DE102020131997A1 - Positioning in relation to landmarks - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for determining a landmark includes the steps of scanning an environment of a vehicle; determining a geographic position of the vehicle; determining that the position of the vehicle has been determined with a predetermined confidence; determining a geographic position of a landmark based on the scan and relative to the position of the vehicle; and adding the landmark to map information including landmarks around the vehicle.

Description

The invention relates to determining a geographic position of a vehicle with respect to a known landmark in the vicinity of the vehicle. In particular, the invention relates to the determination of a landmark.

A driving assistant in a vehicle is set up to influence a longitudinal or lateral control of the vehicle. For example, a lane assistant can be set up to keep the vehicle between lane markings that can be scanned by a camera and automatically recognized. For the control, a position of the vehicle must be determined with high accuracy and certainty. To this end, a number of sensors can be provided which provide samples on the basis of which the position of the vehicle can be determined.

In order to determine how certain the vehicle's position deviates from its actual position by less than a predetermined amount, it has been proposed to individually validate readings from various sensors that provide data to determine position. For each sensor, it can be determined how well a position fits a position hypothesis for the vehicle based on its sensing.

A sensor can be designed as an environment sensor that is set up to detect at least one landmark in the environment. If the landmark is known, its position can be looked up in map information. The position of the vehicle can then be determined with respect to the position of the at least one landmark.

A landmark stored incorrectly or inaccurately in the map information can result in an incorrect position of the vehicle being determined, so that special care must be taken in order to define the landmark for the map information. Landmarks that can be used as a reference are usually determined on the basis of measurement runs with specially equipped measurement vehicles, which can be complex.

One of the objects on which the invention is based is to provide an improved technique for determining a landmark for determining a position. The invention solves the problem by means of the subject matter of the independent claims. Subclaims reflect preferred embodiments.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a method for determining a landmark includes the steps of scanning an area surrounding a vehicle; determining a geographic position of the vehicle; determining that the position of the vehicle has been determined with a predetermined confidence; determining a geographic position of a landmark based on the scan and relative to the position of the vehicle; and adding the landmark to map information including landmarks around the vehicle.

According to the invention, a landmark can be defined automatically if it can be determined in relation to a position that is determined with sufficient certainty. The landmark can also be called an anchor point and can later be used as a geographic reference point, for example for position determination. This can ensure that the position of the landmark also has a high level of security. A wrong determination can be avoided. According to the method, the landmark can be determined without requiring a specially equipped vehicle or carrying out a measurement run. Up-to-dateness of map information can be increased. The method can be carried out in parallel with several vehicles, so that landmarks in a predetermined area can be quickly and comprehensively determined. Determining the position of another vehicle on the basis of the determined landmarks can be simpler, faster or more accurate.

In another embodiment, determining how well a position determined based on the scan fits a position hypothesis for the position of the vehicle; wherein the safety is determined based on a determination result. In particular, it can be determined that the individual position does not deviate from the position hypothesis by more than a predetermined amount. If the deviation is less than the measure, it can be validated positively, otherwise negatively. The validation can be subject to a certain probability of error, which indicates the probability with which the individual position is positively validated, although how much further than predetermined deviates from the actual position.

If the environment is scanned using a number of sensors that are independent of one another, then certainties can be determined for the individual scans. A probability that a position determined based on the scans deviates from the actual position by more than the predetermined amount, even though all scans have been validated positively, can correspond to a product of the error probabilities for the individual scans. For example, if there are three positively validated scans, and the probability of error for each positive validation is 1:100, a specific position of the vehicle still be wrong with a probability of 1 : (100 ³ ) = 1 : (1 E6) = 0.0001%. A certainty that the determined position is correct, ie does not deviate from the actual position by more than the predetermined amount, corresponds in this example to 1−0.0001%=99.9999%.

In a preferred embodiment, a landmark in the area is detected on the basis of the scanning; determines a position of the landmark based on map information; and determines the position of the vehicle based on the position of the landmark. The map information can include landmarks and their geographic locations. The scans can be provided in particular on the basis of imaging sensors. For example, scanning can take place using a radar sensor, a LiDAR sensor, an ultrasonic sensor or a camera.

Before the specific landmark is used elsewhere, in particular to determine a position of another vehicle, one or more checks can be carried out in order to prevent incorrect, imprecise or statistically dependent information from being stored.

In one embodiment, the landmark is only added if the position of the vehicle has been determined with a predetermined accuracy. Accuracy can be determined based on a scan. For example, a sensor providing the sampling may determine and provide the accuracy based on a distance to the landmark, a signal-to-noise ratio, or other constraints.

The landmark can be added only if no other landmark overlapping the designated landmark is included in the map information. A landmark can be assigned an extent with regard to its position. If two different landmarks occupy essentially the same geographic position, scans of both landmarks cannot provide substantially more information than one scan alone. By discarding such superimposed or overlapping landmarks, the determination of a position can be counteracted with an only seemingly increased certainty.

The landmark can only be added if the landmark can be distinguished from other objects in the area with sufficient certainty. How reliably a confusion with another object can be ruled out can be determined by a sensor that provides the scanning. For example, a camera can perform an optical scan of the environment and determine various objects in the environment that are recognizable in some way. It can then be determined whether the objects are at risk of being confused with one another. If there are two or more objects that can be confused, in particular if they are in a predetermined spatial proximity to one another, then no new landmark can be determined. An existing landmark that is at risk of being confused with the new landmark can also be deleted or flagged as unsafe. In a further embodiment, a list of landmarks that have been determined to be at risk of confusion is maintained. On the basis of the list, it is possible to prevent a landmark that is potentially at risk of being confused from being entered again.

In a preferred embodiment, a landmark previously added to the map information is validated based on the determined landmark. In particular, landmarks that were determined from different vehicles can be validated against one another. A validation can be positive if the landmarks match, or negative if they don't. If, for example, the positions of two specific landmarks deviate from one another by more than a predetermined distance, they can be validated negatively.

To validate a landmark, several landmarks can also be considered, some of which can be considered fixed and others still uncertain. A defined landmark can, for example, have been created in a specific way, for example by means of a measuring vehicle, or verified and confirmed by a person. An uncertain landmark may have been created automatically and not yet been validated sufficiently often or well.

A constellation of landmarks observed from a vehicle can be shifted or rotated in space in such a way that it fits as well as possible to a corresponding constellation of landmarks stored in the map information. The displacement and/or rotation can be limited to an area that is considered to be secured by the position determination. The displacement/rotation cannot be greater than an assumed error in the position determination. When adjusting, an attempt can be made in particular to hit fixed landmarks as well as possible. It can then be determined how well a landmark to be validated is matched by an observed one. Exceeds a distance between the observed position and the stored position has a predetermined threshold value, a negative validation can take place. It should be noted that both the registration of a landmark and its validation are preferably only carried out if a geographic position of the vehicle being observed could be determined with a predetermined certainty and/or accuracy.

It is particularly preferred that landmarks determined on the basis of a large number of scans are validated against one another. For example, hundreds or thousands of specific landmarks can be validated against each other, where the landmarks can be determined on the basis of different journeys and/or vehicles. A negatively validated landmark can be deleted from the map information. In this way, observations of a fleet of vehicles can be advantageously used to create and validate landmarks. A determination certainty of a landmark can increase with a number of observations. An incorrect landmark can be automatically deleted so that a change in the real landmark can be quickly reflected in the map data. Such a change can include, for example, blocking a lane of a road, a newly constructed building. Even an object that can no longer be observed from a driveway, such as a church that is hidden behind a soundproof wall, can be quickly removed from the map information.

A landmark added to the map information can only be released for use for navigation purposes if it has been sufficiently validated. In particular, the landmark can only be released when it has been able to be positively validated sufficiently often, over a sufficiently long period of time, and/or from a sufficient number of different vehicles.

Landmarks included in the map information can be assigned to human-understandable categories, with the specific landmark preferably not falling into any of these categories. Human-readable categories may include, for example, a road sign, a lane marker, a structure, or a natural terrain formation. A landmark of such a category usually only concerns a single object and not a constellation of several objects. A landmark determined based on a scan may fall outside of such human categories and may include, for example, a characteristic constellation of objects or features of objects. For example, a section of a window that is easily recognizable by a machine can form a landmark, for example if the window is part of an industrial building. In one embodiment, a landmark may be described by a descriptor in CNN, or by a pattern, or may include a constellation of SIFT features.

The technique presented herein can be used in particular to enable or improve position determination based on landmarks. In one specific embodiment, surroundings of a further vehicle are scanned; wherein at least one landmark in the area is determined based on the scan; wherein a geographic position of the landmark is stored in map information; wherein a position of the further vehicle is determined on the basis of the landmark. A landmark stored in the map information may have been automatically added using an approach described herein.

It is particularly preferred that the landmarks given in the map information each have an attribute that gives an indication of their trustworthiness. For example, it can be specified how long the landmark has been known, how often it has been validated or with what certainty it was determined. Only those landmarks from the map information that meet a predetermined condition, which can be determined in particular with regard to one or more attributes, can be used to determine the position.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a device for determining a landmark includes a scanning device for scanning the surroundings of a vehicle; a map memory for storing map information that includes landmarks in the vicinity of the vehicle; and a processing device. In this case, the processing device is set up to determine a geographic position of the vehicle; determine that the position of the vehicle has been determined with a predetermined confidence; determine a geographic position of a landmark based on the scan and relative to the position of the vehicle; and add the landmark to the map information.

The processing device can be set up to carry out a method described herein in whole or in part. For this purpose, the processing device can comprise a programmable microcomputer or microcontroller and the method can be present in the form of a computer program product with program code means. The computer program product can also be stored on a computer-readable data carrier. Features or advantages of the method can be transferred to the device or vice versa.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a vehicle includes an apparatus as described herein.

• 1 ein System;
• 2 ein Ablaufdiagramm eines ersten Verfahrens;
• 3 ein Ablaufdiagramm eines zweiten Verfahrens; und
• 4 eine schematische Darstellung von Landmarken bezüglich eines Fahrzeugs

illustriert.The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

• 1 a system;
• 2 a flowchart of a first method;
• 3 a flowchart of a second method; and
• 4 a schematic representation of landmarks relating to a vehicle

illustrated.

1 FIG. 1 shows a system 100 that includes a vehicle 105, in particular a motor vehicle such as a passenger car or a motorcycle, and a device 110 that is mounted on board the vehicle 105. FIG. The vehicle 105 can be controlled depending on a specific geographical position, for example in the longitudinal and/or lateral direction. Device 110 includes at least one information source 115 for providing information that indicates a position and/or orientation of vehicle 105 . As will be explained in more detail later, a plurality of information sources 115 are preferably provided. An information source 115 can include a sensor that can be set up in particular to scan an environment of vehicle 105 . Multiple information sources 115 can also use a common sensor. In particular, the sensor can be a camera, a radar sensor, a LiDAR sensor. Known such systems include GALILEO, GPS and GLONASS. Determinations can each be improved on the basis of differential measurements (DGPS: differential GPS).

It is further preferred that each information source 115 uses only one sensor to ensure statistical independence of the information provided. A processing device 120 is provided for processing information provided by the information source 115 . Furthermore, a reference 125 can be provided, which provides information that can be assigned to several or all information sources 115 . For example, the reference 125 may include a map memory to provide map information or an odometer to provide odometry data. The processing device 120 can be connected to an interface 130, which is preferably configured to provide a specific position and/or orientation.

It is proposed that processing device 120 be set up to determine an individual position of vehicle 105 on the basis of information provided by various information sources 115 . To do this, it can use information from reference 125. For example, the information source can include a camera that captures landmarks in the area surrounding vehicle 105 . Positions of the landmarks can be included in the geographical environment information of the reference 125, so that the individual position can be determined by fitting the observations to the known information. This process is also called “matching” and an executing element is also called “matcher” or adaptor. A matcher is typically provided specific to a predetermined information source 115 . Different, specialized adapters can be provided for different driving situations.

The processing device 120 can also provide a position hypothesis, on the basis of which a subsequent determination can work, for example. The position hypothesis can be determined, for example, on the basis of a previously determined position and a movement of the vehicle 105 that has taken place since then. Alternatively, the determined position can be used as a position hypothesis. During the matching, environmental information of the reference 125 can be taken into account in a predetermined area around the position hypothesis.

Based on the individual positions, the processing device 120 can determine a position of the vehicle 105 . In addition, the processing device 120 is preferably set up to determine for the individual information sources 115 how well the information provided matches the specific position or the position hypothesis. For this purpose, the respective information and the individual position determined from it can be viewed. The process is also called validation and an executing component validator. A matcher and a validator can be integrated with each other.

If the information does not match the specific position as well as a predetermined measure, the processing device 120 can provide a signal that can be provided via the interface 130 . The signal can be issued if the information is received from at least one of several information sources 115 fit the specific position worse than predetermined. The signal can indicate that no position can be determined or that the position could not be determined with sufficient certainty. A control dependent on the determined position, for example for a movement of the vehicle 105, can then be deactivated and a driver can be requested to take over control of the vehicle 105.

2 shows a flowchart of a first method 200, which can be carried out in particular on board a vehicle 105 and preferably by means of a device 110. The first method 200 comprises a number of function blocks 205 which can be executed concurrently with one another. The same or different elements of the device 110 can be used for this purpose. Although any number of function blocks 205 can be formed, their number in a typical vehicle 105 is generally around 2-4.

At a function block 205 , an information source 115 provides information indicative of a vehicle 105 position, orientation, or pose. A pose generally includes a position and an orientation. For example, in three-dimensional space, a pose may include six statements, three of which are translational and three of which are rotational with respect to a Cartesian coordinate system. Although the invention could also be implemented on the basis of a position or an orientation instead of a pose, poses are referred to in the following.

In a step 210, based on the information provided by the information source 115, a single pose is determined. In the present case, an “individual” pose is used when it is determined on the basis of just one information source 115 . The pose of the vehicle 105 is determined based on a plurality of "individual" poses. Step 210 may be performed in any manner and may include, for example, averaging, an adaptive filter, a physical model of the vehicle 105, or a trained neural network. The determination can be made based on still other information provided by the reference 125 . Step 210 can also be feedback and process a previously self-provided single pose.

A basic check can be made for a particular pose. For example, it can be determined whether vehicle 105 is located on a route on which a driving function to be controlled is actually offered. For example, a prerequisite for following a lane can be that the route includes a freeway or an expressway. Such a check can also be carried out using a separate function block. If a required prerequisite is not met, the first method 200 can terminate.

In a step 215 the information from the information source 115 used in step 210 is evaluated by checking how well it matches a pose of the vehicle 105 . This determination may also be called validating, and an element performing step 215 may be called a validator. The pose of the vehicle 105 is determined based on certain individual poses, as detailed below. A distance between the individual pose and the pose of the vehicle 105 can be determined for the evaluation. The distance may include a Euclidean distance for each included location and an angle between each included orientations. The distance and angle can be used to form a combined index to facilitate later comparison to a predetermined measure. Alternatively, an overlap measure can also be used, which indicates how much two poses overlap each other. The predetermined amount may be less than or equal to a maximum tolerable error in the particular pose. An individual measure can be predetermined for each function block 105 . If the distance or the code number exceeds the predetermined amount, a signal, in particular a warning signal, can be provided to a step 225 .

The predetermined measure can be determined as a function of a driving condition and/or a driving function of vehicle 105 . The driving function can in particular include a driving assistant that is set up to relieve or support a driver of the vehicle 105 . The driving assistant can carry out a longitudinal control and/or a lateral control of the vehicle 105 or intervene in one of them if required. In one specific embodiment, the driving assistant is set up for automatically or autonomously guiding the vehicle 105 .

Should the individual pose match the specific pose of vehicle 105 worse than predetermined, for example if the distance exceeds the predetermined amount, then a signal can be provided which can be evaluated in step 220 . In addition, the pose can be determined in step 210 as a function of the quality determined, the distance determined, or the signal determined. For example, in step 210, an adaptive filter can be calculated, which can be reinitialized if the Filter provided individual pose deviates from the pose of the vehicle 105 more than predetermined.

In a step 220 the pose of the vehicle 105 is determined. For this purpose, the individual poses determined in the function blocks 105, in particular the steps 210, are preferably combined with one another. The combination can take into account all determined individual poses in the same way or individually. For example, individual poses determined on the basis of different processing of information from the same sensor can be taken into account. Individual poses, or the data on which they are based, which were determined to be untrustworthy by one of steps 215 can be discarded when determining the pose of vehicle 105 . The determined pose of the vehicle 105 may be provided to the outside if determined to be trustworthy.

In a step 225, validation signals from the function blocks 205 can be evaluated. At interface 130 a signal indicative of a potentially untrustworthy particular pose of vehicle 105 may be determined and provided based on one or more signals from steps 215 of functional blocks 105 .

In one embodiment, such a signal is already output at the interface 130 if at least one of the specific individual poses deviates from the specific pose by more than the associated predetermined amount. This can be equivalent to the presence of at least one warning signal in one of steps 215 .

In another embodiment, in a step 215, a warning signal can not only be provided or not provided, but also no statement can be made about a specific pose. For example, a LiDAR sensor in the vicinity of the vehicle can scan another vehicle that does not correlate with any object noted in a map memory. In this case, a single pose determined based on other LiDAR sensor scans cannot be confirmed or disputed. In such a case, an assessment of the specific individual pose in step 215 can be omitted. As a result, at step 225, the warning signal at interface 130 cannot be determined based on the missing signal. However, the warning signal may still be given if another validator 215 determines doubts about the trustworthiness of an associated individual pose, or too few validators 215 evaluate the pose. If in none of the steps 215 of the function blocks 205 has a statement been made regarding the trustworthiness of the data under consideration, the warning signal can also be output in step 225 .

3 shows a flowchart of a second method 300 for determining a landmark in map information that can be stored in a reference 125 in particular. Parts of the second method 300 can correspond to parts of the first method 200 or build on them. Note that where the reference 125 is located is irrelevant to the technique presented herein. For example, the reference can be arranged on board a vehicle 105 that is determining a new landmark for the first time, or at a central location to which the landmark is transmitted. Another vehicle 105 that validates the landmark may also have a reference or communicate with the central location. In a particularly preferred embodiment, different references 125, in particular on board different vehicles 105 and/or at a central location, are compared with one another. The reconciliation can be instantaneous or with some time lag, using any known replication or synchronization mechanism.

In a step 305, a vehicle 105 scans its surroundings. The scanning can take place using one or more information sources 115, one of which can comprise, for example, a radar or LiDAR sensor or a camera. The environment is preferably in front of and/or to the side of vehicle 105 and is usually limited to a predetermined distance that can be scanned using information source 115 .

In a step 310, a certainty with which the samples were taken can be determined. For this purpose, an individual position can be determined on the basis of each individual scan and it can be checked whether the position fits sufficiently well with a position hypothesis for the vehicle 105 . For this purpose, an observed landmark can be brought into congruence with a landmark stored in the map information (matching). A distance or a degree of coverage between the observed landmark and the stored landmark can then be determined and compared with a predetermined distance (validation). The degree of coverage can indicate how many of the observed landmarks could be assigned sufficiently closely to corresponding map information.

If the distance is smaller than a predetermined dimension or the overlap dimension is greater than a predetermined dimension, then the scanning can be validated positively, otherwise negatively. a security which can be used to determine the geographic position based on the positively validated scans can be determined based on a product of certainties of the individual scans. If the security falls below a predetermined threshold value, the determined position cannot be used to determine a new landmark. The determination of a position of the vehicle 105 and possibly the use of the position to control the vehicle 105 can be independent of this decision.

In a step 315, a geographic position of the vehicle 105 may be determined based on the positively validated scans. Optionally, it can be ensured that an accuracy of the determined position exceeds a predetermined level.

In a step 320, a landmark can be detected in the scans that has not yet been identified as a landmark stored in the map information. In a step 325, a geographical position of the new landmark can be determined. Optionally, a shape and/or extent of the new landmark can also be determined. These determinations are necessarily made with respect to the previously determined position of the vehicle 105, so it is critical that the position of the vehicle 105 is reliably determined.

In a step 330 it can be checked whether the new landmark should be included in the map information or not. For this purpose, it can be determined whether the new landmark overlaps with another landmark that is already stored in the map information. In this case, the new landmark cannot contribute any new information for determining a position with respect to landmarks, so that recording can be dispensed with. In a further embodiment, it can also be determined that the new landmark is more than a predetermined distance from an already known landmark, and the landmark can only be entered if this is the case. In a further embodiment, landmarks can be entered into the map information independently of a possible proximity to an existing landmark. Whether or not such a landmark is used to determine a position can then be decided within the framework of a positioning method.

Furthermore, it can be determined that the new landmark can be recognized sufficiently well in the scans of the information sources 115 . For this purpose, information related to the information sources 115 can be considered, for example a signal-to-noise ratio or an accuracy related to a distance to the observed landmark. Furthermore, a quality measure provided by a recognition method can be taken into account. If, for example, a recognition should take place on the basis of an artificial neural network, a provided recognition certainty can be evaluated.

In a step 335, the new landmark can be entered into the map information if all the established criteria have been met. It is preferred that the entry includes at least one attribute that indicates whether or how well the new landmark was validated. No validation has taken place immediately after the entry.

If a landmark is recognized in step 320 that is already stored in the map information - but was preferably not used in step 315 to determine the position of vehicle 105 - the stored landmark can be validated by the further steps If in step 320 a Landmark are recognized, which is already stored in the map information - but was preferably not used in step 315 to determine the position of the vehicle 105 - the stored landmark can be validated by the further steps of the second method 300 are carried out as described, however in step 335 the determined position is compared with the stored position. If the positions deviate from one another by less than a predetermined amount, the stored landmark can be validated positively, otherwise negatively. The position of the stored landmark can be updated with respect to the newly determined position, for example by forming an average. After a number of validations, the position can be determined based on the originally determined position and all validations.

If the stored landmark has been positively validated more than a predetermined amount, it can be released for use in determining a position of a vehicle 105 on the basis of a scan of its surroundings. If the stored landmark has been negatively validated enough times, it can be deleted from the map information.

4 shows a schematic representation of landmarks 405, 410 with respect to a vehicle 105. First landmarks 405 are already included in the map information at the time of viewing and can be considered fixed or secured, while second landmarks 410 are automatically entered in the map information, for example by means of a second method 300 .

A second landmark 410.1 cannot be used to position the vehicle 105 since its position has not yet been adequately validated. A second landmark 410.2 is close to a specified first landmark 405, which is a lane boundary, for example, or is validated after the position of the vehicle 105 has been determined with sufficient certainty. A second landmark 410.3 cannot be identified with sufficient certainty, so that it cannot be used for positioning either. A second landmark 410.4 meets all established criteria and can be used to determine the position of vehicle 105. The spatial proximity to the second landmark 410.3 is not an obstacle, since this is not used to determine the position.

Reference List

100

system

105

vehicle

110

contraption

115

source of information

120

processing facility

125

reference

130

interface

200

first procedure

205

function block

210

determine pose

215

Evaluate and validate the signal

220

determine pose

225

provide signal

300

second procedure

305

scan the environment

310

Determine security of determination

315

determine the position of the vehicle

320

recognize landmarks

325

Determine the position of the landmark

330

Check exclusion criteria

335

Register / Validate

405

first landmarks

410

second landmark

Claims (13)

Method (300) for determining a landmark (405, 410), with the following steps: - Scanning (305) an environment of a vehicle (105); - determining (315) a geographical position of the vehicle (105); - determining (310) that the position of the vehicle (105) has been determined with a predetermined certainty; - determining (325) a geographic position of a landmark (405, 410) based on the scan and relative to the position of the vehicle (105); - Adding (335) the landmark (405, 410) to map information that includes landmarks (405, 410) in the vicinity of the vehicle (105). Method (300) according to claim 1 determining how well a position determined based on the scan fits a position hypothesis for the position of the vehicle (105); and the safety is determined based on a determination result. Method (300) according to claim 2 , a landmark (405, 410) in the surroundings being detected on the basis of the scanning; a position of the landmark (405, 410) is determined based on map information; and the position of the vehicle (105) is determined based on the position of the landmark (405, 410). Method (300) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the landmark (405, 410) is only added if the position of the vehicle (105) has been determined with a predetermined accuracy. Method (300) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the landmark (405, 410) is only added if no other landmark (405, 410) overlapping with the determined landmark (405, 410) is included in the map information. Method (300) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the landmark (405, 410) is only added if the landmark (405, 410) can be distinguished from other objects in the environment with sufficient certainty. Method (300) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein a landmark (405, 410) previously added to the map information is validated on the basis of the determined landmark (405, 410). Method (300) according to claim 7 , whereby landmarks (405, 410) determined on the basis of a large number of scans are validated against one another. Method (300) according to claim 7 or 8th , whereby a landmark (405, 410) added to the map information is released for use for navigation purposes if it has been sufficiently validated. Method (300) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein landmarks (405, 410) comprised by the map information are assigned to human-understandable categories; and the particular landmark (405, 410) does not fall into any of the categories. Method (300) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein an area surrounding a further vehicle (105) is scanned; at least one landmark (405, 410) in the environment is determined on the basis of the scan; wherein a geographic position of the landmark (405, 410) is stored in map information; wherein a position of the further vehicle (105) is determined on the basis of the landmark (405, 410). Device (110) for determining a landmark (405, 410), the device (110) comprising the following: - A scanning device for scanning an environment of a vehicle (105); - A map memory for storing map information comprising landmarks (405, 410) in the vicinity of the vehicle (105); and - A processing device (120), which is set up to determine a geographic position of the vehicle (105); determining that the position of the vehicle (105) has been determined with a predetermined confidence; determine a geographic position of a landmark (405, 410) based on the scan and relative to the position of the vehicle (105); and add the landmark (405, 410) to the map information. Vehicle (105) comprising a device (110). claim 12 .

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