EP3782142A1

EP3782142A1 - Methods and control arrangements for diagnosing short-range wireless transmission functionality of vehicles

Info

Publication number: EP3782142A1
Application number: EP19788249.1A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Achraf Dirhoussi
Original assignee: Scania CV AB
Current assignee: Scania CV AB
Priority date: 2018-04-16
Filing date: 2019-04-05
Publication date: 2021-02-24
Also published as: EP3782142A4; WO2019203712A1; SE1850430A1

Abstract

The disclosure relates to the present disclosure relates to techniques in the context of Vehicles-to- Everything, V2X, communication, and in particular to methods for diagnosing wireless transmission functionality of a vehicle supporting V2X. According to a first aspect, the disclosure relates to method for use in a first vehicle, for assisting a control arrangement in diagnosing a short-range wireless transmission functionality of a second vehicle. The method comprises measuring a distance between the first vehicle and the second vehicle and estimating a received signal quality of a short-range wireless signal transmitted by the second vehicle. The method further comprises transmitting a message indicative of the measured distance and the estimated received signal quality to the control arrangement. The disclosure also related to a corresponding method for diagnosing the short-range wireless transmission functionality and to a control unit, control arrangement and to a computer programs for performing the proposed methods.

Description

Methods and control arrangements for diagnosing short-range wireless

transmission functionality of vehicles

Technical field

The present disclosure relates to techniques in the context of Vehicle-to- Everything, V2X, communication, and in particular to methods for diagnosing short-range wireless transmission functionality of vehicles. The disclosure also relates to a corresponding control unit, control arrangement and to a computer program for performing the proposed methods.

Background

Vehicle-to-everything, V2X, communication is the passing of information from a vehicle to any entity that may affect the vehicle, and vice versa. The expression V2X incorporates other more specific types of communication such as Vehicle-to- vehicle, V2V, and Vehicle-to-device, V2D and Vehicle-to-lnfrastructure, V2I.

As an example, V2V communication facilitates for vehicles to communicate with other vehicles to coordinate driving manoeuvres and provide warnings about potential road hazards. Additionally, V2I communication facilitates communicating with infrastructure-based nodes, such as toll booths and traffic signals.

Thus, in the future, many vehicle features will require reliable V2X communication. However, a problem is that buildings or vehicle loads may interfere with the V2X signals from the vehicles. A deterioration of V2X signal quality may involve downgrade or even failure of functionality.

However, it may be difficult for the vehicles to diagnose whether their own V2X signal quality is good, or in other words if the short-range wireless communication functionality of the vehicle works properly.

US 9,830,816 B1 proposes a first vehicle that includes a wireless communication module and an antenna calibrator. The example antenna calibrator, for each of a plurality of validation responses received from second vehicles (a) determines an estimated received signal quality based on an estimated open path signal quality loss, and (b) in response to a difference between the estimated received signal quality and an actual received signal quality from the validation response not satisfying a threshold, provides an alert to occupants of the vehicle. The solution proposed in US 9,830,816 B1 enables the first vehicle to request second vehicles in assistance in antenna validation.

However, with the future V2X systems the need for improved tools for reliable diagnosing the communication functionality of vehicles will most likely increase.

Summary

It is an object of the disclosure to alleviate at least some of the drawbacks with the prior art. Thus, it is an object to provide a simple, accurate and reliable diagnosis tool for V2X signals. These object and others are at least partly achieved by the method and the device according to the independent claims, and by the embodiments according to the dependent claims.

According to a first aspect, the disclosure relates to method for use in a first vehicle, for assisting a control arrangement in diagnosing a short-range wireless transmission functionality of a second vehicle. The method comprises measuring a distance between the first vehicle and the second vehicle and estimating a received signal quality of a short-range wireless signal transmitted by the second vehicle. The method further comprises transmitting a message indicative of the measured distance and the estimated received signal quality to the control arrangement. This reporting enables the control arrangement to evaluate received signal quality in relation to a measured distance between vehicles. Consequently, a reliable diagnosis of the short-range wireless transmission functionality may be performed. The method does not require any additional hardware as modern vehicles typically already include sensors for monitoring objects in their vicinity that can be used in the present method for measuring the distance.

In some embodiments, the estimating is performed in response to the measured distance being within a predetermined range. Thus, the method is not dependent on the operation of the first vehicle and additional signalling between the vehicles is not needed. In principle, the second vehicle may not be aware that its

transmission functionality has been evaluated.

In some embodiments, the method comprises obtaining a vehicle identity of the second vehicle and then the transmitted message also comprises the obtained vehicle identity. Thereby, the control arrangement may receive data for many different vehicles and keep track of many vehicles that basically measures on each other.

In some embodiments, the method comprises continuously monitoring an area around the first vehicle for one or more second vehicles and then one or more of the measuring, the estimating, the obtaining and the transmitting are performed in response to detecting the second vehicle. By triggering the reporting each time a vehicle is detected, a lot of data may be collected, and the diagnosis will have higher reliability.

In some embodiments, the obtaining comprises obtaining the vehicle identity at the measuring. Thus, the vehicle may be identified even if the first vehicle cannot detect its short-range wireless signal.

In some embodiments, the measuring comprises measuring the distance using a line of sight sensor. Thereby, the distance may be measured with high accuracy. Also the vehicles position in relation to each other may be evaluated. In some embodiments, the transmitting comprises transmitting the message to a control arrangement in the second vehicle and/or to a control arrangement external to the second vehicle. The proposed solution may be used to support remote diagnosis as well as diagnosis in the second vehicle.

In some embodiments, the transmitted message further comprises position information of the first vehicle. The position information may e.g. be used to detect areas with interference. The diagnosing of the transmission functionality may then consider external factors as well, and thereby reliability may be increased. According to a second aspect, the disclosure relates to control unit configured to measure a distance between a first vehicle and a second vehicle, estimate a received signal quality of a short-range wireless signal transmitted by the second vehicle, and to transmit a signal indicative of the measured distance and the estimated received signal quality to a control arrangement.

According to a third aspect, the disclosure relates to a first vehicle comprising the control unit.

According to a fourth aspect, the disclosure relates to method for diagnosing a short-range wireless transmission functionality of a second vehicle, based on one or more messages received from one or more first vehicles. The method comprises receiving the one or more messages, wherein each received message indicates a measured distance between one of the one or more first vehicles and the second vehicle and a, by the one first vehicle estimated, received signal quality of a short-range wireless signal transmitted by the second vehicle. The method further comprises diagnosing the short-range wireless transmission functionality of the second vehicle, based on the received one or more messages. The proposed method enables reliable diagnosis of the short-range wireless transmission functionality as it is based on distance measurements. The method enables use of multiple messages and thereby even higher reliability may be achieved.

According to some embodiments, the diagnosing comprises detecting a failure and/or a malfunction in the short-range wireless transmission functionality of the second vehicle. Thereby, faulty vehicles may be identified, and the problem may be isolated. According to some embodiments, the method comprises transmitting information about the diagnosed functionality to the second vehicle. Thus, the driver may be informed about the error.

According to some embodiments, the diagnosing is based on two or more messages representing signal qualities estimated at different points in time and/or by different first vehicles. Typically, the more measurements are used, the higher reliability of the diagnosing.

According to some embodiments, the diagnosing comprises comparing the received signal quality estimated by the first vehicle with a reference value corresponding to the measured distance. This is a reliable way of evaluating the short-range wireless transmission functionality.

According to a fifth aspect, the disclosure relates to a control arrangement configured to receive one or more messages from one or more first vehicles, wherein each received message indicates a measured distance between one of the one or more first vehicles and a second vehicle and a, by the one first vehicle estimated, received signal quality of a short-range wireless signal transmitted by the second vehicle, and to diagnose the short-range wireless transmission functionality of the second vehicle, based on the received one or more messages.

According to a sixth aspect, the disclosure relates to computer program

comprising instructions which, when the program is executed by a computer, cause the computer to carry out the method described above and below.

According to a seventh aspect, the disclosure relates to a computer-readable medium comprising the computer program.

Brief description of the drawings

Fig. 1 a-1 c illustrates a first vehicle and a second vehicle having different positions in relation to each other.

Fig. 2 illustrates an example implementation where a control arrangement for diagnosing a short-range wireless transmission functionality of a vehicle is implemented remote from the vehicle.

Fig. 3 illustrates an example implementation where a control arrangement for diagnosing a short-range wireless transmission functionality of a vehicle is implemented in the vehicle.

Fig. 4 illustrates a flow chart of a method for use in a first vehicle.

Fig. 5 illustrates a flow chart of a method for use in a control arrangement. Fig. 6 illustrates a first vehicle according to an example embodiment.

Fig. 7 illustrates a control arrangement according to an example embodiment.

Fig. 8 illustrates a control unit according to an example embodiment. Detailed description

Vehicles of today are generally configured to detect objects, such as other vehicles, in their vicinity and to estimate the position of such objects. In some scenarios the vehicles may even identify detected objects using e.g. cameras.

The present disclosure proposes a solution, where vehicles utilize that distances etc. are known when diagnosing each other’s short-range wireless transmission functionality.

The proposed methods are based on the concept that every time two vehicles with this type of vehicle communication meet on the road, the vehicles perform measurements of signal strength on each other and send measurement reports to a control arrangement, where the short-range wireless transmission functionality of the vehicles is diagnosed. The measurement reports will indicate the measured signal strength and distance between the vehicles and in some embodiments also the position of the vehicles in relation to each other.

Figs. 1 a-1 c illustrate a first vehicle 1 and a second vehicle 2 having different positions in relation to each other. In this disclosure the terms first vehicle 1 and second vehicle 2 are used in a functional sense. Flence, a first vehicle 1 refers to a vehicle assisting in diagnosis and a second vehicle 2 refers to a vehicle being diagnosed. Thus, one individual vehicle will typically operate both as a first vehicle 1 and as a second vehicle 2. The signal strength measurements may be performed and reported by a first vehicle 1 in any position, as long as the first vehicle 1 is positioned within a predefined area from another vehicle 2. This may e.g. be when the first vehicle 1 drives in front of the second vehicle 2 in the same lane (Fig. 1 a), when the first vehicle over takes the second vehicle 2 in a parallel lane (Fig. 1 b) or when the first vehicle 1 drives behind the second vehicle in the same lane (Fig. 1 c). The methods may also be performed when two vehicles meet on the road.

The above-mentioned control arrangement, where the diagnosis of the short- range wireless transmission functionality is performed, may be arranged in different ways. Fig. 2 illustrates a first example implementation of the control arrangement 3.

In Fig. 2, two first vehicles 1 (one first vehicle 1 driving behind the second vehicle 2 in convoy and one overtaking the second vehicle 2 in a parallel lane) assist a control arrangement 3 in diagnosing the short-range wireless transmission functionality of a second vehicle 2. The first vehicle 1 that is overtaking the second vehicle 2 is positioned a distance D1 from the second vehicle 2, and the first vehicle 1 driving behind the second vehicle is positioned a distance D2 from the second vehicle 2. The distances D1, D2 are short enough to enable V2V communication. In the example of Fig. 2, the control arrangement 3 is implemented remote from the first vehicles 1 and the second vehicle 2, e.g. in a back-end server. Thus, in the example of Fig. 2, the two first vehicles report measurements performed on the second vehicle 2 to the control arrangement 3 located remotely from the first and second vehicles. Such a control arrangement 3 may e.g. be implemented in a cloud or in a server located at the vehicle manufacturer’s premises and is typically configured to diagnose many vehicles.

Fig. 3 illustrates a second example implementation of the control arrangement.

The example of Fig. 3, differs from the first example implementation (Fig. 2) in that the control arrangement 3’ for diagnosing a short-range wireless transmission functionality of a second vehicle 2 is implemented in the second vehicle 2, i.e. in the vehicle to be diagnosed. Thus, in the example of Fig. 3, the two first vehicles 1 report measurements performed on the second vehicle 2 to the control

arrangement 3’ located in (or inside/within) the second vehicle 2. The proposed technique will now be described with reference to the flowcharts of Fig. 4 and Fig. 5, where Fig. 4 illustrate example operations performed by a control unit in a first vehicle 1 and Fig. 5 illustrates example operation performed by a control arrangement 3, 3’ when diagnosing a short-range wireless

transmission functionality of a second vehicle 2. The operations will herein also be described with reference to Fig. 2 and Fig. 3. Note that even if reference is mainly made to the remote control arrangement 3 of Fig. 2, the disclosure is not limited thereto, but also applies to e.g. the control arrangement 3’ in the second vehicle 2 or to any other implementation. The methods may of course also be performed in parallel in many vehicles, performing and reporting measurements on each other, where each individual vehicle may operate both as a first vehicle 1 and as a second vehicle 2.

Fig 4. illustrates a flow chart of a method for use in a first vehicle 1 for assisting a control arrangement 3 in diagnosing a short-range wireless transmission functionality of a second vehicle 2. The method is e.g. performed in vehicles driving in a convoy using an automatic driving function, where the vehicles of the convoy partly control each other. In such a situation, correct operation of the short-range wireless communication functionality is extremely important.

Flowever, the method may also be performed in vehicles being driven by human drivers.

The method of Fig. 4 is e.g. performed by a control unit 1 1 (Fig. 8) of the first vehicle 1. The method may be implemented as a computer program comprising instructions which, when the program is executed by a computer (e.g. a processor in the control unit 1 1 ), cause the computer to carry out the method. According to some embodiments the computer program is stored in a computer-readable medium (e.g. a memory or a compact disc) that comprises instructions which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to carry out the method.

The method comprises measuring S2 a distance D1, D2 (see Fig. 2, Fig. 3) between the first vehicle 1 and the second vehicle 2. Stated differently, the distance between the first and second vehicle is measured, e.g. using a sensor arrangement 13 (Fig. 6) comprised in the first vehicle 1. The distance D1, D2 is e.g. measured using a line of sight sensor, such as a laser, radar or other optical sensor. In contrast to distance estimation using GPS, such a measurement is typically rather exact. The distance may also include a direction, i.e. it may be a vector. Note that the direction may influence the short-range wireless

transmission. Hence, it is possible that a received signal quality of a short-range wireless signal is different in different directions even if the distance is the same. This may e.g. depend on a load that disturbs the transmission. In other words, the measuring S2 may define the relation between the position of the first vehicle 1 and the second vehicle 2.

The method further comprises estimating S3 a received signal quality of a short- range wireless signal transmitted by the second vehicle 2. More specifically, the first vehicle 1 tries to estimate the quality of a short-range wireless signal that the second vehicle uses for communicating with objects in its vicinity. The short-range wireless signal uses e.g. V2X, 802.1 1 or other short-range communication protocol.

The estimating S3 may either be a very simple measurement of signal strength (power or amplitude) on predefined radio resources. Alternatively, the estimating S3 comprises receiving and decoding a short-range wireless signal transmitted by the second vehicle 2 and rating the signal quality accordingly. In one example embodiment, the estimating S3 comprises estimating a Received Signal Strength Indicator, RSSI, of the short-range wireless signal transmitted by the second vehicle 2.

In one example scenario, the first vehicle 1 estimates received signal quality of a vehicle that it has detected, when the vehicle is positioned within a certain area around the vehicle. In other words, in some embodiments, the estimating S3 is performed in response to the measured distance being within a predetermined range. The range may be e.g. -80 to -70 dB. In some embodiments, the vehicle might fail to detect any signal or may measure a signal strength that is basically“zero”. Such a measurement might also be reported.

To be able to report the received signal quality, the first vehicle 1 might want to identify the second vehicle 2. Thus, in some embodiments, the method further comprises obtaining S4 a vehicle identity of the second vehicle 2.

The identity is e.g. obtained from the short-range wireless signal transmitted by the second vehicle 2. For example, the short-range wireless signal comprises a vehicle identifier that the first vehicle 1 may read when receiving and decoding the short-range wireless signal.

It might also be possible for the first vehicle to identify the second vehicle even if it cannot properly receive and/or decode the short-range wireless signal. The first vehicle 1 may e.g. obtain the vehicle identity through measurements. For example, the identity is obtained during the measuring step S2. One way of obtaining the identity is using a camera and capturing a photo of the second vehicle 2. If the first vehicle 1 and the second vehicle 1 are driving in a caravan, such an image would typically reveal the number plate and the registration number of the second vehicle 2. The registration number could be read from the image using standard image recognition techniques and matched with information in a database.

The method further comprises transmitting S5 a message, herein also referred to as a report, indicative of the measured distance and the estimated received signal quality to the control arrangement 3. The control arrangement 3 may then evaluate if the estimated received signal quality is within a normal range for the measured distance, as explained in more detail in connection to Fig. 5.

In some embodiments, the transmitting S5 comprises transmitting the message to a control arrangement 3 external to the second vehicle 2 (see Fig 2). It is common today that vehicles are connected to a backend such as a server managed by the vehicle manufacturer, vehicle owner or operator etc., using standard wireless and wired telecommunication techniques e.g. 3G or LTE standardised by 3GPP. The purpose of such a connection is typically for the vehicles to be able to report their own vehicle data, e.g. position, temperature, fuel consumption, service data, etc. However, such a connection may of course also be used for reporting data associated with other vehicles. Hence, the message indicative of the measured distance to, and the estimated received signal quality of, a second vehicle is in some embodiments sent over such an interface.

In some embodiments, the transmitting S5 comprises transmitting the message to a control arrangement 3’ in the second vehicle 2 (see Fig 2). The diagnosing a short-range wireless transmission functionality of a second vehicle 2 may then be performed in the second vehicle 2 itself. Note that even in this case, reports may be received from several first vehicles 1.

In some embodiments, the transmitted message also comprises position information (e.g. geographical position information) of the first vehicle 1. Vehicles of today typically continuously monitors their positions using e.g. GPS. It is generally good to also include position data, such as the current position of the vehicle, in the reports, as it allows the control arrangement 3, to e.g. detect or consider zones with interference.

If one remote control arrangement 3 receives reports (i.e. message indicative of the measured distance and the estimated received signal quality) for a plurality of second vehicles 2, then the control arrangement 3 needs to know which second vehicle 2 each report is associated with. This may be implemented by including an identifier in the report. Stated differently, in some embodiments the transmitted message also comprises a vehicle identity obtained S4 from the second vehicle 2. The vehicles may also be identified in other ways, e.g. by sending the reports at different points in time or using different formats.

Note that order of measuring S2 of the distance, the estimating S3 of a received signal quality and the obtaining S4 of the identity may be performed in different order. In some embodiments, one or more of these steps may trigger one or more of the other steps.

One possibility is that the first vehicle 1 continuously looks for objects in its vicinity, using e.g. radar or a camera. If an object is detected, then the vehicle might try to identify the object as described above. If the object turns out to be a second vehicle 2, then the first vehicle 1 tries to estimate the signal quality of a short-range wireless communication signal transmitted by the detected second vehicle 2. In other words, in some embodiments, the method comprises continuously monitoring SO an area around the first vehicle 1 for one or more second vehicles and then one or more of the measuring S2, the estimating S3, the obtaining S4 and the transmitting S5 are performed in response to detecting S1 the second vehicle 2.

Another possibility is that the first vehicle 1 continuously monitors some predefined radio frequencies for short-range wireless signals e.g. so-called discovery signals, transmitted by second vehicles 2. When a discovery signal is detected, the first vehicle 1 measures the distance to second vehicles 2 in its vicinity.

Fig. 5 illustrates a flow chart of a corresponding method for use in a control arrangement 3 for diagnosing a short-range wireless transmission functionality of a second vehicle 2, based on one or more messages received from one or more first vehicles 1.

The method is typically performed by a control arrangement 3 (Fig. 7), such as a server (or backend) owned e.g. by the vehicle manufacturer, or the control arrangement 3’ in the second vehicle 2, that is arranged to communicate wirelessly with one or more first vehicles 1 that are configured to perform the method described in Fig. 4. The method is typically performed by a processor 31 (Fig.7) of the control arrangement 3. The method may be performed continuously or repeatedly as the control arrangement 3 receives the messages indicating a measured and received signal quality from the first vehicles 1. The method comprises receiving S1 1 the one or more messages from the one or more first vehicles 1. As already described above, each received message indicates a measured distance between one of the one or more first vehicles 1 and the second vehicle 2. Each received message also indicates a, by the one first vehicle 1 estimated, received signal quality of a short-range wireless signal transmitted by the second vehicle 2.

The control arrangement 3 may then use the information comprised in the message to determine whether short-range wireless transmission functionality of the one or more first vehicles 1 works correctly or not. In other words, the method further comprises diagnosing S12 the short-range wireless transmission

functionality of the second vehicle 2, based on the received one or more messages.

In some embodiments, the diagnosing S12 comprises detecting a failure and/or a malfunction in the short-range wireless transmission functionality of the second vehicle 2. The diagnosing involves using one or more criterion taking the information in the received messages as input. For example, the control arrangement 3 comprises a table or formula that maps different distances to a first vehicle 1 to corresponding expected (or“normal”) received signal qualities. Or more specifically, received signal quality values that are expected for different distances (or intervals of distances), under correct (or normal) operation. When the measured received signal quality for the second vehicle 2 is below the expected value, the short-range wireless transmission functionality may be considered faulty or malfunctional. In other words, in some embodiments, the diagnosing S12 comprises comparing the received signal quality estimated by the first vehicle 1 with a reference value corresponding to the measured distance.

However, to consider the short-range wireless transmission functionality as being faulty based on one single measurement may not be very reliable. A more stable solution is obtained if more than one measurement is considered. In other words, in some embodiments, the diagnosing S12 is based on two or more messages representing signal qualities estimated at different points in time. The short-range wireless transmission functionality of the second vehicle 2 is then considered faulty upon the measured received signal quality for a pre-determined number of measurements being below the expected value.

The diagnosing may also take measurements from several different first vehicles 1 into account. In other words, in some embodiments, the diagnosing S12 is based on two or more messages representing signal qualities estimated by different first vehicles.

If the control arrangement 3’ is comprised in the second vehicle 2, then the driver may immediately be informed about faulty or malfunction detected in the diagnosing. For example, a warning message or icon may be displayed on the dash board. Alternatively, information may be sent to a backend, that indicates that the second vehicle 2 needs service. A work shop or similar my then contact the driver to resolve the problem.

If the control arrangement 3 is remote (e.g. a cloud implementation), then the control arrangement 3 may generate and send a message to the second vehicle 2, that informs the driver of the second vehicle 2 about the malfunction. In other words, in some embodiments, the method further comprises transmitting S13 information about the diagnosed functionality to the second vehicle 2.

The control arrangement 3 may also be configured to perform further calculations and analysis. For example, if the current position of the first vehicles 1 is included in the messages, then the control arrangement 3 may over time detect geographical zones where the short-range wireless functionality is often operating incorrectly e.g. due to interference. Flence, it may be avoided that vehicles are troubleshooted when the problem is not within the vehicles. Fig. 6 illustrates a first vehicle 1 where the proposed method for use in a vehicle may be implemented. The vehicle 1 may be comprised in a set of vehicles. The set of vehicles may be e.g. all vehicles produced by a certain vehicle producer during a configurable time period, or a subset thereof; all vehicles owned by the same owner, or a subset thereof; all vehicles of a certain geographical region, or a subset thereof, etc.

The vehicle 1 may comprise a means for transportation in broad sense such as e.g. a truck, a car, a motorcycle, a trailer, a bus, a bike, a train, a tram, an aircraft, a watercraft, a cable transport, an aerial tramway, a drone, a spacecraft, or other similar manned or unmanned means of conveyance running e.g. on wheels, rails, air, water or similar media.

The vehicle 1 may be configured for running on a road, on a rail, in terrain, in water, in air, in space, etc. The vehicle 1 may be driver controlled or driverless (i.e. autonomously controlled) in different embodiments. However, for enhanced clarity, the vehicle 1 is subsequently described as having a driver.

The vehicle 1 may be connected to Fleet Management services or similar service provided by a third party. Such service may comprise e.g. tracking of the vehicle 1 and diagnostics of vehicle parameters such as mileage and fuel consumption, maintenance etc.

The expression“Fleet Management services” is to be regarded in a broad sense in this disclosure, as the kind of service per se is not part of the invention, and may comprise for example educational services for learning the driver to use less fuel and/or reduce C02 emissions, for detecting anomalies or malfunctions of the vehicle 1 and/or inappropriate behaviour of the driver such as speeding, and/or providing recommendations concerning maintenance and service measures etc.

Parts of the first vehicle 1 associated with the proposed technique will now be described in more detail. More specifically, the first vehicle 1 comprises one or more control units 1 1 , positioning device 12, a sensor arrangement 13 and a wireless communication interface 14.

The positioning device 12 is configured to determine a geographical position of the first vehicle 1 based on e.g. a satellite navigation system such as the Navigation Signal Timing and Ranging (Navistar) Global Positioning System (GPS), Differential GPS (DGPS), Galileo, GLONASS, or the like.

Thus, the geographical position of the positioning device 12, (and thereby also of the vehicle 1 ), as well as time, vehicle speed, heading, etc., may be determined continuously, or at a certain pre-determined or configurable time interval according to various embodiments.

The sensor arrangement 13 comprises standard sensors arranged to measure the distance to objects in the vicinity of the first vehicle 1. For example, line of sight sensors are used. In some embodiments the sensors are electromagnetic sensors. Examples, of such sensors are radars, lasers, image sensors (i.e.

cameras), infrared sensors etc. More specifically.the sensor arrangement 13 is configured to measure a distance between the first vehicle 1 and a second vehicle 2.

The wireless communication interface 14 is configured to enable communication between the first vehicle 1 and one or more second vehicles 2 and between the first vehicle 1 and a control arrangement 3. The communication interface may include separate interfaces for communicating with the second vehicles 2 and the control arrangement 3.

For example, the communication with second vehicles 2 is performed over a first wireless communication interface 14a. The first wireless communication interface 14a is for example a standard Vehicle-to-everything V2X interface. The wireless communication may be performed according to any IEEE standard for wireless vehicular communication like e.g. a special mode of operation of IEEE 802.1 1 for vehicular networks called Wireless Access in Vehicular Environments (WAVE). IEEE 802.1 1 p is an extension to 802.1 1 Wireless LAN medium access layer (MAC) and physical layer (PHY) specification.

The communication with an external control arrangement 3 is in some

embodiments also performed using the first wireless communication interface 14a. This is typically the case when the control arrangement 3’ is implemented in the second vehicle 2. Alternatively, if the control arrangement is a remotely implemented control arrangement 3, then a second wireless communication interface 14b is typically used.

The second wireless communication interface 14b may comprise cellular radio access technologies such as e.g. 3GPP LTE, LTE-Advanced, E-UTRAN, UMTS, GSM, GSM/ EDGE, WCDMA, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) networks, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) networks, Orthogonal FDMA

(OFDMA) networks, just to mention some few options.

The control unit 1 1 (shown in detail in Fig. 8) is an embedded device that controls functionality in one or more electrical systems (or sub systems) in the first vehicle 1. The control unit 1 1 comprises hardware and software. The hardware basically comprises various electronic components on a Printed Circuit Board, PCB. The most important of those components is typically a processor 1 11 e.g. a

microprocessor, along with a memory 1 12 e.g. EPROM or a Flash memory chip. The software (also called firmware) is typically lower-level software code that runs in the microcontroller.

Typically, the first vehicle 1 comprises multiple control units that are

communicating over a Controller Area Network, CAN. The CAN network is used to handle the communication between various control units in the first vehicle 1. Often, several CAN networks that are connected through a central control unit are arranged in the first vehicle 1. Flowever, for simplicity only one control unit 1 1 is illustrated in Fig. 1. Though, it must be understood that the proposed techniques may be implemented in any control unit 1 1 in the first vehicle 1.

The control unit 1 1 , the positioning device 12, the sensor arrangement 13 and the wireless communication interface 14 in the first vehicle 1 (shown in Fig. 6) may interactively communicate via e.g. a wired or wireless communication bus. The communication bus may comprise the above-mentioned CAN bus, a Media Oriented Systems Transport (MOST) bus, or similar. Flowever, the communication may alternatively be made over a wireless connection comprising any of the previously discussed wireless communication technologies.

The control unit 1 1 is further configured to assist a control arrangement 3 in diagnosing a short-range wireless transmission functionality of a second vehicle 2. The control unit 1 1 , or more specifically the processor 1 1 1 of the control unit 1 1 , is configured to cause the control unit to perform all aspects of the method

described above and below. This is typically done by running computer program code stored in the memory 112 in the processor 11 1 of the control unit 1 1.

The computer program product mentioned above may be provided for instance in the form of a data carrier carrying computer program code for performing at least some of the step S1 -S5 (Fig. 4) according to some embodiments when being loaded into the processor 1 1 1 of the control unit 1 1. The data carrier may be, e.g., a hard disk, a CD ROM disc, a memory stick, an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device or any other appropriate medium such as a disk or tape that may hold machine readable data in a non-transitory manner.

More specifically, the control unit is configured to measure a distance between a first vehicle 1 and a second vehicle 2 using the sensor arrangement 12. In some embodiments, the control unit 1 1 is further configured to measure the distance ( D1 , D2) using a line of sight sensor. The control unit 1 1 is further configured to estimate a received signal quality of a short-range wireless signal transmitted by the second vehicle 2 using the wireless communication interface 14. In some embodiments, the control unit 1 1 is further configured to estimate the received signal quality in response to the measured distance being within a predetermined range. The control unit 1 1 is further configured to transmit a signal indicative of the measured distance and the estimated received signal quality to a control arrangement using the wireless communication interface 14. The control unit 1 1 is further configured to transmit the message to a control arrangement 3 in the second vehicle 2 and/or to a control arrangement 3’ external to the second vehicle 2. In some embodiments, the transmitted message further comprises position information of the first vehicle 1 , e.g. GPS position information.

In some embodiments, the control unit 1 1 is further configured to obtain a vehicle identity of the second vehicle 2. In some embodiment the control unit 1 1 is further configured to obtain the vehicle identity from the short-range wireless signal transmitted by the second vehicle 2 and/or obtaining the vehicle identity at the measuring S2.

In some embodiments, the control unit 1 1 is further configured to continuously monitor an area around the first vehicle 1 for one or more second vehicles.

Fig. 7 illustrates a control arrangement 3 according to an example embodiment. The control arrangement 3 is for example an off-board system also referred to as a backend that is typically implemented in an external server, such as a server at the vehicle manufacturer or a cloud server, see Fig 2.

In a typical implementation, the control arrangement 3 comprises a processor 31 , a communication interface 32 and memory 33.

The processor 31 may comprise one or more instances of a processing circuit, i.e. a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a processing unit, a processing circuit, a processor, an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a microprocessor, or other processing logic that may interpret and execute instructions. The herein utilised expression“processor” may thus represent a processing circuitry comprising a plurality of processing circuits, such as, e.g., any, some or all of the ones enumerated above.

The communication interface 32 is configured to enable communication between the control arrangement 3 and external devices. For example, the communication interface 32 is configured to enable communication between the control arrangement 3 and the first vehicles 1. The communication interface may also be configured to enable communication between the control arrangement 3 and one or more second vehicles 2. The communication interface 32 may be a standard wired or wireless

communication interface or a combination thereof. For example, the

communication interface is configured to establish an Ethernet connection or a WiFi connection. The communication interface 32 may also be configured to enable communication with other devices, such as with a display.

The control arrangement 3, or more specifically the processor 31 of the control arrangement 3, is configured to perform all aspects of the method described above and below. This is typically done by running computer program code stored in the memory 33 in the one or more processors 31 of the control circuitry. The computer program product mentioned above may be provided for instance in the form of a data carrier carrying computer program code for performing at least some of the step S1 1 -S13 (Fig. 5) according to some embodiments when being loaded into the processor 31 of the control arrangement 3. The data carrier may be, e.g., a hard disk, a CD ROM disc, a memory stick, an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device or any other appropriate medium such as a disk or tape that may hold machine readable data in a non-transitory manner.

More specifically, the control arrangement 3 is configured to receive, using the communication interface 32, one or more signals from one or more first vehicles 1. Each received signal indicates a measured distance between one of the one or more first vehicles 1 and a second vehicle 2. Each received signal indicates a, by the one first vehicle 1 estimated, received signal quality of a short-range wireless signal transmitted by the second vehicle 2.

The control arrangement 3 is also configured to diagnose the short-range wireless transmission functionality of the second vehicle 2, based on the received one or more signals. In some embodiments, the control arrangement 3 is configured to diagnose the short-range wireless transmission functionality based on two or more messages representing signal qualities estimated at different points in time and/or by different first vehicles. In some embodiments, the control arrangement 3 is configured to detect a failure and/or a malfunction in the short-range wireless transmission functionality of the second vehicle 2.

In some embodiments, the control arrangement 3 is configured to diagnose the short-range wireless transmission functionality by comparing the received signal quality estimated by the first vehicle 1 with a reference value corresponding to the measured distance.

In some embodiments, the control arrangement 3 is configured to transmit information about the diagnosed functionality to the second vehicle 2 using the communication interface 32. Alternatively, the control arrangement 3’ is implemented in the second vehicle 2 or more specifically in one or more ECUs of a second vehicle 2. The communication interface 32 then comprises a standard V2V communication interface configured to enable communication between the second vehicle 2 and one or more first vehicles 1. The terminology used in the description of the embodiments as illustrated in the accompanying drawings is not intended to be limiting of the described method; control arrangement or computer program. Various changes, substitutions and/or alterations may be made, without departing from invention embodiments as defined by the appended claims. As used herein, the term "and/ or" comprises any or all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. The term“or” as used herein, is to be interpreted as a mathematical OR, i.e., as an inclusive disjunction; not as a mathematical exclusive OR (XOR), unless expressly stated otherwise. In addition, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are to be interpreted as“at least one”, thus also possibly comprising a plurality of entities of the same kind, unless expressly stated otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms "includes",

"comprises", "including" and/ or "comprising", specifies the presence of stated features, actions, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/ or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, actions, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/ or groups thereof. A single unit such as e.g. a processor may fulfil the functions of several items recited in the claims.

Claims

1. A method for use in a first vehicle (1 ), for assisting a control arrangement (3, 3’) in diagnosing a short-range wireless transmission functionality of a second vehicle (2), the method comprising:

- measuring (S2) a distance (D) between the first vehicle (1 ) and the second vehicle (2);

- estimating (S3) a received signal quality of a short-range wireless signal transmitted by the second vehicle (2), and

- transmitting (S5) a message indicative of the measured distance and the estimated received signal quality to the control arrangement (3, 3’).

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the estimating (S3) is performed in response to the measured (S2) distance being within a predetermined range.

3. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, further

comprising:

- obtaining (S4) a vehicle identity of the second vehicle (2),

wherein the transmitted message also comprises the obtained vehicle identity.

4. The method according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising:

- continuously monitoring (SO) an area around the first vehicle (1 ) for one or more second vehicles (2), and

wherein one or more of the measuring (S2), the estimating (S3), the obtaining (S4) and the transmitting (S5) are performed in response to detecting (S1 ) the second vehicle (2).

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the obtaining (S4) comprises obtaining the vehicle identity from the short-range wireless signal transmitted by the second vehicle (2) and/or obtaining the vehicle identity at the measuring (S2).

6. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the measuring (S2) comprises measuring the distance (D) using a line of sight sensor.

7. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the transmitting (S5) comprises transmitting the message to a control arrangement (3, 3’) in the second vehicle (2) and/or to a control

arrangement (3’) external to the second vehicle (2).

8. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the

transmitted message further comprises position information of the first vehicle (1 ).

9. A control unit (1 1 ) configured to:

- measure a distance between a first vehicle (1 ) and a second vehicle

(2);

- estimate a received signal quality of a short-range wireless signal transmitted by the second vehicle (2), and

- transmit a signal indicative of the measured distance and the

estimated received signal quality to a control arrangement (3, 3’).

10. A first vehicle (1 ) comprising:

- sensor arrangement (13) configured to measure a distance

between the first vehicle (1 ) and a second vehicle (2),

- a wireless communication interface (14) configured to enable

communication between the first vehicle (1 ) and one or more second vehicles (2) and between the first vehicle (1 ) and a control arrangement (3, 3’), and

- the control unit (1 1 ) according to claim 9.

1 1 . A method for diagnosing a short-range wireless transmission functionality of a second vehicle (2), based on one or more messages received from one or more first vehicles (1 ), the method comprising:

- receiving (S1 1 ) the one or more messages, wherein each received message indicates a measured distance between one of the one or more first vehicles (1 ) and the second vehicle (2) and a, by the one first vehicle (1 ) estimated, received signal quality of a short-range wireless signal transmitted by the second vehicle (2), and

- diagnosing (S12) the short-range wireless transmission functionality of the second vehicle (2), based on the received one or more messages.

12. The method according to claim 1 1 , wherein the diagnosing (S12)

comprises detecting a failure and/or a malfunction in the short-range wireless transmission functionality of the second vehicle (2).

13. The method according to claim 1 1 or 12, further comprising:

- transmitting (S13) information about the diagnosed functionality to the second vehicle (2).

14. The method according to any one of claims 1 1 to 13, wherein the

diagnosing (S12) is based on two or more messages representing signal qualities estimated at different points in time and/or by different first vehicles.

15. The method according to any of claims 1 1 to 14, wherein the diagnosing (S12) comprises comparing the received signal quality estimated by the first vehicle (1 ) with a reference value corresponding to the measured distance.

16. A control arrangement (3, 3’) configured to: - receive one or more messages from one or more first vehicles (1 ), wherein each received message indicates a measured distance between one of the one or more first vehicles (1 ) and a second vehicle (2) and a, by the one first vehicle (1 ) estimated, received signal quality of a short-range wireless signal transmitted by the second vehicle (2), and

- diagnose the short-range wireless transmission functionality of the second vehicle (2), based on the received one or more messages.

17. A computer program comprising instructions which, when the program is executed by a computer, cause the computer to carry out the method according to any one of claims 1 -8 or 11 -15.

18. A computer-readable medium comprising instructions which, when

executed by a computer, cause the computer to carry out the method according to any one of claims 1 -8 or 11 -15.