CN114643998A

CN114643998A - Operation prediction method, auxiliary method and controller

Info

Publication number: CN114643998A
Application number: CN202210486202.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 李和安
Original assignee: Mercedes Benz Group AG
Current assignee: Mercedes Benz Group AG
Priority date: 2022-05-06
Filing date: 2022-05-06
Publication date: 2022-06-21
Also published as: DE102023001752A1

Abstract

The invention provides an operation prediction method for a vehicle, which at least comprises the following steps: s110, under the condition that a vehicle is about to drive into a second road from a first road in a non-straight-going mode at an intersection and drive along a target direction, acquiring intersection environment information of the intersection and to-be-merged traffic flow information about traffic flow driving along the target direction in the second road at the intersection; s120, predicting predicted merging operation information about merging operation to be taken by the vehicle on the basis of the intersection environment information, the to-be-merged traffic flow information and the historical merging operation data of the vehicle, wherein the predicted merging operation information at least comprises a merging lane to which the vehicle will enter; and S130, transmitting the prediction merge operation information to the surrounding vehicles. The invention also provides an auxiliary method for assisting the vehicle to pass through the intersection and a corresponding controller. According to the invention, the driving safety and the driving comfort of the vehicle at the intersection can be improved.

Description

Operation prediction method, auxiliary method and controller

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of driving safety of vehicles, and in particular, to an operation prediction method for a vehicle, an assistance method for assisting a vehicle in passing through an intersection, and a controller for a vehicle.

Background

As the progress of vehicle intellectualization advances, more and more vehicles are equipped with driving assistance functions that can alleviate the burden on the driver to some extent. However, in special scenes such as intersections where traffic flow is large and road conditions are complex, the current driving assistance function is still deficient in safety and comfort.

For example, at an intersection area, a straight-going vehicle travels on a road including a plurality of lanes. Another vehicle traveling on another road may enter the lane in which the straight-going vehicle is located by turning right. A straight-going vehicle will be affected by the right-turn merge operation of the right-turning vehicle. This makes it possible for a straight-ahead vehicle to take appropriate countermeasures to prevent a collision with a right-turning vehicle. However, the manner in which the right turn vehicle performs the right turn merge operation has uncertainty. For example, a right turn vehicle may select which lane to merge into. This will increase the difficulty of making an appropriate coping operation for a straight-ahead vehicle.

A method of predicting a turning locus of a vehicle based on travel information of the vehicle is known in the related art. However, this prediction method has the disadvantages of complex calculation, low accuracy, etc.

Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an operation prediction and driving assistance strategy for a vehicle adapted for use in an intersection scenario that overcomes at least one of the deficiencies of the prior art.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to provide an improved operation prediction and driving assistance strategy suitable for an intersection scene, which can more accurately predict the driving operation of a vehicle at the intersection and improve the driving safety and the driving comfort.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an operation prediction method for a vehicle, wherein the operation prediction method includes at least the steps of:

s110: acquiring intersection environment information of an intersection and information about to-be-merged traffic flow of traffic flow traveling in a target direction in the second road at the intersection under the condition that a vehicle is about to travel in a non-straight manner from the first road to the second road at the intersection and travel in the target direction;

s120: predicting predicted merge operation information regarding a merge operation to be taken by the vehicle on the basis of the intersection environment information, the to-be-merged traffic flow information, and the historical merge operation data of the vehicle, the predicted merge operation information including at least a merge lane into which the vehicle will enter; and

s130: the predicted incorporating operation information is transmitted to the surrounding vehicle.

With this operation prediction method, the vehicle can accurately predict the merge operation to be taken and notify the surrounding vehicles before actually performing the merge operation. The surrounding vehicles can perform appropriate driving operations based on the predicted incorporated operation information to prevent collisions between vehicles and avoid taking urgent avoidance measures. This can improve driving safety and driving comfort. It is particularly advantageous that surrounding vehicles traveling straight through the intersection in the target direction within the second road can receive the predicted merging operation information and determine whether the vehicle will merge into and/or pass through the lane in which it is located.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, step S110 includes:

acquiring travel state information and surrounding traffic information of a potential merging vehicle that is about to pass through an intersection in a straight-ahead manner in a target direction, and determining to-be-merged traffic information based on the travel state information and the surrounding traffic information of the potential merging vehicle; and/or

Detecting a surrounding vehicle by means of an environment sensor of the vehicle and determining traffic flow information to be incorporated based on detection data of the environment sensor of the vehicle; and/or

Information of traffic flows to be merged is received from a roadside unit located at an intersection.

It is particularly advantageous that the vehicle can acquire the traffic information to be incorporated in a variety of ways. This facilitates more comprehensive and accurate acquisition of the traffic information to be incorporated.

Optionally, the traffic information to be incorporated includes, for example, an average vehicle distance in each lane of the second road at the intersection and a traffic speed in each lane. The inter-vehicle distance and traffic speed within the lane to be merged largely influence the merging operation decision of the vehicle. According to the information of the traffic flow to be merged, the merging operation of the vehicle can be predicted more accurately.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, step S130 includes: the method includes identifying a potential merging vehicle about to pass through an intersection in a straight-ahead manner in a target direction, and transmitting predictive merging operation information to the potential merging vehicle in a targeted manner. The potentially incorporated vehicle is more significantly affected by the incorporation operation of the vehicle than other surrounding vehicles.

The prediction merging operation information further includes, among others: the running speed and/or acceleration and/or merging trajectory that the vehicle will have in the merging operation. This facilitates the surrounding vehicle to make appropriate coping driving operations for the merge operation.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the operation prediction method further includes step S140 of storing, as history merging data, the to-be-merged traffic flow information, the intersection environment information, and the actual merging operation information of the vehicle that enters the second road from the first road.

The stored traffic information to be incorporated includes, among others: the vehicle pitch in each lane and the traffic flow speed in each lane of the second road at the intersection are detected by means of the environmental sensor of the vehicle within a predetermined period of time before the merge operation of the vehicle.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the actual incorporation operation information includes at least one of the following information:

a preliminary merge speed that represents a travel speed of the vehicle, particularly an average travel speed, within a predetermined period of time before a merge operation;

a merge acceleration representing an acceleration, particularly an average acceleration, of the vehicle during a merge operation;

a virtual merge lane, which represents a merge lane into which the vehicle enters through a merge operation;

and a merge trajectory representing a travel trajectory of the vehicle during the merge operation.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the intersection environment information includes at least one of the following information: the number of lanes of a road connected to an intersection, a prescribed driving direction of the lanes, the direction and number of roads connected to an intersection, the presence of traffic lights at an intersection, and the state of traffic lights at an intersection.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an assistance method for assisting a vehicle in passing through an intersection, wherein the assistance method includes at least the steps of:

s210, in the case that a vehicle is about to enter from a first road and pass through an intersection in a straight-going manner, identifying a potential merging vehicle which enters the intersection from a second road intersecting the first road at the intersection and leaves the intersection in the same direction as the vehicle on the same road;

s220, transmitting the driving state information and the surrounding traffic information of the vehicle to the potential merging vehicle; and

and S230, acquiring the predicted merging operation information of the potential merging vehicle from the potential merging vehicle, wherein the predicted merging operation information at least comprises a merging lane into which the potential merging vehicle is to drive.

This can improve the accuracy of the prediction incorporation operation information. The vehicles can incorporate the operation information according to more accurate prediction to make appropriate driving operation so as to prevent collision between the vehicles and avoid taking urgent avoidance measures. This can improve driving safety and driving comfort.

Optionally, the driving state information includes at least one of a driving speed, a driving acceleration, a driving direction, and a driving lane of the vehicle.

Optionally, the surrounding traffic information includes at least one of a vehicle distance of the vehicle and its surrounding vehicle from the corresponding preceding vehicle, a traveling speed of the surrounding vehicle, and a traveling acceleration of the surrounding vehicle.

Optionally, the predicted merge operation information further includes a travel speed and/or acceleration and/or a merge trajectory that the potential merge vehicle will have in the merge operation.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the assisting method further comprises the steps of:

s240, determining a handling driving operation of the vehicle based on the prediction merging operation information, wherein the handling driving operation optionally comprises: a deceleration operation, an acceleration operation, or a lane change operation; and

and S250, carrying out automatic driving or auxiliary driving according to the determined driving operation handling operation, or sending operation reminding to the driver of the vehicle according to the determined driving operation handling operation.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a controller for a vehicle is provided, wherein the controller comprises a memory storing a computer program and a processor, the processor being capable of performing the operation prediction method according to the present invention or the assistance method according to the present invention when the computer program is executed by the processor.

Drawings

The principles, features and advantages of the present invention may be better understood by describing the invention in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The drawings comprise:

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a vehicle including a controller according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 schematically illustrates a flow chart of an operation prediction method for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 schematically illustrates an application scenario of an operation prediction method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 schematically illustrates a secondary method according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention; and

fig. 5 schematically illustrates an application scenario of the assistance method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

In order to make the technical problems, technical solutions and advantageous effects of the present invention more apparent, the present invention will be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the invention and do not limit the scope of the invention.

Fig. 1 schematically shows a vehicle comprising a controller 1 according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention.

In addition to the control unit 1, the vehicle for example also comprises at least one environmental sensor 20. The environment sensor 20 includes, for example, a panoramic vision sensing system including a front view camera, a left view camera, a rear view camera, and a right view camera, a radar sensor, and a lidar sensor. With these environment sensors 20, the vehicle can perform various functions such as driving state recognition, obstacle detection, road structure recognition, and the like to support partially autonomous travel or fully autonomous travel, for example. It should be noted here that the vehicle may comprise other types and numbers of sensors than those shown in the figures, to which the invention is not particularly limited. The controller 1 may be connected in communication with the environmental sensor 20 in a wired or wireless manner to acquire detection information of the environmental sensor.

The vehicle further comprises for example a communication device 30 for communication between the vehicle and other traffic participants, road side units and/or remote servers etc. The communication device 30 may receive information from other traffic participants, infrastructure, and/or road regulation platforms, for example, based on vehicle networking technology, and may also be capable of sharing the vehicle's information to other traffic participants, infrastructure, and/or road regulation platforms. The controller 1 may be communicatively connected with the communication device 30 in a wired or wireless manner to transmit and/or receive information by means of the communication device 30.

Illustratively, the vehicle may also include a positioning navigation unit 40. The controller 1 is connected to, for example, a positioning navigation unit 40 of the vehicle so as to obtain the position of the vehicle in the map and the navigation route of the vehicle. Thus, the controller 1 can determine whether the vehicle is about to enter the intersection at present, in conjunction with the road information recorded in the map.

The controller 1 is implemented as an Electronic Control Unit (ECU) of a vehicle, for example. The controller 1 may comprise a memory 11 and a processor 12, said memory 11 storing a computer program, said processor 12 being capable of performing, for example, an operation prediction method for a vehicle, when said computer program is executed by said processor 12. The computer program product may be stored in a computer readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage medium may include, for example, high-speed random access memory, and may also include non-volatile memory, such as a hard disk, a memory, a plug-in hard disk, a smart memory card, a secure digital card, a flash memory card, at least one magnetic disk storage device, a flash memory device, or other volatile solid state storage device. The processor 12 may be a central processing unit, but may also be other general purpose processors, digital signal processors, application specific integrated circuits, off-the-shelf programmable gate arrays or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, or the like. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor or the like. The memory 11 of the controller 1 may also store historical operating data of the vehicle.

Fig. 2 schematically shows a flowchart of an operation prediction method for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The operation prediction method may be performed by the controller 1 shown in fig. 1, for example.

The operation prediction method at least comprises the following steps:

With this operation prediction method, the vehicle can accurately predict the merge operation to be taken and notify the surrounding vehicles before actually performing the merge operation. The surrounding vehicles can perform appropriate driving operations based on the predicted incorporated operation information to prevent collisions between vehicles and avoid taking urgent avoidance measures. This improves driving safety and driving comfort. In particular, the peripheral vehicle traveling straight through the intersection in the target direction within the second road can receive the predicted merge operation information and determine whether the vehicle will merge into the lane in which it is located.

The controller may read road shape information stored in the map directly by means of the positioning and navigation unit to recognize whether the vehicle is about to enter the intersection. The controller may also identify a driving intent of the vehicle in conjunction with the navigation route provided by the positioning navigation unit, such as identifying an merging intent that the vehicle is about to travel in a non-straight manner at the intersection from the first road to the second road and in the target direction. The controller may also recognize the merging intention to drive from the first road into the second road, based on an operation by the driver, for example, an operation of a turn lamp or an operation of a steering wheel.

With the aid of the positioning navigation unit, the controller can acquire intersection environment information of the intersection in step S110. The intersection environment information may include at least one of the following: the number of lanes of a road connected to an intersection, a prescribed driving direction of the lanes, a lane width, a lane boundary position, the direction and number of roads connected to an intersection, the presence of traffic lights at an intersection, and the state of traffic lights at an intersection.

Alternatively, the controller may receive an image of the road environment around the vehicle by means of, for example, a forward-looking camera, thereby recognizing whether the vehicle is about to enter the intersection, and acquire intersection environment information. Furthermore, the controller can also be connected to the radar sensor and the lidar sensor of the vehicle, so that the image recognition result can be verified or supplemented by means of additional detection data. It is also possible that the controller receives intersection environment information of the intersection from outside the vehicle, for example from a roadside unit, by means of the communication device.

In order to acquire the to-be-merged traffic information about the traffic within the second road at the intersection, the controller may acquire the to-be-merged traffic information from the surrounding vehicles by means of the communication device. Preferably, the traffic information to be incorporated includes an average vehicle pitch in each lane of the second road at the intersection and a traffic speed in each lane.

In particular, the controller may obtain the travel state information and the surrounding traffic information of a potential merging vehicle about to pass through the intersection in a straight-ahead manner in the target direction from the potential merging vehicle. Based on the driving state information and the surrounding traffic information of the potentially merged vehicle, the controller may determine to-be-merged traffic information.

Alternatively or additionally, the surrounding vehicle may be detected by means of an environment sensor of the vehicle, and the traffic flow information to be incorporated is determined on the basis of detection data of the environment sensor of the vehicle. It is also possible to receive traffic information to be merged from a roadside unit located at an intersection.

After acquiring the intersection environment information and the to-be-merged traffic flow information, historical merge operation data stored in, for example, a memory of the controller may be invoked in order to predict the predicted merge operation information regarding the merge operation to be taken by the vehicle on the basis of the intersection environment information, the to-be-merged traffic flow information, and the historical merge operation data. The history merging operation data represents history data relating to a merging operation that has been previously performed by the vehicle. The history-incorporated operation data can embody the driving habits of the driver. For example, in the same or similar intersection environment, the driver tends to take substantially the same merge operation, i.e., drive into the same lane at substantially the same driving speed, acceleration, and/or merge trajectory, in the face of the same or similar to-be-merged traffic flow conditions. For example, the predictive merge operation information can be found based on the intersection environment information, the to-be-merged traffic information, and the historical merge operation data using the least squares method. Here, the prediction incorporation operation information further includes, among others: the running speed and/or acceleration and/or merging trajectory that the vehicle will have in the merging operation. With the use of the historical merge operation data, the merge operation to be taken by the vehicle can be predicted more accurately.

Then, in step S130, a potentially merging vehicle that is about to pass through the intersection in the target direction in a straight-ahead manner can be identified, and the predicted merging operation information is sent to the potentially merging vehicle in a targeted manner.

As shown in fig. 2, the operation prediction method may further include step S140. In step S140, the to-be-merged traffic information, the intersection environment information, and the actual merging operation information in which the vehicle enters the second road from the first road are stored as history merging data,

here, the stored traffic information to be incorporated may include: the vehicle pitch in each lane and the traffic flow speed in each lane of the second road at the intersection are detected by means of the environmental sensor of the vehicle within a predetermined period of time before the merge operation of the vehicle. The flow speed in each lane may be represented by an average of the traveling speeds of the vehicles in each lane.

The actual incorporation operation information may include at least one of the following information: a preliminary merge speed that represents a travel speed of the vehicle, particularly an average travel speed, within a predetermined period of time before a merge operation; a merge acceleration representing an acceleration, particularly an average acceleration, of the vehicle during a merge operation; a virtual merge lane, which represents a merge lane into which the vehicle enters through a merge operation; and a merge trajectory that represents a travel trajectory of the vehicle during the merge operation.

Fig. 3 schematically illustrates an application scenario of the operation prediction method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

In the scenario shown in fig. 3, the first vehicle 301 is traveling on the first road R1 and is about to enter the intersection. Here, the first vehicle 301 intends to turn right through the intersection, for example, and thus will continue to travel on the second road R2 in the target direction (left-to-right direction in fig. 3) after passing through the intersection.

In this case, in order to realize the operation prediction of the first vehicle 301, intersection environment information of the intersection and to-be-incorporated traffic flow information about the traffic flow within the second road R2 at the intersection are first acquired. In this example, the second road R2 includes three lanes L1, L2 and L3, which information may be obtained by the first vehicle 301 through its environmental sensors, for example. Of these three lanes, there are three potentially merging vehicles about to pass through the intersection in the target direction in a straight-ahead manner, with the second vehicle 302 and the third vehicle 303 traveling in succession in the rightmost lane L1 and at a distance D1 from each other. In the lane L2 distant from the first road R1, no vehicle travels. The fourth vehicle 304 travels in the lane L3 farthest from the first road R1. For example, the first vehicle 301 may acquire, by means of its environment sensors, to-be-merged traffic information including position information of the second vehicle 302, the third vehicle 303, and the fourth vehicle 304 within each lane, a travel speed, and a vehicle interval between the second vehicle 302 and the third vehicle 303. As another example, the second vehicle 302 may send these to-be-merged traffic information to the first vehicle 301.

Then, the controller of the first vehicle 301 may predict the merging lane into which the first vehicle 301 will enter and the running speed and/or acceleration and/or merging trajectory that the first vehicle 301 will have in the merging operation, based on the intersection environment information, the to-be-merged traffic flow information, and the historical merging operation data of the first vehicle 301. Here, the first vehicle 301 will enter the lane L2 at a relatively high traveling speed, for example. The first vehicle 301 may send these predictions to the surrounding vehicles, incorporating operational information. After receiving the predicted merging operation information, the second vehicle 302 can determine that the first vehicle 301 does not enter the lane in which it is located, but that the first vehicle 301 will pass through the lane L1 in which it is located. Therefore, the second vehicle 302 may need to take corresponding deceleration measures to avoid a collision with the first vehicle 301 performing the merge operation. The fourth vehicle 304 can determine that the first vehicle 301 does not enter or pass through the lane where the fourth vehicle is located, so that the fourth vehicle 304 is hardly affected by the merging operation of the first vehicle 301.

From the foregoing, it can be seen that the present invention also relates to an assistance method for assisting a vehicle in passing through an intersection. Fig. 4 schematically shows a secondary method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The assistance method may be performed by the controller 1 shown in fig. 1, for example. In other words, the memory 11 of the controller 1 may store a computer program, which computer program, when executed by the processor 12 of the controller 1, the processor 12 for example is capable of executing an assistance method for assisting a vehicle to pass through an intersection.

The auxiliary method at least comprises the following steps:

In the scenario shown in fig. 3, the second vehicle may perform the assistance method, thereby helping the potential merging vehicle, i.e. the first vehicle, to predict its merging operation more accurately. After obtaining the predicted merging operation information of the first vehicle, the second vehicle can also judge whether the vehicle is to merge into the lane where the second vehicle is located, and make appropriate driving operation to prevent collision between the vehicles and avoid taking emergency avoidance measures.

Here, the driving state information may include at least one of a driving speed, a driving acceleration, a driving direction, and a driving lane of the vehicle. The travel state information may include an average travel speed of the vehicle for, for example, 3 seconds before the current time. The surrounding traffic information may include at least one of a vehicle interval between the vehicle and its surrounding vehicle and the corresponding preceding vehicle, a traveling speed of the surrounding vehicle, and a traveling acceleration of the surrounding vehicle.

Optionally, the auxiliary method further comprises the steps of: s240, determining a handling driving operation of the vehicle based on the prediction merging operation information, wherein the handling driving operation optionally comprises: a deceleration operation, an acceleration operation, or a lane change operation; and S250, performing automatic driving or auxiliary driving according to the determined driving operation to be responded, or sending operation reminding to the driver of the vehicle according to the determined driving operation to be responded.

In the scenario shown in fig. 5, the first vehicle 401 is traveling in lane L1 and is about to enter from the first road R1 and pass through the intersection in a straight manner. Here, the first vehicle 401 may identify the second vehicle 402, i.e., a potential merging vehicle, that enters the intersection from the second road R2 and will exit the intersection in the same direction as the vehicle on the same road. The first vehicle 401 may transmit its own travel state information and surrounding traffic information to the second vehicle 402. Here, the surrounding traffic information of the first vehicle 401 may include, for example, the traveling speeds and the inter-vehicle distance D2 of the third vehicle 403 and the fourth vehicle 404 traveling in the lane L2.

Then, the second vehicle 402 may perform, for example, an operation prediction method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and send the prediction-incorporating operation information to the first vehicle 401. For example, according to the predicted merging operation information, the second vehicle 402 will know that the first vehicle 401 is about to enter the lane L1 in which the second vehicle 402 is located, and take a deceleration operation accordingly. Alternatively, the second vehicle 402 may issue an operation prompt acoustically and/or optically to the driver of the second vehicle 402 to perform the operation of taking the deceleration operation.

Although specific embodiments of the invention have been described herein in detail, they have been presented for purposes of illustration only and are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention. Various substitutions, alterations, and modifications may be conceived of without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

1. An operation prediction method for a vehicle, wherein the operation prediction method includes at least the steps of:

2. The operation prediction method according to claim 1,

step S110 includes:

-obtaining driving status information and surrounding traffic information of a potential merging vehicle from the potential merging vehicle about to pass through the intersection in a straight-ahead manner in a target direction, and determining traffic flow information to be merged based on the driving status information and the surrounding traffic information of the potential merging vehicle; and/or

-detecting a surrounding vehicle by means of an environment sensor of the vehicle and determining traffic flow information to be incorporated based on detection data of the environment sensor of the vehicle; and/or

-receiving traffic information to be merged from a road side unit located at an intersection;

the traffic information to be merged includes, inter alia, the average inter-vehicle distance in each lane of the second road at the intersection and the traffic speed in each lane.

3. The operation prediction method according to claim 1 or 2,

the step S130 includes: identifying a potential merging vehicle about to pass through the intersection in a straight-ahead manner in a target direction, and sending predicted merging operation information to the potential merging vehicle in a targeted manner; and/or

The prediction merging operation information further includes: the running speed and/or acceleration and/or merging trajectory that the vehicle will have in the merging operation.

4. The operation prediction method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,

the operation prediction method further includes step S140, in which the to-be-merged traffic flow information, the intersection environment information, and the actual merging operation information in which the vehicle enters the second road from the first road are stored as history merging data,

5. The operation prediction method according to any one of claims 1 to 4,

the actual incorporation operation information includes at least one of the following information:

6. The operation prediction method according to any one of claims 1 to 5,

the intersection environment information includes at least one of the following information: the number of lanes of a road connected to an intersection, a prescribed driving direction of the lanes, the direction and number of roads connected to an intersection, the presence of traffic lights at an intersection, and the state of traffic lights at an intersection.

7. An assistance method for assisting a vehicle in passing through an intersection, wherein the assistance method includes at least the steps of:

and S230, acquiring predicted merging operation information of the potential merging vehicle from the potential merging vehicle, wherein the predicted merging operation information at least comprises a merging lane to which the potential merging vehicle is to enter.

8. The assistance method according to claim 7,

the running state information includes at least one of a running speed, a running acceleration, a running direction, and a running lane of the vehicle;

the surrounding traffic information includes at least one of a vehicle distance between the vehicle and its surrounding vehicle and the corresponding preceding vehicle, a traveling speed of the surrounding vehicle, and a traveling acceleration of the surrounding vehicle;

the predicted merge operation information also includes a travel speed and/or acceleration and/or a merge trajectory that the potential merge vehicle will have in the merge operation.

9. The assistance method according to claim 7 or 8,

the assistance method further comprises the steps of:

10. A controller for a vehicle, wherein the controller comprises a memory storing a computer program and a processor, which processor is capable of performing the operation prediction method according to any one of claims 1-6 or the assistance method according to any one of claims 7-9, when the computer program is executed by the processor.