SE1550570A1

SE1550570A1 - Device and method for managing communication for a vehicle

Info

Publication number: SE1550570A1
Application number: SE1550570A
Authority: SE
Inventors: Alam Assad
Original assignee: Scania Cv Ab
Priority date: 2015-05-05
Filing date: 2015-05-05
Publication date: 2016-11-06
Also published as: SE540154C2; DE112016001612T5; WO2016178613A1

Abstract

A device (3) and a method for managing communication for a vehicle (1). The device (3) is configured to: receive data from a plurality of communication systems, wherein the data is tagged with information assigning the data to a source of the data, respectively, and to determine a ranking for the plurality of communication systems based on a quality analysis of the content of the received data.(Fig. 2)

Description

Device and method for managing communication for a vehicle Technical field The present disclosure relates to technology for managing communication for avehicle. ln particular, the disclosure relates to a device and a method formanaging communication for a vehicle with a plurality of communicationpossibilities. The disclosure also relates to a computer program and a computer program product.

BackgroundPlatooning, or cooperative driving, has started to come in question mainly for heavy vehicles. Platooning means to drive in a convoy or platoon with smalldistances between the vehicles. Studies have shown that fuel consumption maybe reduced considerably by driving cooperatively with heavy vehicles because of reduced air resistance. Further, safety is improved through cooperative actions.

Platooning may be performed more or less with automated control systems. Oneapproach is to take advantage of an adaptive cruise controller, ACC, in the vehiclethat regulates the velocity of the vehicle in order to maintain a certain smalldistance between the vehicle and a preceding target vehicle. A further approach isto include automated steering of the vehicle. Platooning may be performed locallyby each vehicle in the platoon, or cooperative with cooperative control from e.g.the foremost vehicle in the platoon. The foremost vehicle in the platoon may bereferred to as the leader vehicle and is driven manually as normal by the driverand the other vehicle or vehicles in the platoon may be referred to as followers.The follower vehicles thus have automated control of their velocity, and may also have automated control of their steering.

The automated control systems need fast retrieval of real-time information in orderto accomplish accurate and secure control of the vehicles in the platoon. The automated control systems may be based on a wide range of information sourcesfor calculation of a control strategy. There is at present no current standard set for 2 the type of information sources that should be used. One way of exchanginginformation between vehicles is by using wireless communication betweenvehicles, also referred to as vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, or vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2|) communication. However, a wireless communicationnetwork may temporarily become unavailable and data access thereby compromised.

From US2013/0157711A1 an apparatus and a method for selecting acommunication network for a vehicle is known. A communication network isselected that is most suitable in consideration of communication situations of anarea in which the vehicle is located and information set by a user.

Summarylt is an object of the disclosure to provide a device and a method for managing communication of a vehicle. lt is a further object of the disclosure to provide adevice and a method for managing communication for a vehicle such that the dataprovided is accurate. lt is a still further object of the disclosure to provide a deviceand a method for managing communication for a vehicle such that the informationaccess is reliable. lt is another object of the disclosure to provide a device and amethod for managing communication in a confident way for the driver of the vehicle.

Any of these objects and others are at least partly achieved by the device andmethod according to the independent claims, and by the embodiments accordingto the dependent claims.

According to a first aspect, the disclosure relates to a device for managingcommunication for a vehicle. The device is configured to receive data from aplurality of communication systems, wherein the data is tagged with informationassigning the data to a source of the data, respectively. The device is furtherconfigured to determine a ranking for the plurality of communication systemsbased on a quality analysis of the content of the received data.

With the device the best available communication system for the vehicle may bechosen. The device may monitor the communication systems available, anddetermine the best choice for the vehicle. The functions of the vehicle will thenalways have the best available data. Controllers of the vehicle may then becomemore reliable, whereby security can be increased.

According to one embodiment, the device is configured to select a currentcommunication system from the plurality of communication systems based on the determined ranking for communication of the data.

According to one embodiment, the device is configured to generate informationdata indicating the selected current communication system and send theinformation data to a communication device, whereby the driver of the vehicle isinformed of the current selected communication system. Thereby the driver willknow which communication system that is used at present, and will invoke a trustin the onboard control system. Thereby, the driver acceptance of the used controlsystem or systems, e.g. a platooning control system, will increase and hopefullybe utilized for a more efficient and sustainable transportation system.

According to one embodiment, the device is configured to perform a qualityanalysis comprising to calculate a quality measure for each source based on thereceived data assigned to the source, respectively. According to one furtherembodiment, the determination of the ranking comprises to compare the qualitymeasures and to rank the communication systems that transferred the data based on a result of the comparison.

According to one embodiment, the device is configured to use data from thesource with the best quality measure as a reference for data from other sourcesand correcting the data from other sources based on the data from the sourcewith the best quality measure. 4 According to one embodiment, the device is configured to merge data of the sametype from different sources based on the ranking in order to create enhancedmerged data.

According to one embodiment, the device is configured to determine a qualitymeasure of the transfer of data in each communication system, and to determinethe ranking of the plurality of communication system also based on the quality measure of the transfer of data.

According to one embodiment, the device is configured to determine a quality measure being a deviation value.

According to a second aspect, the disclosure relates to a method for managingcommunication for a vehicle. The method comprises receiving data from aplurality of communication systems, wherein the data is tagged with informationassigning the data to a source, respectively; and determining a ranking for theplurality of communication systems based on a quality analysis of the content ofthe received data.

According to one embodiment, the method comprises selecting a currentcommunication system from the plurality of communication systems based on the determined ranking for communication of the data.

According to one embodiment, the method comprises informing the driver of the vehicle of the current selected communication system.

According to one embodiment, the quality analysis comprises calculating a qualitymeasure for each source based on the received data assigned to the source,respectively. According to one further embodiment, the determination of theranking comprises comparing the quality measures and ranking thecommunication systems that transferred the data based on a result of the comparison. 5 According to one embodiment, the method comprising using data from the sourcewith the best quality measure as a reference for data from other sources includingcorrecting the data from other sources based on the data from the source with thebest quality measure.

According to one embodiment, the method comprises merging data of the sametype from different sources based on the ranking in order to create enhancedmerged data.

According to one embodiment, the method comprises determining a qualitymeasure of the transfer of data in each communication system, and determining aranking of the plurality of communication system also based on the qualitymeasure of the transfer of data.

According to one embodiment, the method comprises determining a quality measure being a deviation value.

According to a third aspect, the disclosure relates to a computer program P. Thecomputer program P comprises a computer program code to cause a device, or acomputer connected to the device, to perform any of the method steps asdisclosed herein.

According to a fourth aspect, the disclosure relates to a computer programproduct comprising a computer program code stored on a computer-readablemedium to perform the method as disclosed herein, when the computer programcode is executed by a device or by a computer connected to the device.

Brief description of the drawinqs Fig. 1 illustrates two vehicles each being arranged with a device according to oneembodiment.

Fig. 2 illustrates a device according to one embodiment with a plurality of communicating systems. 6 Fig. 3 illustrates a flowchart of a method according to one embodiment of the disclosure.

Detailed descriptionln Fig. 1 two vehicles 1, 2 travelling on a road are illustrated. The vehicles 1, 2 are illustrated as trucks, but may be other kinds of heavy vehicles, or cars. Thevehicles 1, 2 may be operated as a platoon. The first vehicle 1 may then bereferred to as a leader vehicle 1 and the subsequent vehicle 2 may be referred toas a follower vehicle 2. Each vehicle 1, 2 is equipped with a communication node5, comprising e.g. a transceiver, to be able to wirelessly communicate e.g.exchange data with other vehicles and/or infrastructure 7. The infrastructure 7,e.g. a road side unit, a remote computer, fleet management system, platooningmanagement system etc, may also be connected to a communication node 5. Thewireless communication may also be conducted via mobile communicationservers, via an application in a communication unit or via a server. Wirelesscommunication may be performed by means of a wireless communication systemwith WiFi, Bluetooth, IR (Infra Red) communication or a phone network such asGPRS (General Packet Radio Service), 3G, 4G, EDGE (Enhanced Data GSM Environment) etc.

The vehicles 1, 2 are arranged with sensors and actuators for retrieval of dataused by any system in the vehicle. For example, the data may be used forautomated control of the subsequent vehicle 2. Other system that may make useof the data is security systems, route planning systems etc. The vehicles 1, 2 mayfurther be arranged with several ECUs (Electronic Control Units) to control the vehicle 1, 2 or the platoon.

Each vehicle 1, 2 may be arranged with a forward facing sensor unit 4. Theforward facing sensor unit 4 may be a radar unit or a lidar unit, arranged to recorda parameter such as distance d, relative velocity Av, relative acceleration Aabetween the own vehicle and a preceding vehicle, lateral length of the preceding vehicle etc. The forward facing sensor unit 4 may instead be a camera unit or a 7 video recording unit, arranged to record images of the preceding vehicle. By usingimage processing techniques, various parameters may be extracted from theimages, such as the distance d, re|ative ve|ocity Av, re|ative acceleration Aabetween the own vehicle and the preceding vehicle, lateral length of the preceding vehicle etc.

Each vehicle 1, 2 may also be arranged with a rearvvard facing sensor unit 6. Therearvvard facing sensor unit 6 may be a radar unit or a lidar unit, arranged torecord a parameter such as distance d, re|ative ve|ocity Av, re|ative accelerationAa between the own vehicle and a subsequent vehicle, lateral length of thesubsequent vehicle etc. The rearvvard facing sensor unit 4 may instead be acamera unit or a video recording unit, arranged to record images of thesubsequent vehicle. By using image processing techniques, various parametersmay be extracted from the images, such as the distance d, re|ative ve|ocity Av,re|ative acceleration Aa between the own vehicle and the subsequent vehicle, lateral length of the subsequent vehicle etc.

Each vehicle 1, 2 may also be arranged with sideward facing sensing units (notshown) for monitoring of the sides of the vehicles 1, 2. For example, data fromsuch sideward facing sensing units may be used to monitor the surroundings ofthe vehicle 1, 2 for safety issues such as pedestrians, bicyclists etc. A sidewardfacing sensing unit may include a radar unit, a lidar unit, a camera unit or a video recording unit.

Each vehicle 1, 2 is further each arranged with a positioning unit 10 such that theposition of each vehicle 10 may be determined. The positioning unit 10 may beconfigured to receive signals from a global positioning system such as GNSS(Global Navigation Satellite System), for example GPS (Global PositioningSystem), GLONASS, Galileo or Compass. Alternatively the positioning unit 10may be configured to receive signals from for example one or several distance sensors 4, 6 in the vehicle 1, 2 that measure re|ative distances to for example a 8 road side unit 7, nearby vehicles or similar with a known position. Based on therelative distance or distances the positioning unit 10 may determine the position ofthe vehicle. A sensor in the vehicle may also be configured to detect a signaturein for example a road side unit 7, whereby the signature represents a certainposition. The positioning unit 10 may then be configured to determine its ownposition via detection of the signature. The positioning unit 10 may instead beconfigured to determine the signal strength in one or a plurality of signals from abase station or road side unit 7 with known position, and thereby determine theposition of the vehicle 1, 2 by using triangulation. Some of above mentionedtechnologies may of course be combined to ensure a correct positiondetermination of the vehicle. The positioning unit 10 is configured to generate a position signal with the position of the vehicle.

Other data that may be detected by sensor units 11 (Fig. 2) in a vehicle 1, 2 ortransferred via a wireless network may be engine torque Te or weight w of the vehicle etc.

Each vehicle 1, 2 may communicate internally between its units, devices, sensors,detectors etc. via a communication bus 13 (Fig. 2), for example a CAN-bus(Controller Area Network) which uses a message based protocol. Examples ofother communication protocols that may be used are TTP (Time-TriggeredProtocol), Flexray, etc. ln that way signals and data described herein may beexchanged between different units, devices, sensors and/or detectors in thevehicle 1, 2. Signals and data may instead be transferred wirelessly between thedifferent units, devices, sensors and/or detectors.

Any or each of the vehicles 1, 2 may be arranged with a device 3 for managingcommunication for the vehicle. The device 3 may be an ECU, or be incorporatedin an ECU of the vehicle 1, 2. The device 3 is further illustrated in Fig. 2, andincludes a processing unit 8 and a memory unit 9. The processing unit 8 may bemade up of one or more Central Processing Units (CPU). The memory unit 9 may be made up of one or more memory units. A memory unit may include a volatile 9 and/or a non-volatile memory, such as a flash memory or Random AccessMemory (RAM). The device 3 further includes a computer program P including acomputer program code to cause the device 3, or a computer connected to thedevice 3, to perform any of the method steps that will be described in the following.

As illustrated in Fig. 2, the device 3 is configured to receive data from a plurality ofcommunication systems 4, 5, 6, 10, 11. Data may be received via thecommunication bus 13 from the different systems 4, 5, 6, 10, 11. Thecommunication bus 13 is thus here not regarded as a communication system. Acommunication system may be a wireless communication system 5 as has beenpreviously explained, e.g. WiFi, Bluetooth, IR (Infra-Red) communication or aphone network such as GPRS (General Packet Radio Service), 3G, 4G, EDGE(Enhanced Data GSM Environment) etc. Other kinds of communication systemsmay be the previously exemplified forward facing sensor unit 4, reanNard facingsensor unit 6, a positioning unit 10, or another sensor unit 11 in a vehicle. Theseunits may as explained comprise radar units, lidar units, camera units, videorecording units or positioning units. These other kinds of communication systemsmay be seen as one-way communication systems, as they gain information of theenvironment such as information of neighboring vehicles or the vehicle itself.

The data is tagged with information assigning the data to a source of the data,respectively. A source is here an entity that recorded and/or determined the data,e.g. a positioning unit in a certain vehicle, a radar unit in a certain vehicle etc. lfasource is arranged in the vehicle where the device 3 is also arranged, the sourceitself may also be the communication system. The information may include anidentification number of the source, a position of the vehicle and/or anidentification of the vehicle.

For example, if the data comprises a position p1 of the first vehicle 1 determinedby a positioning unit 10 in the first vehicle 1 and received via two different wirelesscommunication systems 5 e.g. WiFi and GPRS to the subsequent vehicle 2, the lO position p1 is tagged with information identifying the positioning unit of the firstvehicle 1. The information may e.g. include the identity of the first vehicle 1, e.g.the registration number of the first vehicle 1, and that the source is a positioningunit. The same type of data may be determined from the subsequent vehicle 2 byusing the forward facing sensor unit 4 of the subsequent vehicle 2, e.g. a radarunit that determines a distance d between the subsequent vehicle 2 and the firstvehicle 1. Based on the own position pg of the subsequent vehicle 2 determinedby a positioning unit 10 in the subsequent vehicle 2, and a known length of thefirst vehicle 1, the position p1 of the first vehicle 1 may be determined by the radarunit, the device 3 or any ECU in the subsequent vehicle 2. Thus, the position ofthe first vehicle is here retrieved from three different communication systems, i.e.WiFi, GPRS and a radar unit in the own vehicle 2.

Based on the received data, the device 3 is configured to determine a ranking forthe plurality of communication systems 4, 5, 6, 10, 11 based on a quality analysisof the content of the received data. When the same type of data can be retrievedvia a plurality ofdifferent communication systems 4, 5, 6, 10, 11, the data with thebest quality may then be determined and used. Making a quality analysis of thecontent of the received data may comprise to determine how reliable the source ofthe data is. One way of making a quality analysis of the content of the receiveddata is to calculate a quality measure for each source based on the received dataassigned to the source, respectively. Such a quality measure may be a standard deviation o: (Eq-1) where N is the number of data values x,- and a? is the mean value of the datavalues. The less deviation o, the better the quality of the data. ln order todetermine the standard deviation o of a source, a plurality of data values from thesource should be retrieved and used. According to one embodiment, the determination of the ranking comprises to compare the quality measures, e.g. the ll standard deviation o, and to rank the communication systems 4, 5, 6, 10, 11 that transferred the data based on a result of the comparison.

Based on the determined ranking of the communication systems 4, 5, 6, 10, 11 forcommunication of the data, the device 3 may be configured to select a currentcommunication system from the plurality of communication systems 4, 5, 6, 10,11. The current communication system is the communication system that thevehicle should use at present for retrieval of the data. Different rankings ofcommunication systems may be made for different types of data. Thus, oneranking each for each type of data is possible, and a plurality of different communication systems may be used at the same time for different types of data. lf retrieval of the data with the current communication system fails, the nextranked communication system may be selected as the current communicationsystem, and so on. The device 3 may have the function of a filter of the incomingdata from the plurality of communication systems 4, 5, 6, 10, 11, and only letcertain data pass through to other devices in the vehicle that are using the data.According to another embodiment, the device 3 may inform other devices in thevehicle which communication system 4, 5, 6, 10, 11 that is the currentcommunication system for data of a certain type. Other devices in the vehicle willthen only take notice of data of that certain type retrieved with the currentcommunication system, and neglect data of that type from other communication systems.

The ranking may also be used for merging of data of the same type from differentsources based on the ranking in order to create enhanced merged data. Forexample may data of the same type from the two best ranked communicationsystem be merged. According to another embodiment, the ranking may be usedto determine an attribute, e.g. a weight, to the data, where after the data ismerged in dependence on its attribute. For example, the weight may bedetermined based on the ranking, such that data from a less ranked communication system gets a lesser weight. 12 According to one embodiment, the device 3 is configured to use data from thesource with the best quality measure as a reference for data from other sources ofthe same type. The data from other sources is then corrected based on the datafrom the source with the best quality measure. Data from the source with the bestquality measure may be used to calculate a bias for data of the same type fromother lower ranked communication systems. lf the communication system with thehighest ranking then fails, then the bias may be used to correct the data from alower ranked communication system. ln this way data from lower ranked communication systems may enhanced.

According to one embodiment, the device 3 may be configured to determine aquality measure of the transfer of data in each communication system, and todetermine the ranking of the plurality of communication system also based on thequality measure of the transfer of data. The actual transfer of data may for variousreasons fail or be of inferior quality, e.g. due to packet loss, multipath fading,signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) etc of the signal with the data. The device 3 may thusdetermine the quality measure of the transfer of data by determining e.g. theamount of packet loss, if and how much the signal with the data is faded, the SNRratio of the signal etc. The quality measure of the transfer of data in eachcommunication system may thus be compared with each other, and thecommunication system ranked depending also in the quality measure of thetransfer of data.

The device 3 is further configured to generate information data indicating theselected current communication system and send the information data to acommunication device 12 of the vehicle, whereby the driver of the vehicle isinformed of the current selected communication system. For example, thecommunication device 12 may include icons representing each communicationsystem that can be lit-up if that communication system is currently used. lf severalcommunication systems are used at the same time, then several icons may be lit up. The icons may be displayed in the instrument cluster or any other display in 13 the vehicle. lf one communication system fails, the icon representing that systemwill be turned off. The icons may be complemented with the type or types of datathe communication system is transferring. The communication device 12 mayinclude sound means such as a load speaker, vibration means, e.g. in thesteering wheel or driver seat, or a smell releasing means arranged to release asmell or an odor, that may be arranged to inform the driver that a communicationsystem is used, is down, or is changed. Any of the described means may be usedto make the driver aware of the current communication situation. The vehicle maybehave differently when the information system is changed. The described meansmay thus be used to alert the driver that a controller or any other device maybehave differently due to a communication system change, or failure. Forexample, an inter-vehicle spacing might increase or display harsher controlactions if the WiFi communication system fails and only radar information isavailable due to safety reasons since latency is introduced in this case. Anotherexample is that the vehicle might not adjust its velocity over a varying topographyif the GPS communication is lost. Thus, as the driver is aware of whichinformation system that is used, driver trust to the technology can be increased asthe driver will understand why the vehicle may behave differently. The driver orany controller may thus then take precautions, such as increasing a distance to apreceding vehicle, because the data the controller use for decision making is lessreliable than before.

The disclosure also relates to a method for managing communication for avehicle, which will now be described with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 3. Themethod may be implemented as program code and saved in the memory unit 9 inthe device 3 (Fig. 2). The method may thus be implemented with the abovedescribed hardware of the device 3 (Fig. 2) in the vehicle 1.

The method comprises receiving data from a plurality of communication systems,wherein the data is tagged with information assigning the data to a source,respectively (A1). lt is here established which communication systems that areavailable for retrieval of data. The data may be needed e.g. for determining a 14 control strategy for the vehicle, or for any other function in the vehicle. The controlstrategy may be for a platooning operation of the vehicle, or for safetyapplications, or both. The method further comprises determining a ranking for theplurality of communication systems based on a quality analysis of the content ofthe received data (A2). The quality analysis may comprise calculating a qualitymeasure for each source based on the received data assigned to the source,respectively. A quality measure may be a deviation value determined with the Eq.1. The determination of the ranking may comprise comparing the qualitymeasures and ranking the communication systems that transferred the data based on a result of the comparison.

Data from the source with the best quality measure may be used as a referencefor data from other sources. The data from other sources may be corrected basedon the data from the source with the best quality measure. A bias for the datafrom other sources may be calculated, and used to correct the data from otherdata sources if the communication system with the data from the source with the best quality measure fails.

Based on the determined ranking for communication of the data, the method maycomprise selecting a current communication system from the plurality ofcommunication systems. The method may further comprise informing the driver ofthe vehicle of the current selected communication system. The driver may beinformed via the above described communication device 12 of the vehicle 1, 2.

The method may also comprise merging data of the same type from differentsources based on the ranking in order to create enhanced merged data. Thisenhanced data may then be used for different controllers etc in the vehicle 1, 2.

The method may also comprise determining a quality measure of the transfer ofdata in each communication system, and determining a ranking of the plurality ofcommunication system also based on the quality measure of the transfer of data.A quality measure may be determined with any of the described methods, by determining e.g. the amount of packet loss, if and how much the signal with thedata is faded, the SNR ratio of the signal etc. The quality measure of the transferof data in each communication system may thus be compared with each other,and the communication system ranked depending also in the quality measure ofthe transfer of data.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described preferredembodiments. Various alternatives, modifications and equivalents may be used.Therefore, the above embodiments should not be taken as limiting the scope ofthe invention, which is defined by the appending claims.

Claims

1. ¿ 16 laims

2. A device (3) for managing communication for a vehicle (1),c h a ra cte r i zed in that the device (3) is configured to: - receive data from a plurality of communication systems, wherein thedata is tagged with information assigning the data to a source of the data,respectively; - determine a ranking for the plurality of communication systemsbased on a quality analysis of the content of the received data.

3. The device (3) according to c|aim 1, configured to select a currentcommunication system from the plurality of communication systems based onthe determined ranking for communication of the data.

4. The device (3) according to c|aim 2, configured to generateinformation data indicating the selected current communication system andsend the information data to a communication device (12), whereby the driverof the vehicle is informed of the current selected communication system.

5. The device (3) according to any of the preceding claims, configured toperform a quality analysis comprising to calculate a quality measure for eachsource based on the received data assigned to the source, respectively.

6. The device (3) according to c|aim 4, wherein the determination of theranking comprises to compare the quality measures and to rank thecommunication systems that transferred the data based on a result of thecomparison.

7. The device (3) according to c|aim 4 or 5, configured to use data fromthe source with the best quality measure as a reference for data from othersources and correcting the data from other sources based on the data from thesource with the best quality measure.

8. The device (3) according to any of the claims 4 to 6, configured tomerge data of the same type from different sources based on the ranking inorder to create enhanced merged data.

9. The device (3) according to any of the preceding claims, configured todetermine a quality measure of the transfer of data in each communication 17 system, and to determine the ranking of the plurality of communication systemalso based on the quality measure of the transfer of data.9. The device (3) according to any of the preceding claims, configured todetermine a quality measure being a deviation value.5 10. A method for managing communication for a vehicle, the method comprising: - receiving data from a plurality of communication systems, whereinthe data is tagged with information assigning the data to a source,respectively;

10. - determining a ranking for the plurality of communication systemsbased on a quality analysis of the content of the received data.

11. A computer program P, wherein said computer program P comprisesa computer program code to cause a device (2), or a computer connected tosaid device (2), to perform the method according to claim 10. 15

12. A computer program product comprising a computer program codestored on a computer-readable medium to perform the method according toclaim 10, when said computer program code is executed by a device (2) or bya computer connected to said device (2).