KR102303239B1 - Apparatus and method for preventing vehicle collision - Google Patents

Abstract

The vehicle collision avoidance method includes the steps of collecting collision risk information including driving information and collision target detection information, determining a collision risk level between the own vehicle and a collision target based on the collision risk information, and warning based on the collision risk level determining the method and issuing a collision warning to the driver based on the warning method. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent an accident in advance by recognizing an object existing in front of the vehicle while driving, determining a collision risk level, and warning the driver.

Description

Vehicle collision avoidance device and vehicle collision avoidance method {APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR PREVENTING VEHICLE COLLISION}

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to vehicle driving, and more particularly, to a vehicle collision avoidance device and a vehicle collision avoidance method.

Recently, various safety technologies have been developed to prevent automobile accidents. However, these technologies cannot prevent accidents in advance as they are technologies to minimize damage to human life in the event of an accident. It can be seen that about 70% of the causes of car accidents that cause actual casualties come from belated awareness of the situation, such as negligence in the front and the inability to secure a safety situation. That is, most of them are caused by negligence of driving. Therefore, in order to prevent accidents caused by the driver's carelessness in advance, it is necessary to provide dangerous situation information while driving so that the driver can recognize the dangerous situation and secure a safe situation.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a collision avoidance device for reducing the risk of an accident by recognizing a collision risk situation between an object existing in front and the own vehicle while driving and warning the driver according to the risk level.

Another embodiment of the present invention provides a collision avoidance method for reducing the risk of an accident by recognizing a collision risk situation between an object existing in front and the own vehicle while driving, and warning the driver according to the risk level.

A vehicle collision avoidance method according to an embodiment of the present invention includes collecting collision risk information including driving information and collision target detection information; determining a collision risk level between the own vehicle and a collision target based on the collision risk information; determining a warning method based on the collision risk level; and issuing a collision warning to the driver based on the warning method.

A vehicle collision avoidance apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention includes an information collection unit, a collision risk determination unit, and a warning unit. The information collection unit may collect collision risk information by recognizing a situation in front of the vehicle. The collision risk determination unit may determine a collision risk level based on the collected collision risk information, and may determine a warning method accordingly. The warning unit may perform an actual warning operation based on the warning method determined by the collision risk determination unit.

According to the vehicle collision prevention apparatus and vehicle collision prevention method according to an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to determine a collision risk situation by recognizing an object (vehicle, pedestrian, obstacle, etc.) present in front while driving and to ensure a safety situation. By providing the information, it is possible to prevent accidents caused by the driver's negligence in advance.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a vehicle collision avoidance apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the information collecting unit of FIG. 1 .
3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a collision risk determining unit of FIG. 1 .
4A to 4D are diagrams for illustrating the occurrence of a danger in the front while the vehicle is driving.
5 is a flowchart illustrating a vehicle collision avoidance method according to another embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a flowchart illustrating in more detail an exemplary embodiment of the step of collecting collision risk information of FIG. 5 .
7 is a flowchart illustrating in more detail an exemplary embodiment of the step of determining the collision risk level of FIG. 5 .

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. At this time, it should be noted that in the accompanying drawings, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals as much as possible. It should be noted that in the following description, only parts necessary for understanding the operation according to the present invention are described, and descriptions of other parts will be omitted so as not to obscure the gist of the present invention. Also, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described herein and may be embodied in other forms. However, the embodiments described herein are provided to explain in detail enough to easily implement the technical spirit of the present invention to those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a vehicle collision avoidance apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1 , an apparatus 100 for preventing vehicle collision according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an information collecting unit 110 , a collision risk determining unit 130 , and a warning unit 150 . The information collection unit 110 may collect collision risk information by recognizing a situation in front of the vehicle. The information collection unit 110 may include an image sensor, a radar, an acceleration sensor, a location information collection unit, a rain sensor, an infrared sensor, and the like. Alternatively, the information collection unit 110 may collect collision risk information collected from an image sensor, a radar, an acceleration sensor, a location information collection unit, and a rain sensor. The collision risk information may include information such as a driving image, vehicle speed, vehicle location, amount of rain, tire air pressure, radar information, and infrared sensor information. A detailed configuration of the government collection unit 110 will be described later with reference to FIG. 2 .

The collision risk determination unit 130 may determine a collision risk level based on the collected collision risk information, and determine a warning method accordingly. Based on the collision risk information collected by the information collection unit 110, the safety distance and braking distance of the corresponding vehicle (hereinafter referred to as “own vehicle”) are calculated, and based on the distance to the collision target and the own vehicle speed or relative speed Thus, the Time To Collision (TTC) can be calculated. Based on the calculated TTC, the collision risk determination unit 130 may determine the risk level, and may adjust the risk level according to the type and movement direction of the collision target. Also, the collision risk determination unit 130 may determine a warning method based on the determined risk level.

The warning unit 150 may perform an actual warning operation based on the warning method determined by the collision risk determination unit 130 . For example, the warning unit 150 may warn the driver through augmented reality, HUD, display, voice, text, or the like.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the information collecting unit of FIG. 1 .

Referring to FIG. 2 , the information collecting unit 110 may include a driving information collecting unit 111 and a collision target detecting unit 113 . The driving information collection unit 111 may collect information related to driving of the own vehicle. For example, the driving information collecting unit 111 may collect information about the speed, acceleration, tire air pressure, location of the own vehicle, and the like of the own vehicle. In addition, the collision object detection unit 113 may collect detection information of other collision objects in the front, not the own vehicle. For example, the collision target detection unit 113 may collect information about the collision target in front based on image information collected through a camera, a radar, an infrared sensor, or the like. The information collection unit 110 may transmit the collected driving information and the detection information of the collision target to the collision risk determination unit 130 .

3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a collision risk determining unit of FIG. 1 .

3 , in one embodiment, the collision risk determination unit 130 determines the safety distance and braking distance calculation unit 131 , the TTC calculation unit 133 , the risk level determination unit 135 and the warning method It may include a part 137 . The safety distance and braking distance calculation unit 131 may calculate the safety distance and the braking distance based on the speed of the host vehicle, the road surface condition, the tire air pressure, and the like. In general, the safety distance is greater than the braking distance.

The TTC calculator 133 may calculate the TTC based on the speed of the own vehicle, the distance to the collision target, the speed of the collision target, and the like. When the collision object is stationary, the TTC can be obtained as follows.

TTC = distance between collision target and own vehicle / speed of own vehicle

When the collision target is simply an obstacle on the road surface, a pedestrian, or a vehicle that is stationary, the TTC calculator 133 may calculate the TTC in the above-described manner.

If the collision object is moving, the TTC can be calculated as

TTC = Distance between collision target and own vehicle / Relative speed of own vehicle with respect to collision target

When the collision target is a vehicle traveling at a speed lower than that of the host vehicle, the TTC calculator 133 may calculate the TTC in the above-described manner. Whether the collision target is stationary or moving may be determined by information received from the information collection unit 110 .

The risk level determiner 135 may determine the risk level based on the safety distance and braking distance calculated by the safety distance and braking distance calculator 131 and the TTC calculated by the TTC calculator 133 . For example, when the distance to the collision target is smaller than the braking distance, the risk level determiner 135 may set the current risk level to the highest level. For example, when the distance to the collision target is greater than the safety distance, the risk level determiner 135 may release the risk level. Also, the risk level determining unit 135 may determine the risk level as a level between the highest level and the released state according to the calculated TTC. For example, the lower the TTC, the closer the risk level is set, and the larger the TTC, the lower the risk level. A detailed method for determining the risk level by the risk level determining unit 135 based on the safety distance, braking distance, and TTC will be described later with reference to FIG. 7 .

The warning method determining unit 137 may determine the warning method based on the risk level determined by the risk level determining unit 135 . For example, when the risk level is the highest level, the warning method determining unit 137 may determine the warning method in a way that allows the driver to immediately recognize that a dangerous situation is present. In this case, the HUD, the in-vehicle display, the warning sound, the warning voice message, and the interior lighting can all be used to warn of a dangerous situation. According to an embodiment, when the risk level is the highest, the warning method determining unit 137 may automatically operate a vehicle brake or other safety devices in the vehicle.

For example, when the risk level is a low level, the warning method determining unit 137 may warn the driver of the risk level using the HUD or a partial area of the in-vehicle display. Alternatively, the driver can be warned of the level of danger using only a voice message.

4A to 4D are diagrams for illustrating the occurrence of a danger in the front while the vehicle is driving.

As described above, according to the collision avoidance apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, a safety situation is secured by recognizing the driving state of the vehicle in front while driving, determining a dangerous situation, and providing information about the dangerous situation to the driver of the own vehicle. can make it

As shown in FIG. 4A , when the front vehicle 403 suddenly decelerates while driving on a highway or a general road, or when the front vehicle 403 is traveling at a lower speed than the own vehicle 401 as shown in FIG. 4B . , the collision avoidance apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention determines a collision situation between the own vehicle 401 and the front vehicle 403 and provides information to the driver of the own vehicle 401 to secure a safety situation with respect to the front vehicle 403 . may provide or warn. In addition

In addition, when the pedestrian 405 enters the road as shown in Fig. 4c or when there is a stopped obstacle 407 on the road as shown in Fig. 4d, the collision avoidance device according to the embodiment of the present invention recognizes a dangerous situation and causes an accident It can provide information and warn the driver of dangerous situations so that they can be prevented from occurring.

5 is a flowchart illustrating a vehicle collision avoidance method according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5 , the vehicle collision avoidance method according to an embodiment of the present invention includes the steps of collecting collision risk information (S100), determining a collision risk level (S300), and determining a warning method (S500). ) and a warning step (S700).

In the step of collecting collision risk information (S100), the driving information of the own vehicle from various sensors (image sensor, radar, acceleration sensor, position coordinate acquisition device, rain sensor, etc.) It collects driving images, speed, location, amount of rain, tire pressure, etc.) and information related to the collision target in front (position of the collision target, moving direction and speed of the collision target, etc.). In this step, it is possible to detect and recognize collision target objects located in front of the own vehicle by analyzing the collected information. In addition, distance information with respect to the recognized collision target with respect to the driving vehicle may be collected, and the traveling speed of the own vehicle and the moving speed of the collision target may be determined. In addition, it is possible to calculate the safety distance and braking distance for the current driving speed by analyzing the driving condition information (weight, amount of rain, tire condition, road surface condition, etc.) of the own vehicle being driven. The step ( S100 ) of collecting collision risk information will be described later in more detail with reference to FIG. 6 .

In the step of determining the collision risk level ( S300 ), the collision risk level may be determined based on driving information of the own vehicle, information related to a collision target, a safety distance, a braking distance, and the like. For example, when the distance to the collision target is smaller than the braking distance, the current risk level may be set to the highest level. For example, if the distance to the collision object is greater than the safe distance, the risk level may be released. Also, according to the calculated TTC, the risk level may be determined as a level between the highest level and the released state. For example, as the TTC is smaller, the risk level is set to be closer to the highest level, and the larger the TTC, the lower the risk level may be determined. The step of determining the collision risk level ( S300 ) will be described later in more detail with reference to FIG. 7 .

In the step of determining the warning method ( S500 ), the warning method may be determined based on the determined collision risk level. For example, when the risk level determined in the step of determining the collision risk level ( S300 ) is the highest step, the warning method may be determined in such a way that the driver can immediately recognize that it is a dangerous situation. In this case, the HUD, in-vehicle display, warning sound, warning voice message, and interior lighting may all be utilized to warn of a dangerous situation. In some embodiments, vehicle brakes or other in-vehicle safety devices may be automatically activated when the risk level is the highest.

For example, when the risk level is a low level, the risk level may be guided to the driver through a HUD or some area of a display in the vehicle. Alternatively, the driver may be warned of the level of danger using only a voice message.

In the warning step S700 , the driver may be warned of a dangerous situation and a danger level by the determined warning method.

6 is a flowchart illustrating in more detail an exemplary embodiment of the step of collecting collision risk information of FIG. 5 .

Referring to FIG. 6 , the step of collecting collision risk information ( S100 ) includes collecting driving information ( S110 ), detecting a collision target ( S130 ), collecting the speed of the own vehicle and the distance to the collision target. It may include step S150 and calculating a safety distance and a braking distance based on the speed of the host vehicle (S170). In the step of collecting driving information ( S110 ), information related to driving of the own vehicle may be collected. For example, information regarding the speed, acceleration, tire pressure, and location of the own vehicle may be collected. In the step of detecting the collision target ( S130 ), it is possible to collect detection information of the collision target other than the own vehicle in front. For example, a collision target may be detected by collecting information about a collision target in front based on image information collected through a camera (image sensor), a radar, an infrared sensor, and the like. In the step of collecting the speed of the own vehicle and the distance to the collision target ( S150 ), the own vehicle speed is calculated based on the collected driving information, and the distance to the collision target may be calculated based on the collected collision target detection information. . In the step of calculating the safety distance and the braking distance based on the speed of the own vehicle ( S170 ), the safety distance and the braking distance may be calculated based on the collected driving information (the speed of the own vehicle, tire pressure, road surface condition, etc.).

7 is a flowchart illustrating in more detail an exemplary embodiment of the step of determining the collision risk level of FIG. 5 .

Referring to FIG. 7 , it is first determined whether the distance between the collision target and the host vehicle is greater than the calculated braking distance (step S311). When the distance between the collision target and the host vehicle is smaller than the braking distance, the risk level may be determined as the highest level (step S313). Accordingly, the warning method may be determined according to the determined highest level of risk, and the user may be warned of the highest level of risk of collision.

When the distance between the collision target and the host vehicle is greater than the braking distance, it is determined whether the distance between the collision target and the host vehicle is greater than the safety distance (step S315). When the distance between the collision target and the own vehicle is greater than the safe distance, it may be determined that the risk level of the own vehicle is a safety level. Accordingly, the risk level may be released ( S317 ) and a warning or guidance may be given to the driver according to the released risk level.

When the distance between the collision target and the host vehicle is smaller than the safety distance, the type, location, and movement direction of the collision target may be collected (step S319). 4A to 4D , the risk level may be determined in different ways depending on whether the collision target is a vehicle, a pedestrian, or a simple obstacle.

Next, it is determined whether the collision target is a vehicle (step S321). When the collision target is a vehicle, the relative speed of the host vehicle is calculated based on the target vehicle (step S323). In step S323, a value obtained by subtracting the speed of the target vehicle from the speed of the host vehicle may be determined as the relative speed. Thereafter, the TTC may be calculated based on the distance to the target vehicle and the calculated relative speed (step S325). In step S325, TTC may be calculated as follows.

TTC = Distance between collision target and own vehicle / Relative speed of own vehicle with respect to collision target

Next, a risk level may be determined based on the location, movement, and TTC of the target vehicle (step S327). In step S327, the shorter the TTC, the higher the risk level, and the longer the TTC, the lower the risk level. Thereafter, it is determined whether the relative speed is greater than 0 (step S329), and when the relative speed is less than 0, the risk level adjustment may no longer be performed. If the relative speed is greater than 0, it is determined whether the target vehicle proceeds to the front collision area of the host vehicle (step S331). The front collision area may mean an area in which the own vehicle may collide as the host vehicle proceeds in the traveling direction. For example, a lane area of the current own vehicle on a road may be defined as a forward collision area. When the target vehicle proceeds to the front collision area of the host vehicle, since the probability of collision is higher, the risk level is raised (step S333). When the target vehicle does not proceed to the front collision area of the own vehicle, since the probability of a collision is relatively low, the risk level is no longer adjusted, and the warning method may be determined according to the already determined risk level.

Returning to step S321 again, if the collision target is not a vehicle, the TTC is calculated based on the distance to the collision target and the own vehicle speed (step S341). In most cases where the collision target is not a vehicle, the collision target is a pedestrian or a stationary obstacle. In this case, compared to the speed of a vehicle moving at high speed, even in the case of a pedestrian, the speed is very low, so the TTC can be determined only by the speed of the own vehicle without considering the relative speed. In step S341, TTC can be obtained as follows.

TTC = distance between collision target and own vehicle / speed of own vehicle

Next, a risk level may be determined based on the position, movement, and TTC of the collision object (step S343). In step S343, the shorter the TTC, the higher the risk level, and the longer the TTC, the lower the risk level.

Thereafter, it is determined whether the collision target is a pedestrian (step S345). If the collision target is not a pedestrian, the warning method may be determined based on the risk level determined in step S343 without further adjusting the risk level. When the collision target is a pedestrian, the pedestrian speed in the moving direction of the own vehicle may be negligible, but whether the pedestrian proceeds to the front collision area of the own vehicle may be an important factor in determining the collision risk level.

When the pedestrian does not proceed to the front collision area of the own vehicle, since the probability of collision between the own vehicle and the pedestrian is relatively low, the warning method may be determined based on the risk level determined in step S343 without further adjusting the risk level. However, when the pedestrian proceeds to the front collision area of the own vehicle, the risk level may be increased because the collision probability between the own vehicle and the pedestrian is relatively high (step S333). The warning method can then be determined according to the adjusted risk level.

At this time, it will be understood that each block of the flowchart diagrams and combinations of the flowchart diagrams may be performed by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be embodied in a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing equipment, such that the instructions performed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing equipment are not described in the flowchart block(s). It creates a means to perform functions. These computer program instructions may be stored in a computer readable memory or using a computer, which may direct a computer or other programmable data processing equipment to implement a function in a particular manner, thereby enabling the computer to use the computer or to be computer readable. It is also possible that the instructions stored in the memory produce an article of manufacture containing instruction means for performing the function described in the flowchart block(s). The computer program instructions may also be mounted on a computer or other programmable data processing equipment, such that a series of operational steps are performed on the computer or other programmable data processing equipment to create a computer-executed process to create a computer or other programmable data processing equipment. It is also possible that instructions for performing the processing equipment provide steps for performing the functions described in the flowchart block(s).

Additionally, each block may represent a module, segment, or portion of code that includes one or more executable instructions for executing specified logical function(s). It should also be noted that in some alternative implementations it is also possible for the functions recited in blocks to occur out of order. For example, two blocks shown one after another may in fact be performed substantially simultaneously, or it is possible that the blocks are sometimes performed in the reverse order according to the corresponding function.

At this time, the term '~ unit' used in this embodiment means software or hardware components such as FPGA or ASIC, and '~ unit' performs certain roles. However, '-part' is not limited to software or hardware. The '~ unit' may be configured to reside on an addressable storage medium or may be configured to refresh one or more processors. Thus, as an example, '~' denotes components such as software components, object-oriented software components, class components, and task components, and processes, functions, properties, and procedures. , subroutines, segments of program code, drivers, firmware, microcode, circuitry, data, databases, data structures, tables, arrays, and variables. The functions provided in the components and '~ units' may be combined into a smaller number of components and '~ units' or further separated into additional components and '~ units'. In addition, components and '~ units' may be implemented to play one or more CPUs in a device or secure multimedia card.

Embodiments of the present invention disclosed in the present specification and drawings are merely provided for specific examples in order to easily explain the technical contents of the present invention and help the understanding of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. It will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains that other modifications based on the technical spirit of the present invention can be implemented in addition to the embodiments disclosed herein.

100: collision risk avoidance device 110: information collection unit
130: collision risk determination unit 150: warning unit

Claims (10)

collecting collision risk information including driving information and collision target detection information;
determining a collision risk level between the own vehicle and a collision target based on the collision risk information;
determining a warning method based on the collision risk level; and
providing a collision warning to the driver based on the warning method;
Determining a warning method based on the collision risk level comprises:
determining whether a distance between the collision target and the host vehicle is greater than a calculated braking distance; determining whether the distance between the collision target and the host vehicle is greater than a safety distance when the distance between the collision target and the host vehicle is greater than the braking distance in the determining whether the braking distance is greater than the braking distance; If the distance between the collision target and the host vehicle is smaller than the safety distance in the step of determining whether it is greater than the safety distance, collecting the type, location and movement direction of the collision target; determining whether the collected collision target is a vehicle; calculating a TTC based on the distance to the collision target and the own vehicle speed if the collision target is not a vehicle in the determining whether the vehicle is the vehicle; determining a risk level based on the location and TTC of the collision target; determining whether the collision target is a pedestrian; In the step of determining whether the collision target is a pedestrian, when the collision target is a pedestrian, determining whether the pedestrian proceeds to a front collision area of the own vehicle; and if the pedestrian proceeds to the front collision area of the own vehicle in the step of determining whether to proceed to the collision area, adjusting the risk level upward,
calculating a relative speed of the host vehicle based on the target vehicle when the collision target is a vehicle in the step of determining whether the vehicle is the vehicle; calculating a TTC based on the distance to the target vehicle and the calculated relative speed of the host vehicle; determining a risk level based on the location, movement, and TTC of the target vehicle; determining whether the relative speed of the host vehicle is greater than zero; determining whether the target vehicle proceeds to a front collision area of the host vehicle when the relative speed of the host vehicle is greater than 0 in the step of determining whether the relative speed of the host vehicle is greater than 0; and when the target vehicle proceeds to the forward collision area of the own vehicle in the step of determining whether to proceed to the forward collision area, the probability of a collision is higher, and thus increasing the risk level.
2. The method of claim 1
The step of collecting the collision risk information includes:
collecting driving information;
detecting a collision object;
collecting the speed of the own vehicle and the distance to the collision target; and
A method of preventing a vehicle collision, comprising calculating a safety distance and a braking distance based on the speed of the host vehicle.
3. The method of claim 2,
The driving information of the own vehicle collected in the step of collecting the driving information is,
A vehicle collision avoidance method, which is information including the speed, acceleration, tire pressure, and location information of the own vehicle.
3. The method of claim 2,
Information related to the collision target,
A method of avoiding vehicle collisions, which is information that is collected through one or more of an image sensor, radar, or infrared sensor.
3. The method of claim 2,
The step of collecting the speed of the own vehicle and the distance to the collision target includes:
The vehicle collision avoidance method of claim 1, wherein the own vehicle speed is calculated based on the collected driving information, and the distance to the collision target is calculated based on the collected collision target detection information.
The method of claim 1,
Determining a warning method based on the collision risk level comprises:
determining whether a distance between the collision target and the host vehicle is greater than a calculated braking distance; and
and determining the risk level as the highest step when the distance between the collision target and the host vehicle is smaller than the braking distance in the step of determining whether the braking distance is greater than the braking distance.
7. The method of claim 6,
determining whether the distance between the collision target and the host vehicle is greater than a safety distance when the distance between the collision target and the host vehicle is greater than the braking distance in the determining whether the braking distance is greater than the braking distance; and
and releasing the risk level of the own vehicle when the distance between the collision target and the own vehicle is greater than the safety distance in the step of determining whether the distance is greater than the safety distance. delete delete delete

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