DE102019206748A1 - Method and system for providing information on the surroundings - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for providing information on the surroundings (7), with at least one assistance system (2) of at least one road user (3, 16) being provided with position-dependent information on the surroundings (7) on the basis of a map (6) by means of a central server (4), and the provided position-dependent environmental information (7) each being provided with at least one time stamp (8) which marks a last update and / or review of the provided position-dependent environmental information (7). The invention also relates to a system (1) for providing information on the surroundings (7).

Description

The invention relates to a method and a system for providing information on the surroundings.

Modern motor vehicles have a large number of assistance systems which support a driver in driving the motor vehicle or which can partially or even completely take over driving the motor vehicle. Environment information is also increasingly being used, which is transmitted wirelessly to an assistance system by means of a central server. Conversely, information on the surroundings recorded by the motor vehicles by means of a sensor system can be transmitted to the central server. In this way it is possible to collect and use (swarm) data from many road users.

From the US 2010/0036595 A1 a method for transmitting captured data to a traffic information server is known in which a redundancy of the captured data is checked in a motor vehicle, the captured data only being transmitted to the traffic information server if the captured data is not redundant, i.e. not already from other motor vehicles were transmitted to the traffic information server.

The invention is based on the object of improving a method and a system for providing information on the surroundings.

According to the invention, the object is achieved by a method with the features of claim 1 and a system with the features of claim 10. Advantageous embodiments of the invention emerge from the subclaims.

In particular, a method for providing information on the surroundings is provided, with at least one assistance system of at least one road user being provided with position-dependent information on the surroundings by means of a central server on the basis of a map, and with the position-dependent information on the surroundings each being provided with at least one time stamp indicating a last update and / or checking the provided position-dependent environment information is marked.

Furthermore, a system for providing environment information is created, comprising at least one assistance system of at least one road user and a central server, the central server being designed to provide the at least one assistance system of the at least one road user based on a map with position-dependent environment information, the provided position-dependent information Environment information is each provided with at least one time stamp, which marks a last update and / or review of the respective provided position-dependent environment information.

The method and the system make it possible to determine an age of the information on the surroundings provided by the server to the assistance system of a road user. This can be done, for example, by comparing the at least one time stamp with a current time. A typical application scenario here is as follows: A road user, for example a motor vehicle, has a lane departure warning system as an assistance system, which recognizes lanes of a motorway on the basis of captured camera images and regulates transverse guidance of the motor vehicle on the basis of the recognized lanes. However, the motor vehicle drives into a traffic jam on the motorway, so that the camera can no longer record the lanes, since they are covered by a motor vehicle driving ahead. The lane departure warning system can therefore no longer recognize the lanes on the basis of the camera images and would therefore have to be deactivated. However, since position-dependent information on the surroundings is provided by the central server, the lane-keeping assistance system can continue to be operated on the basis of the transmitted information on the surroundings. However, since an environment can change over time, for example because original lane markings have been removed or changed in a recently built construction site, the age of the transmitted environment information must be known. Since the environmental information provided is provided with a time stamp according to the invention, the age can be determined. If the environmental information provided is up-to-date, the lane departure warning system can continue to be operated on the basis of the environmental information provided by the central server.

In particular, it can be provided that the time stamp is checked by means of an assistance system and a decision is made on the basis of a check result as to whether or not the provided information about the surroundings is used when performing an assistance function provided by the assistance system. Depending on the application scenario, a certain age of the environmental information provided may be, for example, a few seconds, minutes, hours or even days, weeks or months.

The at least one road user and the central server communicate with one another in particular wirelessly, for example via a wireless communication interface. The wireless Communication interface can be, for example, a mobile radio interface (4G, LTE, 5G, ...), which enables communication, for example, via the Internet.

In order to be able to provide the position-dependent environmental information, the road user transmits in particular a current position to the central server. The current position can for example be determined by means of a position determination device (e.g. GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, Beidou etc.) of the road user. The central server then calls up the associated information about the surroundings for a specific area around the transmitted current position of the road user from a map and makes this available to the road user. In addition, a position can additionally be determined via a feature comparison between features in the information on the surroundings recorded by the road user and the information on the surroundings provided. For example, several matching features can be searched for and their positions compared with one another. This enables the road user to e.g. based on a triangulation in the map.

Environment information is in particular features in the environment of a specific position. The features here have, in particular, certain properties, such as a type, a class, an extent, a color, a surface quality and / or a reflectivity, etc., as well as an associated position. Surrounding information can describe, for example, lane markings, traffic signs and / or other objects and / or obstacles.

A map includes, in particular, an assignment of information about the surroundings to two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions in the form of geographic coordinates. The two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions can in particular be stored in the form of global coordinates of a position determining device (GPS, Galileo, etc.). The map or the stored position-dependent environmental information have been generated, for example, on the basis of merged environmental information from several road users. As part of the environment information provided, e.g. Features and their positions in the map are transmitted to the at least one road user. Associated time stamps are stored in the map for the information about the surroundings and mark a last update and / or review of the information about the surroundings that is stored in each case.

The central server and the at least one road user or the associated assistance system each have clocks that provide a current time, in particular for generating time stamps.

A road user is in particular a motor vehicle, in particular a partially or automatically driving motor vehicle. In principle, however, a road user can also be another land, water or air vehicle.

The central server is designed in particular as a cloud service, with the cloud service providing position-dependent environmental information as a backend. For this purpose, a map with position-dependent environmental information stored therein is stored in a memory of the central server.

Parts of the system and / or the assistance system can be designed individually or collectively as a combination of hardware and software, for example as program code that is executed on a microcontroller or microprocessor. However, it can also be provided that parts are designed individually or combined as an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC).

In one embodiment it is provided that the position-dependent environment information includes position-dependent features, the features being provided with time stamps. Each feature comprised by the environment information can be assigned its own time stamp, which marks a last update and / or review of the respective feature. In this way, an age can be determined for individual features in the position-dependent environmental information. If the provided position-dependent environmental information includes, for example, lane markings and a traffic sign, an age of the lane markings derived from the respective time stamp can be 5 minutes and an age of the traffic sign derived from the respective time stamp can be 1 day. Building on this, the assistance system can then decide, for example, that the lane markings provided by the central server by means of the environment information may be used when providing an assistance function, but not the traffic sign, since the associated information is not up-to-date enough or the information is checked too far in the Past lies. However, it can also be provided that time stamps for several features or feature classes are combined so that individual features and / or feature classes (e.g. traffic signs) are not provided with separate time stamps.

In a further embodiment it is provided that position-dependent information on the surroundings is transmitted from the at least one by means of a sensor system a traffic participant are recorded, wherein the recorded environment information is compared with the position-dependent environment information provided by the central server by means of a comparison device of the at least one traffic participant and based on a comparison result, status information for the provided position-dependent environment information is generated and transmitted to the central server, the at least a time stamp of the environmental information provided is updated in the central server on the basis of the transmitted status information. Status information can include, for example, information on whether the environment information provided by the central server is still current or valid, for example in the form of an update bit or a validity bit. This means that information on the surroundings stored on the map in the central server can be updated in an efficient manner. Since the recorded and provided environmental information is compared on the side of the road user, it can be determined when the environmental information stored in the central server is out of date and can be replaced by more current environmental information. If the environmental information provided is up-to-date, it is possible to dispense with the transmission of environmental information recorded by the road user to the central server. If, on the other hand, the environment information transmitted by the central server is no longer up-to-date, for example because the age of the environment information exceeds a certain threshold value, the traffic participant transmits information on the environment for the corresponding position to the central server.

The comparison takes place, for example, by comparing features in the environmental information provided with features in the recorded environmental information. If, for example, the features under consideration are lanes, then lines that form the lanes can be compared with one another in the information on the surroundings provided and in the information on the surroundings that is recorded. In order to quantify the comparison, a position-wise deviation between the lines can be determined and, based on this, a sum of the smallest error squares can be determined. Alternatively, a correlation of the positions of the lines can also be determined. It is then checked whether the sum of the smallest error squares or the correlation exceeds or falls below specified threshold values. If a check result shows that the sum of the smallest error squares is below a threshold value, the environmental information provided is assessed as (still) current or valid. If the check result for the correlation shows that the correlation is above a specific correlation target value, the provided information about the surroundings is assessed as (still) current or valid. Otherwise, the environmental information provided will be judged to be no longer valid. The status information is generated on the basis of this check result.

In a further developing embodiment, it is provided that, during the comparison, a quality is determined for a match between the provided information about the surroundings and the captured information about the surroundings, the status information being generated on the basis of the determined quality. This makes it possible to consider several assessment criteria when comparing. The quality can be determined, for example, on the basis of a sum of the smallest error squares determined in the context of the comparison or a correlation between positions and / or properties of features in the information on the surroundings.

• - ein Abstand eines beim Vergleichen berücksichtigten Merkmals, ein Erfassungshorizont bzw. eine Auflösung einer Kamera kann z.B. in Abhängigkeit eines Erfassungsbereichs unterschiedlich gewichtet werden (0-10 m, 0-20 m, 0-80 m, 20-80 m), zum Beispiel indem eine Übereinstimmung zwischen Positionen von Merkmalen innerhalb eines weiter entfernt liegenden Erfassungshorizonts weniger stark gewichtet wird als bei einem kürzeren Erfassungshorizont;
• - eine Art eines Merkmals: eine beim Vergleich festgestellte Übereinstimmung zwischen einer Mittellinie bzw. einer Fahrbahnmarkierung kann stärker gewichtet werden als eine Übereinstimmung bei einer seitlichen Fahrbahnbegrenzung (Übergang zwischen Asphalt und Grasnarbe);
• - Umfeldbedingungen: eine Übereinstimmung bei schlechtem Wetter (zum Beispiel Regen, Schnee, Dunkelheit etc.) kann weniger stark gewichtet werden als eine Übereinstimmung bei gutem Wetter (Sonnenschein, beste Sicht etc.);
• - eine Art des jeweiligen Gütekriteriums: eine Gewichtung kann in Abhängigkeit der Art und Weise, wie die Übereinstimmung festgestellt wird, vorgenommen werden (zum Beispiel für unterschiedliche Verfahren beim Vergleich: für eine Summe kleinster Fehlerquadrate oder eine Korrelation);
• - eine historische Güte: beim Bestimmen einer aktuellen Güte kann eine historische Güte mit einer bestimmten Gewichtung berücksichtigt werden;
• - ein Alter der in der Karte hinterlegten Umfeldinformationen;
• - eine Güte der übermittelten Umfeldinformationen;
• - etc.

In a further developing embodiment it is provided that the quality for deriving the status information is assessed taking into account a multi-dimensional map. In this way, context-related influencing factors can be taken into account. This multi-dimensional map includes several dependencies that are weighted and taken into account when assessing the quality. For example, the dependencies can be:

• a distance of a feature taken into account in the comparison, a detection horizon or a resolution of a camera can be weighted differently depending on a detection area (0-10 m, 0-20 m, 0-80 m, 20-80 m), for example in that a correspondence between the positions of features within a more distant acquisition horizon is weighted less strongly than with a shorter acquisition horizon;
• a type of feature: a correspondence between a center line or a lane marking determined during the comparison can be weighted more heavily than an agreement in the case of a lateral lane boundary (transition between asphalt and turf);
• - Environmental conditions: a match in bad weather (for example rain, snow, darkness, etc.) can be weighted less strongly than a match in good weather (sunshine, best visibility, etc.);
• - a type of the respective quality criterion: a weighting can be carried out depending on the way in which the correspondence is determined (e.g. for different methods of comparison: for a least squares sum or a correlation);
• a historical quality: when determining a current quality, a historical quality can be taken into account with a specific weighting;
• - an age of the environmental information stored in the card;
• - a quality of the transmitted environment information;
• - Etc.

The determined quality is compared, for example, with a threshold value determined on the basis of the multidimensional characteristic diagram. If the specific quality is above the limit value, the provided information about the surroundings is judged to be no longer up-to-date and corresponding status information is provided. Otherwise, status information is generated which confirms that the environmental information provided is up to date.

In a further-developing embodiment, it is provided that the multidimensional characteristics map can be expanded to include additional dimensions. In particular, it can be provided that the characteristics map is further refined on the basis of collected environmental information and the dependencies derived therefrom or is supplemented by additional dimensions or existing dimensions are removed. The expansion can take place, for example, on the basis of machine learning methods.

In one embodiment it is provided that the at least one time stamp of provided position-dependent environmental information is updated in the central server on the basis of transmitted status information from several road users. In particular, it can be provided that the at least one time stamp for the corresponding information on the surroundings is only updated when a minimum number of road users have transmitted matching status information to the central server. For example, it can be provided that at least three road users must have determined a correspondence between the respectively recorded and provided position-dependent environmental information in order to link the environmental information correspondingly stored in the map with a current time stamp. It can be provided that an averaged time stamp is generated (e.g. an average time for the arrival of the status information of the three road users). However, provision can also be made to use the oldest time stamp (i.e. that of the first road user) or the most recent time stamp (i.e. that of the third road user). After the time stamp for the position-dependent environmental information has been updated, the new time stamp is transmitted to the inquiring road user.

In a further embodiment it is provided that the information on the surroundings recorded by the at least one road user is transmitted to the central server as a function of the status information generated. In particular, it is provided that in the case in which the comparison shows that the captured information on the surroundings and the provided information on the surroundings do not match one another, the at least one road user transmits the captured information on the surroundings to the central server. As a result, a data volume that has to be transmitted by road users to the central server can be significantly reduced, since more up-to-date information about the surroundings is only transmitted to the central server when information about the surroundings is no longer up-to-date.

In a further developing embodiment it is provided that the map stored in the central server is updated on the basis of the information on the surroundings transmitted by the at least one road user. This can already take place if only a single road user transmits captured information about the surroundings. However, it can only take place when several road users (e.g. three or five road users) have transmitted more up-to-date information about the surroundings to the central server.

Features for the configuration of the system result from the description of configurations of the method. The advantages of the system are the same as in the case of the refinements of the method.

• 1 eine schematische Darstellung einer Ausführungsform des Systems zum Bereitstellen von Umfeldinformationen;
• 2 ein schematisches Ablaufdiagramm einer Ausführungsform eines Verfahrens zum Bereitstellen von Umfeldinformationen;
• 3a eine schematische Darstellung von Fahrspuren zur Verdeutlichung eines Vergleichs zwischen erfassten und bereitgestellten Umfeldinformationen;
• 3b eine schematische Darstellung einer beispielhaft bestimmten Abweichung zwischen den in der 3a gezeigten Fahrspuren.

The invention is explained in more detail below on the basis of preferred exemplary embodiments with reference to the figures. Here show:

• 1 a schematic representation of an embodiment of the system for providing environmental information;
• 2 a schematic flow diagram of an embodiment of a method for providing information on the surroundings;
• 3a a schematic representation of lanes to illustrate a comparison between captured and provided information about the surroundings;
• 3b a schematic representation of an exemplary determined deviation between the in the 3a shown lanes.

In 1 Figure 3 is a schematic representation of one embodiment of the system 1 for providing information about the surroundings 7th shown. The system 1 includes at least one assistance system 2 of a road user 3 , for example a motor vehicle 50 , and a central server 4th . The assistance system 2 and the central server 4th can communicate with each other via a communication interface 5 , for example a cellular connection, communicate and exchange data.

The central server 4th includes a memory 5 in which a card 6th with position-dependent environment information 7th is deposited. The environment information 7th are each with time stamps 8th linked, which is a time of the last review and / or update of the environmental information 7th to mark.

The central server 4th is designed in such a way, the assistance system 2 of the road user 3 based on the map 6th position-dependent environment information 7th to provide. To do this, the road user records 3 a current position, for example via a position determination device (not shown) 9 of the road user 3 and transmits this via the communication link 5 to the central server 4th . The central server 4th calls based on the transmitted current position 9 a section of the map 6th and transmits the information about the surroundings included in this section, i.e. the information linked to positions in this section 7th to the assistance system 3 of the road user 3 .

It is provided here that the position-dependent environmental information provided with the provided 7th linked timestamp 8th also to the assistance system 2 be transmitted. The transmitted timestamps 8th enable the assistance system 2 , taking into account a current time, an age of the respective environmental information 7th to be determined and taken into account, for example, when providing assistance functions. For example, an assistance function can only be based on the position-dependent environmental information provided 7th despite failure of a sensor system 11 continue to be operated when the provided position-dependent environmental information is old 7th does not exceed a threshold.

It can be provided that the system 1 Assistance systems 2 other road users 16 includes.

It can be provided that the position-dependent environment information 7th Position-dependent features include, the features with time stamps 8th are provided. Everyone from the environment information 7th included features can have their own time stamp 8th be assigned, each marking a last update and / or review of the respective feature. However, it can also be provided that time stamp 8th for several features or feature classes are summarized, so that individual features and / or feature classes (e.g. traffic signs) do not have separate time stamps 8th are provided.

It can also be provided that position-dependent information on the surroundings 10 by means of a sensor system 11 from the at least one road user 3 are recorded, with the recorded environmental information 10 with those from the central server 4th provided position-dependent environmental information 7th by means of a comparison device 12 of at least one road user 3 are compared and, based on a comparison result, status information 13 for the provided position-dependent environment information 7th generated and sent to the central server 4th is transmitted, the at least one time stamp 8th the environmental information provided 7th in the central server 4th based on the transmitted status information 13 is updated.

It can further be provided that when comparing a quality 14th for a match of the provided environment information 7th with the captured environmental information 10 is determined, the status information 13 based on the particular goodness 14th is produced.

It can also be provided that the quality 14th to derive the status information 13 taking into account a multi-dimensional map 15th is judged.

It can be provided here that the multidimensional characteristics map 15th can be expanded to include additional dimensions. This can be done, for example, with the aid of machine learning methods, with a dependence on the quality 14th is learned from various properties and this is taken into account, for example, when setting a threshold value.

It can also be provided that the at least one time stamp 8th of provided position-dependent environmental information 7th in the central server 4th based on transmitted status information 13 several road users 3 , 16 is updated.

It can be provided that the road users 3 , 16 captured environmental information 10 depending on the status information generated 13 to the central server 13 be transmitted. In particular, the captured information about the surroundings 10 only to the central server 4th transmitted if the comparison shows that the environmental information provided 7th and the captured environment information 10 do not agree with one another or a predetermined threshold value for a quality 14th the environmental information provided 7th is not achieved.

It can further be provided that the central server 4th stored card 6th on the basis of at least one road user 3 , 16 transmitted environmental information 10 is updated.

In 2 a schematic flow diagram of an embodiment of a method for providing information on the surroundings is shown.

In one process step 100 An assistance system transmits the current position of a road user to a central server via a communication interface. The current position is determined, for example, by means of a position determination device (GPS etc.).

In one process step 101 the central server searches for the transmitted current position in a map and determines a section of the map in which the current position is located, for example an area of a few tens of meters around the current position. Surrounding information, i.e. features with properties and associated positions, is extracted from this section. In addition, time stamps stored for the characteristics are extracted from the map.

In one process step 102 the position-dependent environmental information extracted from the map and the associated time stamp are transmitted to the assistance system via the communication link.

On the basis of the transmitted time stamp, the assistance system can determine an age of the features in the environmental information provided and take this into account, for example, when providing an assistance function.

In one process step 103 Using a comparison device, the assistance system compares information about the surroundings recorded at the current position of the road user with the information about the surroundings provided by the central server.

In one process step 104 a check is carried out to determine whether the captured information on the surroundings matches the information on the surroundings provided. This can be done, for example, on the basis of a method step 103 to compare certain quality. If the check shows that the information on the surroundings matches, then in a method step 105 status information is generated and transmitted to the central server. In a subsequent process step 106 the central server updates a time stamp linked to the environment information in the map.

Results in the review in process step 104 on the other hand, if the information about the surroundings do not match, the information about the surroundings is recorded in one process step 107 transmitted by the assistance system to the central server. In a subsequent process step 108 the central server updates the environment information stored on the map and the time stamps associated with it.

It can alternatively be in the procedural steps 106 and 108 It can be provided that an update of the time stamp or the environment information in the map is only carried out when several road users have transmitted matching status information or matching environment information to the central server.

The procedure is then repeated for subsequent positions of the road user.

The 3a shows a schematic representation of center lines 20th , 21st of lanes to clarify a comparison between recorded information about the surroundings 10 and provided environmental information 7th . The one with the 3a corresponding 3b shows a schematic representation of a deviation 22nd between the in the 3a center lines shown 20th , 21st in the captured environmental information 10 and the environmental information provided 7th .

To compare the captured and the provided environmental information 7th , 10 ( 3a) are in a simple example the center lines 20th , 21st of the lanes compared. For this purpose, several positions ahead or future times from a time period t ₀ to t _{3 are} considered. The 3b shows here on a Y-axis 30th y coordinates of the center lines 20th , 21st within one in the 3a coordinate system shown 31 . A match or a deviation between the lanes 20th , 21st can, for example, by determining a sum of the least squares of position dependent errors between the center lines 20th , 21st be quantified. Alternatively, a correlation can also be determined.

A quality can then be determined from the sum of the smallest error squares or the correlation or another suitable quality criterion (e.g. a distance, ...).

List of reference symbols

1

system

2

Assistance system

3

Road users

4th

central server

5

Communication interface

6th

map

7th

provided position-dependent environment information

8th

time stamp

9

actual position

10

recorded position-dependent environmental information

11

Sensors

12

Comparison facility

13

Status information

14th

quality

15th

Map

16

other road users

20th

Center line

21st

Center line

22nd

deviation

30th

Y axis

31

Coordinate system

50

Motor vehicle

100-108

Procedural steps

QUOTES INCLUDED IN THE DESCRIPTION

This list of the documents listed by the applicant was generated automatically and is included solely for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions.

Patent literature cited

• US 2010/0036595 A1 [0003]

Claims (10)

Method for providing information on the surroundings (7), with at least one assistance system (2) of at least one road user (3, 16) being provided with position-dependent information on the surroundings (7) based on a map (6) by means of a central server, and the provided position-dependent environment information (7) are each provided with at least one time stamp (8) which marks a last update and / or review of the provided position-dependent environment information (7). Procedure according to Claim 1 , characterized in that the position-dependent environment information (7) comprises position-dependent features, the features being provided with time stamps (8). Procedure according to Claim 1 or 2 , characterized in that position-dependent environment information (10) is recorded by the at least one road user (3, 16) by means of a sensor system (11), the recorded environment information (10) with the position-dependent environment information (7) provided by the central server (4) be compared by means of a comparison device (12) of the at least one road user (3, 16) and, based on a comparison result, status information (13) for the provided position-dependent environmental information (7) is generated and transmitted to the central server (4), the at least a time stamp (8) of the environmental information (7) provided is updated in the central server (4) on the basis of the transmitted status information (13). Procedure according to Claim 3 , characterized in that when comparing a quality (14) for a match between the provided information (7) and the captured information (10) is determined, the status information (13) being generated on the basis of the determined quality (14). Procedure according to Claim 4 , characterized in that the quality (14) for deriving the status information (13) is assessed taking into account a multi-dimensional map (15). Procedure according to Claim 5 , characterized in that the multi-dimensional map (15) can be expanded to include additional dimensions. Method according to one of the Claims 3 to 6th , characterized in that the at least one time stamp (8) of provided position-dependent environment information (7) is updated in the central server (4) on the basis of transmitted status information (13) of several road users (3,16). Method according to one of the Claims 3 to 7th , characterized in that the environment information (10) recorded by the at least one road user (3, 16) is transmitted to the central server (4) as a function of the status information (13) generated. Procedure according to Claim 8 , characterized in that the map (6) stored in the central server (4) is updated on the basis of the environment information (10) transmitted by the at least one road user (3, 16). System (1) for providing information on the surroundings (7), comprising: at least one assistance system (2) for at least one road user (3, 16) and a central server (4), wherein the central server (4) is designed to provide the at least one assistance system (2) of the at least one road user (3,16) on the basis of a map (6) position-dependent environment information (7), the provided position-dependent environment information (7) each are provided with at least one time stamp (8) which marks a last update and / or review of the respective provided position-dependent environmental information (7).

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