This is a U.S. national stage of application No. PCT/EP2007/062033, filed on 8 Nov. 2007, which claims Priority to the German Application No: 10 2006 055 344.6, Filed: 23 Nov. 2006; the contents of both which are incorporated here by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a device and method for wireless communication between vehicles.
2. Prior Art
Wireless communication networks are used nowadays in a large number of technical fields. In the field of motor vehicle engineering it is known for vehicles to exchange information with one another via what is referred to as car-2-car communication. This communication involves a wireless ad hoc network which is established between spatially adjacent vehicles in road traffic and is based in technical terms on an advanced WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) according to IEEE standard 802.11.
In car-2-car communication, a wireless radio link between vehicles is used to transmit the information which is obtained from the sensor system of a vehicle to other vehicles in the vicinity. As a result, information relating to hazardous locations can be transmitted quickly from one vehicle to other vehicles. However, the vehicle which receives this information in a wireless fashion does not specify from which vehicle specific information is received. The methods which are known from the prior art are therefore not suitable for targeted transmission of information from one vehicle to another. In particular, a driver assistance system which assists a driver immediately in a traffic situation which is difficult to comprehend is not provided.
An object of the invention is therefore to provide a method for wireless communication between vehicles in which immediate and efficient assistance is provided for the driver in traffic situations which are difficult to comprehend.
In the method according to one embodiment of the invention, a second vehicle located in relation to a first vehicle, preferably in front of it, is identified. The identified second vehicle here is, in particular, the vehicle located directly in front of the first vehicle in the direction of travel, i.e. there are preferably no other vehicles arranged between the first and second vehicles. The second vehicle transmits driving information in a wireless fashion and said information is received by the first vehicle, with the driving information comprising information relating to the traffic situation in the surroundings of the second vehicle, preferably in front of the second vehicle, and/or relating to a state variable of the second variable. The first vehicle processes the driving information which is emitted by the identified second vehicle and received in the first vehicle, with the processed driving information being output at least partially via an output means in the first vehicle in such a way that it can be perceived by the driver.
The invention is characterized in that a second vehicle is firstly identified selectively by the first vehicle in accordance with predetermined criteria. After this identification, the information from the corresponding second vehicle is selectively received by the first vehicle, with the result that the information which relates to the second vehicle, which is traveling in front for example, or to the traffic situation in the surroundings of the second vehicle and is relevant to a driver is obtained immediately.
In one preferred embodiment, the wireless communication between the vehicles is carried out over a wireless decentralized ad hoc radio network, in particular over a WLAN, to be precise preferably over a network which is configured for car-2-car communication. Any other desired types of wireless communication between vehicles can also be used. For example, the method described in the document US 2006/0119489 A1, in which information is transmitted using the light sources on the vehicle, for example the rear light.
In a further embodiment of the invention, the identification of the second vehicle is carried out by means of one or more sensors in the first vehicle. In particular, a registration number or registration plate recognition process using a camera, for example a video camera, can be used to identify the second vehicle. In this context, the driving information which is emitted by the second vehicle contains the information as to what the registration number of the second vehicle is. This ensures that the first vehicle can unambiguously identify the received information to determine whether the information is that of the second vehicle identified by means of the registration number.
In a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the identification of the second vehicle is determined by exchanging position data, in particular position data acquired via GPS (Global Positioning System), between vehicles which are involved in the wireless communication.
In a further embodiment of the invention, the driving information which is output in the first vehicle via the output means is information relating to possible overtaking of the second vehicle by the first vehicle. This provides effective assistance to the driver of the first vehicle during the overtaking process. In this context, if the information relating to possible overtaking of the second vehicle by the first vehicle indicates that overtaking is not possible, an automated intervention into the driving behavior of the driver of the first vehicle can take place, if said driver would like to begin an overtaking process or has already begun one. This intervention can be, for example, an intervention into the steering of the first vehicle or prevention of acceleration of the first vehicle. In this way the driver of the first vehicle can be protected against dangerous overtaking processes being carried out.
The information relating to possible overtaking of the second vehicle by the first vehicle comprises here, in particular, the relative velocity of the second vehicle in relation to the next vehicle which is traveling ahead and/or is oncoming and/or the size of the gap between the second vehicle and the next vehicle which is traveling ahead and/or the estimated duration of an overtaking maneuver. In this way, the significant problems which occur during an overtaking process can be overcome or alleviated. In particular, the overtaking driver of the first vehicle is provided with information about the oncoming traffic which he often can discern only with great difficulty owing to the large height of the vehicle to be overtaken. Furthermore, the overtaking driver of the first vehicle is provided with an estimate of how long the overtaking process will be expected to last. This estimate can often only be performed very imprecisely by the overtaking driver. Furthermore, the overtaking driver of the first vehicle is provided, by means of the gap size, with information which indicates whether a further vehicle is located very close in front of the second vehicle so that, under certain circumstances, it is not possible to cut back in to the lane after the overtaking process. This information is in a usual situation often not available to an overtaking driver since when the vehicle to be overtaken is excessively high it is not possible to see the size of the gap from the next vehicle in front of the vehicle to be overtaken.
In a further variant of the invention, the information relating to possible overtaking of the second vehicle by the first vehicle can also take into account information of the first vehicle, in particular the power of the engine and/or the acceleration capacity of the first vehicle. The lower the power of the engine and/or the acceleration capacity of the first vehicle, the more time is allowed in the calculation for the overtaking process so that in vehicles with a relatively low power of the engine and acceleration capability a signal is often output which indicates that the overtaking process is not possible. Furthermore, weather conditions such as wet road, ice, and the like can also be taken into account in the information relating to possible overtaking, in which case the weather conditions may be sensed, for example, by a corresponding sensor (for example temperature sensor).
In a further, particularly preferred embodiment of the method, the second vehicle acquires the driving information relating to variables via one or more sensors. The sensors may comprise, for example, a video camera. The video image which is captured by the video camera is preferably emitted here by the second vehicle and received in the first vehicle and processed in such a way that the video image is displayed on a display means in the first vehicle.
Additionally or alternatively, the video image which is captured by the video camera and which is received in the first vehicle can also be processed in such a way that driving information which indicates whether it is possible for the second vehicle to be overtaken by the first vehicle is obtained from the video image by computation, wherein the driving information which is obtained by computation in the first vehicle is output as an optical and/or acoustic and/or haptic message via the output means. Haptic message is to be understood here and in the text which follows as meaning a message which is conveyed by touch and/or can be perceived mechanically. In particular, it may be a vibration signal which is output in such a way that it can be perceived by the driver of the first vehicle. However, it is also possible for driving information to be acquired immediately in the second vehicle from the video image which is captured by the video camera, with this driving information indicating whether it is possible for the second vehicle to be overtaken by the first vehicle, with this driving information being output as an optical and/or acoustic and/or haptic message via the output means after the reception and the processing in the first vehicle. This variant of the invention has the advantage that it is not necessary for the entire video image information to be transmitted but rather only the information relating to the overtaking process. This reduces the data transfer during the wireless communication.
In a further embodiment of the invention, the one or more sensors of the second vehicle comprise one or more radar sensors and/or lidar (light detection and ranging) sensors for measuring distance and/or measuring velocity of vehicles which are traveling ahead and/or oncoming. In addition, the sensors can also comprise vehicle sensors, in particular speedometers and/or accelerometers and/or GPS sensors which acquire state variables of the second vehicle.
The measurement data of the radar sensor or sensors and/or lidar sensor or sensors and/or the vehicle sensor or sensors as driving information are preferably emitted by the second vehicle and received in the first vehicle, wherein processed driving information is obtained by computation from the received driving information, said processed driving information indicating whether it is possible for the second vehicle to be overtaken by the first vehicle, with the driving information which is obtained by computation in the first vehicle being output as an optical and/or acoustic and/or haptic message via the output means. However, it is also possible for the measurement data to be already converted into relevant driving information before the emission. In this case, driving information is obtained from the measurement data of the radar sensor or sensors and/or lidar sensor or sensors and/or the vehicle sensor or sensors in the second vehicle, said driving information indicating whether it is possible for the second vehicle to be overtaken by the first vehicle, with this driving information being output as an optical and/or acoustic and/or haptic message via the output means after the reception and the processing in the first vehicle.
In a further preferred embodiment of the invention, communication takes place between the first and second vehicles at least whenever the second vehicle exceeds predetermined dimensions, and is in particular a truck. This ensures that a corresponding communication is triggered whenever the field of vision of the first vehicle is restricted.
In addition to the method described above, the invention also relates to a device for performing wireless communication between vehicles, comprising:
Exemplary embodiments of the invention are described in detail below with reference to the appended figures, of which:
In the text which follows, the communication method according to the invention is explained with reference to the communication between a passenger car and a truck, with the passenger car constituting the first vehicle in the sense of the claims and the truck constituting the second vehicle in the sense of the claims.
In the variant of the invention described here, the wireless communication between vehicle 2 and vehicle 3 will be used to ensure that information indicating whether the traffic situation or the instantaneous travel data of the vehicle 3 permit overtaking of this vehicle by the vehicle 2 is transmitted to the vehicle 2. This information is very helpful to the driver of the vehicle 2 since due to the size of the truck 3 he cannot see the traffic situation in front of the truck.
In the scenario in
The determination as to which vehicle is the vehicle traveling ahead in front of the passenger car 2 can, if appropriate, also be carried out by calculating relative positions using the GPS coordinates which are exchanged in the ad hoc network. This the variant can then be used if the vehicles which are involved in communication all have a corresponding GPS locating system. The identification of the vehicle traveling ahead can be carried out here, for example, in such a way that the passenger car 2 determines its direction of movement from its own GPS position data, and then determines therefrom which vehicle is the next vehicle which is located in the direction of movement in front of the passenger car 2. Methods for calculating the relative positions of vehicles with respect to one another are adequately known from the prior art. For example, reference is made to documents JP 8201080 A, JP 2004310425 and JP 2006107521 A.
After the vehicle 2 has identified the truck 3 which is traveling directly ahead of it, in the embodiment according to
In one refinement it is also possible that an image analysis of the recorded video images is already carried out in the truck 3, in which case the image analysis determines whether an overtaking process is possible. As a result, in the case of
The length of the truck is also stored in the truck 3. Furthermore, the permitted maximum velocity on the road 1 is known in the truck. This maximum velocity may be extracted, for example, by means of map information which is stored in the truck. Owing to the stored length of the truck and on the basis of the sensed, current velocity as well as the permitted maximum velocity it is possible for the truck 3 to calculate the minimum time which is necessary to overtake the truck. This information is then transmitted to the following passenger car 2 via the communication path 4 and output there, if appropriate after further processing. In particular, an overtaking recommendation can be determined in the truck 3 or in the passenger car 2 from the information relating to the length of the truck, the current velocity and the maximum velocity, and said overtaking recommendation is then conveyed optically or acoustically to the driver of the passenger car 2 via a corresponding output means.
In the situation according to
In the example in
In principle, the solutions described above according to
As is apparent from the preceding description, the embodiments according to
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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10 2006 055 344 | Nov 2006 | DE | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/EP2007/062033 | 11/8/2007 | WO | 00 | 2/23/2010 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
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WO2008/061890 | 5/29/2008 | WO | A |
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Number | Date | Country |
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2107953 | Jul 1972 | DE |
19914906 | Oct 2000 | DE |
10356500 | Jul 2004 | DE |
10310501 | Sep 2004 | DE |
102004008895 | Sep 2005 | DE |
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Entry |
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Translation of German Patent No. DE 19914906, Oct. 5, 2000, Stiller Christopher. |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20120095641 A1 | Apr 2012 | US |