an output, wherein

the output is set to a first state when the dimension reaches the maximum value, and

the output is set to a second state when the dimension reaches the minimum value.

16. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the dimension is a first dimension, and wherein the method further comprising:

receiving a second dimension that takes a map and the current position of the vehicle as a basis for delivering an assessment of whether a roadway is directional;

mapping of the first dimension into a first output;

determining a first weight for the first output;

mapping of the second dimension into a second output;

determining a second weight for the second output;

calculating a third dimension on the basis of the first statement weighted with the first weight and the second statement weighted with the second weight; and

providing the third dimension.

18. The method as claimed in claim 16, wherein

the first weight is also based on the first dimension, and

the second weight is also based on the second dimension.

20. The method as claimed in either of claim 16, wherein the mapping of the first dimension comprises:

setting of the first output to a first state when the first dimension reaches a first maximum value;

setting of the first output to a second state when the first dimension reaches a first minimum value,

wherein the mapping of the second dimension comprises;

setting of the second output to a third state when the second dimension has reached a second maximum value most recently;

setting of the second output to a fourth state when the second dimension has reached a second minimum value most recently,

wherein the first and third states may be the same,

wherein the second and fourth states may be the same,

wherein the first maximum value may be the same as the second maximum value,

wherein the first minimum value may be the same as the second minimum value.

10. A method for providing an assessment of whether a roadway is directional, comprising the acts of:

stipulating a dimension if not previously calculated;

receiving an output from a first apparatus for environment recognition for a vehicle, which output is based on recognition of an environment of the vehicle at a first instant;

receiving an output from a second apparatus for environment recognition for a vehicle, which output is based on recognition of the environment at a second instant, wherein the first instant and the second instant may be the same;

associating a first factor with the output from the first apparatus, wherein the first factor is further based on the speed of the vehicle at the first instant associated with the output from the first apparatus;

associating a second factor with the output from the second apparatus, wherein the second factor is further based on the speed of the vehicle at the second instant associated with the output from the second apparatus;

mapping the output from the first apparatus into a first rating value in accordance with a first predefined mapping specification;

mapping the output from the second apparatus into a second rating value in accordance with a second predefined mapping specification;

associating the first factor with the first rating value;

associating the second factor with the second rating value;

calculating the dimension based on a sum that is based on the first rating value weighted with the associated first factor, on the second rating value weighted with the associated second factor and on the previously calculated or stipulated dimension; and

providing the dimension.

11. The method as claimed in claim 10, further comprising:

repeating the acts of claim 10 at least once, wherein said repeating prompts reception, from the first and second apparatuses for environment recognition, of a respective output that is based on recognition of the environment at a respective other instant.

13. The method as claimed in claim 10, further comprising:

limiting the dimension to a maximum value after which the dimension is not increased further; and

limiting the dimension to a minimum value after which the dimension is not decreased further.

15. The method as claimed in claim 13, further comprising:

providing an output, wherein

the output is set to a first state when the dimension reaches the maximum value, and the output is set to a second state when the dimension reaches the minimum value.

17. The method as claimed in claim 10, wherein the dimension is a first dimension, and wherein the method further comprising:

receiving a second dimension that takes a map and the current position of the vehicle as a basis for delivering an assessment of whether a roadway is directional;

mapping of the first dimension into a first output;

determining a first weight for the first output;

mapping of the second dimension into a second output;

determining a second weight for the second output;

calculating a third dimension on the basis of the first statement weighted with the first weight and the second statement weighted with the second weight; and

providing the third dimension.

19. The method as claimed in claim 17, wherein

the first weight is also based on the first dimension, and

the second weight is also based on the second dimension.

21. An apparatus, comprising a computation unit, wherein the computation unit is configured to:

stipulate a dimension if not previously calculated,

receive an output from an apparatus for environment recognition for a vehicle, which output is based on recognition of an environment of the vehicle at one instant,

associate a factor with the output, wherein the factor is based on a speed of the vehicle at the instant associated with the output,

map the output into a rating value in accordance with a predefined mapping specification,

associate the factor with the rating value,

calculate the dimension based on a sum that is based on the rating value weighted with the associated factor, and on the previously calculated or stipulated dimension, and

provide the dimension.