DE102016213038A1 - Method for providing sensor information for a motor vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for providing sensor information (SI) for a motor vehicle (1). The inventive method is characterized in that an external, not to a first motor vehicle (1) associated device (2), which is a second parked motor vehicle and / or a stationary unit, sensor information (SI) based on an environment detection by means of an environment sensor (8) generated and this sensor information (SI) sends out, whereupon the emitted sensor information (SI) from the first motor vehicle (1) are received.

Description

The invention relates to a method and a system for providing sensor information for a motor vehicle.

It is known from the prior art that motor vehicles exchange information with one another during their operation (so-called car-to-car communication). In addition, there are approaches in which motor vehicles with an infrastructure such as e.g. a traffic light or a traffic control system, communicate (so-called Car-to-X communication). For car-to-car communication or car-to-X communication vehicles are always in operation used.

The object of the invention is to provide sensor information for a motor vehicle via an improved infrastructure.

This object is achieved by the method according to claim 1 or the system according to claim 14. Further developments of the invention are defined in the dependent claims.

The method according to the invention serves to provide sensor information for a motor vehicle, this motor vehicle being referred to below as the first motor vehicle. The first motor vehicle is in operation. Depending on the configuration, the first motor vehicle may be an autonomously driving motor vehicle, a motor vehicle controlled by a driver or possibly also a partially autonomously driving motor vehicle. In the context of the method according to the invention, an external device not belonging to the motor vehicle, which is a second parked motor vehicle and / or a stationary unit, generates sensor information based on an environment detection by means of an environment sensor system. The environment sensor is thus part of the external device. This sensor information is transmitted by the external device and then received by the first motor vehicle.

The inventive method is characterized in that for the transmission of sensor information, an extended infrastructure using parked vehicles or stationary units is used. In this way, an improved access of motor vehicles to sensor information of other devices is made possible, thereby improving traffic safety. Under a parked motor vehicle is to understand a motor vehicle at a standstill with the ignition off. A stationary unit is to be understood as a permanently installed device which is not designed to be installed at variable locations.

In a particularly preferred embodiment, the sensor information is transmitted wirelessly, in particular via a local radio network (for example WLAN or Bluetooth) and / or a mobile radio network, from the external device and received by the first motor vehicle.

The environment sensor system used in the method according to the invention can be designed differently. In a preferred variant, the environmental sensor system comprises at least one motion detector and / or at least one ultrasound sensor and / or at least one radar sensor and / or at least one lidar sensor and / or at least one camera. The term motion detector is to be understood here and below in such a way that this sensor system can detect in its detection range exclusively the presence of moving objects without further information. The motion detector may e.g. work by infrared. Such a motion detector has compared to other environment sensors on a very low energy consumption. Depending on the configuration, the above-mentioned camera can work in the visible wavelength range or possibly also in the infrared range or another wavelength range.

In order to keep the energy consumption of the environment sensor in the parked motor vehicle or in the stationary unit as low as possible, this environment sensor remains in a preferred variant of the invention in a power saving mode, as long as no moving objects are detected by them. In the detection of at least one moving object, the surroundings sensor then moves from the energy-saving mode to a normal operating mode with higher energy consumption, whereupon the external device transmits information relating to the movement of the at least one object as sensor information. As soon as no moving object is detected by the environment sensor, it goes back into the energy-saving mode.

In a further variant of the method according to the invention, the environment sensor system comprises a first sensor system in the form of at least one motion detector and a second sensor system in the form of a sensor system which makes it possible to determine a spatial position of an object in the detection area of the sensor system (eg via distance measurement). This second sensor system may include, for example, at least one ultrasonic sensor and / or at least one radar sensor and / or at least one lidar sensor and / or at least one camera. In energy-saving mode, only the first sensor is activated. The second sensor is activated when entering the normal operating mode. Due to the low energy consumption of a motion detector thereby the total energy consumption of the environment sensor is kept low because only at Need a further sensors with higher energy consumption is turned on.

In the case that the external device is a second motor vehicle parked at the roadside, the monitoring area of the at least one motion detector in the embodiment just described is preferably designed such that it does not monitor the road but only in the sidewalk and front / rear directions depending on how the second motor vehicle is parked. Otherwise, the second sensor system would be activated each time another motor vehicle drives past the second parked motor vehicle.

In a further embodiment of the method according to the invention, the external device extracts the sensor information from sensor raw data, which are detected by the surroundings sensor, so that the amount of data of the sensor information is less than the data amount of the sensor raw data. In this way, a data connection with a low bandwidth can be used to transmit the sensor information to the first motor vehicle. Nevertheless, it may also be possible for the external device to transmit as sensor information the sensor raw data acquired by the surroundings sensor system. In this case, no processing of the sensor raw data is performed in the external device, thus saving computing resources in this device.

In a further embodiment of the method according to the invention, the sensor information is transmitted as a data stream and in particular as an IP-based data stream through the external device. Thus, a per se known packet-switched transmission technology for transmitting the sensor information, such as e.g. of camera images, used.

In a further preferred variant, the external device transmits its own (spatial) position in addition to the sensor information. This position can then optionally be further processed in the first motor vehicle, e.g. For example, sensor information in the first motor vehicle can only be taken into account if the distance between the position of the motor vehicle (for example, determined via satellite-supported positioning) and the position of the external device falls below a certain threshold. Preferably, the external device transmits in addition to their own position and the spatial position of their environment sensors. As a result, the first vehicle also gets the information in which direction the environment sensor system looks.

In a further variant of the method according to the invention, the sensor information is transmitted by the external device only if one or more moving objects are detected by the environment sensor system with a risk of collision for other road users (for example objects which move in the direction of a road). Thus, sensor information is transmitted by the surroundings sensor only if they are relevant for traffic safety. As a result, bandwidth can be saved in the transmission of the sensor information.

In a further variant of the method according to the invention, the first motor vehicle executes one or more of the following actions as a function of the received sensor information:
an output perceptible to the driver of the first motor vehicle is generated via an output unit in the first motor vehicle, the output in particular comprising a warning message;
one or more components of the first motor vehicle are placed in a standby state, for example, a brake pressure is built up in a brake system or the springs of the landing gear are set harder;
the first motor vehicle slows down its speed and / or performs an evasive action, these options being used when it is an autonomously driving motor vehicle.

The above output about the output unit may be configured differently. Preferably, it is a visual output on a display unit and / or an acoustic and / or haptic output via corresponding output means. The outputs via the output unit can have different escalation levels in a further variant. In particular, the greater the risk of collision with an object, the more intense the output. Similarly, the output may depend on the recognition of the object. Simple detection (motion only) will only issue a simple warning message, whereas if the detection is high quality the message will be more differentiated.

In a preferred variant of the embodiment just described, at least part of the above actions and in particular all the above actions are executed only if the first motor vehicle recognizes in the received sensor information one or more objects with a collision risk for the first motor vehicle. With the two embodiments just described, the driver of the motor vehicle is suitably informed about possible dangers. In addition, corresponding components in the first motor vehicle in a timely manner Standby condition so that they can respond more quickly in the event of a collision.

If moving objects are detected with the environmental sensor system of the external device, the sensor information preferably also contains the motion vector of the object in addition to the presence of the corresponding object.

In addition to the method described above, the invention relates to a system for providing sensor information for a motor vehicle. The system comprises a first motor vehicle and an external device not belonging to the first motor vehicle, which is a second parked motor vehicle and / or a stationary unit, wherein the external device is configured to transmit sensor information based on an environment detection by means of an external environment sensor Device generates and transmits this sensor information, and wherein the first motor vehicle is configured such that it receives the transmitted sensor information. This system is preferably set up to carry out one or more preferred variants of the method according to the invention.

The invention further relates to a device for emitting sensor information for a motor vehicle, wherein the device is set up for use as an external device in the method according to the invention or one or more preferred variants of the method according to the invention. In other words, the device is a motor vehicle which, when parked, can generate sensor information based on an environment detection and send out this sensor information. Alternatively or additionally, the device may also be a stationary unit.

An embodiment of the invention will be described below with reference to the attached 1 described. This figure shows a schematic plan view of a scenario with two vehicles, by which an embodiment of the method according to the invention is carried out.

The following with reference to 1 explained embodiment is for two vehicles 1 and 2 described, wherein the motor vehicle 1 Sensor information via an environment sensor of the motor vehicle 2 be provided. The car 1 drives along a road 10 in the direction of travel F, which is indicated by an arrow. The car 1 includes a communication device 3 in the form of an antenna, through which wirelessly via a local radio network information from the motor vehicle 2 can be received. In addition, the motor vehicle has 1 via a computer device 4 and a display unit 5 in the area of the vehicle cockpit. With the help of the computer device 4 be the motor vehicle 2 derived information processed and based on a corresponding display on the display unit 5 generated.

The car 1 moves towards an intersection, where at the right corner of the intersection the motor vehicle 2 is parked or parked. As already mentioned above, a parked motor vehicle is understood to mean a motor vehicle which is at a standstill and whose ignition (also referred to as the ignition lock) is switched off. In analogy to the motor vehicle 1 contains the motor vehicle 2 a communication device 6 in the form of an antenna over which the sensor information SI described below is transmitted. In addition, an environment sensor 8th in the form of a camera in the front area of the motor vehicle 2 installed to capture the environment in front of the vehicle. The car 2 further includes a computing device 7 to the data of the environmental sensor 8th to process and based on the sensor information SI to generate.

Despite switched off ignition is in the motor vehicle 2 the environment sensor 8th activated. In a preferred variant, the environmental sensor system includes a camera next to an energy-saving motion detector that detects when an object appears in front of the vehicle. If such an object is detected by the motion detector, the camera is turned on to detect the occurred objects in front of the motor vehicle.

In 1 a scenario is shown in which a merely schematically indicated object 9 in the form of a pedestrian towards the right side of the street 10 emotional. This pedestrian can from the environment of the motor vehicle 2 be recorded. He is not for the motor vehicle 1 visible, noticeable. The direction of movement of the pedestrian is indicated by the arrow R. The movement of the pedestrian is via the camera of the environment sensor 8th detected, whereupon the detected data in the computer device 7 are processed. The computer device recognizes that the object 9 towards the street 10 moves, leaving the object 9 a risk of collision for motor vehicles on the road 10 and thus also for the motor vehicle 1 out. The computer device thus determines that it is the pedestrian 9 is an object with a risk of collision for other road users. As a result, the computer device generates 7 Sensor information SI containing the information that there is a risk of collision for other road users. The data amount of this sensor information SI is included significantly lower than the original amount of data detected via the environment sensor raw sensor data.

The sensor information SI is transmitted via the antenna 6 of the motor vehicle 2 transmitted wirelessly and then via the antenna 3 in the motor vehicle 1 receive. About the computer device 4 the sensor information SI is evaluated, wherein in the embodiment described here a suitable warning message in the display unit 5 of the motor vehicle 1 is generated. This warning message indicates to the driver of the motor vehicle that an object or a pedestrian is approaching the road. The driver can thus adjust to the fact that soon an object appears on the right side of the road, which may enter the road under certain circumstances. Traditionally, the driver would be the object 9 perceive only at a much later time, since this object by the parked motor vehicle 2 is covered. By incorporating sensor information derived from the environment sensors of parked vehicles, thus the "field of view" of other vehicles can be extended and consequently objects with risk of collision are detected early.

In a modified variant of the embodiment described above, instead of or in addition to the issuing of a warning message, other measures by the motor vehicle 1 initiated in response to the received sensor information. In particular, certain components of the motor vehicle can go into a standby state. For example, a brake pressure can be built up in advance in a brake system. Likewise, the dampers can be set harder in the chassis of the motor vehicle. In addition, for example, the belt tensioner can be activated. As a result, the motor vehicle is already adjusted in advance to the fact that under certain circumstances a strong braking process is imminent, as an object may shortly enter the street in front of the motor vehicle.

In a further variant of the method according to the invention fixed stationary sensor devices are used instead of or in addition to parked vehicles to detect objects in the environment of these sensor devices. In analogy to a parked motor vehicle, these stationary sensor devices contain a suitable environment sensor system as well as a computer device and a communication device in order to emit sensor information SI wirelessly in the same way as described above, which in turn can be detected and suitably evaluated by other moving motor vehicles. These stationary sensor devices can be used at critical locations, e.g. in front of schools, kindergartens or areas or sections of the street that are difficult to see, in order to warn other road users of dangers in good time.

In a further variant of the method according to the invention, the sensor raw data of the environmental sensor system of the parked motor vehicle is the sensor information SI 2 or a stationary sensor device. This information can be transmitted eg as a data stream. In the scenario of 1 can thus continuously the camera image of the environment sensors 8th contained camera are transmitted. In the computer device 4 of the motor vehicle 1 Then, the transmitted camera image is evaluated suitably to determine whether objects with risk of collision in front of the motor vehicle 2 are located. If this is the case, in turn a corresponding warning message is issued or components of the motor vehicle are put into a ready state. Although this embodiment of the invention requires a higher bandwidth for transmitting the sensor information. In return, however, less computing power in the motor vehicle 2 required because the sensor raw data are transmitted without further data processing. The reduced computing power leads to a lower energy consumption of the parked motor vehicle.

The embodiments of the invention described above have a number of advantages. In particular, parked motor vehicles and / or stationary sensor devices are included for the first time in a traffic infrastructure in which the environment is detected by means of environment sensors. By transmitting sensor information from parked vehicles or stationary sensor devices to other motor vehicles, the recognition of dangerous situations is improved and thus the safety on the road is significantly increased compared to an infrastructure in which only vehicles in operation exchange sensor information with one another.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

1, 2

motor vehicles

3, 6

antennas

4, 7

Computing devices

5

display unit

8th

environment sensors

9

object

10

Street

SI

sensor information

F

Driving direction of the motor vehicle 1

R

Direction of movement of the object 9

Claims (15)

Method for providing sensor information (SI) for a motor vehicle ( 1 ), which is a first motor vehicle ( 1 ), characterized in that an external, not to the first motor vehicle ( 1 ) belonging institution ( 2 ), which is a second parked motor vehicle and / or a stationary unit, sensor information (SI) based on an environment detection by means of an environment sensor ( 8th ) and sends out this sensor information (SI), whereupon the emitted sensor information (SI) from the first motor vehicle ( 1 ) are received. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the sensor information (SI) wirelessly, in particular via a local radio network and / or a mobile network, are transmitted and received. Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the environment sensor system ( 8th ) comprises at least one motion detector and / or at least one ultrasonic sensor and / or at least one radar sensor and / or at least one lidar sensor and / or at least one camera. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the environment sensor system ( 8th ) in a power save mode, as long as no moving objects ( 9 ) are detected by them, wherein the environment sensor ( 8th ) in the detection of at least one moving object ( 9 ) passes from the power saving mode in a normal operation mode, whereupon the external device ( 2 ) Information concerning the movement of the at least one object ( 9 ) as sensor information (SI). Method according to claim 4, characterized in that the environment sensor system ( 5 ) comprises a first sensor in the form of at least one motion detector and a second sensor in the form of a sensor which determines the determination of a spatial position of an object ( 9 ) in the detection range of the sensor allows, in the energy saving mode only the first sensor is activated and the second sensor is activated when entering the normal operating mode. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the external device ( 2 ) the sensor information (SI) from sensor raw data, which from the environmental sensor ( 8th ), so that the data amount of the sensor information (SI) is smaller than the data amount of the sensor raw data. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the external device ( 2 ) as sensor information (SI) emits sensor raw data, which from the environment sensor ( 8th ). Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the sensor information (SI) as a data stream, in particular as an IP-based data stream, by the external device ( 2 ) are sent out. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the external device ( 2 ) transmits its own position next to the sensor information (SI). Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the sensor information (SI) only by the external device ( 2 ) are sent out if by the environmental sensor ( 8th ) one or more objects with a risk of collision for other road users are detected. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the first motor vehicle ( 1 ) performs one or more of the following actions in response to the received sensor information (SI): an output perceptible to the driver is output via an output unit (12); 5 ) in the first motor vehicle ( 1 ), the output in particular comprising a warning message; one or more components of the first motor vehicle ( 1 ) are placed in a standby state, the first motor vehicle ( 1 ) slows its speed and / or performs an evasive action. A method according to claim 11, characterized in that at least a part of the actions is executed only when the first motor vehicle ( 1 ) in the received sensor information (SI) one or more objects with a risk of collision for the first motor vehicle ( 1 ) recognizes. System for providing sensor information (SI) for a motor vehicle ( 1 ), characterized in that the system is a first motor vehicle ( 1 ) and an external, not to the first motor vehicle ( 1 ) belonging institution ( 2 ), which is a second parked motor vehicle and / or a stationary unit, wherein the external device ( 2 ) is configured such that it contains sensor information (SI) based on an environment detection by means of an environment sensor system ( 2 ) and sends out this sensor information (SI), and the first one Motor vehicle is designed such that it receives the transmitted sensor information (SI). System according to claim 13, characterized in that the system is arranged to carry out a method according to one of claims 2 to 12. Device for emitting sensor information (SI) for a motor vehicle ( 1 ), characterized in that the means for use as an external device ( 2 ) is configured in a method according to one of claims 1 to 12.

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