KR20200130881A - Method and apparatus for setting the distance between vehicles according to the situation of the platooning driving - Google Patents

Abstract

According to the present invention, a method for setting and controlling a distance between platooning vehicles comprises the following steps of: determining the reliability of communication with a preceding platooned vehicle; comparing a distance between vehicles based on communication and a distance between vehicles based on a sensor, when the reliability of communication is higher than or equal to a predetermined level; setting a distance from the preceding vehicle as an economy distance when the distance between vehicles based on communication and a distance between vehicles based on a sensor matches as a result of the comparison; determining whether a vehicle enters a platooning path when the distance between vehicles based on communication and the distance between vehicles based on a sensor does not match and setting the distance from the preceding vehicle as a safety distance when it is determined that the vehicle enters the platooning path as a result of the comparison; setting the distance from the preceding vehicle as a safety distance when the reliability of communication is less than the predetermined level; and adjusting the distance between vehicles by accelerating or decelerating according to the set distance. Therefore, it is possible to continuously maintain an effective line and improve fuel economy.

Description

Method and apparatus for setting the distance between vehicles according to the situation of the platooning driving based on V2X

The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for setting an inter-vehicle distance during cluster driving of vehicles equipped with an autonomous driving function, and specifically, by comparing the inter-vehicle distance identified by vehicle-to-vehicle communication and the inter-vehicle distance identified by a sensor to suit each situation. It relates to a method and system for effectively maintaining the ranks and improving fuel economy.

Vehicle cluster driving is based on V2X between vehicles equipped with an autonomous driving function, and information on vehicles in the group (location coordinates of the own vehicle, driving dynamics information, vehicle information, etc.) and vehicle situation information (road obstacles and accident information, etc.) There is a case in which vehicles in a group are driven by interlocking with each other based on this information, and are tested prior to maintaining an efficient inter-vehicle distance when driving an unmanned cargo truck that is a distribution vehicle.

It is important to properly process vehicle information and situation information for efficient platooning. For this, the first thing that must be done is the stability of communication between vehicles for transmission and reception of vehicle information and situation information.

There are two main types of communication methods for platooning. First, information is exchanged between vehicles through ah-hoc communication between vehicles without a separate communication infrastructure, and secondly, information is exchanged between vehicles through a communication infrastructure such as 5G. Is divided.

In both of the above-described communication methods, there is a problem that temporary and temporary communication interruption may occur at any time, and this may lead to a risk situation in which the stability of platooning is lowered.

In order to solve the above-described problem, the present invention provides a method and system for continuously maintaining the ranks of each other until the platooning vehicle arrives at the target point even when communication is interrupted, and to restore smoothly even if the platooning is temporarily stopped. It aims to provide.

In addition, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method and system for setting and maintaining an appropriate inter-vehicle distance even in each situation in which an adjacent non-clustered general vehicle enters the platooning path or, conversely, the intervening vehicle deviates even if communication is maintained.

The present invention not only checks the distance between vehicles based on communication, but also acquires object recognition and distance information using one or more sensors such as lidar, radar, and camera used as cognitive sensors of autonomous driving technology, and uses the It proposes a method and system for efficiently responding to entry and exit situations on the platooning route of general vehicles without V2X function and setting the appropriate inter-vehicle distance in each situation.

Specifically, the method for setting and controlling an inter-vehicle distance of a platooned vehicle according to the present invention includes determining the reliability of communication with a preceding platooning vehicle, and if the communication reliability is higher than a predetermined level, the communication-based inter-vehicle distance and the sensor Comparing the distance between vehicles based on the basis of the comparison, and setting the distance between vehicles in advance as an economic distance when the communication-based inter-vehicle distance and the sensor-based inter-vehicle distance match, and the comparison result, communication-based inter-vehicle distance and sensor-based If the inter-vehicle distance is inconsistent, it is determined whether or not the adjacent vehicle is entering on the cluster driving route, and if entering, setting the inter-vehicle distance to the preceding vehicle as a safe distance; and if the communication reliability is less than a predetermined level, the inter-vehicle with the preceding vehicle And setting the distance as a safety distance, and adjusting the distance between vehicles by performing acceleration/deceleration according to the set distance.

According to the present invention, it is possible to flexibly cope with the situation of temporary communication interruption during platooning of vehicles or the entry/exit situation of the driving route of non-clustered vehicles, thereby providing an efficient inter-vehicle distance between platooning vehicles such as unmanned cargo trucks, which are logistics vehicles. And, by doing this, you can continuously maintain effective ranks and improve fuel economy.

1 is a block diagram of an apparatus for setting an inter-vehicle distance for platooning according to the present invention.
Figure 2 is a flow chart showing a method for setting the distance between the monarch running vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a situation in which a general adjacent vehicle enters a platoon driving path.
4 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a situation in which a general preceding vehicle on a platoon driving path deviates from the path.

Other objects and effects of the present invention, and configurations for achieving them will become apparent with reference to the embodiments of the present specification together with the accompanying drawings.

However, the technical idea of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but can be implemented in a form in which various changes and modifications have been applied, and the embodiments make the disclosure of the present invention complete, and the technology to which the present invention pertains. It is provided only to completely inform the scope of the invention to those of ordinary skill in the field, and the scope of the present invention is to all changes, modifications, equivalents belonging to the technical idea of the present invention conceived from the embodiments. It should be understood to include substitutes.

Meanwhile, terms used in the present specification are for explaining embodiments and are not intended to limit the present invention. Terms such as “comprise” or “have” are intended to designate the existence of a disclosed feature, number, step, action, component, part, or combination thereof, but one or more other features or numbers, steps, actions, It is to be understood that the possibility of the presence or addition of components, parts, or combinations thereof is not preliminarily excluded.

Likewise, when an element is referred to as being “connected” or “connected” to another element, it may be directly connected or connected to the other element, but other elements may exist in the middle. It should be understood that there is.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs.

Meanwhile, when a certain embodiment can be implemented differently, a function or operation specified in a specific block may occur differently from the order specified in the flowchart. For example, two consecutive blocks may actually be executed at the same time, or the blocks may be executed in reverse depending on a related function or operation.

In describing the present invention, the same reference numerals are used for the same components in the drawings in order to facilitate the overall understanding, and duplicate descriptions of the same components are omitted.

The basic technical idea of the present invention is to transmit/receive the location information of each vehicle through communication between vehicles belonging to a group running in a platoon, and obtain communication-based vehicle distance and sensors of the own vehicle (radar, lidar, image sensor, ultrasonic wave). Sensor-based vehicle distances obtained through sensors, etc.) are compared to determine the entry or exit of adjacent vehicles in the platooning group, thereby securing the appropriate inter-vehicle distance. In addition, by continuously checking the reliability of communication with the vehicle in front during platoon driving, the distance between vehicles corresponding to each communication situation is set and maintained.

Hereinafter, the configuration of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a diagram showing the structure of a vehicle participating in platooning according to the present invention.

The device 100 for setting the inter-vehicle distance according to the situation when driving in a cluster includes a communication unit 110 that performs an information exchange function with a vehicle in the cluster, a sensor unit 120 that recognizes road conditions with adjacent vehicles, and information from the communication unit and the sensor unit. It is composed of a control unit 130 that sets and manages the distance between vehicles for platooning based on the vehicle, and controls the driving and braking unit 140 of the vehicle.

The communication unit 110 includes all communication methods capable of communicating with vehicles within the same group when driving in a cluster, including ah-hoc method or a centralized communication method based on a communication infrastructure. Information exchanged through communication includes driving information (position coordinates, driving direction, driving speed, etc.) of the transmitting vehicle and environmental information (falling objects on the road, existence of an accident, etc.) around the transmitting vehicle recognized by the transmitting vehicle.

In the present invention, the communication unit 110 is characterized in that it checks the reliability of communication connectivity and provides the communication connectivity reliability information to the control unit 130.

For example, each communication unit 110 transmits, in addition to the above exchange information, reliability confirmation information in a predetermined format shared by vehicles in the cluster group in advance according to a predetermined period or transmission pattern between cluster vehicles, and receives cluster vehicles in a timely manner. Reliability information is generated by checking whether the reliability check information is received properly and evaluating the reliability of communication connectivity. Alternatively, the reliability of communication connectivity may be evaluated by analyzing the strength of a radio signal received by each cluster vehicle or a received power pattern. It goes without saying that it is possible to evaluate the reliability of communication connectivity in other ways not illustrated.

The sensor unit 120 checks the surroundings of the own vehicle with a lidar, radar, camera, or a combination thereof (sensor fusion) to generate cognitive information (distance between other vehicles in front, rear, left and right, obstacles, whether there is an accident), and the like, and the communication unit This information can also be shared with other vehicles through (110), and is used as essential information to perform autonomous driving functions.

The control unit 130 determines an effective or safe distance between clustered vehicles and general vehicles by using the received information of the communication unit 110 and the situation information detected by the sensor unit 120 and sets this as an inter-vehicle distance. In addition, by controlling the driving unit and the control unit 140 of the vehicle according to the set inter-vehicle distance, the vehicle is controlled to travel with the set inter-vehicle distance.

Hereinafter, a method for the control unit 130 to determine the inter-vehicle distance will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 2.

Looking at the operation of the present invention, the control unit 130 of the platoon vehicle equipped with the autonomous driving function receives communication reliability information and the position information of the vehicle in front using the communication unit 110, and the front side by using the sensor unit 120 Check the distance to the vehicle (S210).

According to the communication reliability information, the connection status with the vehicle in front is checked, and it is determined whether the communication status is good (S220).

If it is good, the cluster inter-vehicle distance (Dcomm; communication-based inter-vehicle distance) is calculated based on the position information (absolute coordinates) of the vehicle in front and the position information of the own vehicle. The communication-based inter-vehicle distance (Dcomm) is, of course, the distance to the vehicle in front of the same group driving in a platoon. It is determined whether the two distances match by comparing the distance information (Dsensor; sensor-based inter-vehicle distance) of the vehicle in front detected by the lidar or radar and the communication-based inter-vehicle distance (S230). In the present specification, coincidence means the same or substantially identical case (eg, an error within 1m).

In the case of coincidence, since platooning is being performed without any abnormality, the current distance between platoons is maintained (S232,), and the intervehicle distance (Dgroup) with the vehicle in front at this time is set as the economic distance (Deconomic) (S234). ). That is, each cluster vehicle can drive while maintaining an economic distance, thereby reducing air resistance and improving fuel economy due to reduction in acceleration/deceleration times, etc., and is effective in maintaining the ranks.

If not, it is determined whether the communication-based inter-vehicle distance Dcomm is greater than the sensor-based inter-vehicle distance Dsensor (S240).

As a result of the determination, if the communication-based inter-vehicle distance (Dcomm) is larger than the sensor-based inter-vehicle distance (Dsensor), it is recognized that another vehicle exists between the vehicle in front and the host vehicle in cluster driving as shown in FIG. 3 or 4, and the adjacent vehicle It is determined whether to enter the platoon driving path (S250).

Whether an adjacent vehicle enters on a path may be determined based on a rate of change of a sensor-based desensor. For example, if the Dsenor value is decreasing, it may be determined that adjacent vehicles are gradually approaching, and in this case, it may be determined that the vehicle is entering the platoon route. Alternatively, the sensor unit may determine whether to enter the cluster driving path by determining the driving direction of the adjacent vehicle, or may determine whether to enter the path by considering the change of the Dsensor value and the driving direction of the adjacent vehicle.

If it is determined that the adjacent vehicle enters and intervenes on the path, the inter-vehicle distance Dother with the adjacent vehicle is set to a safety distance Dsafe sufficient to ensure safety even if a general adjacent vehicle intervenes (S252). Through this, accident prevention and driving adaptability with general vehicles are improved by maintaining a safe distance with general adjacent vehicles. The distance to the intervening vehicle is measured and checked based on a sensor. The safety distance (Dsafe) is calculated variably according to the vehicle's driving speed, road conditions, and weather.

On the other hand, in this case, since the distance between the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle is determined by the distance from the intervening general preceding vehicle rather than the distance from the preceding vehicle in the platoon driving group, the platoon driving is partially stopped. It is desirable to continuously receive and check driving information of the preceding vehicle in the platooning group through the communication unit in order to immediately return to platooning when deviating from the driving route.

If it is determined that it is not the case where the adjacent vehicle enters but the case where the preceding general vehicle intervening in the path leaves (see FIG. 4), the distance Dgroup with the preceding vehicle in the platoon driving group is set as the economic distance (S254). Determination of the departure of the general preceding vehicle is performed based on the change of the sensor-based desensor and the driving direction of the general preceding vehicle. For example, if the driving direction of the adjacent vehicle identified by the sensor unit is the departure direction as the sensor-based inter-vehicle distance (Dsensor) increases, the departure on the path may be determined.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S240 that the sensor-based inter-vehicle distance (Dsensor) is a case where the communication-based inter-vehicle distance (Dcomm) is large, the communication unit and/or the sensor unit are considered to be malfunctioning, and an error in the communication unit and the sensor unit is diagnosed. (S242). As can be seen with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, whether the preceding vehicle is a vehicle running in a cluster or a general vehicle, if the communication unit and the sensor unit operate normally, the Dsensor is not greater than Dcomm.

Meanwhile, since a malfunction of the communication unit 110 or the sensor unit 120 is suspected, in order to ensure maximum safety, the distance between the preceding vehicle running in the group (Dgroup) and the other vehicle identified by the sensor (Dother It is desirable to set all distances of) to Dsafe or more. However, since this situation is the case where Dsensor is greater than Dcomm, if the distance (Dgroup) to the preceding vehicle in the group identified by communication-based is set to a safety distance or higher, other vehicles (communication department and/or sensor Since a negative malfunction is suspected, it is unclear whether the other preceding vehicle is a preceding vehicle in the platoon driving group or a general preceding vehicle), so that the Dgroup is set to Dsafe (S244).

Alternatively, it may be desirable to move away from the autonomous platooning mode and switch to the manual mode (not shown).

On the other hand, as a result of the determination in step S220, if the reliability of the communication means is less than a certain level, it is determined as a temporary or temporary loss of communication between clustered vehicles (S222), and the distance between the vehicles is maintained by the sensor. At this time, the inter-vehicle distance is set as a safety distance (Dsafe) (S224).

When the inter-vehicle distance is set through the steps S224, S234, S244, S252, and S254, the control unit 130 controls the driving and braking unit 140 of the vehicle accordingly to increase or decrease the vehicle speed to control the inter-vehicle distance. (S260).

In the above, although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail, all the components constituting the illustrated embodiment are described as being combined into one or are described as being combined together to operate, so that the present invention must be such an implementation. It is not limited to examples. That is, as long as it is within the scope of the object of the present invention, one or more of the components may be selectively combined and operated. In addition, although all the components can be implemented as one independent hardware, a program module that performs some or all functions combined in one or more hardware by selectively combining some or all of the components. It may be implemented as a computer program having In addition, such a computer program is stored in a computer readable media such as a USB memory, a CD disk, a flash memory, etc. or an FPGA, and is read and executed by a computer, thereby implementing an embodiment of the present invention. have.

Accordingly, the present invention extends to the configuration defined by the description of the following claims and the scope of their equivalents.

Claims (1)

As a method of setting and controlling the inter-vehicle distance of a platoon driving vehicle,
Determining the reliability of communication with the preceding platooned vehicle; and
If the communication reliability is higher than a predetermined level, comparing the communication-based inter-vehicle distance and the sensor-based inter-vehicle distance,
As a result of the comparison, if the communication-based inter-vehicle distance and the sensor-based inter-vehicle distance match, setting the inter-vehicle distance to the preceding vehicle as an economic distance,
As a result of the comparison, if the communication-based inter-vehicle distance and the sensor-based inter-vehicle distance are inconsistent, the step of determining whether to enter on the cluster driving route of adjacent vehicles, and if entering, setting the inter-vehicle distance to the preceding vehicle as a safety distance;
If the communication reliability is less than a predetermined level, setting the inter-vehicle distance to the preceding vehicle as a safety distance,
Adjusting the distance between vehicles by accelerating or decelerating according to the set distance
A method for setting and controlling an inter-vehicle distance between platooned vehicles comprising a.

Images