KR20230033750A - Warning system for self driving cars - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is a warning system of an autonomous vehicle, in which the autonomous vehicle recognizes a pedestrian and intuitively warns the pedestrian to remarkably promote safety of the pedestrian. Therefore, the warning system of the autonomous vehicle according to one aspect of the present invention comprises: a sensing unit recognizing the pedestrian; and an output unit displaying the moving direction of the vehicle in the front or the behind the pedestrian.

Description

Warning system for autonomous vehicles {WARNING SYSTEM FOR SELF DRIVING CARS}

The present invention relates to a warning system, and more particularly, to a warning system for an autonomous vehicle that intuitively warns pedestrians who are unaware of the autonomous vehicle for safety.

Vehicles may be classified into internal combustion engine vehicles, external combustion engine vehicles, gas turbine vehicles, electric vehicles, and the like, depending on the type of prime mover used.

Autonomous vehicles are vehicles that can drive automatically without human intervention. Self-driving vehicles drive autonomously by designating a destination by recognizing the surrounding environment with radar, LIDAR (light detection and ranging), GPS, and camera. Examples of self-driving vehicles that are already in practical use include unmanned vehicles operated by the Israeli military that patrol preset routes and unmanned operation systems such as dump trucks operated at overseas mines and construction sites.

The first core technology of these self-driving vehicles is the self-driving vehicle system and the actual system. It is a technology that builds autonomous vehicle systems in practice as well as simulations in the laboratory. Accelerators, decelerators, and steering devices, which are driving devices, are implemented to suit unmanned operation, and control is performed using computers, software, and hardware installed in autonomous vehicles. make it possible

The second key technology is to receive and process visual information using vision and sensors. It is the basis of autonomous driving for unmanned operation, and it is a technology that accepts image information and extracts necessary information from the image. This uses not only a CCD (charge-coupled device) camera, but also sensors such as ultrasonic sensors and range filters to fuse information necessary for distance and driving, allowing obstacle avoidance and unexpected situations to be dealt with through analysis and processing.

The third core technology is the integrated control system and operation monitoring fault diagnosis system technology. This technology establishes an operation monitoring system that monitors vehicle operation and gives appropriate commands according to frequently changing situations, analyzes various situations generated by individual processors and sensors, diagnoses system failures, and provides appropriate information to the operator. or to perform the function of notifying an alarm.

The fourth key technology is intelligent control and intelligent driving devices. This technology generates control commands based on mathematical analysis using actual vehicle models as an unmanned driving technique, and the first applied technology currently being applied to autonomous vehicles is the Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) system. Intelligent forward control is a system based on radar guide technology that maintains the distance from the vehicle in front or obstacles by adjusting the speed on its own without the driver manipulating the pedals. When the driver inputs the distance to the vehicle in front, the long-range radar attached to the front of the vehicle detects the location of the vehicle in front, maintains a constant speed, decelerates or accelerates, and comes to a complete stop if necessary, which is useful in poor visibility weather.

The fifth applied technology is the lane departure prevention system. This is a technology in which a camera installed inside detects the lane and informs the driver of an unintentional deviation situation. In an autonomous vehicle, it distinguishes between walking and the center line so that the vehicle can safely drive along the lane.

The sixth applied technology is a parking assist system. When the driver searches for the assist button, puts the reverse gear in and presses the brake pedal, the car adjusts the steering to assist in parallel parking in reverse. It automatically guides the vehicle from the starting point to the parking space based on infrastructure as well as vehicle-mounted sensors to save unnecessary time and energy when parking, thereby minimizing cost and environmental pollution.

The seventh applied technology is an automatic parking system. This is a technology in which the driver stops the car in front of the parking lot, turns off the engine, gets off, and presses the remote control lock switch twice in a row. am.

The eighth applied technology is a blind spot information guidance system. Sensors mounted on both sides of the car determine if there is another vehicle in the blind spot that is not visible through the side mirror and warn the driver. .

The biggest advantage of autonomous driving is that driving speed and traffic management data match, so it helps fuel efficiency by avoiding repeated stops by adjusting the control device more evenly, and that it can be used by people who cannot drive, such as the elderly, children, and the disabled. will be. In addition, it has the advantage of solving fatigue caused by long-time driving, greatly reducing the risk of traffic accidents, speeding up traffic flow on the road and reducing traffic congestion.

However, discussions on additional user experiences using autonomous vehicles have not yet been actively conducted. In particular, autonomous vehicles are expected to be actively used in the form of electric vehicles. In the case of electric vehicles, noise is not generated compared to general raw material vehicles, so pedestrians and the like need to pay more attention to safety. Therefore, it is necessary to intuitively warn a pedestrian in a different way from a conventional warning to a pedestrian. Therefore, it is time to discuss in detail about such measures.

Korean Patent Publication No. 2019-0049221 (2019. 05. 09.), Title of Invention: Pedestrian Recognition Method for Autonomous Vehicles {an Autonomous Vehicle of pedestrians facial features}

The present invention is to solve the above problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a warning system for an autonomous vehicle that significantly promotes the safety of pedestrians by recognizing a pedestrian and intuitively warning the pedestrian. is in providing

A warning system for an autonomous vehicle according to an aspect of the present invention includes a sensing unit recognizing a pedestrian and an output unit displaying a moving direction of the vehicle in front or rear of the pedestrian.

At this time, the output unit may display the moving direction of the vehicle in real image on the road.

In addition, the output unit may output the movement direction of the pedestrian together.

In addition, the output unit may display the moving direction as a line extending in front of the vehicle, and may display an expected arrival time of the vehicle according to a length direction of the line.

The warning system of the autonomous vehicle may further include a control unit, and the control unit may determine a possibility of collision between the pedestrian and the vehicle according to the moving direction and speed of the pedestrian and the vehicle and control the driving speed of the vehicle.

According to the present invention, since an autonomous vehicle recognizes a pedestrian and a pedestrian's movement and displays the direction of the pedestrian's movement and the vehicle's entry direction on the road in real time, predictability is given to the pedestrian, thereby significantly enhancing the safety of the pedestrian.

1 is a configuration diagram of a warning system for an autonomous vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing the sensing unit in FIG. 1 in more detail.
FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing the output unit in FIG. 1 in more detail.
4 is a configuration diagram showing the control unit in FIG. 1 in more detail.
5 to 7 are diagrams illustrating an operation of a warning system for an autonomous vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, the embodiments disclosed in this specification will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the same or similar components are given the same reference numerals regardless of reference numerals, and redundant description thereof will be omitted.

The suffixes "module" and "unit" for components used in the following description are given or used together in consideration of ease of writing the specification, and do not have meanings or roles that are distinct from each other by themselves.

In addition, in describing the embodiments disclosed in this specification, if it is determined that a detailed description of a related known technology may obscure the gist of the embodiment disclosed in this specification, the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In addition, the accompanying drawings are only for easy understanding of the embodiments disclosed in this specification, the technical idea disclosed in this specification is not limited by the accompanying drawings, and all changes included in the spirit and technical scope of the present invention , it should be understood to include equivalents or substitutes.

Terms including ordinal numbers, such as first and second, may be used to describe various components, but the components are not limited by the terms. These terms are only used for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another.

It is understood that 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. On the other hand, when an element is referred to as “directly connected” or “directly connected” to another element, it should be understood that no other element exists in the middle.

Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

In this application, terms such as "comprise" or "have" are intended to designate that there is a feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification, but one or more other features It should be understood that the presence or addition of numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof is not precluded.

Hereinafter, a warning system 1000 for an autonomous vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

1 is a configuration diagram of a pedestrian safety system for an autonomous vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing the sensing unit in FIG. 1 in more detail, and FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing the output unit in FIG. 1 in more detail. It is a detailed configuration diagram, and FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing the control unit in FIG. 1 in more detail.

Referring to the drawings, first, a warning system 1000 for an autonomous vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an autonomous vehicle 100 and a server 200 that manages a route. In this case, the autonomous vehicle 100 includes an input unit 110, a sensing unit 120, an output unit 130, a control unit 140, a communication unit 150, and a driving unit 160.

The input unit 110 is a device that receives a user input for driving. In the manual mode, the input unit of the autonomous vehicle 100 may include a steering input device, an acceleration input device, and a brake input device. In addition, the input unit 110 serves to input the destination of the autonomous vehicle, receives information from the server 200 according to the input destination, and continuously sets a route.

The detector 120 may include a radar 121 and a lidar 122, and may further include a camera 123. In this embodiment, the main object, the pedestrian, the pedestrian's line of sight, the pedestrian's movement, the pedestrian's movement direction, and the pedestrian's gesture are sensed using the radar 121, the lidar 122, and the camera 123.

First, the radar 121 may generate information about an object such as a pedestrian outside the self-driving vehicle 100 by using radio waves. The radar 121 may include an electromagnetic wave transmitter, an electromagnetic wave receiver, and at least one processor electrically connected to the electromagnetic wave transmitter and electromagnetic wave receiver, processing a received signal, and generating data about an object based on the processed signal. there is.

The radar 121 may be implemented in a pulse radar method or a continuous wave radar method in terms of radio wave emission principles. The radar 121 may be implemented in a frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) method or a frequency shift keyong (FSK) method according to a signal waveform among continuous wave radar methods.

The radar 121 detects an object based on a Time of Flight (TOF) method or a phase-shift method through electromagnetic waves, and measures the position of the detected object, the distance to the detected object, and the relative speed. can be detected. Accordingly, the time for the vehicle to reach the pedestrian can also be calculated. This time is displayed on the road by the output unit 130 as will be described later. In this case, the radar 121 may be disposed at an appropriate location outside the vehicle to detect an object located in front, rear or side of the vehicle.

Next, the lidar 122 may generate information about an object including a pedestrian outside the self-driving vehicle 100 by using laser light. The LIDAR 122 is electrically connected to the light transmitter (not shown), the light receiver (not shown), and the light transmitter and the light receiver, processes the received signal, and generates data for an object based on the processed signal. It may include at least one processor that

The lidar 122 may be implemented in a Time of Flight (TOF) method or a phase-shift method. The lidar 122 may be implemented as a driven or non-driven type. When implemented as a driven type, the lidar 122 is rotated by a motor and can detect objects such as pedestrians around the autonomous vehicle 100. there is. When implemented as a non-driving type, the lidar 122 may detect an object located within a predetermined range with respect to the vehicle by light steering. The autonomous vehicle 100 may include a plurality of non-driven lidars.

The lidar 122 detects an object based on a time of flight (TOF) method or a phase-shift method using a laser light medium, and calculates the position of the detected object, the distance to the detected object, and the relative speed. can be detected. Accordingly, the time at which the vehicle and the pedestrian contact each other can be more precisely calculated. At this time, the lidar 122 may be disposed at an appropriate location outside the vehicle to detect an object located in the front, rear, or side of the vehicle.

Meanwhile, the camera 123 may generate information about an object such as a pedestrian outside the self-driving vehicle 100 by using an image. The camera 123 may include at least one lens, at least one image sensor, and at least one processor electrically connected to the image sensor to process a received signal and to generate object data based on the processed signal. can

The camera 123 may be at least one of a mono camera, a stereo camera, and an AVM (Around View Monitoring) camera. The camera 123 may obtain position information of an object, distance information with respect to the object, or relative speed information with the object by using various image processing algorithms.

For example, the camera 123 may obtain distance information and relative speed information with respect to the object based on a change in the size of the object over time in the obtained image. In addition, the camera 123 may obtain distance information and relative speed information with an object through a pinhole model, road profiling, and the like.

In addition, the camera 123 may obtain distance information and relative speed information with respect to an object based on disparity information in a stereo image obtained from a stereo camera. The camera 123 may be mounted in a position where a field of view (FOV) can be secured in the vehicle in order to photograph the exterior of the vehicle.

The camera 123 may be disposed close to the front windshield inside the vehicle to obtain an image of the front of the vehicle. Furthermore, the camera 123 may be disposed around a front bumper or a radiator grill. The camera 123 may be disposed close to the rear glass inside the vehicle to obtain an image behind the vehicle. In this case, the camera 123 may be disposed around a rear bumper, a trunk, or a tailgate. The camera 123 may be disposed close to at least one of the side windows in the interior of the vehicle in order to acquire an image of the side of the vehicle. Alternatively, the camera 123 may be disposed around side mirrors, fenders, or doors.

In addition, in this embodiment, the camera 123 may also recognize the gaze of the pedestrian. This is because when the gaze of the pedestrian is recognized after the output unit 130 to be described later outputs the warning sign to the road, it can be regarded as having learned the warning sign well.

In this case, the camera 123 is a wide view field camera for finding the eye position in a wide area and pan-tilt-focusing to the found eye position to obtain a high-quality eye image. It may consist of a narrow view field camera for acquisition.

In addition, the camera 123 may perform calibration and rectification of a stereo camera, calibration between a stereo camera and a narrow-angle camera, and user calibration in order to track the gaze of a pedestrian. At this time, when each calibration is completed, it is possible to receive images from the stereo camera and detect a face region and an eye region from each of the input images.

Then, based on the detected 2D coordinates of the eye and the user location information acquired through calibration, 3D location information for the pedestrian's eye area is calculated, and based on this, panning and tilting for the narrow-angle camera are performed. ), auto-focus is performed, and a high-quality eye image is acquired through this. In addition, the center of the pupil is detected from the obtained high-quality eye image, and corneal reflection light reflected on the eye by infrared illumination is detected. The position and movement of the gaze of the pedestrian can be calculated from the information on the center of the pupil detected through this process and the information on the reflected light from the cornea. Accordingly, it may be determined that the pedestrian is well aware of the proximity of the vehicle.

In addition, since the sensing unit 120 needs to utilize the location information of the self-driving vehicle, the GPS 124 is essentially further included. The GPS 124 may include at least one of a general Global Positioning System (GPS) and a Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) to generate location data of the autonomous vehicle 100 . Location data of the self-driving vehicle 10 may be generated based on a signal generated by at least one of the GPS and DGPS.

In this case, the GPS 124 may correct the location data based on at least one of an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) and the camera 123 of the sensing unit 120 . Also, the GPS 124 may be referred to as a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS).

Meanwhile, the sensing unit 120 may further include a microphone 125 so that the occupant, in addition to the guardian, may intervene in autonomous driving by voice or the like even if the occupant does not perform a steering operation. Furthermore, the biometric information sensor 126 not only senses the heart rate, blood pressure, and brain waves of passengers to prepare for emergencies, but additionally performs a function to prevent erroneous boarding by sensing fingerprint and iris information when entering and exiting the vehicle. can Utilizing the biometric information sensor 126, the self-driving vehicle 100 can detect that a passenger has boarded or alighted.

Meanwhile, the output unit 130 is normally disposed inside or outside the self-driving vehicle 100 to display a driving-related situation. Furthermore, any one of shape, shape, and color may be displayed on the outside of the vehicle to provide predictability to the owner of the vehicle and people around.

Furthermore, the output unit 130 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a driving direction output module 131, a pedestrian movement line output module 132, and a pedestrian warning output module 133, and is output in the form of laser oscillation. It is desirable to improve daytime visibility.

The above driving direction output module 131 serves to directly output the driving direction of the vehicle to the road. However, in order to prevent confusion, the driving direction output module 131 displays the direction of movement of the vehicle in front or rear of the pedestrian directly on the road only when the above-described detecting unit detects a pedestrian jaywalking on the road. desirable. In this case, it is preferable that the driving direction output module 131 displays the driving direction based on the position of the pedestrian in consideration of the distance difference between the vehicle and the pedestrian.

In addition, the driving direction output module 131 displays the moving direction of the vehicle as a line (or arrow) extending in front of the vehicle, and displays the expected arrival time of the vehicle according to the length direction of the line. That is, the expected arrival time is displayed to increase as the distance from the vehicle increases. It is preferable to display the time in the vicinity of contact with the pedestrian to guide the pedestrian to an accurate collision timing.

The pedestrian movement line output module 132 outputs a movement line mark on the road according to the movement direction of the pedestrian according to the detection value of the detection unit 120 described above. The pedestrian movement line sign indicates the direction in which the pedestrian is currently moving, and it is preferable that the pedestrian movement line output module 132 directly outputs the pedestrian movement line on the road using a figure such as an arrow.

When the movement line of the pedestrian is not output, only the moving direction of the vehicle is displayed abstractly by the driving direction output module 131, so it may not be enough to alert the pedestrian to a sense of collision. Therefore, the pedestrian movement line output module 132 needs to recognize that there is room for contact between the movement direction of the pedestrian and the movement direction of the vehicle.

The pedestrian warning output module 133 plays a role of directly outputting a warning to the pedestrian in addition to displaying the driving direction of the vehicle or the movement direction of the pedestrian. That is, the pedestrian warning output module 133 serves to output a separate warning sign thereafter after detecting the pedestrian's face or where the direction of the current line of sight is directed by the above-described sensing unit. This is to prepare for a case where a pedestrian wears earphones or does not pay attention despite the above output.

Meanwhile, the control unit 140 may be configured as a main ECU and controls driving and driving of the self-driving vehicle 100 . The control unit is composed of a drive control module 141, an input/output control module 142, and a collision determination module 143 in more detail.

First of all, the drive control module 141 may include a power train drive control device, a chassis drive control device, a door/window drive control device, a safety device drive control device, a lamp drive control device, and an air conditioning drive control device. The power train driving control device may include a power source driving control device and a transmission driving control device. The chassis drive control device may include a steering drive control device, a brake drive control device, and a suspension drive control device. Meanwhile, the safety device driving control device may include a seat belt driving control device for controlling seat belts.

In addition, the drive control module 141 includes at least one electronic control device (eg, a control ECU (Electronic Control Unit)). In particular, the vehicle driving device may be controlled based on the received signal. For example, the driving control module 141 may control a power train, a steering device, and a brake device based on a signal received from the sensing unit 120 .

In addition, the driving control module 141 may limit the driving speed of the vehicle when the collision determination module 143 determines that there is a high possibility of a collision between the pedestrian and the vehicle.

The input/output control module 142 controls the above-described output unit 130, and serves to control the output of the movement direction and time of the vehicle, the movement direction of the pedestrian, and warnings to the pedestrian.

The collision determination module 141 compares the current driving state of the vehicle with respect to the pedestrian detected by the above-described detection unit to determine the possibility of collision. At this time, when the possibility of collision is determined to be greater than the set range, the above-described drive control module 141 reduces the driving speed of the vehicle, and finally stops driving the vehicle when it is adjacent to a pedestrian.

Meanwhile, the communication unit 150 may exchange a signal with a device located outside the autonomous vehicle 100, and may exchange a signal with at least one of an infrastructure (eg, a server, a broadcasting station), another vehicle, and a terminal. there is. The communication unit 150 may include at least one of a transmission antenna, a reception antenna, a radio frequency (RF) circuit capable of implementing various communication protocols, and an RF element to perform communication.

For example, the communication device may exchange signals with an external device based on C-V2X (Cellular V2X) technology. In addition, the communication unit 150 transmits external devices and signals based on Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) technology based on IEEE 802.11p PHY/MAC layer technology and IEEE 1609 Network/Transport layer technology or Wireless Access in Vehicular Environment (WAVE) standard. can be exchanged.

Hereinafter, the operation of the present invention is exemplified and described. 5 to 7 are diagrams illustrating an operation of a pedestrian warning system of an autonomous vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

First, referring to FIG. 5 , the vehicle outputs the driving direction of the vehicle toward the pedestrian using a red color or an arrow in the front. At this time, it is displayed that the arrival time to the pedestrian is 9 seconds. In addition, the vehicle also outputs the direction of the pedestrian's movement line. Then, referring to FIG. 6 , it can be seen that the arrival time is 5 seconds. However, as shown in FIG. 7, when the arrival time is about 3 seconds, a separate warning is output to the pedestrian. At this time, as described above, it would be more preferable to output the warning in the direction of the pedestrian's gaze.

As such, those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains will be able to understand that the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without changing its technical spirit or essential features.

In addition, the present specification and drawings disclose preferred embodiments of the present invention, and although specific terms are used, they are only used in a general sense to easily explain the technical content of the present invention and help understanding of the present invention. It is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. It is obvious to those skilled in the art that other modified examples based on the technical spirit of the present invention can be implemented in addition to the embodiments disclosed herein.

1000: Warning system for autonomous vehicles
100: autonomous vehicle
110: input unit
120: sensing unit
130: output unit
140: control unit
150: communication department
160: driving unit
200: server

Claims (5)

a detector for recognizing a pedestrian; and
an output unit for displaying the moving direction of the vehicle in front or behind the pedestrian;
A warning system for an autonomous vehicle including a.
According to claim 1,
The warning system of the autonomous vehicle, characterized in that the output unit displays the moving direction of the vehicle in real-time on the road.
According to claim 1,
The warning system of the autonomous vehicle, characterized in that the output unit outputs the movement direction of the pedestrian together.
According to claim 3,
The output unit displays the moving direction as a line extending in front of the vehicle, and the expected arrival time of the vehicle is displayed according to the length direction of the line.
According to claim 1,
The warning system of the autonomous vehicle further includes a control unit,
Wherein the control unit controls the driving speed of the vehicle by determining a possibility of collision between the pedestrian and the vehicle according to the moving direction and speed of the pedestrian and the vehicle.

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