WO2021232285A1 - Method for managing vehicle controllers, control device and method for remotely controlling vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for managing a plurality of vehicle controllers, comprising: receiving control requests from vehicles (62-64); when available vehicle controllers (66, 68) meet the control requests, assigning the available vehicle controllers (66, 68) to the vehicles (62-64); when the available vehicle controllers (66, 68) cannot meet the control requests, assigning the available vehicle controllers (66, 68) to the vehicles (62-64)according to priority, the priority being related to the control requests; and for the vehicles (62-64) to which the available vehicle controllers (66, 68) are not assigned, determining, on the basis of both the control requests therefrom and the current states of the vehicles (62-64) that have been remotely controlled by the vehicle controllers (66, 68), whether to assign to the vehicles (62-64) the vehicle controllers (66, 68) that have remotely controlled the vehicles (62-64). The method can preferentially process, when the far-end vehicle controllers are insufficient, the control requests which influence vehicle safety or cause congestion to public transport.

Description

Method for managing vehicle controller, control equipment, and method for remotely controlling vehicle Technical field

This application relates to vehicle-related technology, and more specifically, to management vehicle controller technology and remote control vehicle technology.

Background technique

The development of network technology has had a positive impact on autonomous driving technology, and there have been solutions for remotely controlling unmanned vehicles. In most cases, remote control is one controller corresponding to one vehicle, that is, one-to-one control, but there are also solutions to control multiple vehicles through one controller, such as the Chinese invention application with application number 201911238364.2. A cloud-based assisted driving control system and method are provided, which are intended to solve the problem that the driver cannot realize the one-to-many vehicle takeover control and scheduling by operating the driving simulator for remote assisted driving control.

In addition to remotely controlling multiple vehicles at the same time via one controller, there are other improvements for remotely controlling unmanned vehicles.

Summary of the invention

In view of this, this application provides technical solutions related to this. According to one aspect of the present application, a method for managing a vehicle controller is provided. The method may include receiving a control request from a vehicle; when an available vehicle controller satisfies the control request, assigning the available vehicle controller to the vehicle; when the available vehicle controller cannot satisfy the control request In this case, the available vehicle controllers are assigned to the vehicles according to the priority, and the priority is related to the control request; and for the vehicles that are not assigned to the available vehicle controllers, based on all the For both the control request and the current state of the vehicle that has been remotely controlled by the vehicle controller, it is determined whether the vehicle controller is allocated to the vehicle from the vehicle controller that has remotely controlled the vehicle.

In the exemplary method for managing multiple vehicle controllers, it further includes determining whether at least two of the control requests from the vehicle are available for the same control request when the available vehicle controllers cannot satisfy the control request. The vehicle controller processes, and if it is determined that there is, allocate the available controller to the vehicle corresponding to the at least two control requests.

In the exemplary method for managing multiple vehicle controllers, optionally, the pair of vehicles that are not assigned to the vehicle controller is based on the control request from the vehicle controller and the vehicle controller Determining whether to assign the vehicle controller to the vehicle from the vehicle controller that is already remotely controlling the vehicle, further including: Comparing the priority of the vehicle with the priority of the vehicle currently being remotely controlled by the vehicle controller; and when there is a low-priority vehicle that is already remotely controlled by the vehicle controller, In the vehicle controller that remotely controls the vehicle, the vehicle controller is assigned to the vehicle that is not assigned to the vehicle controller.

In the exemplary method for managing multiple vehicle controllers, optionally, the pair of vehicles that are not assigned to the vehicle controller is based on the control request from the vehicle controller and the vehicle controller Determining whether the vehicle controller is assigned to the vehicle from the vehicle controller that has been remotely controlled by both the current state of the vehicle, and further includes: judging that the vehicle is already being remotely controlled by the vehicle controller In the vehicle, whether there is a vehicle whose state is in a suspended service state compared with the vehicle that issued the control request; The vehicle assigned to the vehicle controller is assigned to the vehicle controller.

In the exemplary method for managing multiple vehicle controllers, optionally, the pair of vehicles that are not assigned to the vehicle controller is based on the control request from the vehicle controller and the vehicle controller Determining whether to assign the vehicle controller to the vehicle from the vehicle controller that is already remotely controlling the vehicle, further including: In the vehicle, it is determined whether the control request from the vehicle can be executed simultaneously by the vehicle controller that is already remotely controlling the vehicle; The vehicle that is not allocated to the vehicle controller is allocated to the vehicle controller.

According to another aspect of the present application, a method for remotely controlling a vehicle is also provided. The method for remotely controlling a vehicle in a system including multiple vehicle controllers and multiple vehicles may include receiving a control request for the vehicle. ; Assign the available controllers of the multiple vehicle controllers to the vehicle; in the case that the available controllers of the multiple vehicle controllers cannot meet the control request, allocate according to the priority of the vehicle For the available vehicle controller, the priority is related to the control request; for the vehicle that is not assigned to the vehicle controller, based on the control request from it and the vehicle that has been remotely controlled by the vehicle controller For both the current state of the vehicle, it is determined whether the vehicle controller is assigned to the vehicle from the vehicle controller that has been remotely controlling the vehicle; and when the vehicle controller is assigned, the vehicle Establish a communication connection with the assigned vehicle controller.

The method for remotely controlling a vehicle of this example may optionally further include determining whether at least two of the control requests from the vehicle can be controlled by the same available vehicle in the case that the available vehicle controller cannot satisfy the control request And, if it is determined, the available controller is allocated to the vehicle corresponding to the at least two control requests.

In the method for remotely controlling a vehicle of this example, optionally, the pair of the vehicle that is not assigned to the vehicle controller is based on the control request from it and the current status of the vehicle that has been remotely controlled by the vehicle controller. In both states, judging whether to assign the vehicle controller to the vehicle from the vehicle controller that has been remotely controlling the vehicle, further comprising: prioritizing the vehicle that is not assigned to the vehicle controller Compare the priority with the priority of the vehicle currently being remotely controlled by the vehicle controller; and when there is a low-priority vehicle that is already remotely controlled by the vehicle In the vehicle controller, the vehicle controller is allocated to the vehicle that is not allocated to the vehicle controller.

In the method for remotely controlling a vehicle of this example, optionally, the pair of the vehicle that is not assigned to the vehicle controller is based on the control request from it and the current status of the vehicle that has been remotely controlled by the vehicle controller. In both states, judging whether the vehicle controller is allocated to the vehicle from the vehicle controller that has been remotely controlled by the vehicle, and further includes: judging whether there is a vehicle that has been remotely controlled by the vehicle controller. Compared with the vehicle that issued the control request, the state of the vehicle is in a suspended service state; and if it is determined that there is, from the vehicle controller that is already remotely controlling the vehicle, to the vehicle that is not assigned to the vehicle control The vehicle of the device is assigned to the vehicle controller.

In the method for remotely controlling a vehicle of this example, optionally, the pair of the vehicle that is not assigned to the vehicle controller is based on the control request from it and the current status of the vehicle that has been remotely controlled by the vehicle controller. In both states, judging whether to allocate the vehicle controller to the vehicle from the vehicle controller that has been remotely controlling the vehicle, further comprising: judging from the vehicle controller that is not allocated to the vehicle controller Whether the control request of the vehicle can be executed simultaneously by the vehicle controller that is already remotely controlling the vehicle; The vehicle of the controller allocates the vehicle controller.

Optionally, the method for remotely controlling a vehicle of this example further includes: In both the current state of the vehicle, when it is determined that the vehicle controller cannot be assigned to the vehicle in the vehicle controller that remotely controls the vehicle, the control request enters a waiting state; and when a vehicle controller is available Next, assign the available vehicle controller that appears to the vehicle whose control request is in a waiting state.

According to another aspect of the present application, a control device for managing multiple vehicle controllers is also provided, which includes a communication interface and a processor. The processor is configured to determine whether an available vehicle controller satisfies the control request for one or more control requests from the vehicle received via the communication interface, and if so, controls the available vehicle The available vehicle controller is allocated to the vehicle; in the case that the available vehicle controller cannot satisfy the control request, the available vehicle controller is allocated according to the priority of the vehicle, the priority being related to the control request; and For the vehicle that is not assigned to the available vehicle controller, based on both the control request from it and the current state of the vehicle that has been remotely controlled by the vehicle controller, it is determined whether the vehicle is remotely controlled from the vehicle. The vehicle controller is allocated to the vehicle in the vehicle controller.

According to the control device of the example of the present application, optionally, the control device is further configured to determine whether there are at least two control requests from the vehicle when the available vehicle controller cannot satisfy the control request. The same available vehicle controller processes, and if it is determined that there are, the available controllers are allocated to the vehicles corresponding to the at least two control requests.

According to the control device of the example of the present application, optionally, the control device is a control device provided separately from the plurality of vehicle controllers and communicatively connected, or the control device is implemented in the plurality of vehicle controllers One or more within.

According to another aspect of the present application, a system for remotely controlling a vehicle is also provided, which may include a control device and multiple vehicle controllers. The control device is configured to receive a control request for the vehicle; for one or more control requests from the vehicle received via the communication interface, determine whether the available vehicle controller satisfies the control request, and if so , Allocating the available vehicle controller to the vehicle; in the case that the available vehicle controller cannot satisfy the control request, the available vehicle controller is allocated according to the priority of the vehicle, and the priority is the same as that of the vehicle. The control request is related; and for the vehicle that is not assigned to the available vehicle controller, based on both the control request from it and the current state of the vehicle that has been remotely controlled by the vehicle controller, it is determined whether the The vehicle controller is assigned to the vehicle in the vehicle controller that remotely controls the vehicle. The plurality of vehicle controllers are configured to establish communication and work with the vehicles based on the allocation of the controllers.

Description of the drawings

Fig. 1 is a flow chart of a method for managing a vehicle controller at the end according to an example of the present application.

Fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a control device 20 for managing a remote vehicle controller according to another example of the present application.

Fig. 3 is a flowchart of a method for requesting remote control of a vehicle according to an example of the present application.

Fig. 4 is a flowchart of a method for remotely controlling a vehicle according to an example of the present application.

Fig. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a system for remotely controlling a vehicle according to an example of the present application.

Fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a system for remotely controlling a vehicle according to an example of the present application.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a method for remotely controlling a vehicle in a system including a plurality of vehicles, a control device, and a plurality of vehicle controllers.

Detailed ways

In order to make the above objectives, features, and advantages of the present application more obvious and understandable, the specific embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, many specific details are explained in order to fully understand the present invention. However, the present invention can be implemented in many other ways different from those described herein, and those skilled in the art can make similar improvements without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention is not limited by the specific implementation disclosed herein.

The examples given here in the present application refer to the situation when the vehicle is unmanned, or in other words, the control request for the vehicle is to request the vehicle controller to remotely control the operation of the vehicle. The situation when the vehicle is unmanned may be that the vehicle itself is an unmanned vehicle, or it may have a driving assistance function but the driver does not operate it.

The vehicle controller in this application refers to a controller that can operate and control the operation of the vehicle. In some cases, the vehicle controller may have or may be connected to a display screen, which will indicate or simulate the operation of the vehicle. In the existing related technologies, the vehicle controller is also called a vehicle simulator. In addition, in this article, the remote or remote is relative to the vehicle. The remote vehicle controller indicates that the vehicle controller is not on the vehicle, and the remote control indicates that the controller is remotely controlling the vehicle. This application does not limit the specific physical location of the vehicle controller. In addition, the remote controller can also be called a cloud controller.

Simply put, in some examples of this application, one or more vehicles respectively issue a control request requesting the remote vehicle controller to operate it, and the control request is allocated to one or more of these vehicle controllers, so The assigned vehicle controller can remotely control the vehicle after communicating with the corresponding vehicle.

Fig. 1 is a flowchart of a method for managing multiple vehicle controllers according to an example of the present application. In this example, these multiple vehicle controllers are not installed on the vehicle. As shown in the figure, in step S100, a control request from one or more vehicles is received. The control request from the vehicle may be a control request issued by the vehicle, or a control request issued by the vehicle user through a terminal device such as a smart phone or a tablet computer. The user of the vehicle may be the owner, user, or in some cases the driver of the vehicle.

In step S102, when the available vehicle controller satisfies the control request, the available vehicle controller is allocated to the vehicle that issued the control request. There are more than one vehicle controllers, which are already in working state, maintenance state, or damaged state, etc., are regarded as non-available state. The available state here refers to the controller that can be allocated to the vehicle that issued the control request. In this article, the vehicle controller and the vehicle are communicatively connected, for example, through the fourth-generation mobile information system 4G or the fifth-generation mobile information system 5G.

In step S104, in the case that the available vehicle controller cannot satisfy the control request, the available vehicle controller is allocated to the vehicle according to the priority, where the priority is related to the control request. In some examples, the control request of the vehicle may include priority information indicating the importance of the control request. In some other examples, the control request of the vehicle does not include priority information indicating the importance of the control request, but contains information about the vehicle's own operating conditions and/or location information of the vehicle location that can be used to determine the priority information, such as The control device used to manage the vehicle controller determines the priority of the control request from the vehicle.

By way of example and not limitation, the principle for determining the priority is, for example, determined according to the operating conditions of the vehicle itself and/or the environment in which the vehicle is located. A control request related to vehicle safety will give the request a high priority, while a control request that does not cause an emergency impact on vehicle safety will have a second priority. For example, the control request related to the safety of the vehicle operation is set to a high priority, such as a brake system failure requesting remote control, and abnormal conditions such as battery component (if there is a power battery) leakage or high temperature are set to a high priority. For another example, consider the operating environment of the vehicle to set the priority. For example, when the vehicle fails in an important traffic section, the remote control request is issued. Although the failure does not involve the safety of the vehicle, the failure has a greater impact on the environment. Therefore, it is set to high priority (the judgment of the environment here can be determined according to the on-board positioning system, for example). As mentioned above, according to some examples of the present application, the priority can be preset, for example, placed on the car side, and then it can be included in the control request when the control request is issued. In still other examples, the priority is not included in the control request, but information for determining the priority is included in the control request, and the remote end that receives the control request determines the priority of the control request accordingly. In these examples of this application, the control request may be required to include location information, which helps to quickly determine the location of the vehicle. The priority situation described in conjunction with this example is also applicable to other examples in this application. In addition, in all the examples in this application, the term "priority" may be used for the control request, and may also be used for the vehicle corresponding to the control request, depending on the context.

In step S106, for a vehicle that is not assigned to an available vehicle controller, based on both the control request from it and the current state of the vehicle that has been remotely controlled by the vehicle controller, it is determined whether the vehicle is remotely controlled from the vehicle controller. Assign a vehicle controller to the vehicle. That is to say, according to some examples of this application, in the case that the available vehicle controllers are not enough to satisfy the control request, it will be determined from the vehicle controllers that are already remotely controlling the vehicle whether there is a vehicle controller that can be assigned to issue the control request. Control a vehicle that is requested and not assigned to an available vehicle controller. Wherein, determining whether there is a vehicle controller that can be allocated is determined by a control request of a vehicle that is not allocated to an available vehicle controller, and at the same time considering the current state of the vehicle that has been remotely controlled by the vehicle controller.

In the existing technology, there is a case where more than one vehicle is controlled by a vehicle controller, such as the solution mentioned in the application number 201911238364.2. However, none of the existing solutions has considered assigning controllers to vehicles according to priority. In this application, the priority is set up due to the consideration of the environment of the vehicle issuing the control request at the time of the request, which makes it possible to give priority to processing when the remote vehicle controller is insufficient, which may have an impact on vehicle safety , Or a control request that causes congestion in public transportation. And for a vehicle that is not assigned to the vehicle controller, it will be further based on both the vehicle’s control request and the current state of the vehicle that is already remotely controlled by the vehicle controller to determine whether to use such a vehicle that has been remotely controlled by the vehicle controller. In the vehicle controller, vehicles are allocated to vehicles that have issued a control request but are not allocated to the vehicle controller.

According to some examples of the present application, when the available vehicle controller cannot satisfy the control request, it can be determined whether at least two control requests from the vehicle control request can be controlled by the same available controller, and if it is determined that there are, Allocate the available controller to the vehicles corresponding to the at least two control requests. For example, if a total of 5 control requests from 5 vehicles are received, there are only 2 available vehicle controllers. In this case, it can be determined whether at least two of the five control requests can be processed by the same vehicle controller. Assuming that one of the available vehicle controllers can handle the two control requests, the controller is allocated to the two vehicles corresponding to the at least two control requests. It should be noted that the same vehicle controller may be used for processing, for example, it means that the vehicle controller may process the at least two control requests in a parallel or time-sharing manner. For example, the controller is, for example, a multi-core controller, which can execute received requests concurrently. For another example, the vehicle controller has multiple control functions. It is controlling a vehicle through the A control function block, but one of the control requests in the request is to request the control of the B control function block. The processing part of the vehicle controller supports When the A function block and the B function block are implemented in parallel or interleaved, the vehicle controller may control the two vehicles at the same time. By allowing vehicle controllers that are already remotely controlling vehicles to participate in the allocation process for control requests, and enabling them to receive multiple allocations while having the ability to control different vehicles at the same time, it is more effective to improve the remote control of vehicles. Performance and efficiency.

In still other examples according to the present application, for a vehicle that is not assigned to an available vehicle controller, the priority of the vehicle is determined based on the control request from it, and the priority is compared with the vehicle that has been remotely controlled by the vehicle controller. Priority comparison, if there are vehicles that have been remotely controlled by the vehicle controller that have a priority lower than the priority of the vehicles that are not assigned to the vehicle controller, then the vehicle controllers that are remotely controlling the vehicle will be assigned to the unassigned Assign the vehicle controller to the vehicle controller of the vehicle. It should be understood that when assigning the vehicle controller that is remotely controlling the vehicle to the vehicle that is not assigned to the vehicle controller, first ensure that the operation of the vehicle being remotely controlled is properly stopped, such as parking the vehicle being remotely controlled Wait at a suitable parking space.

In some other examples according to the present application, for a vehicle that is not assigned to an available vehicle controller, based on a control request from it, for example, based on the learned content or importance or priority of the request, and at the same time, it is determined that the vehicle is already in use. Among the vehicles remotely controlled by the controller, are there vehicles currently in a state where the remote service can be suspended? If so, assign the vehicle controller that serves the vehicle that can be suspended remote service to the vehicle that is not assigned to the vehicle controller . For example, if the remote service can be suspended, it will not affect the environment of the vehicle if the current remote service is stopped. The controlling vehicle controller called the charging car for him. Although the charging has not been completed, it is considered that the remote control can be suspended.

In some other examples according to the present application, for a vehicle that is not assigned to an available vehicle controller, it is determined whether the control request from the vehicle can be executed at the same time by the vehicle controller that is already remotely controlling the vehicle. The controller is assigned to the vehicle to which the vehicle controller is not assigned. Simultaneous execution refers to parallel or time-sharing execution. For example, if a vehicle controller that is remotely controlling a vehicle can simultaneously control another vehicle that has issued a control request but is not allocated to an available vehicle controller, then the vehicle controller is allocated to the other vehicle. After the controller establishes a communication connection with the other vehicle, the former remotely controls the two vehicles in parallel or time-sharing.

If there is no vehicle controller that can be assigned to a vehicle that is not assigned to a usable vehicle controller through the above-discussed process of assigning a vehicle controller to it, for example, there is no vehicle controller that can suspend remote service to serve it. , Or there is no controller that can control other vehicles while remotely controlling it, then the control request enters the waiting state. A response can be sent to the vehicle that issued the control request in the waiting state, so that it knows that the control request is in the waiting process. In these examples, once there is an available vehicle controller, the available vehicle controller is allocated to the vehicle whose control request is in a waiting state. Here, the available vehicle controller may be due to different reasons. For example, the vehicle controller in operation is released due to the completion of the work, that is, the vehicle controller is no longer in the working state of controlling the vehicle; or, it was originally in maintenance. The state of the vehicle controller is maintained and enters the working state. In some cases, when there is an available vehicle controller, another control request may have been received, and the priority of the other control request is higher than the priority of the control request in the waiting state, then the available control The controller is allocated to the vehicle corresponding to the other control request. If there is no such situation, the available vehicle controller that appears is assigned to the vehicle whose control request is in a waiting state.

Therefore, when there is no available vehicle controller, the priority of the vehicle issuing the control request is considered, and the vehicle controller is allocated according to the vehicle's urgency for remote control. This is more beneficial in situations where vehicle controllers are insufficient, such as vehicle safety, traffic jams, etc.

According to some examples of the present application, in the event that the priority cannot be confirmed, or the control request has a high priority but the vehicle controller cannot be assigned to it, a warning message can be issued to remind humans to participate in the processing.

FIG. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a control device 20 for managing a vehicle controller according to another example of the present application. The control device 20 includes a communication interface 201 and a processor 203. The communication interface 201 is a component used to communicate with a vehicle, a terminal associated with the vehicle, and multiple vehicle controllers. It may be a communication module available in the market, such as a wireless communication module supporting 4G and/or 5G communication. The processor 203 is configured to determine whether the available vehicle controller meets the control request in response to the control request from the vehicle received via the communication interface 201, and if so, allocate the available vehicle controller to the vehicle issuing the control request. Further, the processor 203 is configured to allocate the available vehicle controllers to the vehicle issuing the control request according to the priority in the case that the available vehicle controller cannot satisfy the control request, wherein the priority is related to the control request. The processor 203 is further configured to determine whether to remotely control the vehicle based on both the control request from the vehicle and the current state of the vehicle that has been remotely controlled by the vehicle controller. Among the vehicle controllers, assign the vehicle controller to the vehicle that is not assigned to the vehicle controller.

The control device 20 illustrated in FIG. 2 may be used to execute the method for managing multiple vehicle controllers illustrated in FIG. 1. For example, the communication interface 201 receives (step S100) a control request from the vehicle. The processor 203 is configured to allocate (step S102) the available vehicle controller to the vehicle that issued the control request when the available vehicle controller satisfies the control request. The processor 203 is also configured to allocate (step S104) the available vehicle controllers according to the priority of the vehicle issuing the control request when the available vehicle controller cannot satisfy the control request, wherein the priority is related to the control request. The processor 203 is further configured to determine (step S106) whether the vehicle is remotely controlled by the vehicle controller based on both the control request from it and the current state of the vehicle that has been remotely controlled by the vehicle controller. Among the vehicle controllers that control the vehicle, the vehicle controller is assigned to the vehicle that is not assigned to the vehicle controller. In some examples, the processor 203 is further configured to make the control request enter the waiting state when the vehicle controller cannot be assigned to the vehicle that is not assigned to the vehicle controller, and when a vehicle controller is found to complete the control service (That is, the vehicle controller is released) or when the maintenance is completed and put into use, it is allocated to the vehicle corresponding to the control request in the waiting state.

In still other embodiments, the processor 203 is configured to determine whether at least two control requests from the vehicle can be processed by the same available controller when the available vehicle controller cannot satisfy the control request. In a case where it is determined that there is, the processor 203 allocates the available controller to the vehicles corresponding to the at least two control requests. For example, the communication interface 201 receives a total of 5 control requests from 5 vehicles, and the processor 203 determines that there are only 2 available vehicle controllers. In this case, the processor 203 further determines whether the 5 control requests are At least two control requests can be executed by the same available vehicle controller. Assuming that the processor 203 determines that one of the controllers can execute the two control requests at the same time, it allocates the available vehicle controller to the vehicle corresponding to the at least two control requests. It should be noted that it can be executed or processed by the same vehicle controller, for example, it means that the controller can process the two control requests in parallel or in a time-sharing manner. For example, the vehicle controller is, for example, a multi-core controller, which can execute received requests in parallel.

In some other examples according to the present application, the processor 203 is configured to determine the priority of the vehicle based on the control request from the vehicle that is not assigned to the available vehicle controller, and compare the priority with the vehicle already in use. The priority comparison of the vehicles remotely controlled by the controller. If there are vehicles that have been remotely controlled by the vehicle controller that have a priority lower than the priority of the vehicles that are not assigned to the vehicle controller, then these vehicles that are remotely controlled In the controller, the vehicle controller is assigned to the vehicle that is not assigned to the vehicle controller.

In still other examples according to the present application, the processor 203 is configured as a vehicle that is not assigned to an available vehicle controller, and based on a control request from it, for example, to learn the content or importance or priority of the request, and at the same time determine that it has been Among the vehicles remotely controlled by the vehicle controller, whether the current state of the vehicle is already in a state where the remote service can be suspended, if so, the vehicle controller serving the vehicle that can be suspended remote service is assigned to the vehicle control Of the vehicle. As an alternative or in addition, the processor 203 is also configured to determine whether the control request from the vehicle can be executed at the same time by the vehicle controller that is already remotely controlling the vehicle for a vehicle that is not assigned to an available vehicle controller. The vehicle controller is assigned to the vehicle to which the vehicle controller is not assigned. Simultaneous execution refers to parallel or time-sharing execution.

The management of multiple vehicle controllers by the control device 20 includes learning the status of the vehicle controller and assigning it to the vehicle requesting control. Its understanding of the status of multiple vehicle controllers can be through active detection, or the vehicle controller can send information to it, or all of the above methods can be used.

According to the example of the present application, the control device 20 may be an independent device set separately from multiple vehicle controllers, or may be a device set in a certain vehicle controller among multiple vehicle controllers, or distributed in several vehicle controllers. In the vehicle controller.

Fig. 3 is a flowchart of a method for requesting remote control of a vehicle according to an example of the present application. As shown in the figure, in step S300, a control request is sent. In step S302, a response to the sent control request is received, and if a controller is assigned, a communication connection with the remote vehicle controller is established. Wherein, the control request includes priority information, or includes information that can indicate the operation of the vehicle itself and the environment in which it is located. Regarding priority information, or information that can indicate the operation of the vehicle itself and the environment in which it is located, the information has been described above when describing the method for managing the vehicle controller in conjunction with FIG. 1, so it will not be repeated.

Fig. 4 is a flowchart of a method for remotely controlling a vehicle according to an example of the present application. The method can be applied to a system including multiple vehicle controllers and multiple vehicles. As shown in the figure, in step S400, a control request for the vehicle is received. In step S402, in a case where the available vehicle controller satisfies the control request, the available controller among the plurality of vehicle controllers is allocated to the vehicle that made the control request. In step S404, in the case that the available vehicle controller cannot satisfy the control request, the available vehicle controller is allocated to the vehicle according to the priority, where the priority is related to the control request. In step S406, for a vehicle that is not assigned to an available vehicle controller, based on both the control request from it and the current state of the vehicle that has been remotely controlled by the vehicle controller, it is determined whether the vehicle is controlled from the vehicle that is already remotely controlling the vehicle. The vehicle controller is assigned to the vehicle in the device. In some examples, when there is no available vehicle controller, the control request is put into a waiting state, and when an available vehicle controller appears, it is allocated to the vehicle corresponding to the waiting control request. At this time, if the number of available vehicle controllers is less than the number of control requests, the process returns to step S404. In step S408, a communication connection is established between the vehicle and the assigned controller.

According to some examples of the methods for remotely controlling a vehicle in the present application, in the case that the available vehicle controller cannot satisfy the control request, it can be determined whether at least two control requests from the vehicle control request can be processed by the same available controller, And in a case where it is determined that there is, the available controller is allocated to the vehicles corresponding to the at least two control requests. For example, if a total of 5 control requests from 5 vehicles are received, there are only 2 available vehicle controllers. In this case, it can be determined whether at least two of the five control requests can be processed by the same vehicle controller. Assuming that one of the available vehicle controllers can handle the two control requests, the controller is allocated to the two vehicles corresponding to the at least two control requests. It should be noted that the two control requests can be processed by the same vehicle controller, for example, it means that the controller can process the two control requests in parallel or time-sharing processing. For example, the controller is, for example, a multi-core controller, which can execute received requests concurrently. For another example, the vehicle controller has multiple control functions. It is controlling a vehicle through the A control function block, but one of the control requests in the request is to request the control of the B control function block. The processing part of the vehicle controller supports When the A function block and the B function block are implemented in parallel or interleaved (time-sharing), the vehicle controller may control the two vehicles at the same time.

In still other examples of the method for remotely controlling a vehicle according to the present application, for a vehicle that is not assigned to an available vehicle controller, the priority of the vehicle is determined based on the control request from it, and the priority is compared with the one already in the vehicle. The priority comparison of the vehicles remotely controlled by the vehicle controller, if there is a vehicle that has been remotely controlled by the vehicle controller with a priority lower than the priority of the vehicle that is not assigned to the vehicle controller, then the vehicle is remotely controlled from the vehicle. Among these vehicle controllers, vehicle controllers are assigned to vehicles that are not assigned to vehicle controllers. It should be understood that when assigning the vehicle controller that is remotely controlling the vehicle to the vehicle that is not assigned to the vehicle controller, first ensure that the operation of the vehicle being remotely controlled is properly stopped, such as parking the vehicle being remotely controlled Wait at a suitable parking space.

In still other examples of the method for remotely controlling a vehicle according to the present application, for a vehicle that is not assigned to an available vehicle controller, based on a control request from it, for example, to learn the content or importance or priority of the request, and at the same time Determine whether there is a vehicle in the vehicle that is remotely controlled by the vehicle controller. The current state of the vehicle is already in a state where the remote service can be suspended. If so, the vehicle controller serving the vehicle that can be suspended remote service is assigned to the vehicle. The vehicle assigned to the vehicle controller. For example, if the remote service can be suspended, it will not affect the environment of the vehicle if the current remote service is stopped. It called the charging car, although the charging has not been completed, but believes that the remote control can be suspended.

In some other examples of the method for remotely controlling a vehicle according to the present application, for a vehicle that is not assigned to an available vehicle controller, it is determined whether the control request from the vehicle can be executed at the same time by the vehicle controller that is already remotely controlling the vehicle, If it is determined, the vehicle controller is assigned to the vehicle that is not assigned to the vehicle controller. Here, "simultaneous execution" refers to parallel or time-sharing execution. For example, if a vehicle controller that is remotely controlling a vehicle has the ability to simultaneously control another vehicle that issues a control request but is not allocated to an available vehicle controller, then the vehicle controller is allocated to the other vehicle. After the controller establishes a communication connection with the other vehicle, the former remotely controls the two vehicles in parallel or time-sharing.

If there is no vehicle controller that can be assigned to a vehicle that is not assigned to a vehicle controller that can be assigned to it through the methods discussed, for example, there is no vehicle control that can suspend remote service to serve it. If there is no controller that can control other vehicles while remotely controlling it, the control request enters the waiting state. A response can be given to the vehicle that issued the control request in this waiting state, so that it knows that the control request is in the waiting process. In these examples, once there is an available vehicle controller, for example, the available vehicle controller is allocated to the vehicle whose control request is in the waiting state; in this case, the exceptions that may be encountered in the allocation to other vehicles are as follows: The article has been discussed, so I won’t describe it again.

Fig. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a system for remotely controlling a vehicle according to an example of the present application. As shown in the figure, the system includes a control device 50 and a plurality of vehicle controllers 50-1, 50-2,..., 50-n, where n is an integer greater than 1, or in other words, the vehicle controller The number is not limited. In the example of FIG. 5, the control device 50 may adopt the control device 20 shown in FIG. 2. The plurality of vehicle controllers 50-1, 50-2, ..., 50-n are configured to establish communication and work with the vehicle based on the allocation of the control device 20. In some cases, multiple vehicle controllers 50-1, 50-2,..., 50-n send information indicating their status to the control device, for example, it will indicate waiting for service, in service, in maintenance, and maintenance. Complete information such as available services are sent to the control device.

Fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a system for remotely controlling a vehicle according to an example of the present application. As shown in the figure, the system includes a control device 60, a plurality of vehicles 62, 63, and 64, and a plurality of vehicle controllers 66 and 68. The specific numbers of vehicles and vehicle controllers given here are for illustration and not limitation, and the specific numbers can be determined according to needs.

The control device 60 may be communicatively connected with the vehicles 62, 63, and 64, the vehicle controllers 66, 68 may be communicatively connected with the control device 60, and the vehicle controllers 66, 68 may be communicably connected with the vehicles 62, 63, and 64. The communication uses 4G, 5G or other wireless communication methods, for example, a wired communication method, or a combination of a wireless communication method and a wired communication method. The vehicle controllers 66 and 68 are not installed on the vehicle. Compared with the vehicle, such a setting method can be called a remote vehicle controller or a cloud vehicle controller. This application does not provide specific settings for the vehicle controller. The location is restricted.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a method for remotely controlling a vehicle in a system including a plurality of vehicles, a control device, and a plurality of vehicle controllers. Hereinafter, a flowchart of a method for remotely controlling a vehicle according to an example of the present application will be explained in conjunction with FIG. 6 and FIG. 7.

The vehicle 63 and the vehicle 64 respectively initiate control requests 630 and 640 to the control device 60, requesting the remote vehicle controller to control their operation. The control device 60 receives (step S700) the control requests 630 and 640. The control device 60 judges (step S702) whether there is an available vehicle controller. If so, the control device 60 determines (step S704) whether the current request is satisfied in one step. In the case where it is determined that there are available vehicle controllers and the current demand is met, the control device 60 allocates vehicle controllers to the vehicles that initiate the control request (step S706). Here, the judgment process of step S702 and step S704 can be combined into one, that is, it is judged at the same time whether there are possible vehicle controllers and whether the number of available controllers meets the needs of the current control request.

Returning to the control requests 630 and 640 in this example, after the control device 60 judges, it confirms that there is only one available vehicle controller 68, which does not meet the requirements of the current two control requests. The control device 60 judges (step S705) the priority of the vehicles 63 and 64 based on the control requests 630 and 640. The control device 60 assigns (step S706) the available vehicle controller 68 to the vehicle 64 with a high priority. The control device 60 further executes step S703 to determine whether the priority of a vehicle in the vehicle being remotely controlled is lower than the priority of the vehicle to which the vehicle controller is to be assigned. In this example, the control device 60 determines (step S703) whether the priority of the vehicle 63 is higher than the priority of the vehicle 62 being controlled by the vehicle control device 66. If the judgment result is that the priority of the vehicle 63 is low, the waiting state is entered (step 707). If the judgment result is that the priority of the vehicle 63 is high, the control of the vehicle 62 is temporarily suspended, but the vehicle controller 66 is assigned (step S706) to the vehicle 63, and the suspended vehicle 66 enters the waiting state at this time . For control requests (or vehicles) in the waiting state, once the vehicle controllers in service have completed the control service, or the vehicle controllers under maintenance have completed maintenance and put into use, the control device 60 will allocate them to the waiting vehicles . It should be noted that when allocating to waiting vehicles, it is very likely that step S705 and step S703 are executed again because the number of control requests in the waiting state is greater than the number of available allocation controllers.

For the vehicles allocated to the controller, communication is established (step S708) between the vehicle and the vehicle controller, so as to realize the control of the vehicle. In the example combined with FIG. 6, communication is established between the vehicle 64 and the vehicle controller 68, and communication is established between the vehicle 63 and the vehicle controller 66, respectively.

Although this example is described by combining the method in FIG. 7 with the system in FIG. 6, it should be noted that the process shown in FIG. 7 can be, for example, the control device shown in FIG. The vehicle controller and the vehicle that will send a control request to the control device execute it. The process shown in FIG. 7 can also be executed by the system shown in FIG. 5 in combination with a vehicle that sends a control request to the system shown in FIG. 5, and so on. Similarly, the system shown in FIG. 6 does not necessarily execute the method shown in FIG. 7, but it can execute the method shown in FIG. 1, or the method shown in FIG. 3, or FIG. 4, or a combination of these methods. In the system shown in FIG. 6, the control device 60 may be implemented by the control device 20 shown in FIG. 2, for example.

Although not mentioned in the above example, it should be understood that when the control device receives the control request, it checks whether the vehicle requested to be controlled meets the control condition. Specifically, for example, whether the state of the vehicle itself is suitable for remote control, etc., for example, the communication module is damaged, the vehicle power is severely insufficient, etc., which can be classified as not suitable for remote control. In this case, a manual processing reminder can be issued. Similarly, although not mentioned in the above example, it should be understood that when establishing communication between the vehicle controller and the vehicle, authentication is required first to confirm that the vehicle is assigned to the vehicle controller service. The controller is the vehicle controller that has been assigned to the vehicle.

In all the examples in this article, an interface for manually stopping the remote control can be set so that, for example, if manual intervention is required, manual intervention can be made as soon as possible.

Here, a controller is also provided, which includes instructions, and when the controller executes the instructions, it implements the method for managing the remote vehicle controller as described in the above example. The controller can be installed in any one of the remote controllers to be managed or distributed in a plurality of remote controllers.

In the examples described here, because the priority of the vehicle issuing the control request is taken into consideration in the process of assigning the vehicle controller, it is possible to dispatch the vehicle controller according to the urgency of the vehicle for remote control. This is more beneficial when the vehicle controller is insufficient when it involves safety, such as traffic jams.

In the process of elaborating the method above, the steps between the steps are not necessarily limited to the order currently shown, and can be adjusted as needed. In the absence of conflict, the technical features in the examples of this application can be interchanged or used in combination with each other.

The above-mentioned embodiments only express several embodiments of the present invention, and the description is relatively specific and detailed, but it should not be understood as a limitation on the scope of the invention patent. It should be pointed out that for those of ordinary skill in the art, without departing from the concept of the present invention, several modifications and improvements can be made, and these all fall within the protection scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the patent of the present invention should be subject to the appended claims.

Claims (25)

A method for managing multiple vehicle controllers, including: Receive control requests from the vehicle; In the case where the available vehicle controller satisfies the control request, allocating the available vehicle controller to the vehicle; In the case that the available vehicle controller cannot satisfy the control request, assign the available vehicle controller to the vehicle according to priority, the priority being related to the control request; and For the vehicle that is not assigned to the available vehicle controller, based on both the control request from it and the current state of the vehicle that has been remotely controlled by the vehicle controller, it is determined whether the vehicle is remotely controlled from the vehicle The vehicle controller is allocated to the vehicle in the vehicle controller. The method of claim 1, further comprising: In the case that the available vehicle controller cannot satisfy the control request, it is determined whether at least two of the control requests from the vehicle can be processed by the same available vehicle controller, and if so, the available controller Allocate to the vehicles corresponding to the at least two control requests. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the pair of the vehicles that are not assigned to the vehicle controller is based on the control request from the vehicle and the current status of the vehicle that has been remotely controlled by the vehicle controller. In both states, judging whether to assign the vehicle controller to the vehicle from the vehicle controller that has been remotely controlling the vehicle, further comprising: Comparing the priority of the vehicle that is not assigned to the vehicle controller with the priority of the vehicle currently being remotely controlled by the vehicle controller; and When there is a low-priority vehicle that is already remotely controlled by the vehicle controller, from the vehicle controllers that are already remotely controlling the vehicle, the vehicle that is not assigned to the vehicle controller is assigned the Vehicle controller. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the pair of the vehicles that are not assigned to the vehicle controller is based on the control request from the vehicle and the vehicle that has been remotely controlled by a part of the vehicle controller. In both the current state, judging whether to allocate the vehicle controller to the vehicle from the vehicle controller that is already remotely controlling the vehicle, further comprising: Determine whether there is a vehicle in a vehicle that has been remotely controlled by the vehicle controller. Compared with the vehicle that issued the control request, the state of the vehicle is in a suspended service state; and In a case where it is determined that there is, the vehicle controller is allocated to the vehicle that is not allocated to the vehicle controller from among the vehicle controllers that are already remotely controlling the vehicle. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the pair of the vehicles that are not assigned to the vehicle controller is based on the control request from the vehicle and the current status of the vehicle that has been remotely controlled by the vehicle controller. In both states, judging whether to assign the vehicle controller to the vehicle from the vehicle controller that has been remotely controlling the vehicle, further comprising: For the vehicle that is not assigned to the vehicle controller, determine whether the control request from the vehicle can be executed at the same time by the vehicle controller that is already remotely controlling the vehicle; and In a case where it is determined that there is, the vehicle controller is allocated to the vehicle that is not allocated to the vehicle controller from among the vehicle controllers that are already remotely controlling the vehicle. The method of claim 1, further comprising: For the vehicle that is not assigned to the vehicle controller, based on both the control request from it and the current state of the vehicle that has been remotely controlled by the vehicle controller, it is determined that the vehicle cannot be controlled remotely. When the vehicle controller is allocated to the vehicle in the vehicle controller, the control request enters a waiting state; and In the case of an available vehicle controller, the available vehicle controller is allocated to the vehicle whose control request is in a waiting state. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the control request includes information that can indicate the operating conditions of the vehicle itself and the environment in which it is located. 8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the priority is determined based on the vehicle's own operating conditions and environment information on the safety of the vehicle and the impact of the vehicle on the surrounding environment. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the control request includes priority information. A method for requesting remote control of a vehicle, including: Send control request; Receiving a response to the sent control request, and establishing a communication connection with the vehicle controller in the case of being assigned a vehicle controller; Wherein, the sent control request includes priority information, or includes information that can indicate the operating condition of the vehicle itself and the environment in which it is located. A method for remotely controlling a vehicle, which is applied in a system including multiple vehicle controllers and multiple vehicles, and the method includes: Receive control requests from the vehicle; Allocating an available controller among the plurality of vehicle controllers to the vehicle; In the case that the available controllers of the plurality of vehicle controllers cannot satisfy the control request, assign the available vehicle controllers according to the priority of the vehicle, and the priority is related to the control request; For the vehicle that is not assigned to the vehicle controller, based on both the control request from it and the current state of the vehicle that has been remotely controlled by the vehicle controller, it is determined whether the vehicle is remotely controlled from the vehicle. The vehicle controller is allocated to the vehicle in the vehicle controller; and When the vehicle controller is assigned, a communication connection is established between the vehicle and the assigned vehicle controller. The method of claim 11, further comprising: In the case that the available vehicle controller cannot satisfy the control request, it is determined whether at least two of the control requests from the vehicle can be processed by the same available vehicle controller, and if so, the available controller Allocate to the vehicles corresponding to the at least two control requests. The method according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the pair of the vehicles that are not assigned to the vehicle controller is based on the control request from the vehicle and the current status of the vehicle that has been remotely controlled by the vehicle controller. In both states, judging whether to allocate the vehicle controller to the vehicle from the vehicle controller that has been remotely controlling the vehicle, further comprising: Comparing the priority of the vehicle that is not assigned to the vehicle controller with the priority of the vehicle currently being remotely controlled by the vehicle controller; and When there is a low-priority vehicle that is already remotely controlled by the vehicle controller, from the vehicle controllers that are already remotely controlling the vehicle, the vehicle that is not assigned to the vehicle controller is assigned the Vehicle controller. The method according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the pair of the vehicles that are not assigned to the vehicle controller is based on the control request from the vehicle and the vehicle that has been remotely controlled by part of the vehicle controller. In both the current state, judging whether to allocate the vehicle controller to the vehicle from the vehicle controller that is already remotely controlling the vehicle, further comprising: Determine whether there is a vehicle in a vehicle that has been remotely controlled by the vehicle controller. Compared with the vehicle that issued the control request, the state of the vehicle is in a suspended service state; and In a case where it is determined that there is, the vehicle controller is allocated to the vehicle that is not allocated to the vehicle controller from among the vehicle controllers that are already remotely controlling the vehicle. The method according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the pair of the vehicles that are not assigned to the vehicle controller is based on the control request from the vehicle and the current status of the vehicle that has been remotely controlled by the vehicle controller. In both states, judging whether to allocate the vehicle controller to the vehicle from the vehicle controller that has been remotely controlling the vehicle, further comprising: For the vehicle that is not assigned to the vehicle controller, determine whether the control request from the vehicle can be executed simultaneously by the vehicle controller that has remotely controlled the vehicle; and In a case where it is determined that there is, the vehicle controller is allocated to the vehicle that is not allocated to the vehicle controller from among the vehicle controllers that are already remotely controlling the vehicle. The method of claim 11, further comprising: For the vehicle that is not assigned to the vehicle controller, based on both the control request from it and the current state of the vehicle that has been remotely controlled by the vehicle controller, it is determined that the vehicle cannot be controlled remotely. When the vehicle controller is allocated to the vehicle in the vehicle controller, the control request enters a waiting state; and In the case of an available vehicle controller, the available vehicle controller is allocated to the vehicle whose control request is in a waiting state. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 16, wherein the control request includes information that can indicate the operation of the vehicle itself and the environment in which it is located. 17. The method according to claim 17, wherein the priority is determined based on the vehicle's own operating conditions and environment information on the safety of the vehicle and the impact of the vehicle on the surrounding environment. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 16, wherein the control request contains priority information. A control device for managing multiple vehicle controllers, which includes: Communication Interface; The processor, which is configured as: For one or more control requests from the vehicle received via the communication interface, determine whether an available vehicle controller satisfies the control request, and if so, assign the available vehicle controller to the vehicle ； In the case that the available vehicle controller cannot satisfy the control request, assign the available vehicle controller according to the priority of the vehicle, the priority being related to the control request; and For the vehicle that is not assigned to the available vehicle controller, based on both the control request from it and the current state of the vehicle that has been remotely controlled by the vehicle controller, it is determined whether the vehicle is remotely controlled from the vehicle The vehicle controller is allocated to the vehicle in the vehicle controller. The control device according to claim 20, wherein the control device is further configured to determine whether at least two of the control requests from the vehicle can be the same when the available vehicle controller cannot satisfy the control request. The vehicle controller processes, and if it is determined that there is, allocate the available controller to the vehicle corresponding to the at least two control requests. The control device according to claim 20, wherein the control device is a control device provided separately from the plurality of vehicle controllers and communicatively connected, or the control device is implemented in one of the plurality of vehicle controllers Or multiple within. A controller comprising instructions, when the controller executes the instructions, the method for managing multiple vehicle controllers according to any one of claims 1 to 9 is realized. The controller according to claim 23, wherein the controller is provided in any one of the remote controllers to be managed or is distributed in a plurality of remote controllers. A system for remotely controlling a vehicle, which includes: The control device is configured as: Receive the control request for the vehicle; For one or more control requests from the vehicle received via the communication interface, determine whether an available vehicle controller satisfies the control request, and if so, assign the available vehicle controller to the vehicle ； In the case that the available vehicle controller cannot satisfy the control request, assign the available vehicle controller according to the priority of the vehicle, the priority being related to the control request; and For the vehicle that is not assigned to the available vehicle controller, based on both the control request from it and the current state of the vehicle that has been remotely controlled by the vehicle controller, it is determined whether the vehicle is remotely controlled from the vehicle The vehicle controller is allocated to the vehicle in the vehicle controller; and A plurality of remote vehicle controllers are configured to establish communication and work with the vehicle based on the assignment of the controller.

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