CN114595857A

CN114595857A - Auxiliary system and method for vehicle formation, and server, device, and medium

Info

Publication number: CN114595857A
Application number: CN202011400783.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 唐帅; 孙铎; 曲彤; 杨岳; 马子康; 周之博
Original assignee: Audi AG
Current assignee: Audi AG
Priority date: 2020-12-03
Filing date: 2020-12-03
Publication date: 2022-06-07

Abstract

The invention provides an assistance system for vehicle formation, a server comprising the same, and a corresponding method, computer device and computer-readable storage medium. The assistance system includes: a detection unit configured to detect that two or more vehicles satisfy a formation condition that includes the two or more vehicles having an overlapping navigation route and positions of the two or more vehicles relative to each other being within a predetermined range; a decision unit configured to determine a formation strategy suitable for the two or more vehicles based on information related to the overlapping navigation routes; a request transmitting unit configured to transmit a formation request to each of the two or more vehicles in accordance with the formation policy. With the solution of the invention, it is possible to assist two or more vehicles to form a platoon, achieving the benefits associated with formation travel.

Description

Auxiliary system and method for vehicle formation, and server, device, and medium

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of vehicle technology, and more particularly, to an assistance system for vehicle formation, a server including the same, and a corresponding method, computer device, and computer-readable storage medium.

Background

Vehicle formation has several advantages. For example, when vehicles are driven in formation, energy consumption can be reduced because air resistance caused by vehicles driven following the head vehicle in the formation is reduced. In addition, the vehicles in formation can carry out wireless communication based on the vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication technology, which is convenient for the management of the vehicle fleet by the vehicle in the leader, and is beneficial to ensuring the vehicle running order, relieving traffic jam and reducing energy waste caused by vehicle jam.

Disclosure of Invention

The object of the present invention is to propose a solution that can be used for two or more vehicles to form a platoon, where appropriate, so that the two or more vehicles can benefit from platooning, achieving the benefits associated with platooning.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an assistance system for vehicle formation, comprising:

a detection unit configured to detect that two or more vehicles satisfy a formation condition that includes the two or more vehicles having an overlapping navigation route and positions of the two or more vehicles relative to each other being within a predetermined range;

a decision unit configured to determine a formation strategy suitable for the two or more vehicles based on information related to the overlapping navigation routes; and

a request transmitting unit configured to transmit a formation request to each of the two or more vehicles in accordance with the formation policy.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a server comprising the assistance system described above.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an assistance method for vehicle formation, comprising:

a detection step in which it is detected that two or more vehicles satisfy a formation condition that includes the two or more vehicles having an overlapping navigation route and the positions of the two or more vehicles relative to each other being within a predetermined range;

a decision step wherein a formation strategy applicable to the two or more vehicles is determined based on information related to the overlapping navigation routes; and

a request transmitting step in which a formation request is transmitted to each of the two or more vehicles in accordance with the formation policy.

According to a further aspect of the invention, a computer device is provided, comprising a memory and a processor, the memory having stored thereon a computer program which, when executed by the processor, causes the above-mentioned assistance method to be performed.

According to a further aspect of the invention, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium is provided, on which a computer program is stored which, when executed by a processor, causes the above-mentioned assistance method to be performed.

With the solution of the present invention, it is possible to identify two or more vehicles satisfying a formation condition, assist the two or more vehicles in forming a platoon, thereby enabling the two or more vehicles to benefit from formation driving, achieve benefits associated with formation driving, such as reduced vehicle energy consumption, alleviation of traffic congestion, etc.

Drawings

Non-limiting and non-exhaustive embodiments of the present invention are described by way of example with reference to the following drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an assistance system for vehicle formation according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a flow chart that schematically illustrates an assistance method for vehicle formation, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 3a and 3b are schematic diagrams for explaining aspects of the present invention.

Detailed Description

In order to make the above and other features and advantages of the present invention more apparent, the present invention is further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It is understood that the specific embodiments described herein are for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to be limiting.

Fig. 1 schematically shows an assistance system 100 for vehicle formation according to one embodiment of the invention.

The assistance system 100 comprises a detection unit 110, a decision unit 120 and a request sending unit 130. The detection unit 110 is communicatively coupled with the decision unit 120. In addition, the decision unit 120 is communicatively coupled with the request sending unit 130. The assistance system 100 may be provided on a server adapted to communicate with the vehicle. The vehicle may communicate with the server via technologies such as, but not limited to, a mobile network or Wi-Fi.

The detection unit 110 may be configured to detect that two or more vehicles satisfy a formation condition that includes the two or more vehicles having an overlapping navigation route and the positions of the two or more vehicles relative to each other being within a predetermined range. Fig. 3a schematically shows two or more vehicles with overlapping navigation routes.

The detection by the detection unit 110 may be based on information provided to the server by the vehicle connected to the server in which it is located. For example, each vehicle connected to the server may upload its navigation route, location, such as Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) location, and possibly other information such as speed, acceleration, etc., to the server in real time, periodically, or on other suitable schedules. Alternatively, for each vehicle connected to the server, the server may obtain its identity information (e.g., Vehicle Identification Number (VIN), model number, etc.), registration/registration information (e.g., license plate number, etc.), etc., from the vehicle or an available database, for example.

The overlapping navigation route has an overlapping start point and an overlapping end point. In one embodiment, the length of the overlapping navigation route is not less than a preset length threshold. The preset length threshold may be set according to circumstances, and may be, for example, a length of 10km or more or less. In one embodiment, the overlapping navigation routes are limited to routes on a highway.

Here, the "predetermined range" may be a determined distance range to define a distance of the two or more vehicles with respect to each other; at this time, the "predetermined range" may be referred to as a "predetermined distance range". The distance range may be set according to circumstances, and may be, for example, a distance range of 3 km or more or less. Alternatively, the "predetermined range" may be an otherwise bounded range, such as a range bounded by time, to define a time difference between the two or more vehicles reaching, for example, overlapping start points of the overlapping navigation routes.

The decision unit 120 may be configured to determine a formation strategy suitable for the two or more vehicles based on information related to the overlapping navigation routes. The information related to the overlapping navigation routes may be obtained in various possible ways, such as from an accessible High Automatic Driving (HAD) map by a server where the decision unit 120 is located.

In one embodiment, the information related to the overlapping navigation route indicates that there is at least one formation site along the overlapping navigation route suitable for forming a platoon. The formation site may be any site or place suitable for forming a fleet of vehicles, such as a service area, parking lot, gas station, charging station, etc. In this case, the decision unit 120 may be configured to determine a static formation strategy for the two or more vehicles.

In case of a static formation strategy, the decision unit 120 takes one of the at least one formation location as a target formation location for the two or more vehicles.

In case the at least one queuing place comprises a plurality of queuing places, the decision unit 120 may be configured to select the target queuing place from the plurality of queuing places. In one embodiment, the decision unit 120 is configured to select the target formation site according to a first selection criterion, namely: minimizing a sum of expected wait times at the target formation location for each of the two or more vehicles other than a vehicle expected to arrive at the target formation location at the latest before the vehicle expected to arrive at the target formation location arrives at the target formation location. In another embodiment, the decision unit 120 is configured to select the target formation site according to a second selection criterion, namely: minimizing an expected wait time at the target formation location for a vehicle of the two or more vehicles that is expected to arrive earliest at the target formation location before a vehicle of the two or more vehicles that is expected to arrive latest at the target formation location arrives at the target formation location.

The selection of the target formation location by the decision unit 120 may be based on a navigation route, a position, such as a GNSS position, a speed, an acceleration, etc., of each of the two or more vehicles. For example, for each of the at least one formation site, the decision unit 120 may calculate a time at which each vehicle is expected to arrive at the formation site based on the navigation route, position, speed, acceleration, etc. of each of the two or more vehicles, determine a vehicle of the two or more vehicles that is expected to arrive at the formation site latest and/or a vehicle of the two or more vehicles that is expected to arrive at the formation site earliest, and determine at least one of: the vehicle is estimated to arrive at the formation site at the latest time of arrival at the formation site, and the vehicle is estimated to arrive at the formation site at the latest time of arrival at the formation site. On this basis, the decision unit 120 may select one of the at least one queuing place as the target queuing place.

Optionally, the decision unit 120 may be further configured to: assigning each vehicle of the two or more vehicles a parking location at the target formation location according to a chronological order in which the two or more vehicles are expected to arrive at the target formation location. In this manner, each of the two or more vehicles, after reaching the target formation location, may stop at its assigned parking location, which facilitates formation.

In one embodiment, the information related to the overlapping navigation routes indicates the presence or absence of formation sites suitable for forming a fleet of vehicles along the overlapping navigation routes. In this case, the decision unit 120 may be configured to determine a dynamic formation strategy for the two or more vehicles.

In case of a dynamic queuing strategy, the decision unit 120 may be configured to: determining that a vehicle of the two or more vehicles that is expected to arrive earliest at the overlapping start point of the overlapping navigation route is a target head-of-line vehicle, and determining that other vehicles of the two or more vehicles are non-head-of-line vehicles; planning a formation running speed for the target head-of-line vehicle; and planning a catch-up speed and a following speed less than the catch-up speed for each non-lead-ahead vehicle of the two or more vehicles. Here, the formation travel speed is intended to be used by the target head-of-line vehicle after reaching the overlap start point at least until each non-head-of-line vehicle of the two or more vehicles travels to a vehicle immediately preceding the two or more vehicles. For each of the non-head-of-line vehicles: its following speed is intended to be used by the non-lead vehicle after it has traveled to the immediately preceding one of the two or more vehicles at least until all of the non-lead vehicles each have traveled to the immediately preceding respective one of the two or more vehicles, its catching up speed being intended to be used by the non-lead vehicle before it has traveled to the immediately preceding one of the two or more vehicles. The catch-up speed may be greater than the formation travel speed. The following speed may be determined based on the formation travel speed, and may be equal to the formation travel speed, for example.

For each non-head-of-line vehicle, the non-head-of-line vehicle may be considered to follow a preceding vehicle of the two or more vehicles when the non-head-of-line vehicle travels a distance equal to or less than a following distance from the immediately preceding vehicle. The following distance may be a fixed distance or may be variable, for example depending on factors such as road conditions, weather conditions, etc. The following distance may correspond to or be based on a safe distance between adjacent vehicles in the fleet.

The decision unit 120 may plan the formation travel speed of the target head-of-line vehicles and the following speed and catch-up speed of each non-head-of-line vehicle in various possible ways. For example, the decision unit 120 may plan the respective speeds based on, for example, the distance of each of the two or more vehicles from the overlap start point, the speed limit value of the road/relevant lane of the road on which each of the two or more vehicles travels when traveling according to its navigation route, and other possible information/factors. Such other possible information/factors include, for example and without limitation: a condition of a road on which each of the two or more vehicles travels while traveling along its navigation route, a traffic condition on the road, and the like; weather conditions; a model, performance of each of the two or more vehicles; and the like. In one embodiment, the decision unit 120 is configured to determine the formation travel speed of the target head-of-line vehicle and the following speed and catch-up speed of each non-head-of-line vehicle such that the time required to reach a state where all non-head-of-line vehicles each travel to follow a respective preceding one of the two or more vehicles immediately preceding it is minimized. The decision unit 120 may obtain the information needed to plan the various speeds described above in various possible ways or any suitable combination thereof.

The request transmitting unit 130 may be configured to transmit a formation request to each of the two or more vehicles according to the formation strategy determined by the decision unit 120.

In the case of a static formation strategy, for each of the two or more vehicles, the formation request that request sending unit 130 sends to that vehicle may include information of the target formation location, and may optionally include one or more of: information of other vehicles of the two or more vehicles (such as identity information, location information, and possibly other information), information of the overlapping navigation routes (such as an overlapping start point, an overlapping end point, and/or a length of the overlapping navigation routes), projected energy savings information associated with convoy driving according to the convoy strategy, in particular for the vehicle.

In the case of a dynamic formation strategy, the formation request transmitted by the request transmitting unit 130 to the target head-of-line vehicle may include information of the overlap start point and the formation traveling speed, and may optionally include one or more of the following: information of other vehicles of the two or more vehicles (such as identity information, location information and/or possibly other information), information of the overlapping navigation route different from the overlapping start point (such as an overlapping end point and/or length of the overlapping navigation route), projected energy saving information associated with formation driving according to the formation strategy, in particular for the target head-of-line vehicle; and, for each of said non head-of-line vehicles, the formation request transmitted to it by the request transmitting unit 130 may comprise said catch-up speed and said following speed planned for it, and may optionally comprise one or more of: information of other vehicles of the two or more vehicles (such as identity information, location information, and possibly other information), information of the overlapping navigation routes (such as an overlapping start point, an overlapping end point, and/or a length of the overlapping navigation routes), and expected energy consumption saving information associated with formation driving according to the formation strategy, particularly for the non-head-of-line vehicles.

Optionally, the request sending unit 130 may be further configured to receive a response, e.g. an acknowledgement, of each of the two or more vehicles to the convoy request sent thereto.

The two or more vehicles may include a vehicle driven by a human driver and an autonomous vehicle. For example, for a vehicle driven by a human driver, in response to a formation request presented visually and/or audibly through an onboard display screen and/or speaker of the vehicle, the human driver may audibly acknowledge the formation request by operating an associated button or touch screen within the vehicle or through a microphone within the vehicle, as the case may be, thereby indicating acceptance of the formation request. The visual form of the formation request may be presented by, for example, graphics, text, icons, maps, routes, or combinations thereof. For autonomous vehicles, in response to receiving a formation request, the vehicle may automatically acknowledge the formation request as appropriate, thereby indicating acceptance of the formation request. For example, an autonomous vehicle may have a formation function that can be enabled and disabled. In the event that the formation function is enabled, the autonomous vehicle may automatically acknowledge the received formation request; conversely, in the event that the queuing function is disabled, the vehicle does not acknowledge the received queuing request. As another example, in response to receiving a formation request, the autonomous vehicle may determine whether an overlapping navigation route included in the formation request exceeds a boundary of the HAD map based on information of the overlapping navigation route, and automatically confirm the formation request if the determination result is negative, and not confirm the formation request if the determination result is positive.

Alternatively, for a vehicle to which a formation request is sent, if an acknowledgement from the vehicle is not received within a predetermined time period, the request sending unit 130 may consider the vehicle to reject the formation request and may indicate this to the decision unit 120. Depending on the situation, the decision unit 120 may respond to such a received indication, e.g. to resume the above described related operations, such as determining a formation strategy, assigning parking positions, selecting a target formation location, determining a target formation head vehicle/non-formation head vehicle, planning speed, etc., taking into account only the remaining vehicles of the two or more vehicles, except the vehicle rejecting the formation request.

Vehicles accepting the formation request may perform vehicle formation in accordance with the corresponding formation strategy.

In one embodiment of applying a static formation strategy, each vehicle confirming participation in the formation may travel to the target formation location along its navigation route and stop at a stop location assigned thereto in the target formation location. After confirming that all vehicles participating in the formation reach the target formation address, the vehicles may begin the formation, e.g., by the head-of-line vehicle in the front of the vehicles sending target speeds, accelerations, travel paths, travel trajectories, etc. to other vehicles so that the vehicles travel in the formation accordingly as a fleet.

In one embodiment of applying the dynamic formation strategy, it is confirmed that a target head-of-line vehicle of the vehicles participating in the formation can travel along its navigation route to an overlapping start point of the overlapping navigation route, upon reaching the overlapping start point for its planned formation travel speed until it is confirmed that each non-head-of-line vehicle of the vehicles participating in the formation travels to the immediately preceding one of the vehicles following it. Confirming that each non-head-of-line vehicle of the vehicles participating in formation can travel at the catch-up speed planned for it according to its navigation route until following the immediately preceding one of the vehicles, and travel at the following speed planned for it after traveling to the immediately preceding one of the vehicles until the following conditions are reached: confirming that all non-head-of-line vehicles of the vehicles participating in the formation each travel to the respective preceding vehicle following the immediately preceding one of the vehicles. After this state is reached, the vehicles may begin to form, for example, by a target one of the vehicles sending a target speed, acceleration, travel path, travel trajectory, etc., to each non-head-of-line vehicle for the vehicles to form accordingly as a fleet of vehicles.

For an autonomous vehicle, vehicle travel may be controlled by a driver assistance system of the autonomous vehicle by controlling a powertrain system, a steering system, a transmission system, and/or a braking system of the vehicle based on the above-described target speed, acceleration, travel path, travel trajectory, and the like for formation.

Fig. 3B schematically shows a vehicle a and a vehicle B forming a platoon according to the solution of the invention, where vehicle a is the head of line vehicle and vehicle B is a non-head of line vehicle.

The assistance system 100 may optionally also comprise an alert unit, as the case may be. The alert unit may be configured to: and when the warning condition is met, warning information that the driving of the vehicle team is about to end is sent to each vehicle in the vehicle team. In one embodiment, the alert unit sends an alert, such as a visual and/or audible alert, to each vehicle in the fleet of vehicles that formation travel is about to end when the distance of the lead vehicle in the fleet from the overlapping end of the overlapping navigation routes is less than a predetermined distance threshold or the projected time required to reach the overlapping end of the overlapping navigation routes is less than a predetermined time threshold. Optionally, in response to the alert message, a countdown timer in the vehicle may be triggered to indicate the time remaining until the end of the convoy run in real time. The predetermined distance threshold may be set according to circumstances, and may be, for example, a distance of 5 km or more or less. The predetermined time threshold may be set according to circumstances, and may be, for example, 3 minutes or longer or shorter. The countdown time of the countdown timer may be a fixed length of time or may be set in other ways. In another embodiment, the warning unit sends warning information for dissembling the fleet of vehicles to each vehicle in the fleet of vehicles when an abnormal condition of the vehicle in the fleet of vehicles is detected, so that the vehicles finish formation driving. The abnormal condition may be, for example, but not limited to: a certain component of the vehicle is in failure alarm; a vehicle in the autonomous mode is taken over control by a human driver-e.g., in the case of an autonomous vehicle; the navigation route of the vehicle is changed; and so on.

Fig. 2 schematically illustrates an assistance method 200 for vehicle formation according to one embodiment of the invention. The assistance method may be implemented using the assistance system of the invention as described above.

As shown in fig. 2, the assistance method 200 includes a detection step S210, a decision step S220, and a request transmission step S230.

In step S210, it is detected that two or more vehicles satisfy a formation condition that includes that the two or more vehicles have an overlapping navigation route and that the positions of the two or more vehicles relative to each other are within a predetermined range.

At step S220, a formation strategy suitable for the two or more vehicles is determined based on the information related to the overlapping navigation routes.

At step S230, a formation request is sent to each vehicle of the two or more vehicles according to the formation strategy.

The formation strategy determined at step S220 may be a static formation strategy or a dynamic formation strategy, which is related to whether there are formation sites along the overlapping navigation route that are suitable for forming a fleet of vehicles.

In the case of a static formation strategy, step S220 may include treating one of the at least one formation locations along the overlapping navigation route as a target formation location for the two or more vehicles. Step S220 may also optionally include: in case the at least one queuing location comprises a plurality of queuing locations, the target queuing location is selected according to a suitable selection criterion, such as the first or second selection criterion described above.

In case of a dynamic queuing strategy, step S220 may include: determining that a vehicle of the two or more vehicles that is expected to arrive earliest at the overlapping start point of the overlapping navigation route is a target head-of-line vehicle, and determining that other vehicles of the two or more vehicles are non-head-of-line vehicles; planning a formation running speed for the target head-of-line vehicle; and planning a catch-up speed and a following speed less than the catch-up speed for each non-lead-ahead vehicle of the two or more vehicles.

Each of the above steps may be performed by a respective unit of the assistance system of the invention, as described above in connection with fig. 1. Additionally, various operations and details as described above in connection with the various elements of the auxiliary system of the present invention may be included or embodied in the auxiliary method of the present invention.

It should be understood that the various elements of the assistance system of the invention may be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or a combination thereof. The units may be embedded in a processor of the computer device in a hardware or firmware form or independent of the processor, or may be stored in a memory of the computer device in a software form for being called by the processor to execute operations of the units. Each of the units may be implemented as a separate component or module, or two or more units may be implemented as a single component or module.

It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that the schematic diagram of the assistance system shown in fig. 1 is merely an illustrative block diagram of a portion of the structure associated with aspects of the present invention and does not constitute a limitation of the computer device, processor or computer program embodying aspects of the present invention. A particular computer device, processor or computer program may include more or fewer components or modules than shown in the figures, or may combine or split certain components or modules, or may have a different arrangement of components or modules.

In one embodiment, a computer device is provided comprising a memory and a processor, the memory having stored thereon computer instructions executable by the processor, the computer instructions, when executed by the processor, instructing the processor to perform the steps of the auxiliary method of the invention. The computer device may broadly be a server, a vehicle mounted terminal, or any other electronic device having the necessary computing and/or processing capabilities. In one embodiment, the computer device may include a processor, memory, a network interface, a communication interface, etc., connected by a system bus. The processor of the computer device may be used to provide the necessary computing, processing and/or control capabilities. The memory of the computer device may include non-volatile storage media and internal memory. An operating system, a computer program, and the like may be stored in or on the non-volatile storage medium. The internal memory may provide an environment for the operating system and the computer programs in the non-volatile storage medium to run. The network interface and the communication interface of the computer device may be used to connect and communicate with an external device via a network. Which when executed by a processor performs the steps of the method of the invention.

The invention may be implemented as a computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program which, when executed by a processor, causes the steps of the method of the invention to be performed. In one embodiment, the computer program is distributed across a plurality of computer devices or processors coupled by a network such that the computer program is stored, accessed, and executed by one or more computer devices or processors in a distributed fashion. A single method step/operation, or two or more method steps/operations, may be performed by a single computer device or processor or by two or more computer devices or processors. One or more method steps/operations may be performed by one or more computer devices or processors, and one or more other method steps/operations may be performed by one or more other computer devices or processors. One or more computer devices or processors may perform a single method step/operation, or perform two or more method steps/operations.

It will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that all or part of the steps of the method of the present invention may be directed to associated hardware, such as a computer device or a processor, for performing the steps of the method of the present invention by a computer program, which may be stored in a non-transitory computer readable storage medium and executed to cause the steps of the method of the present invention to be performed. Any reference herein to memory, storage, databases, or other media may include non-volatile and/or volatile memory, as appropriate. Examples of non-volatile memory include read-only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (prom), electrically programmable ROM (eprom), electrically erasable programmable ROM (eeprom), flash memory, magnetic tape, floppy disk, magneto-optical data storage device, hard disk, solid state disk, and the like. Examples of volatile memory include Random Access Memory (RAM), external cache memory, and the like.

The respective technical features described above may be arbitrarily combined. Although not all possible combinations of features are described, any combination of features should be considered to be covered by the present specification as long as there is no contradiction between such combinations.

While the present invention has been described in connection with the embodiments, it is to be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing description and drawings are merely illustrative and not restrictive of the broad invention, and that this invention not be limited to the disclosed embodiments. Various modifications and variations are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Claims

1. An assistance system for vehicle formation, comprising:

2. The assistance system of claim 1, wherein the information relating to the overlapping navigation route indicates that there is at least one formation site along the overlapping navigation route suitable for forming a fleet of vehicles, the decision unit being configured to:

taking one of the at least one convoy location as a target convoy location for the two or more vehicles,

wherein, for each of the two or more vehicles, the convoy request sent to that vehicle includes information of the target convoy location, and optionally one or more of: information of other vehicles of the two or more vehicles, information of the overlapping navigation routes, predicted energy saving information associated with formation driving according to the formation strategy, in particular for the vehicle.

3. The assistance system of claim 2, wherein the at least one formation site comprises a plurality of formation sites, the decision unit further configured to:

selecting the target formation location such that a sum of expected waiting times at the target formation location for each of the two or more vehicles other than a vehicle expected to arrive latest at the target formation location before the vehicle expected to arrive latest at the target formation location arrives at the target formation location is minimized or such that an expected waiting time at the target formation location for a vehicle expected to arrive earliest at the target formation location among the two or more vehicles before a vehicle expected to arrive latest at the target formation location among the two or more vehicles arrives at the target formation location is minimized.

4. The assistance system of claim 1, wherein the information relating to the overlapping navigation route indicates the presence or absence of formation sites along the overlapping navigation route suitable for forming a fleet of vehicles, the segment of overlapping navigation route having an overlapping start point, the decision unit configured to:

determining a vehicle of the two or more vehicles that is expected to arrive earliest at the overlap start point as a target front-of-line vehicle and determining other vehicles of the two or more vehicles as non-front-of-line vehicles;

planning a formation travel speed for the target head-of-line vehicle, the formation travel speed intended for use by the target head-of-line vehicle after reaching the overlap start at least until each non-head-of-line vehicle of the two or more vehicles travels to a vehicle immediately preceding it of the two or more vehicles; and

planning a catch-up speed and a following speed less than the catch-up speed for each of the non-head-of-line vehicles, wherein for each of the non-head-of-line vehicles: said following speed intended to be used by the non-head-of-line vehicle after travelling to follow immediately preceding one of said two or more vehicles at least until all of said non-head-of-line vehicles each travel to follow immediately preceding one of said two or more vehicles, said catching-up speed intended to be used by the non-head-of-line vehicle before travelling to follow immediately preceding one of said two or more vehicles,

wherein the catch-up speed is greater than the formation travel speed, the follow-up speed being determined on the basis of the formation travel speed and preferably being equal to the formation travel speed,

wherein the formation request sent to the target head-of-line vehicle includes information of the overlap start point and the formation travel speed, and optionally includes one or more of: information of other vehicles of the two or more vehicles, information of the overlapping navigation route different from the overlapping start point, expected energy consumption saving information associated with formation driving according to the formation strategy, in particular for the target head-of-line vehicle, and

for each of the non-head-of-line vehicles, the formation request sent to it includes the catch-up speed and the following speed planned for it, and optionally one or more of: information of other vehicles of the two or more vehicles, information of the overlapping navigation routes, projected energy consumption savings information associated with formation driving according to the formation strategy, in particular for the non-head-of-line vehicle.

5. A server comprising the assistance system of any one of claims 1-4.

6. An assistance method for vehicle formation, comprising:

a decision step in which a formation strategy suitable for the two or more vehicles is determined based on information relating to the overlapping navigation routes; and

7. An assistance method according to claim 6, wherein the information relating to the overlapping navigation route indicates that there is at least one formation site along the overlapping navigation route suitable for forming a platoon, the decision step comprising:

wherein, for each of the two or more vehicles, the convoy request sent to that vehicle includes information of the target convoy location, and optionally one or more of: information of other vehicles of the two or more vehicles, information of the overlapping navigation routes, projected energy saving information associated with convoy driving according to the convoy strategy, in particular for the vehicle.

8. The assistance method of claim 7, wherein the at least one formation site comprises a plurality of formation sites, in the decision step:

selecting the target formation location such that a sum of expected waiting times at the target formation location for each of the two or more vehicles other than a vehicle expected to arrive at the target formation location at the latest vehicle in the two or more vehicles is minimized before the vehicle expected to arrive at the target formation location, or such that an expected waiting time at the target formation location for a vehicle expected to arrive at the target formation location at the earliest vehicle in the two or more vehicles is minimized before a vehicle expected to arrive at the target formation location.

9. An assistance method according to claim 6, wherein the information relating to the overlapping navigation routes indicates the presence or absence of formation sites along the overlapping navigation routes suitable for forming a fleet of vehicles, the overlapping navigation routes having an overlapping start point, the decision step comprising:

for each of the non-head-of-line vehicles, the formation request sent to it includes the catch-up speed and the following speed planned for it, and optionally one or more of: information of other vehicles of the two or more vehicles, information of the overlapping navigation routes, predicted energy consumption saving information associated with formation driving according to the formation strategy, in particular for the non-head-of-line vehicle.

10. A computer device comprising a memory and a processor, the memory having stored thereon a computer program which, when executed by the processor, causes the auxiliary method according to any one of claims 6-9 to be performed.

11. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, having stored thereon a computer program which, when executed by a processor, causes the auxiliary method according to any one of claims 6-9 to be performed.