GB2589987A

GB2589987A - Operating a controller for a vehicle

Info

Publication number: GB2589987A
Application number: GB2018818.1A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Vickers Russell
Original assignee: Jaguar Land Rover Ltd
Current assignee: Jaguar Land Rover Ltd
Priority date: 2018-10-04
Filing date: 2018-10-04
Publication date: 2021-06-16
Anticipated expiration: 2038-10-04
Also published as: GB2589987B; GB202018818D0

Abstract

A system for operating a controller 110 for a vehicle determines a prevailing operational state of the vehicle. In response to determining that the l state is that one or more computing resources of a vehicle controller can be made available to a fog computing network, the vehicle controller is set to a fog node mode. The fog node mode is an operating mode in which the vehicle controller operates as a node in a fog computing network. The vehicle controller may receive a computing task from the fog computing network, while operating in the fog node mode, execute the task using the one or more computing resources, and send a result of the executed computing task to the fog computing network. The state in which resources may be made available to the fog computing network includes a driving state in which an autonomous driving mode has been deselected.

Description

OPERATING A CONTROLLER FOR A VEHICLE

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to operating a controller for a vehicle. Aspects of the invention relate to a method, a computer program, a non-transitory computer readable medium, a fog node controller, and a system.

BACKGROUND

It is known to provide controllers in vehicles which can control one or more functions of the vehicle. An example of a vehicle controller is an autonomous vehicle controller which can control vehicle functions such as steering, braking, acceleration, headlight operation and gear selection. Other examples of vehicle controllers include electronic control units (ECUs), which may be present in both autonomous and non-autonomous vehicles, such as engine ECUs and door/window ECUs. A further example of a type of vehicle controller is a vehicle gateway controller, which can enable the vehicle to connect wirelessly to a mobile telecommunications network. Modern vehicle controllers can have significant computing power. For example, a level 4 autonomous vehicle controller can include multiple processing cores and more than a hundred gigabytes (Gb) of internal storage.

It is an aim of the present invention to address one or more of the disadvantages associated with the prior art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Aspects and embodiments of the invention provide a method of operating a controller, a computer program, a non-transitory computer readable medium, and a system comprising a fog node controller and a vehicle controller, as claimed in the appended claims.

According to an aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of operating a controller for a vehicle, the controller comprising one or more computing resources for controlling at least one vehicle function, the method comprising: determining a prevailing operational state of the vehicle; and setting the controller to a fog node mode in which the controller operates as a node in a fog computing network, in response to a determination that the prevailing operational state is a state in which the one or more computing resources can be made available to the fog computing network; wherein the controller is an autonomous vehicle controller and wherein the determined prevailing operational state in which the one or more computing resources can be made available to the fog computing network includes a driving state in which an autonomous driving function has been deselected.

Optionally, the method may comprise setting the controller to a vehicle control mode in which the one or more computing resources are used to control the at least one vehicle function, in response to a determination that the prevailing operational state is a state in which the controller is required to control the at least one vehicle function.

Optionally, setting the controller to the fog node mode may comprise: generating a fog node enable signal in dependence on the prevailing operational state of the vehicle; and outputting the generated fog node enable signal to the controller.

Optionally, the method may comprise: receiving a power-on signal at the controller, while the controller is in a power-off mode or a standby mode; and booting the controller into the vehicle control mode in response to the fog node enable signal being indicative of the state in which the controller is required to control the at least one vehicle function.

Optionally, the method may comprise: receiving a power-on signal at the controller, while the controller is in a power-off mode or a standby mode; and booting the controller into the fog node mode in response to the fog node enable signal being indicative of the state in which the one or more computing resources can be made available to the fog computing network.

Optionally, the determined prevailing operational state in which the one or more computing resources can be made available to the fog computing network may include a parked state and/or a battery charging state.

Optionally, the controller may be a level 4 or higher autonomous vehicle controller.

Optionally, the method may comprise: while the controller is operating in the fog node mode, receiving a request for environmental data from the fog computing network; obtaining the requested environmental data from one or more vehicle sensors; and sending the obtained environmental data to the fog computing network. For example, the one or more vehicle sensors may include one or more Advanced Driving Assistance System sensors.

Optionally, the vehicle may be an electric vehicle.

Optionally, the method may comprise: receiving a computing task from the fog computing network, while the controller is operating in the fog node mode; executing the computing task at the controller, using the one or more computing resources; and sending a result of the executed computing task to the fog computing network.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a system comprising a vehicle controller and a fog node controller for setting an operating mode of the vehicle controller, the vehicle controller comprising one or more computing resources for controlling at least one vehicle function, the fog node controller being configured to: determine a prevailing operational state of the vehicle; and set the vehicle controller to a fog node mode in which the vehicle controller operates as a node in a fog computing network, in response to a determination that the prevailing operational state is a state in which the one or more computing resources can be made available to the fog computing network; wherein the vehicle controller is an autonomous vehicle controller and wherein the determined prevailing operational state in which the one or more computing resources can be made available to the fog computing network includes a driving state in which an autonomous driving function has been deselected.

Optionally, the fog node controller may be configured to set the vehicle controller to a vehicle control mode in which the one or more computing resources are used to control the at least one vehicle function, in response to a determination that the prevailing operational state is a state in which the vehicle controller is required to control the at least one vehicle function.

Optionally, the fog node controller may be configured to set the vehicle controller to the fog node mode by: generating a fog node enable signal in dependence on the prevailing operational state of the vehicle; and outputting the generated fog node enable signal to the vehicle controller.

Optionally, the prevailing operational state in which the one or more computing resources can be made available to the fog computing network may include a parked state and/or a battery charging state.

Optionally, the vehicle controller may be configured to: receive a power-on signal, while the vehicle controller is in a power-off mode or a standby mode; and boot into the vehicle control mode in response to the fog node enable signal being indicative of the state in which the vehicle controller is required to control the at least one vehicle function.

Optionally, the vehicle controller may be configured to: receive a power-on signal, while the vehicle controller is in a power-off mode or a standby mode; and boot into the fog node mode in response to the fog node enable signal being indicative of the state in which the one or more computing resources can be made available to the fog computing network.

Optionally, the vehicle controller may be a level 4 or higher autonomous vehicle controller.

Optionally, the vehicle controller may be configured to: receive a request for environmental data from the fog computing network, while the vehicle controller is operating in the fog node mode; obtain the requested environmental data from one or more vehicle sensors; and send the obtained environmental data to the fog computing network.

Optionally, the one or more vehicle sensors may include one or more Advanced Driving Assistance System sensors.

Optionally, the vehicle controller may be configured to: receive a computing task from the fog computing network, while the controller is operating in the fog node mode; execute the computing task at the controller, using the one or more computing resources; and send a result of the executed computing task to the fog computing network.

According to yet another aspect of the invention, there is provided a vehicle comprising a system as defined above.

Optionally, the vehicle may be an electric vehicle.

According to a still further aspect of the invention, there is provided a computer program comprising computer readable instructions that, when executed, perform a method as defined above.

According to a still further aspect of the invention, there is provided a non-transitory computer readable medium comprising computer readable instructions that, when executed, perform a method as defined above.

Within the scope of the claims of this application it is expressly intended that the various aspects, embodiments, examples and alternatives set out in the preceding paragraphs, in the claims and/or in the following description and drawings, and in particular the individual features thereof, may be taken independently or in any combination. That is, all embodiments and/or features of any embodiment can be combined in any way and/or combination, unless such features are incompatible.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

One or more embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a block diagram illustrating a system comprising a fog node controller, a controller for a vehicle, and a plurality of vehicle sensors, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 shows a vehicle in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; Figure 3 schematically illustrates a fog network, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; Figure 4 is a flowchart showing a method of operating a controller for a vehicle, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; Figure 5 is a flowchart showing a method of operating a controller for a vehicle, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; and Figure 6 is a flowchart showing a method of providing environmental data to a fog network, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A method of operating a controller for a vehicle in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is described herein with reference to the accompanying Figures 1, 2 and 3. With reference to Figure 1, the system comprises a fog node controller 100, a controller 110 for a vehicle, hereinafter referred to as a 'vehicle controller', and a plurality of vehicle sensors 130. The fog node controller 100 comprises a first processing unit 101, which may include one or more processors each comprising a single core or a plurality of cores, and a first memory 102. The first memory 102 is arranged to store a computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by the first processing unit 101, cause the performance of any of the methods described herein as being carried out by the fog node controller 100, such as the method of Figure 3 and certain aspects of the method of Figure 5. The first memory 102 may comprise any suitable form of non-transitory computer readable medium.

The first memory 102 may comprise volatile and/or non-volatile memory.

The vehicle controller 110 comprises a second processing unit 111, which may include one or more processors each comprising a single core or a plurality of cores, and a second memory 112. The second memory 112 is arranged to store a computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by the second processing unit 111, cause the performance of any of the methods described herein as being carried out by the vehicle controller 110, such as the method of Figure 4 and certain aspects of the method of Figure 5. The second memory 112 may comprise any suitable form of non-transitory computer readable medium. The second memory 112 may comprise volatile and/or non-volatile memory.

The vehicle controller 110 comprises one or more computing resources for controlling at least one vehicle function. The one or more computing resources may comprise resources included in the second processing unit 111 and/or the second memory 112, and/or may comprise other resources available to the vehicle controller 110, such as a cryptographic engine included in the vehicle controller 110 for performing cryptographic functions. The vehicle controller 110 may be an autonomous vehicle controller, for example a level 4 or higher autonomous vehicle controller. Level 4 autonomous driving is defined as a mode in which the autonomous vehicle is capable of performing all aspects of dynamic driving even if a human driver does not respond to a request to intervene. By comparison, level 3 autonomous driving is defined as a mode in which the autonomous vehicle is capable of performing all aspects of dynamic driving, but with the expectation that a human driver will intervene appropriately if necessary, whilst level 5 autonomous driving is defined as a mode in which the autonomous vehicle is capable of performing all aspects of dynamic driving under all roadway and environmental conditions.

Alternatively, in other embodiments the vehicle controller 110 may be a different type of control unit in a vehicle, such as a vehicle gateway controller for enabling the vehicle to connect wirelessly to a mobile telecommunications network.

The plurality of vehicle sensors 130 comprises a plurality of sensors 131, 132, 133 configured to measure one or more environmental parameters, such as ambient temperature, light levels, humidity, and so on. In an autonomous vehicle the plurality of sensors 130 may include one or more Advanced Driving Assistance System (ADAS) sensors, such as a camera or a light detecting and ranging (LIDAR) unit.

A vehicle 200 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is described herewith with reference to Figure 2. The vehicle 200 may incorporate one or more of the embodiments of the invention described herein, such as the system of Figure 1. A fog node controller and a vehicle controller in the vehicle may be arranged to perform any of the methods described herein, such as the methods illustrated in the flowcharts of Figures 3, 4 and 5. The vehicle 200 may be an electric vehicle, such as a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) or a battery electric vehicle (BEV).

As shown in Figure 2, the vehicle 200 is capable of communicating with a fog computing network 210. A fog computing network is a network that comprises a plurality of end-user client devices and/or near-user edge devices to provide computing services to a local client. For example, the devices in the fog computing network can collaborate to perform distributed computing tasks. Fog computing differs from cloud computing in that the computing tasks in a fog computing network are carried out at devices in the vicinity of the client device, whereas in cloud computing the computing tasks are carried out at cloud servers which may be located large distances from the client device, for example many hundreds or even thousands of miles. In cloud computing, information must therefore be transmitted over long distances over the Internet via TCP/IP. Fog computing has the potential to significantly reduce the volume of Internet traffic by offloading tasks that would otherwise be performed at a cloud server to local devices, specifically, local nodes in the fog network. Fog level computing can also provide reduced latency in comparison to cloud computing, since data does not have to be transmitted over such long distances in a fog network.

With reference to Figure 3, a fog computing network is schematically illustrated in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. The fog network 210 comprises a plurality of endpoint devices 211 including the vehicle 200, a plurality of gateway fog nodes 212 in communication with the plurality of endpoint devices 211, and a plurality of edge nodes 213 in communication with the plurality of gateway fog nodes 212. The plurality of edge nodes 213 can also send and receive data to/from the Internet, for example to/from a cloud server 315, via a core network 314 comprising a plurality of routers.

In an embodiment of the invention, a vehicle controller 100 acts as a node in a fog computing network in order to share its computing resources with the fog computing network. For example, level 4 or higher autonomous vehicle controllers are particularly suited for use as fog nodes, since such controllers typically have sufficient computing resources to meet the necessary hardware requirements for a fog node. However, embodiments of the invention are not limited to level 4 or higher autonomous vehicle controllers, and in other embodiments a different type of vehicle controller may be operated as a fog node to make computing resources of the controller available to other local devices via the fog computing network. By enabling vehicle controllers to act as fog nodes in this way, embodiments of the invention can assist in providing the necessary infrastructure to enable fog computing on a large scale.

With reference to Figure 4, in step S401 the fog node controller 100 determines a prevailing operational state of the vehicle 200. In step S401, the fog node controller 100 may make the determination based on operational state information 140 received from various sources, such as other controllers within the vehicle 200 and/or the plurality of vehicle sensors 130. The operational state information 140 can comprise any information related to the prevailing operational state of the vehicle that may be useful to the fog node controller 100 in determining the prevailing operational state of the vehicle 200.

Examples of information that may enable the fog node controller 100 to determine the prevailing operational state of the vehicle 200 include, but are not limited to, the current speed of the vehicle 200, an ignition state (i.e. vehicle ignition on or off), and a parking brake state (i.e. parking brake on or off). In an electric vehicle, the operational state information may include information about the current level of charge of a vehicle battery. In a vehicle which includes a gearbox, such as a manual or automatic gearbox, the operational state information may include information about the currently-selected gear.

In step S402, the fog node controller 100 determines whether the vehicle controller 110 can be set to operate in a fog node mode, in dependence on the determined prevailing operational state of the vehicle 200. In response to a determination in step S402 that the prevailing operational state is a state in which the one or more computing resources of the controller 100 can be made available to the fog computing network 210, in step S403 the fog node controller 100 sets the vehicle controller 110 to operate in a fog node mode. In the fog node mode, the vehicle controller 110 operates as a node in the fog computing network 210.

For example, an operational state in which the one or more computing resources can be made available to the fog computing network 210 may include a parked state, that is, a state in which the vehicle is currently parked and is therefore stationary. In an electric vehicle, an operational state in which the one or more computing resources can be made available to the fog computing network 210 may include a battery charging state, that is, a state in which the vehicle is plugged into a battery charging point. Since the vehicle 200 is not being driven while in a parked state and/or a battery charging state, computing resources of the vehicle controller 110 such as memory capacity and processing time can be made available to the fog computing network 210 by setting the controller 110 to operate in the fog node mode. A further example of a prevailing operational state in which the computing resources of the controller 110 can be made available to the fog computing network 210, in the case of an autonomous vehicle controller, is a driving state in which an autonomous driving function has been deselected.

If, on the other hand, it is determined in step S402 that the prevailing operational state is a state in which the vehicle controller 110 requires use of the computing resources to control at least one vehicle function, then in step S404 the fog node controller 100 is configured to set the vehicle controller 110 to a vehicle control mode. In the vehicle control mode the one or more computing resources are used to control the at least one vehicle function. For example in the case of an autonomous vehicle controller, in the vehicle control mode the controller 110 may need the computing resources to perform tasks associated with autonomous driving, such as image processing, hazard detection and route finding.

In some embodiments, in the vehicle control mode the vehicle controller 110 may still make some resources available to the fog computing network 210, but at a reduced level in comparison to when the vehicle controller 110 is operating in the fog node mode. For example, the computational burden on the vehicle controller 110 may vary according to environmental conditions, meaning that under some circumstances the vehicle controller 110 may continue to control functions of the vehicle 200 while simultaneously providing fog node computing services to the fog computing network 210. Accordingly, in some embodiments the vehicle controller may be configured to split its resources between vehicle control tasks and fog node tasks while operating in the vehicle control mode, in dependence on the prevailing environmental and/or driving conditions.

With reference to Figure 5, a method of operating a controller for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the invention will now be described. As with the method shown in Figure 4, the method illustrated in Figure 5 may be performed by a system such as the one illustrated in Figure 1.

First, in step S501 a power-on signal for the vehicle controller 110 is received while the vehicle controller 110 is in a power-off mode or a standby mode. Then, in step S502 the fog node controller 100 determines the prevailing operational state of the vehicle 200, as described above. Once the prevailing operational state of the vehicle 200 has been determined, in step S503 the fog node controller 100 generates a fog node enable signal in dependence on the prevailing operational state of the vehicle.

For example, the fog node enable signal may comprise a digital signal in which a first digital codeword or binary state is indicative of an operational state in which the one or more computing resources can be made available to the fog computing network 210, and in which a second digital codeword or binary state is indicative of an operational state in which the vehicle controller 110 requires use of the computing resources to control at least one vehicle function.

Next, in step S504 the fog node controller 100 outputs the generated fog node enable signal to the vehicle controller 110. In step S505 the vehicle controller 110 determines whether to boot into the fog node mode or the vehicle control mode, in dependence on the fog node enable signal. In response to the fog node enable signal being indicative of the state in which the one or more computing resources can be made available to the fog computing network 210, the vehicle controller 110 boots into the fog node mode in step S506.

While operating in the fog node mode, in step S507 the vehicle controller 110 receives a computing task from the fog computing network 210. Next, in step S508 the vehicle controller 110 executes the computing task using the one or more computing resources that would normally be used for controlling one or more vehicle functions when operating in the vehicle control mode. Then, in step S509 the vehicle controller 110 sends a result of the computing task to the fog computing network 210.

It will be understood that in a distributed computing scenario in which a plurality of devices in the fog computing network collaborate to perform a distributed computing task, the task that is received by the vehicle controller in step S507 may be part of a larger overall task being performed by the fog computing network 210. In this context, the result that is obtained in step S508 and transmitted in step S509 may be a partial result which, when combined in the fog computing network 210 with partial results from other fog nodes, can give the final result of the distributed computing task.

If on the other hand in step S505 the vehicle controller 110 determines the fog node enable signal to be indicative of the state in which the vehicle controller 110 is required to control the at least one vehicle function, in step S510 the vehicle controller 110 boots into the vehicle control mode.

With reference to Figure 6, a method of operating a controller for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the invention will now be described. As with the methods shown in Figures 4 and 5, the method illustrated in Figure 6 may be performed by a system such as the one illustrated in Figure 1.

First, in step S601 the vehicle controller 110 is set to operate in the fog node mode, for example using a method as described above with reference to Figure 4 or 5. Next, in step S602 the vehicle controller 110 receives a request for environmental data from the fog computing network 210. In step S603 the vehicle controller 110 proceeds to obtain the requested environmental data from the one or more vehicle sensors 130. Then, in step S604 the vehicle controller 110 sends the obtained environmental data to the fog computing network 210. In this way, other devices in the fog network 210 may utilise data from the vehicle sensors 130 to build up a picture of the local area in the vicinity of the vehicle 200, for example to enable real-time traffic management.

It will be appreciated that various changes and modifications can be made to the present invention without departing from the scope of the present application.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A method of operating a controller for a vehicle, the controller comprising one or more computing resources for controlling at least one vehicle function, the method 5 comprising: determining a prevailing operational state of the vehicle; and setting the controller to a fog node mode in which the controller operates as a node in a fog computing network, in response to a determination that the prevailing operational state is a state in which the one or more computing resources can be made available to the fog computing network; wherein the controller is an autonomous vehicle controller and wherein the determined prevailing operational state in which the one or more computing resources can be made available to the fog computing network includes a driving state in which an autonomous driving function has been deselected.
2. A method according to claim 1, comprising: setting the controller to a vehicle control mode in which the one or more computing resources are used to control the at least one vehicle function, in response to a determination that the prevailing operational state is a state in which the controller is required to control the at least one vehicle function.
3. A method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein setting the controller to the fog node mode comprises: generating a fog node enable signal in dependence on the prevailing operational state of the vehicle; and outputting the generated fog node enable signal to the controller.
4. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the determined prevailing operational state in which the one or more computing resources can be made available to the fog computing network includes a parked state and/or a battery charging state.
5. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein the controller is a level 4 or higher autonomous vehicle controller.
6. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising: while the controller is operating in the fog node mode, receiving a request for environmental data from the fog computing network; obtaining the requested environmental data from one or more vehicle sensors; and sending the obtained environmental data to the fog computing network.
7. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising: receiving a computing task from the fog computing network, while the controller is operating in the fog node mode; executing the computing task at the controller, using the one or more computing resources; and sending a result of the executed computing task to the fog computing network.
8. A computer program comprising computer readable instructions that, when executed, perform the method of any one of the preceding claims.
9. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising the computer program of claim 8.
10. A system comprising a vehicle controller and a fog node controller for setting an operating mode of the vehicle controller, the vehicle controller comprising one or more computing resources for controlling at least one vehicle function, the fog node controller being configured to: determine a prevailing operational state of the vehicle; and set the vehicle controller to a fog node mode in which the vehicle controller operates as a node in a fog computing network, in response to a determination that the prevailing operational state is a state in which the one or more computing resources can be made available to the fog computing network; wherein the vehicle controller is an autonomous vehicle controller and wherein the determined prevailing operational state in which the one or more computing resources can be made available to the fog computing network includes a driving state in which an autonomous driving function has been deselected.
1 1. A system according to claim 10, wherein the fog node controller is configured to: set the vehicle controller to a vehicle control mode in which the one or more computing resources are used to control the at least one vehicle function, in response to a determination that the prevailing operational state is a state in which the vehicle controller is required to control the at least one vehicle function.
12. A system according to claim 10 or 11, wherein the fog node controller is configured to set the vehicle controller to the fog node mode by: generating a fog node enable signal in dependence on the prevailing operational state of the vehicle; and outputting the generated fog node enable signal to the vehicle controller.
13. A system according to claim 10, 11 or 12, wherein the prevailing operational state in which the one or more computing resources can be made available to the fog computing network includes a parked state and/or a battery charging state.
14. A system according to any one of claims 10 to 13, wherein the vehicle controller is a level 4 or higher autonomous vehicle controller.
15. A system according to any one of claims 10 to 14, wherein the vehicle controller is configured to: receive a request for environmental data from the fog computing network, while the vehicle controller is operating in the fog node mode; obtain the requested environmental data from one or more vehicle sensors; and send the obtained environmental data to the fog computing network.
16. A system according to any one of claims 10 to 15, wherein the vehicle controller is configured to: receive a computing task from the fog computing network, while the controller is operating in the fog node mode; execute the computing task at the controller, using the one or more computing resources; and send a result of the executed computing task to the fog computing network.
17. A vehicle comprising a system according to any one of claims 10 to 16.