Patent Application
20180090005
The present application generally relates communications and hazard avoidance within a monitored driving environment. More specifically, the application teaches a mechanism to monitor, identify and locating vulnerable road users in a hazard situation by receiving location and vector information from road users in an environment, determining the probability of a hazard situation arising in response to the location and vector information, transmitting data to one or more road users in order to avoid the hazard situation, and/or determining a evasive action to avoid the hazard situation.
Certain vehicles today utilize connectivity to improve safety in the vehicle. The vehicle may be autonomous, semi-autonomous, or a traditional driver controlled vehicle. In addition, other vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians or cyclists are present around these vehicles. It would be desirable to warn both vehicle and vulnerable road user about possible hazard situations.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide improved techniques for hazard warning systems in vehicles and vulnerable road users, for example, improving situational awareness in low visibility situations. It is also desirable to provide methods, systems, and vehicles utilizing such techniques. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will be apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.
In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, an apparatus for a receiver for receiving a first data indicating a first location and a first vector of a first road user and a second data indicating a second location and a second vector of a second road user, a processor for determining a hazard situation in response to the first data and the second data, and a transmitter for transmitting a third data to said first road user wherein said third data indicates a third vector, the transmitter further operative to transmit a fourth data to said second road user wherein said fourth data indicates a fourth vector.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a method for receiving a first data indicating a first location and a first vector of a first road user, receiving a second data indicating a second location and a second vector of a second road user, determining a hazard situation in response to the first data and the second data, transmitting a third data to said first road user wherein said third data indicates a third vector, and transmitting a fourth data to said second road user wherein said fourth data indicates a fourth vector.
The above-mentioned and other features and advantages of this invention, and the manner of attaining them, will become more apparent and the invention will be better understood by reference to the following description of embodiments of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
The exemplifications set out herein illustrate preferred embodiments of the invention, and such exemplifications are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention in any manner.
The following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the disclosure or the application and uses thereof. Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by any theory presented in the preceding background or the following detailed description.
The present application teaches a method and system for to monitor, identify and locating vulnerable road users (VRUs) that are in risk of a hazard situation in an environment proximate to a vehicle. This system is based on vehicle to mobile, vehicle to vehicle, mobile to vehicle and/or mobile to mobile unit communication, which may also include Vehicle-to-Pedestrian (V2P) communication. Communication may be made through a wireless network, such as cellular, 4G, or 5G, or other communications protocol wherein the network may include a server for receiving data on vehicles, road users, environmental aspects and physical aspects of the environment proximate to the road users. When VRU is in a hazard situation in close vicinity to the vehicle, the driver and the VRU may get a notification for this hazard. VRUs may include Pedestrian, Motorcycles, Bicycles, Rollerblades, and any future transportation that might hurt from vehicles
The system may include a driving assisted mechanism for monitoring, identifying, and detecting vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, rollerblade, bike and motorcycle, or the like and for identifying the position, velocity, direction and relative distance between users using technology such as WiFi, UWB, or radar or other wireless communications method. In non-autonomous vehicles or non vehicles, the method and system according to the present application may be used to help an operator to identify and detect vulnerable pedestrian, bikers and motorcyclist. The system may further be operative to identify unpredictable pedestrian or cyclist behavior and to avoid a hazard situation before it becomes evident to a vehicle user.
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In a first exemplary embodiment, the processing determination of the hazard situation is performed in a centralized manner. The central processor 130 is operative to receive location and direction information form road users, including the vehicle 110 and the VRU 120. The central processor 130 may further be operative to receive environmental information, such as maps, weather, emergency alerts and the like via wireless and wired network connections. The central processor 130 may user any or all of this information to detect possible hazard situations. A hazard situation may include possible collisions, or low visibility conditions which limit the effectiveness of radar, lidar, or other onboard sensor systems. The central processor 130 may then transmit a warning to both the vehicle 110 and the VRU 120 indicating the hazard situation. Further, the central processor 130 may be operative to transmit directional instructions that may be used for avoiding the hazard situation. For example, in the possible event of a collision, the central processor 130 may transmit to the VRU to stop moving and may transmit to the vehicle 110 to reduce speed and to change direction. In another example, the central processor 130 made transmit a control signal to the vehicle 110 to control the vehicle, such as stopping, without driver interaction. The central processor 130 may be in communication 165 with the vehicle 110 and/or the VRU 120 via a cellular network 160. The system may deliver messages between all road users (vehicles, pedestrians, etc.). The messages can include time stamp, location, speed, acceleration, radial speed, radial acceleration, heading direction, and the like. The messages may be delivered from each unit in periodic manner, so all users (vehicle, pedestrian) or the network side (in case of centralized computing) have the data to identify VRUs in risk
In a second exemplary embodiment, the processing determination of the hazard situation is performed in a distributed manner. Communications can be made either directly between VRUs 120 and/or vehicles 110 or via a cellular network 160 which is used as an infrastructure, such as a road side unit, between VRUs 120 and/or vehicles 110. In this embodiment, the processor is performed on the user side. Each user may transmit and receive information from other users, and the user then determines the possibility of a hazard situation. Once a hazard situation is determined, the user may transmit a data to the other users, and/or determine a control response to avoid the hazard situation. Alternatively, some of the processing may be made by the central processor 130 and some of the processing done by the users in either a peer to peer manner or a distributed manner.
Communication between vehicles 110 and VRUs 120 within the system may be made using any combination of the above embodiments. For example, data may be transmitted by a VRU to a vehicle and then the vehicle transmits the data via a cellular or 801.11p (DSCR) network to a central processor 130. Communications architecture may include vehicle/VRU communication over a cellular network using 4G or 5G. Communications may be performed over a Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) network. DSRC is a two-way short- to -medium-range wireless communications capability that permits very high data transmission critical in communications-based active safety applications. The system architecture may include a network computing architecture where a centralized cloud computing configuration is utilized to facilitate communication of data over a cellular network to a central processor 130. Alternatively, a system architecture may include direct radio frequency communications between vehicles and/or VRUs. In this architecture, determination of hazard situations may be performed on a peer to peer or distributed basis directly by the users. A system architecture employing vehicle computing and communication of cellular and direct communication or network computing and communication over cellular and direct communication.
In addition, the VRU 120 may be able to monitor transmission directly from a vehicle 110 via a mobile device or the like. The VRU 120 may use this information to determine the direction and velocity of a vehicle 110 and determine that a hazard situation may arise. The mobile device may then be configured to actuate a warning to the VRU 120 alerting them to the possible hazard situation, allowing the VRU time to avoid the hazard situation.
In determining hazards situations, the system may be operative to first define a region of interest (ROI). A vehicle ROI may be defined based on its location (X, Y, Z), speed (Vx, Vy, Vz) and its acceleration (Ax, Ay and Az). A pedestrian or VRU ROI may be defined based on its location (X, Y, Z), speed (Vx, Vy, Vz) and its acceleration (Ax, Ay and Az). Several events may alert the system to a possible hazard situation, including the instance when there is a pedestrian (X, Y, X location) in vehicle ROI, there is an unexpected VRU in a vehicle ROI, when a vehicle 110 exceeds a velocity threshold, when a VRU exceeds a velocity threshold, when a vehicle 110 or VRU exceeds an acceleration threshold, when a VRU or vehicle initiates an indication of a hazard situation, or in the instance of a vehicle or VRU response to a acknowledgement between a vehicle and VRU. The system may be further operative to determine expected paths of vehicles and VRUs based on Kinematics, GPS data, gyroscope, compass accelerometers, user inputs and data from other onboard sensors.
Adaptive thresholds may be determines with updates for V2P warning and detection algorithm, based on user self-definition, such as children operating low speed devices such as scooters or bikes, adults with disability or dynamic user data or messages between vehicles and VRUs. Enhanced vehicle to VRU communications may be used for autonomous vehicle situations to implement enhanced communications and actions between autonomous vehicles and pedestrians.
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The apparatus also includes a receiver 230 for receiving the data from a road user. The receiver 230 may be operative to receive data from a plurality of road users. Additionally the apparatus includes a transmitter 236 for transmitting data to a road user indicating the presence of a hazard conditions and instructions or data for avoiding the hazard condition. This transmitter may be operative to transmit data to a plurality of road users.
The system may further comprise a sensor suite 232 for detecting hazard conditions. The system may include radar 240 and a global positioning sensor (GPS) 242. The sensor suite 232 would be present in an example when the processor 234 is onboard with the road user. The sensor suite may not be present if the processor 234 is located at a central or remote location to the road users.
The apparatus may further include an alert system 230 responsive to the control signal generated by the processor 234. The alert system may be carried by the road user and may be used for warning another road user of a hazard condition. The alert system may generate an alert toward the location of another road user, where the alert may be a directional light, such as a spotlight or the like, and/or an audible alarm. For example, if the road user is a vehicle, the vehicle may be equipped with a rotational spotlight and loudspeaker. If a hazard condition is determined, the rotational spotlight may be rotated to point at the other road user, such as a pedestrian, and the audible alert played over the loudspeaker. This would have the effect of altering the other road user to the presence of the vehicle and the possibility of a collision or the like.
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During the second phase of the exemplary method, a central processor, such as a central processor in a cloud network, or any central or distributed processing scheme may be used to determine VRUs in risk of a hazard situation 420. In response to the data and input from the VRUs and the vehicles, the method is then operative to identify VRUs, determine slow VRUs, such as pedestrians or skates, and fast VRUs, such as motorcyclist or cyclist. The system may be operative to constantly monitor data received from the VRUs.
Next, the system is operative to determine a hazard situation for a VRU in response to the previously received data 430. VRU in risk is identified based on monitoring VRUs data such as location, speed and time stamp, and using map data accessible by the central processor. VRUs at risk or in unexpected situations may be identified in part by determining VRUs in high mobility environments, distance and direction of the VRU relative to vehicle direction, fast changes between sidewalks and street, and unexpected locations for VRU, such as cyclists on highway, pedestrian on intercity roads. In a distributed system a warning may be activated in the vehicle systems. In a centralized system, processing and announcing the relevant vehicles on VRUs in risk and warning in the vehicle system may be effected. The system may further be operative to determine the expected paths of the vehicle or the VRU in response to kinematics, GPS, accelerometer and user inputs, if any.
In addition to transmitting warnings to the VRUs and vehicles, once a VRU at risk is identified, the system may opt to directly measure the relative positioning, range and/or direction of the specific VRU at risk. This may be done using a wireless network, such as WiFi, cellular networks, or other wireless technology. Direct monitoring may have the benefit result in facilitating the quick notification of the VRU and other users in the area of a hazard situation without having to receive transmissions from the VRU and processes those transmissions.
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It will be appreciated that while this exemplary embodiment is described in the context of a fully functioning computer system, those skilled in the art will recognize that the mechanisms of the present disclosure are capable of being distributed as a program product with one or more types of non-transitory computer-readable signal bearing media used to store the program and the instructions thereof and carry out the distribution thereof, such as a non-transitory computer readable medium bearing the program and containing computer instructions stored therein for causing a computer processor to perform and execute the program. Such a program product may take a variety of forms, and the present disclosure applies equally regardless of the particular type of computer-readable signal bearing media used to carry out the distribution. Examples of signal bearing media include: recordable media such as floppy disks, hard drives, memory cards and optical disks, and transmission media such as digital and analog communication links.
