KR20230114764A - Emergency traffic control system for self driving cars - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides an emergency control system for an autonomous vehicle that propagates information to surrounding vehicles and controls driving of the entire surrounding vehicles when an emergency situation occurs.
Accordingly, an emergency traffic situation control system for an autonomous vehicle according to an aspect of the present invention includes at least one autonomous vehicle and a server for managing an emergency situation of the autonomous vehicle, and the server includes an autonomous driving vehicle in which an emergency situation occurs. A route of the vehicle is set, and the control right of the autonomous vehicle to be driven or driven on the route is switched.

Description

Emergency traffic control system for autonomous vehicles {EMERGENCY TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEM FOR SELF DRIVING CARS}

The present invention relates to an emergency traffic situation control system, and more particularly, to an emergency traffic situation control system for an autonomous vehicle that displays the movement of an emergency vehicle and controls the traffic of surrounding vehicles in the event of an emergency. .

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. Driverless cars drive autonomously by recognizing the surrounding environment with radar, LIDAR (light detection and ranging), GPS, and camera and designating a destination. Unmanned 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 that are operated at overseas mines or construction sites.

The first core technologies of these self-driving vehicles are the unmanned car system and the actual system. It is a technology that builds an unmanned car system in reality as well as simulation in the laboratory. It implements driving devices such as accelerators, decelerators, and steering devices to suit unmanned operation, and enables control using computers, software, and hardware installed in unmanned cars. do.

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. 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 unintended deviation situation.

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.

Recently, research on how to drive such an autonomous vehicle in an emergency has been conducted. However, as in the prior art literature, it is still limited to driving control of the self-driving vehicle itself in an emergency.

[Prior art literature]

Korea Patent No. 10-2184598 (2020. 12. 3.), Driving Prediction and Safety Driving System Based on Judgment of Driver Emergency Situation of Autonomous Driving Vehicle}

The present invention is to solve the problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide an emergency control system for an autonomous vehicle that propagates the information to surrounding vehicles and controls the driving of the entire surrounding vehicle when an emergency situation occurs. to provide.

An emergency traffic situation control system for an autonomous vehicle according to an aspect of the present invention includes at least one autonomous vehicle and a server for managing an emergency situation of the autonomous vehicle, wherein the server is an autonomous vehicle in which an emergency situation has occurred. A route is set, and the control right of an autonomous vehicle to be driven or driven on the route is switched.

In this case, the server may group control autonomous vehicles that drive or will travel on the route.

In addition, the server may change the number of cluster-controlled vehicles according to the location of the self-driving vehicle in which the emergency situation has occurred.

In addition, the server may control to display a path of an autonomous vehicle in which an emergency has occurred on a road.

In addition, the server may group control autonomous vehicles that drive or will travel on the path so as not to drive on the path displayed on the road.

According to the present invention, emergency information is transferred from an emergency vehicle to surrounding vehicles, and a path of the emergency vehicle is created on the road, so that the emergency vehicle is controlled to prevent the preceding vehicle from approaching the path, so that the emergency vehicle can quickly and urgently move.

1 is a block diagram of an emergency traffic situation control system for an autonomous vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing the self-driving vehicle in FIG. 1 in more detail.
FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing the sensing unit in FIG. 2 in more detail.
4 is a configuration diagram showing the output unit in FIG. 2 in more detail.
5 is a configuration diagram showing the control unit in FIG. 2 in more detail.
6 is a configuration diagram showing the server in FIG. 1 in more detail.
7 to 9 are diagrams illustrating an operation of an emergency traffic situation control 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, an emergency control system for an autonomous vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. 1 is a configuration diagram of an emergency traffic situation control system for an autonomous vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing the autonomous vehicle in FIG. 1 in more detail, and FIG. 3 is FIG. 2 It is a configuration diagram showing the sensing unit in more detail, FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing the output unit in FIG. 2 in more detail, FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram showing the control unit in FIG. 2 in more detail, and FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing the server in FIG. 1 in more detail, and FIGS. 7 to 9 are diagrams illustrating an operation of an emergency traffic situation control system for an autonomous vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to the drawings, first, an autonomous vehicle emergency control system 1000 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an autonomous vehicle 100 and a server 200 that manages an emergency situation of the autonomous vehicle. At this time, the self-driving vehicle 100 is composed of an emergency vehicle 100a and self-driving vehicles 100_1 to 100_n other than the emergency vehicle. At this time, the emergency vehicle 100a and the autonomous vehicles 100_1 to 100_n other than the emergency vehicle communicate with the server 200 .

To this end, the self-driving vehicle 100 for emergency control 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 case of manual mode, the input unit 110 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 self-driving vehicle, and the control unit 140 controls driving or receives information from the server 200 according to the input destination and continuously sets a route. Furthermore, in this embodiment, in an emergency situation, after the server 200 determines that it is an emergency situation, the route of the self-driving vehicle 100a in which the emergency situation has occurred is set in relation to other self-driving vehicles around the self-driving vehicle. If it exists, the path of the self-driving vehicle 100a in which an emergency occurs is set by reflecting such a traffic situation (congestion situation, etc.).

Meanwhile, the sensing unit 120 may include a radar 121 and a lidar 122, and may further include a camera 123. First, the radar 121 may generate information about an object 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. 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.

The lidar 122 may generate information about an object 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 may detect objects around the autonomous vehicle 100. 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. 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 outside the self-driving vehicle 100 by using an image. At this time, the camera 123 may capture an image of a target outside the vehicle.

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 to the object, relative speed information to the object, and motion information of 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 basic information about motion, such as distance information to an object, relative speed information, and other people's hand gestures, based on disparity information from a stereo image obtained from a stereo camera. there is.

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, since the sensing unit 120 needs to utilize the location information of the self-driving vehicle, the GPS 124 is essentially further included. In this embodiment, the location information of the emergency vehicle 100a and the location information of non-emergency vehicles 100_1 to 100_n are sensed in order to set the path of the emergency vehicle 100a. Accordingly, in this case, the server 200 sets the shortest path of the emergency vehicle 100a in consideration of overlapping routes with the emergency vehicle 100a among non-emergency vehicles 100_1 to 100_n (congestion, etc.) do.

In addition, the GPS 124 may include at least one of a general GPS (Global Positioning System) and DGPS (Differential Global Positioning System) to generate location data of the autonomous vehicle 100 . Location data of the self-driving vehicle 100 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. . In addition, the microphone 125 according to the present embodiment may acquire voice information of a passenger in an emergency. This is because the emergency situation can be determined more accurately due to the acquisition of voice information or the absence of voice information.

Furthermore, the biometric information sensor 126 senses the passenger's heart rate, blood pressure, brain waves, etc. to determine an emergency situation. At this time, the biometric information sensor 126 is operated periodically to detect passengers, and when the signal is maintained for a set time or more after detecting an abnormal signal, the communication unit 150 transmits biometric information to the server 200 to determine whether it is an emergency. do.

Meanwhile, the biometric information sensor 126 may additionally perform a function of preventing erroneous boarding by sensing fingerprint and iris information when entering and exiting a vehicle. Utilizing the biometric information sensor 126, the self-driving vehicle 100 can detect that a passenger has boarded or alighted.

The output unit 130 is disposed inside or outside the self-driving vehicle 100 to display a driving-related situation, and furthermore, to display any one of the shape, shape, and color on the outside of the vehicle to the passengers of the vehicle and others around. It can provide predictability.

In more detail, the output unit 130 according to this embodiment includes an abnormal display module 141, a path display module 142, and a cluster display module 143.

The abnormality display module 141 may display such information in real or augmented reality on the outside or inside of the vehicle when a passenger's health problems or other emergencies occur. At this time, what is displayed in augmented reality means that an emergency is displayed on a live image of the vehicle when another vehicle sees the emergency vehicle. In addition, as the display for emergency situations, a specific shape, shape, color, or text may be output as described above.

Meanwhile, the emergency traffic situation control system 1000 according to the present embodiment is characterized by disseminating an indication of such an emergency situation to surrounding vehicles through the communication unit 150 . That is, other self-driving vehicles in the vicinity receive the emergency situation information, and similarly, a display for the emergency situation is output to the inside or outside of the vehicle in real or augmented form. Accordingly, when a place where an emergency has occurred is seen from a place separated by a certain distance, it can be known that an emergency is output to a group of vehicles.

The path display module 142 displays the path of the emergency vehicle. At this time, the path display module 142 is characterized in that a plurality of self-driving vehicles display the path of the emergency vehicle, so that the path through which the emergency vehicle passes is displayed as a whole. In addition, the route generation module 220 of the server, which will be described later, can also be controlled to display the route of the emergency vehicle to a plurality of self-driving vehicles, or to display the route of the emergency vehicle by controlling nearby display devices. Furthermore, it is also preferable to control a display device disposed on the road to directly display the path of the emergency vehicle on the road.

At this time, the route is set on the road ahead of the emergency vehicle by the server 200 that has detected the emergency situation, and a specific lane may be set in more detail. At this time, it is preferable that the server sets a route in the center of the road so that the emergency vehicle can be driven at a slight distance even when another vehicle is running.

The cluster display module 143 displays information that vehicles whose control rights have been temporarily switched by a server described below are driving in a cluster. In this case, a specific shape, shape, color, or text may be output to the outside of another self-driving vehicle.

Meanwhile, the controller 140 includes a drive control module 141, an input/output control module 142, and an emergency decision module 143. First, the driving control module 141 may be configured as a main ECU and controls the driving unit 160 of the self-driving vehicle 100 . In this case, 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 .

The input/output control module 142 controls the above-described output unit 130 to control the display of an emergency situation, control to display a route in collaboration with another vehicle, and display movement when an emergency cluster driving control signal is received from the server. control to do so.

The communication unit 150 may exchange signals with at least one of the server 200 located outside the autonomous vehicle 100, another vehicle, and a terminal. In particular, the communication unit 150 performs short-range communication with other nearby vehicles in order to extend the display of an emergency situation to surrounding vehicles.

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.

Meanwhile, the server 200 includes a situation determination module 210, a route creation module 220, and a cluster driving control module 230 in more detail.

The situation determination module 210 plays a role in confirming an emergency situation of a passenger. This is because the emergency system according to the present embodiment controls the driving of the vehicle as a whole, and thus a danger to the traffic system may occur when an emergency situation is determined only by the vehicle itself. Accordingly, the situation determination module 210 receives the passenger's emergency situation based on the data collected from the camera 123 or the biometric information sensor 126, and determines the final emergency situation when the possibility of an emergency exceeds the set standard. confirm At this time, as described above, the situation determination module 210 transmits emergency vehicle information to other vehicles operating around the emergency vehicle (radius of 5 km).

The path creation module 220 creates a path on the road ahead of the emergency vehicle. At this time, as described above, a specific lane of the road may be set. At this time, it is preferable that the path creation module 220 sets a path in the center of the road so that the emergency vehicle can drive at a slight distance even when another vehicle is driving in front. In addition, the path creation module 220 may directly control the output unit of each autonomous vehicle so that the driving path of the emergency vehicle is displayed.

In addition, the path generation module 220 is characterized by setting the shortest path according to the emergency situation of the self-driving vehicle in which the emergency situation has occurred. Here, it is preferable to calculate the shortest route in consideration of a distance from an emergency vehicle to an adjacent destination or an emergency vehicle that can approach the emergency vehicle. Here, the destination may be a hospital or the like disposed in the shortest distance, and the emergency vehicle refers to an ambulance or the like that is moved to the emergency vehicle when an emergency situation is confirmed.

As described above, the swarm driving control module 230 temporarily converts the control right of a vehicle disposed on a route in front of an emergency vehicle or an autonomous vehicle that drives or will drive on a route. That is, the server performs control to prevent other autonomous vehicles from entering the path in a state in which the path of the emergency vehicle is specified. At this time, it is preferable that the cluster drive control module 230 clusters and controls other autonomous vehicles that drive or will drive on the route. This is because the understanding of the emergency situation increases according to the cluster drive and the social maturity level to end the situation together improves.

However, in this case, it is preferable that the cluster drive control module 230 varies the number of cluster-controlled vehicles according to the location of the self-driving vehicle in which an emergency situation has occurred. For example, in the case of an autonomous vehicle that is far from the emergency vehicle, the number of vehicles whose driving is controlled is small due to the uncertainty of the route, but in the case of the autonomous vehicle that is close to the emergency vehicle, the number of vehicles that are driven is controlled. It may be desirable to increase the number of vehicles crowding for rapid evacuation.

In addition, in this case, the route creation module 220 may control each self-driving vehicle or control the surrounding display devices so that the driving route of the emergency vehicle is directly displayed on the road. For detailed emergency transportation, it is desirable to cluster other autonomous vehicles so that they do not drive on a path directly marked on the road. As a result, the intuitive emergency situation and response to the emergency situation are actually displayed, and the predictability is extremely increased.

The operation of the present invention is exemplified below. 7 to 9 are diagrams illustrating an operation of an emergency traffic situation control system for an autonomous vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

First of all, referring to FIG. 7 , upon reception of an emergency situation, the server generates the shortest path for each area to drive the emergency vehicle to the destination by autonomous driving, and outputs the shortest route to the passengers so that they can be relieved. Furthermore, referring to FIG. 8 , the emergency rescue vehicle confirms through communication and outputs information that it is nearby to further promote the relief of passengers.

At this time, when heading to the emergency rescue vehicle or destination, the route of the emergency vehicle is directly displayed on the road as shown in FIG. 9, and surrounding vehicles are controlled not to pass by such a display.

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: Emergency traffic situation control 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)

at least one autonomous vehicle;
a server managing an emergency situation of the self-driving vehicle;
including,
Wherein the server sets a route for the autonomous vehicle in which an emergency has occurred, and converts the control right of the autonomous vehicle to drive or travel on the route.
According to claim 1,
The emergency traffic situation control system for an autonomous vehicle, characterized in that the server performs cluster control of autonomous vehicles that drive or will travel on the route.
According to claim 1,
The emergency traffic situation control system for an autonomous vehicle, characterized in that the server varies the number of the cluster-controlled vehicles according to the location of the autonomous vehicle in which the emergency situation occurred.
According to claim 2,
The emergency traffic situation control system for an autonomous vehicle, characterized in that the server controls to display the route of the autonomous vehicle in which an emergency has occurred on the road.
According to claim 4,
The emergency traffic situation control system for an autonomous vehicle, characterized in that the server performs group control of autonomous vehicles that travel or will travel on the route so as not to travel on the route displayed on the road.