SE538766C2

SE538766C2 - Method and control unit in a central node for determining a velocity profile for each vehicle comprised in a platoon of grouped vehicles

Info

Publication number: SE538766C2
Application number: SE1550378A
Authority: SE
Inventors: Johansson Björn; Flärdh Oscar
Original assignee: Scania Cv Ab
Priority date: 2015-03-30
Filing date: 2015-03-30
Publication date: 2016-11-15
Also published as: DE102016003450A1; SE1550378A1; DE102016003450B4

Abstract

34SUMMARY Method (400) and control unit (310) in a central node (100-1, 100-2, 100-3, 380), for de-termining a velocity profile for each vehicle (100-1, 100-2, 100-3) comprised in a platoon(110), for use in an upcoming road section (220-2), situated ahead of the platoon (110) inthe driving direction (105). The method (400) comprises transmitting (402) a request forvehicle related information, relevant for the vehicle performance in the upcoming road sec-tion (220-2); receiving (403) the requested information from any vehicle (100-1, 100-2, 100-3); determining (404) the velocity profile for each vehicle (100-1, 100-2, 100-3) to keep atthe upcoming road section (220-2), in order to reduce a weighted sum of energy consump-tion and travel time of the platoon (110), based on the received (403) information; and in-structing (405) each vehicle (100-1, 100-2, 100-3) in the platoon (110) to start using the determined (404) velocity profile upon arrival at the upcoming road section (220-2). (Pubi. Fig. 3A)

Description

25 30 35 538 766 their engines may require gear shift at different speed, the time for making the gear shift (leaving the vehicle in a temporal state without torque) may be different etc.

Thereby, the optimal driving methodology or strategy, perhaps in particular when driving in hilly terrain, may be different for different vehicles. ln case the first vehicle in the platoon is an unloaded vehicle, it may hardly be affected at all by the uphill, while a heavily loaded following vehicle may not be able to maintain the desired speed.

Another and perhaps even bigger problem in particular for platoons comprising a large number of vehicles driving in hilly terrain is that the vehicles are in different states of incli- nation in all times, except when the road is horizontal.

For example, in case of uphill driving followed by a downhill, a single vehicle is normally releasing the accelerator when approaching the hill peak in order to roll over the peak and downhill without any driving torque in the powertrain of the vehicle. Thereby fuel is saved.

However, when a platoon is driving in the same hilly environment (uphill followed by down- hill) and the first vehicle of the platoon is approaching the hill peak, the following vehicles are still driving uphill and need to accelerate in order to overcome the hill. ln case the first vehicle of the platoon release the accelerator when approaching the hill peak, the following vehicles will have to brake away energy in order to keep the distance to the fon/vard vehi- cle. A following vehicle in the platoon which may be in the beginning of the uphill, may after the brake be required to change gears, leading to further lost velocity during the time of the gear change. The vehicle then has to speed up for reducing the gap to the fon/vard vehicle, causing also the behind vehicle to speed up etc. Such inconsequent braking and accelera- tion will increase the fuel consumption of the vehicles in the platoon substantially.

The reversed problem may appear in the opposite situation when the first vehicle in the platoon starts driving downhill and increase speed due to gravity while the following vehicle may be driving on plain ground, or uphill and thus the following vehicle has to accelerate in order to keep the time gap, just for start braking some seconds later.

Thereby energy is unnecessarily wasted. Also, the brakes are excessively used, which may lead to early replacement due to wear, i.e. increased maintenance costs. lt also pre- sents a potential security problem, if a vehicle should run out of brake capacity when driv- ing in a platoon. 10 15 20 25 30 35 538 766 Thus, previously known look-ahead control strategies for a single vehicle in order to reduce fuel consumption are not necessarily suitable for platoons.

There are studies indicating that platoon driving is more fuel consuming in hilly terrain than normal driving. The above described problems are true for any kind of vehicles, but the effects will increase with vehicle weight, as more energy is required for accelerating a heavy vehicle like a truck or bus in comparison with a car.

As these described scenarios, and similar variants of them, will lead to increased fuel con- sumption, it is desirable to find a solution in order to achieve the advantages of platoon driving.

SUMMARY lt is therefore an object of this invention to solve at least some of the above problems and improve platooning.

According to a first aspect of the invention, this objective is achieved by a method for exe- cutíon in a central node. The method is configured for determining a velocity profile for each vehicle comprised in a platoon of grouped vehicles, for use in an upcoming road sec- tion situated ahead of the platoon in the driving direction. The method comprises transmit- ting a request for vehicle related information, relevant for the vehicle performance in the upcoming road section with regard to the topology of the upcoming road section. Further, the method also comprises receiving the requested vehicle related information from at least one vehicle in the platoon. Also, the method comprises determining the velocity profile for each vehicle in the platoon to keep at the upcoming road section, in order to reduce a weighted sum of energy consumption and travel time of the platoon with regard to the to- pology of the upcoming road section, based on the received vehicle related information. ln addition, the method furthermore also comprises instructing each vehicle in the platoon to start using the determined velocity profile upon arrival at the upcoming road section.

According to a second aspect of the invention, this objective is achieved by a control unit in a central node, for determining a velocity profile for each vehicle comprised in a platoon of grouped vehicles. The velocity profile is to be used in an upcoming road section, situated ahead of the platoon in the driving direction. The control unit is configured for transmitting a request for vehicle related information, relevant for the vehicle performance in the upcom- ing road section with regard to topology of the upcoming road section. Furthermore, the 10 15 20 25 30 35 538 766 control unit is configured for receiving the requested vehicle related information from at least one vehicle in the platoon. Also, the control unit is configured for determining a veloci- ty profile for each vehicle in the platoon to keep at the upcoming road section, in order to reduce a weighted sum of energy consumption and travel time of the platoon with regard to topology of the upcoming road section, based on the received vehicle related information.

Furthermore, the control unit is also configured for instructing each vehicle comprised in the platoon to start using the determined velocity profile upon arrival at the upcoming road section.

According to a third aspect of the invention, this objective is achieved by a method in a vehicle in a platoon of grouped vehicles, for assisting a central node in determining a veloc- ity profile for each vehicle in the platoon, for use in an upcoming road section situated ahead of the platoon in the driving direction. The method comprises receiving a request for vehicle related information, relevant for the topology of the upcoming road section, from the central node. Also, the method comprises determining a set of vehicle related information, relevant for the vehicle performance in the upcoming road section, based on topography of the upcoming road section. Additionally, the method further comprises transmitting the de- termined set of vehicle related information, to be received by the central node. The method further comprises receiving an instruction from the central node, concerning a velocity pro- file to be used by the vehicle in the platoon upon arrival to the upcoming road section.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, this objective is achieved by a computing unit in a vehicle in a platoon of grouped vehicles, configured for assisting a central node in de- termining a velocity profile for each vehicle in the platoon, for use in an upcoming road sec- tion situated ahead of the platoon in the driving direction. The computing unit is configured for receiving a request for vehicle related information, relevant for the topology of the up- coming road section, from the central node. Also, the computing unit is further configured for determining a set of vehicle related information, relevant for the vehicle performance in the upcoming road section based on topography of the upcoming road section. Further, the computing unit is configured for transmitting the determined set of vehicle related infor- mation, to be received by the central node. The computing unit is configured for receiving an instruction from the central node, concerning a velocity profile to be used by the vehicle in the platoon upon arrival at the upcoming road section.

Thanks to the described aspects, platooning may be made in an energy saving way also in hilly terrain, as unnecessary braking and acceleration respectively is avoided. Thereby en- ergy consumption of the platoon as a whole is reduced, while maintaining a safe distance 10 15 20 25 30 538 766 between the vehicles in the platoon, thereby avoiding accidents. By collecting vehicle relat- ed information from vehicles in the platoon at one central node, and compute an appropri- ate velocity profiles for vehicles in the platoon to keep at the upcoming road section based on the collected information, the velocity profiles for the vehicles in the platoon may be de- termined in a convenient way without negotiations between different vehicles in the pla- toon. Thereby computational time is reduced and is it possible to iterate the method fre- quently and recalculate the velocity profiles. Further, by dividing the road in very brief and possibly overlapping road segments, the velocity profiles for the vehicles in the platoon may be more precisely selected. Thus, thanks to the disclosed method, energy consump- tion over the journey in total may be optimised, or at least reduced. Furthermore, the de- scribed aspects are robust and easily understandable, thereby presenting an easily imple- mented solution to energy saving platooning. Thereby, platooning is improved.

Other advantages and additional novel features will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description.

FIGURES Embodiments of the invention will now be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying figures, in which: Figure1 illustrates a vehicle organised in a platoon according to an embodiment of the invention; Figure 2A illustrates a vehicle according to an embodiment of the invention; Figure 2B illustrates a platoon according to an embodiment of the invention; Figure 2C illustrates a first vehicle in a platoon according to an embodiment of the in- vention; Figure 2D illustrates a first vehicle in a platoon according to an embodiment of the in- vention; Figure 2E illustrates vehicles in a platoon according to an embodiment of the invention; Figure 2F illustrates vehicles in a platoon according to an embodiment of the invention; Figure 3A illustrates a vehicle in a platoon according to an embodiment of the inven- tion; Figure 3B illustrates a vehicle in a platoon according to an embodiment of the inven- tion; Figure 4 is a flow chart illustrating an embodiment of the method in a central node; 10 15 20 25 30 35 538 766 Figure 5 is an illustration depicting a system according to an embodiment.

Figure 6 is a flow chart illustrating an embodiment of the method in a vehicle; Figure 7 is an illustration depicting a system according to an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Embodiments of the invention described herein are defined as methods and control units, which may be put into practice in the embodiments described below. These embodiments may, however, be exemplified and realised in many different forms and are not to be lim- ited to the examples set forth herein; rather, these illustrative examples of embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete.

Still other objects and features may become apparent from the following detailed descrip- tion, considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. lt is to be understood, however, that the drawings are designed solely for purposes of illustration and not as a definition of the limits of the herein disclosed embodiments, for which reference is to be made to the appended claims. Further, the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale and, unless otherwise indicated, they are merely intended to conceptually illustrate the structures and procedures described herein.

Figure 1 illustrates a scenario with a multitude of vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, driving in a driving direction 105, with an inter-vehicular distance t1, t2, organised in a platoon 110, driving on a road 120.

The vehicle platoon may be described as a chain of coordinated, inter-communicating ve- hicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 travelling at given inter-vehicular distances t1, t2 and velocity.

The inter-vehicular distances t1, t2 may be fixed or variable in different embodiments. Fur- ther, the inter-vehicular distances t1, t2 may comprise a time gap, or a length distance in different embodiments. Also, the inter-vehicular distances t1, t2 may be identical between some or all of the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110 in some embodiments.

Alternatively however, the inter-vehicular distances t1, t2 between each of the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110 may be distinct. Further, the inter-vehicular distanc- es t1, t2 in length between any vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110 may vary with the speed of the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, as the time gaps t1, t2 will create length distances of different length in different vehicle speeds (except when driving at very low speed, approaching a stationary condition, where a certain minimum distance in length 10 15 20 25 30 35 538 766 may be desired). Thus the distances t1, t2 may be e.g. some centimetres, some decime- tres, some meters or some tenths of meters in some embodiments, such as e.g. 20-40 meters. ln other embodiments, the distances t1, t2 may be e.g. some fractions of a second such as e.g. some tenths of a second. The inter-vehicular distances t1, t2 may be the same between at least some of the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110 in some em- bodiments. Alternatively, each vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110 may have a different distance t1, t2 to the vehicle following or leading vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, than all other vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110.

The low inter-vehicular distances t1, t2 in the platoon 110, in comparison with the normal distance kept between non-coordinated vehicles, leads to reduced air drag for the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110, leading to reduced energy consumption.

The distance to the preceding vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 may be measured by a e.g. ra- dar unit, lidar unit or similar equipment in some embodiments, configured for emitting radio waves and receiving reflexions of the emitted radio waves, reflected by the preceding vehi- cle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3. By continuously or at certain time intervals measuring the distance to the preceding vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 and also continuously or at certain time inter- vals determine the speed of the vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, e.g. from the speedometer of the vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, or from a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver in the vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3. Thereby, the time gaps t1, t2 may be calculated by dividing the measured distance in length with the determined speed.

According to some alternative embodiments, another on-board rangefinder sensor may be used instead of the radar unit, such as e.g. a laser rangefinder, an ultrasonic sensor emit- ting an ultrasonic wave and detecting and analysing the reflections, or other similar devic- es. ln order to keep the respective time gap t1, t2, signals may be generated for increasing the speed of the vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, or braking the vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, re- spectively. Thereby a safe distance is upheld to the preceding vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3.

The vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110 may comprise e.g. a truck, a bus, a car, a motorcycle or any similar vehicle or other means of conveyance. The vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 may comprise vehicles of the same, or different types. 10 15 20 25 30 35 538 766 The vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 may be driver controlled or driverless autonomously con- trolled vehicles in different embodiments. However, for enhanced clarity, the vehicles 100- 1, 100-2, 100-3 are subsequently described as having a driver.

According to some embodiments, each vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 of the platoon 110, or at least some of those vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, may compile a model comprising the own vehicle's properties and limitations at an upcoming road section ahead of the platoon 110. The compiled models are then collected at a central node, which may be external to the platoon 110, or may be any vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110, such as e.g. the first vehicle 100-1 in the platoon 110. At the central node, the collected models of the vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 may be used to optimise, or at least improve the control of the powertrain of each respective vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in order to reduce energy consumption for the platoon 110 as a whole.

The requested model, or vehicle related information, may comprise e.g. modes or states of the respective vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, gear ratios in the gearbox of the respective vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, minimum and maximum speed of the respective vehicle 100- 1, 100-2, 100-3, air drag, speed- and load-dependent losses, cooling/ heating require- ments, maximum torque curve, information concerning the relation between torque, engine speed and energy consumption, gear-shift timing, gear shift time, charging level of batter- ies, pressure level of pneumatic reservoir, emissions and similar information relevant for the vehicle performance on the upcoming road section.

As these properties may change over time, depending on temperature, energy levels, air pressure etc., new models may be estimated by the respective vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 and distributed to the central node.

The models, or vehicle related information, may then be distributed wirelessly to each other vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110, e.g. by making a wireless broadcast.

The disclosed method is performed by stepwise calculation in road sections, which may be defined in distance or in time in different embodiments. While driving on the current road section, the method is performed for the upcoming road section, etc., as illustrated in Fig- ure 2F. Further, the road sections may be overlapping in some embodiments, or not in oth- er embodiments. 10 15 20 25 30 35 538 766 Thereby, appropriate velocity profiles for the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110 at the upcoming road section is selected and determined, enabling a reduced and/ or low energy consumption for the platoon 110 as a whole. Thereby energy efficient driving may be made by the platoon 110 in all kind of landscapes, including hilly terrain. Another advantage of the describe method is that the central node may compute, improve and even optimise the energy consumption of the platoon 110 as a whole over the travel distance.

Thanks to the disclosed method, velocity profiles may be selected by the central node that are acceptable for all vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110, providing fairness between the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3.

Reducing the energy consumption, when the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 are using fossil fuel, leads to not only cheaper transport, but also reduced emissions of harmful exhaust gas.

A further advantage of the described method is that it is robust and easy to understand, making it easier to implement compared to other alternative, more complex methods. Fur- ther, as the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 only send a model of the present (temporary) state of the own vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, simplified models may be used.

Figure 2A illustrates an example of a scenario where a single vehicle 100 is driving on the road 120 in the driving direction 105 and has arrived to a hilly region.

The vehicle 100 has been driving uphill, and has reached the hill peak. When the vehicle 100 was approaching the hill peak at a first position 210-1, the driver may release the ac- celerator and roll over the hill peak, firstly with descending velocity, but after having passed the hill peak, the vehicle 100 gain velocity in the downhill slope. At a second point 210-2, the driver may again start pressing down the accelerator in order to gain velocity and mo- mentum for overcoming an ahead uphill slope (out of Figure 2A, on the left side). lt may thereby be avoided that the vehicle 100 is delayed.

This methodology, which may be optimal from a fuel consumption perspective concerning a single vehicle 100 is however not appropriate during platooning, as will be further exem- plified in Figure 2B. 10 15 20 25 30 35 538 766 Figure 2B illustrates the same, or a similar hill as illustrated in Figure 2A, but with a pla- toon 110 comprising various vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 with a distance t1, t2 in between them, driving in a driving direction 105; i.e. from the right to the left in the Figure.

When the first vehicle 100-1 in the platoon 110 is approaching the hill peak, and from a single vehicle optimisation point of view would benefit from releasing the accelerator in order to roll over the top and roll downhill, thereby saving energy. However, the other fol- lowing vehicles 100-2, 100-3 are still driving uphill and releasing the accelerator is inappro- priate for these vehicles 100-2, 100-3, as they then may not have enough momentum for overcoming the hill.

Another problem is that the different vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110 may have different weight and/ or different weight/ power ratio. Thereby, different vehicles 100- 1, 100-2, 100-3 may be affected differently both in downhill and uphill. ln hilly terrain, perhaps in particular for heavy vehicles such as e.g. trucks when travelling along an incline, the gravitational force has a strong influence. ln contrast with a passenger vehicle, heavy vehicles is typically not able to produce a sufficient driving torque to main- tain the velocity when travelling along an uphill with a slope greater than e.g. approximately 3.5% at 90 km/h in a non-limiting example, which further is different for different vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 based on different properties of the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3.

Similarly, when facing a downhill heavy vehicles will typically experience a speed increase if the slope is less than e.g. approximately -1.4% or there about in a non-limiting example, which again is merely exemplary and may be very depending on different properties of the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 such as weight, engine, etc. Hence, the induced gravitational force can act as a positive or negative longitudinal force depending on the incline of the road 120.

Different vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110 may have different weight and/ or different weight/ power ratio. Thus, in order for the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the pla- toon 110 to pass the hill in a grouped manner and still earning the advantages with the platoon formation, velocity profiles for the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110 has to be determined, that minimises or at least reduces a weighted sum of energy con- sumption and travel time of the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3. ln some embodiment, distinct velocity profiles may be used for each vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110. On 10 10 15 20 25 30 35 538 766 some other embodiments, some or all of the vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110 may share the same velocity profile, to keep at the upcoming road segment.

The weighted sum of energy consumption and travel time of the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 may be computed for minimising or reducing the energy consumption, while keeping the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110 within a certain velocity range, such as e.g. 70-80 km/h, 80-85 km/h, 80-90 km/h or similar, just for mentioning some non-limiting arbitrary examples. Typically, the velocity of the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110 may be allowed to increase to the upper velocity limit of the velocity range when driv- ing in downhill and be allowed to decrease to the lower velocity limit of the velocity range othen/vise.

Thus some kind of compromise has to be calculated, that minimises or at least reduces the energy consumption of the platoon 110 as a whole. The bigger distance t1, t2 there is be- tween the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, the bigger differences there may be between the different velocity profiles for the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110. Thus there may be a relation between the distances t1, t2 between the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, and the velocity of the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in some embodiments.

Figure 2C illustrates how the selection of the velocity profile for each of the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110 may be made when driving on the road 120 on a current road section 220-1, for determining velocity profiles to be used in an upcoming road section 220-2. Thereby, the computation and selection of the velocity profiles may be made in tranquillity, and all computations may be ready in advance, before the vehicles 100-1, 100- 2, 100-3 in the platoon 110 reach the upcoming road section 220-2.

Thus, in some embodiments, the way from a starting point to the destination of the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110 may be divided into a plurality of road sections 220- 1, 220-2, for all or parts of the distance. While driving on the current road section 220-1, for determining velocity profiles to be used in an upcoming road section 220-2, and when arriv- ing to the upcoming road section 220-2, the determining velocity profiles are used by the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110, and computations are then repeated for determining further velocity profiles to be used by the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110 in yet an upcoming road section, etc.

The road slope may be determined at different geographical positions of the road 120 ahead of the platoon 110 in the driving direction 105, such as e.g. at the current road sec- 11 10 15 20 25 30 35 538 766 tion 220-1 and the upcoming road section 220-2, and/ or within the upcoming road section 220-2.

The upcoming road section 220-2 may be defined by one of the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110, or they may have been previously agreed upon. ln the illustrated embodiment, the upcoming road section 220-2 starts where the current road section 220-1 ends, i.e. the road sections 220-1, 220-2 are not overlapping each oth- er. However, in other embodiments, as illustrated in Figure 2D, the road sections 220-1, 220-2 may be overlapping each other, partly or entirely. ln embodiments where the road sections 220-1, 220-2 are overlapping each other, the ve- hicle profile/s determined for the upcoming road section 220-2 takes precedence over the determined vehicle profile/s used at the current road section 220-1. ln some embodiments, overlapping of the road sections 220-1, 220-2 may be compulsory.

The road sections 220-1, 220-2 may have different sizes depending e.g. on the topography and may be e.g. at least twice the length of the platoon 110 in some embodiments.

Figure 2E illustrates how different vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110 trans- mits vehicle related information to one central node 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, 380, here illus- trated by the first vehicle 100-1 in the platoon 110.

The requested vehicle related information, or model, may comprise e.g. modes or states of the respective vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, gear ratios in the gearbox of the respective vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, minimum and maximum speed of the respective vehicle 100- 1, 100-2, 100-3, air drag, speed- and load-dependent losses, cooling/ heating require- ments, maximum torque curve, information concerning the relation between torque, engine speed and energy consumption, gear-shift timing, gear shift time, charging level of batter- ies, pressure level of pneumatic reservoir, emissions and similar information relevant for the vehicle performance on the upcoming road section 220-2.

The central node 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, 380 may then determine the velocity profile/s for the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110 to keep at the upcoming road section 220- 2, in order to reduce a weighted sum of energy consumption and travel time of the platoon 110, based on the received vehicle related information. 12 10 15 20 25 30 35 538 766 Figure 2F illustrates how the selection of the velocity profile for each of the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110 may be made when driving on the road 120 on a current road section 220-1, for determining the velocity profiles to be used by vehicles 100-1, 100- 2, 100-3 in the platoon 110 in an upcoming road section 220-2. When arriving at the up- coming road section 220-2, the determined velocity profiles may be used by the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110. Further, upon arrival at the upcoming road section 220-2, the method and computations may be repeated for determining velocity profile for each vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110, to be used at a further upcoming road section 220-3. This is again then repeated when arriving at the further upcoming road sec- tion 220-3 for determining velocity profile/s to be used by the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110 at the subsequently further upcoming road section 220-4, etc.

Thereby, the computation and selection of the velocity profiles may be made in tranquillity, and all computations may be ready in advance, before the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110 reach the upcoming road section 220-2.

Figure 3A illustrates an example of how any of the previously scenario in Figure 1, Figure 2B-2F may be perceived by the driver of a vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110.

Although the second vehicle 100-2 in the platoon 110 is illustrated, this is merely a non- limiting example. Any other vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110, or some or all of them may be equally or similarly equipped.

The vehicle 100-2 thus follow the preceding vehicle 100-1 at a distance t. The vehicle 100- 2 comprises a control unit 310 configured for determining a velocity profile for each vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110. ln some embodiments, the control unit 310 may comprise, or be part of an Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC).

ACC is an optional cruise control system for vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 that automatical- ly adjusts the vehicle speed to maintain a safe distance from vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 ahead. The ACC may utilise e.g. on-board sensors such as a radar or a laser sensor for maintaining the distance t1, t2 to the vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in front, or behind, and/ or satellites, roadside beacons or mobile infrastructures as reflectors or transmitters on the back of other vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 ahead, in different embodiments. ln some embodiments, an optional display 370 may be comprised in the vehicle 100-2, connected to the control unit 310. Thereby, information associated with the velocity profiles 13 10 15 20 25 30 35 538 766 and/ or the platoon 110 such as e.g. current size of the distance/ time gap t1, t2, current road slope ahead of the vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, etc.

The vehicle 100-2 also comprises a vehicle mounted distance measuring device 320, such as e.g. radar unit, a rangefinder sensor, a stereo camera, an ultrasonic sensor emitting an ultrasonic wave and detecting and analysing the reflections or similar device based on ra- dar, infra-red light or micro waves for detecting the vehicle 100-1 in front, and determine the distance t.

Further, the vehicle 100-2 comprises a positioning unit 330. The positioning unit 330 may be based on a satellite navigation system such as the Navigation Signal Timing and Rang- ing (Navstar) Global Positioning System (GPS), Differential GPS (DGPS), Galileo, GLONASS, or the like. Thus the positioning unit 330 may comprise a GPS receiver.

The geographical position of the vehicle 100-2 may be determined continuously or at cer- tain predetermined or configurable time intervals according to various embodiments.

Positioning by satellite navigation is based on distance measurement using triangulation from a number of satellites 340-1, 340-2, 340-3, 340-4. The satellites 340-1, 340-2, 340-3, 340-4 continuously transmit information about time and date (for example, in coded form), identity (which satellite 340-1, 340-2, 340-3, 340-4 which broadcasts), status, and where the satellite 340-1, 340-2, 340-3, 340-4 are situated at any given time. GPS satellites 340- 1, 340-2, 340-3, 340-4 sends information encoded with different codes, for example, but not necessarily based on Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA). This allows information from an individual satellite 340-1, 340-2, 340-3, 340-4 distinguished from the others' infor- mation, based on a unique code for each respective satellite 340-1, 340-2, 340-3, 340-4.

This information can then be transmitted to be received by the appropriately adapted posi- tioning unit 330 in the vehicle 100-2.

Distance measurement can according to some embodiments comprise measuring the dif- ference in the time it takes for each respective satellite signal transmitted by the respective satellites 340-1, 340-2, 340-3, 340-4, to reach the positioning unit 330. As the radio signals travel at the speed of light, the distance to the respective satellite 340-1, 340-2, 340-3, 340- 4 may be computed by measuring the signal propagation time.

The positions of the satellites 340-1, 340-2, 340-3, 340-4 are known, as they continuously are monitored by approximately 15-30 ground stations located mainly along and near the 14 10 15 20 25 30 35 538 766 earth's equator. Thereby the geographical position, i.e. latitude and longitude, of the vehicle 100-2 may be calculated by determining the distance to at least three satellites 340-1, 340- 2, 340-3, 340-4 through triangulation. For determination of altitude, signals from four satel- lites 340-1, 340-2, 340-3, 340-4 may be used according to some embodiments.

Having determined the geographical position of the vehicle 100-2, and also determined the driving direction 105 of the vehicle 100-2 and the platoon 110, the control unit 310 may extract a road slope at a geographical position of the road 120 ahead of the vehicle 100-2 in the determined driving direction 105, such as e.g. on the upcoming road section 220-2.

The topography i.e. road slope of the upcoming road section 220-2 ahead of the vehicle 100-2 may be extracted from a database 350. The database 350 may be situated within the vehicle 100-2 in some embodiments, or alternatively external to the vehicle 100-2, and accessible via a wireless interface. ln the database 350, different geographical positions are stored associated with a respec- tive road slope values, which may be extracted by using a geographical position and a di- rection as input values.

The topography of the upcoming road section 220-2 is important when determining the velocity profile for the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110. For example, when arriving at a long and steep downhill, any, some or all of the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 may like to modify a mode or state of the vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, such as e.g. velocity and/ or the charge level of the battery etc., in order to upload the battery when rolling down the hill.

The vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110 may communicate with each other over a wireless interface. Thus the first vehicle 100-1 may comprise a first transceiver 360- 1 and the second vehicle 100-2 a second transceiver 360-2.

The wireless communication may be e.g. a Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) signal, or any other wireless signal based on, or at least inspired by wireless communication technology such as Wi-Fi, Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), Bluetooth (BT), the communication protocol IEEE 802.11p, Wireless Access in Vehicular Environ- ments (WAVE) or infrared transmission to name but a few possible examples of wireless communications. 15 10 15 20 25 30 35 538 766 Figure 3B also illustrates an example of an alternative embodiment of the second vehicle 100-2 in the platoon 110, previously discussed in conjunction with the presentation of Fig- ure 3A. ln this embodiment, the control unit 310 is situated outside the own vehicle 100-2, and also outside the platoon 110.

The communication between the 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110 may be made via the previously discussed wireless interface.

The vehicle 100-2 in the illustrated embodiments comprises a calculating unit 380, config- ured for e.g. computing a candidate velocity profiles for the platoon 110 to keep at the up- coming road section 220-2 and/ or evaluating a received candidate velocity profile, based on how preferable it would be for the own vehicle 100-2 in order to reduce a weighted sum of energy consumption and travel time of said vehicle 100-2.

Figure 4 illustrates an example of a method 400 in a central node 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, 380, according to an embodiment. The flow chart in Figure 4 shows the method 400 for determining a velocity profile for each vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in a platoon 110, com- prising a grouped set of vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, for use in an upcoming road section 220-2, situated ahead of the platoon 110 in the driving direction 105.

The driving direction 105 of the vehicle 100 may be determined based on the location of the destination of the journey, or by extrapolating the driving direction based on previously determined geographical positions and possibly knowledge of the road direction, e.g. from stored map data.

The vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 may be any arbitrary kind of means for conveyance, such as a truck, a bus or a car. The number of vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110 may be any number exceeding one, such as e.g. 2, 3, °<>. A typical number may be e.g. 5- 20 vehicles in a non-limiting examples.

The vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 may communicate with other vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100- 3 in the platoon 110, and possibly also with other vehicles or entities, via wireless commu- nication signalling, based on e.g. Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) communication or any other wireless communication technology such as Wi-Fi, Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), 16 10 15 20 25 30 35 538 766 Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), Bluetooth (BT), or infrared transmission to name but a few possible examples of wireless communications.

The vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 are driving in the platoon 110 with a distance t1, t2 be- tween each vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110. The distances t1, t2 may be the same between all vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in some embodiments. Alternatively, differ- ent vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 may keep a different distance t1, t2 to the vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in front. The distance t1, t2 may also vary within an interval in some embodi- ments. The distances t1, t2 may be measured in time, then often referred to as a time gap, e.g. of 0.1 second, 1 second etc., the distances t1, t2 may alternatively be measured in length distance, e.g. some centimetres, some decimetres, some meters, some tenths of meters, GtC. ln some embodiments, the distances t between the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110 may be extended when an altitude difference between the highest and lowest point of the upcoming road section 220-2 exceeds a threshold value. Thus the platoon 110 according to those embodiments may be dissolved in hilly terrain. ln some embodiments, the distances t1, t2 may be variable based on the road slope of the upcoming road section 220-2 by increasing the distances t1, t2 when the road slope is negative, indicating downhill, and/ or increasing the variable time gap t1, t2 when the road slope is positive, indicating uphill, in some alternative embodiments.

The determined velocity profiles may comprise one distinct velocity profile for each vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110 in some embodiments. However in some embodi- ments, the determined velocity profiles may comprise one velocity profile for the whole pla- toon 110 to share, or at least for some vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110 to share. ln order to correctly be able to determine the velocity profile for each vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110, the method 400 may comprise a number of steps 401-405. How- ever, some of these steps 401-405 may be performed solely in some alternative embodi- ments, like e.g. step 401. Further, the described steps 401-405 may be performed in a somewhat different chronological order than the numbering suggests. The method 400 may comprise the subsequent steps: 17 10 15 20 25 30 35 538 766 Step 401 which may be performed only in some embodiments, comprises distributing geo- graphical information defining the upcoming road section 220-2.

The upcoming road section 220-2 may however be predefined in some embodiments. ln other embodiments, the central node 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, 380, or any of the vehicles 100- 1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110 may determine and define the upcoming road section 220-2.

The topography i.e. road slope of the upcoming road section 220-2 may be stored in a da- tabase 350 associated with geographical positions at the upcoming road section 220-2.

Step 402 comprises transmitting a request for vehicle related information, relevant for the vehicle performance in the upcoming road section 220-2 with regard to topology of the up- coming road section 220-2.

The request may be transmitted via the previously discussed wireless communication sig- nalling.

The requested vehicle related information may comprise modes or states of the respective vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, gear ratios in the gearbox of the respective vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, minimum and maximum speed of the respective vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, air drag, speed- and load-dependent losses, cooling/ heating requirements, maximum torque curve, information concerning the relation between torque, engine speed and ener- gy consumption, gear-shift timing, gear shift time, charging level of batteries, pressure level of pneumatic reservoir, emissions and similar information relevant for the vehicle perfor- mance on the upcoming road section 220-2.

Step 403 comprises receiving the previously requested vehicle related information from at least one vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110. ln some embodiments, there may be one or more vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 not trans- mitting the requested vehicle related information.

The information may be received over the previously discussed wireless interface.

Step 404 comprises determining the velocity profile for vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110 to keep at the upcoming road section 220-2, in order to minimise or at least 18 10 15 20 25 30 35 538 766 reduce a weighted sum of energy consumption and travel time of the platoon 110, based on the received 403 vehicle related information.

Thus the velocity profiles of the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110 with the smallest weighted sum of energy consumption and travel time may be determined, e.g. the set of profiles having the lowest possible energy consumption while passing the upcoming road section 220-2 within a velocity interval, such as e.g. between approximately 70-80 km/h (in a non-limiting example). Typically the lowest velocity in the velocity interval may be kept while driving uphill and the highest velocity in the velocity interval in the downhill. ln some embodiments, a minimum velocity may be predetermined which has to be kept by all vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110 may be determined. Also, correspond- ingly, a maximum velocity may be predetermined (by legal reasons), such as e.g. about 80 km/h, or about 90 km/h depending on vehicle type and legislation.

The evaluation may be based on the topography or road inclination of the upcoming road section 220-2. The road inclination will typically vary with the geographical position when driving through the upcoming road section 220-2, e.g. when driving in a hilly region. The road inclination of the upcoming road section 220-2 may be extracted from a database, which may be situated on board the vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, or in a database external to the vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, accessible via the previously discussed wireless inter- face.

The different road inclination at different geographical positions may influence different vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110 differently, e.g. depending on different weight, weight/ power ratio and other parameters that may be different and unique to each vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110.

The weight/ power ratio, or power loading, is a calculation commonly applied to vehicles in general, to enable the comparison of one vehicle's performance to another. lt is used as a measurement of performance of a vehicle as a whole, with the weight (or mass) of the ve- hicle divided by the engine's power output, to give a metric that is independent of the vehi- cle's size.

The weight/ power ratio of the vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 may be measured by a weight sensor on the vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, or estimated based on the load in some embod- iments, and a stored power value. 19 10 15 20 25 30 35 538 766 However, the road inclination may also influence the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 based on modes or states of the vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, gear ratios in the gearbox of the vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, minimum and maximum speed of the vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, air drag, speed- and load-dependent losses, cooling/ heating requirements, maxi- mum torque curve, information concerning the relation between torque, engine speed and energy consumption, gear-shift timing, gear shift time, charging level of batteries, pressure level of pneumatic reservoir, exhaust after treatment system temperature, emissions and similar information relevant for vehicle performance on the upcoming road section 220-2, which may be different for different vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110.

The respective velocity profiles may be determined so that minimum distances t1, t2 be- tween the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110 is maintained when passing the upcoming road section 220-2. ln some embodiments, the velocity profiles may be determined so that all vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110 are able to follow the respective velocity profiles and main- tain a maximum distance t1, t2 to the vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in front when passing the upcoming road section 220-2.

Any candidate velocity profile that results in that the minimum distances t1, t2 between any vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110 cannot be kept may be disregarded from the determined velocity profiles. The minimum distances t1, t2 may be set for security rea- sons in order to avoid a collision and may be pre-set to e.g. some centimetres, some deci- metres etC.

The respective velocity profile for the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 may thus be distinct for each of the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, but yet related so that the minimum distances t1, t2 between the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110 is not exceeded.

Step 405 comprises instructing each vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110 to start using the determined 404 velocity profile upon arrival at the upcoming road section 220-2.

Thus the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110 may start using the determined velocity profiles simultaneously when arriving at the upcoming road section 220-2, e.g. when the first vehicle 100-1 of the platoon 110 arrives at the upcoming road section 220-2; or when any vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110 arrives at the upcoming road 20 10 15 20 25 30 35 538 766 section 220-2. ln some embodiments, vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110 may start using the determined respective velocity profiles as they pass a geographical position and enter the upcoming road section 220-2. ln such embodiments, the vehicles 100-1, 100- 2, 100-3 consecutively may start using the respective velocity profile.

Figure 5 illustrates an embodiment of a system 500 in a vehicle platoon 110. The system 500 comprises a control unit 310, in a central node 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, 380, for determin- ing a velocity profile for each of the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110. The platoon 110 comprises a grouped set of vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3. The respective ve- locity profiles is to be determined for utilisation in an upcoming road section 220-2, situated ahead of the platoon 110 in the driving direction 105.

The control unit 310 may thus perform at least some of the previously described steps 401- 405 according to the method 400 described above and illustrated in Figure 4.

The central node 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, 310 may be one of the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110, such as e.g. the first vehicle 100-1 in the platoon 110, or alternatively be external to the platoon 110.

Thus the control unit 310 in the central node 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, 380 is configured for transmitting a request for vehicle related information, relevant for the vehicle performance in the upcoming road section 220-2 with regard to topology of the upcoming road section 220-2. The control unit 310 is in addition configured for receiving the requested vehicle related information from at least one vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110. Fur- ther, the control unit 310 is also configured for determining a velocity profile for each of the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110 to keep at the upcoming road section 220- 2, in order to reduce a weighted sum of energy consumption and travel time of the platoon 110, based on the received vehicle related information. Furthermore, the control unit 310 is configured for instructing each vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 comprised in the platoon 110 to start using the determined velocity profile upon arrival at the upcoming road section 220-2.

The control unit 310 may further, in some embodiments be configured for instructing each vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 comprised in the platoon 110 to start using the determined velocity profile upon arrival at the upcoming road section 220-2. 21 10 15 20 25 30 35 538 766 Also, in some embodiments, the control unit 310 may be further configured for disregarding any candidate velocity profiles that result in that a minimum distance t1, t2 between any vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110 cannot be kept.

Further, the control unit 310 may be configured for distributing geographical information defining the upcoming road section.

The control unit 310 may in some embodiments be additionally configured for extending the distances t1, t2 between the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110, when an altitude difference between the highest and lowest point of the upcoming road section 220- 2 exceeds a threshold value.

The control unit 310 may in some embodiments be additionally configured for determining one distinct velocity profile for each vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110.

The control unit 310 may comprise a receiving circuit 510 configured for receiving wireless and/ or wired signals from e.g. a distance measuring device 320 and a positioning device 330.

The control unit 310 may also comprise a processor 520 configured for performing at least some of the calculating or computing of the control unit 310. Thus the processor 520 may be configured for determining velocity profiles for vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the pla- toon 110, comprising a grouped set of vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, for use at an upcom- ing road section 220-2 situated ahead of the platoon 110 in the driving direction 105.

The processor 520 may thus be further configured for generating a request for vehicle re- lated information, relevant for the vehicle performance in the upcoming road section 220-2, to be transmitted to vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110.

The processor 520 may in addition be configured for receiving the requested vehicle relat- ed information from at least one vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110, via the receiving circuit 510. Further, the processor 520 may be configured for determining a ve- locity profile for each vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110 to keep at the upcom- ing road section 220-2, in order to reduce a weighted sum of energy consumption and travel time of the platoon 110, based on the received vehicle related information with re- gard to topology of the upcoming road section 220-2. Furthermore, the processor 520 may be configured for generating instructions for each vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 comprised in 22 10 15 20 25 30 35 538 766 the platoon 110 to start using the determined velocity profile upon arrival at the upcoming road section 220-2.

Such processor 520 may comprise one or more instances of a processing circuit, i.e. a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a processing unit, a processing circuit, a processor, an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a microprocessor, or other processing logic that may interpret and execute instructions. The herein utilised expression “processor" may thus represent a processing circuitry comprising a plurality of processing circuits, such as, e.g., any, some or all of the ones enumerated above.

Furthermore, the control unit 310 may comprise a memory 525 in some embodiments. The optional memory 525 may comprise a physical device utilised to store data or programs, i.e., sequences of instructions, on a temporary or permanent basis. According to some em- bodiments, the memory 525 may comprise integrated circuits comprising silicon-based transistors. The memory 525 may comprise e.g. a memory card, a flash memory, a USB memory, a hard disc, or another similar volatile or non-volatile storage unit for storing data such as e.g. ROM (Read-Only Memory), PROlVl (Programmable Read-Only Memory), EPROIVI (Erasable PROM), EEPROIVI (Electrically Erasable PROIVI), etc. in different em- bodiments.

Further, the control unit 500 may comprise a signal transmitter 530. The signal transmitter 530 may be configured for transmitting a control signal over a Wired or wireless interface to a wireless transmitter 360 which in turn may signal or broadcast wireless signals to vehi- cles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 of the platoon 110.

The previously described steps 401-405 to be performed in the control unit 310 may be implemented through the one or more processors 520 within the control unit 310, together with computer program product for performing at least some of the functions of the steps 401-405. Thus a computer program product, comprising instructions for performing the steps 401-405 in the control unit 310 may perform the method 400 comprising at least some of the steps 401-405 for determining a velocity profile for each vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110, comprising a grouped set of vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, for use in an upcoming road section 220-2, situated ahead of the platoon 110 in the driving direc- tion 105, when the computer program is loaded into the one or more processors 520 of the control unit 310. 23 10 15 20 25 30 35 538 766 The computer program product mentioned above may be provided for instance in the form of a data carrier carrying computer program code for performing at least some of the step 401-405 according to some embodiments when being loaded into the one or more proces- sors 520 of the control unit 310. The data carrier may be, e.g., a hard disk, a CD ROIVI disc, a memory stick, an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device or any other appro- priate medium such as a disk or tape that may hold machine readable data in a non- transitory manner. The computer program product may furthermore be provided as com- puter program code on a server and downloaded to the control unit 310 remotely, e.g., over an Internet or an intranet connection.

Further, some embodiments may comprise a vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 comprising a control unit 31 O as described above.

Additionally, some embodiments may comprise a stationary central node 380 comprising a control unit 310 as described above. The stationary central node 380 may comprise e.g. a SGFVGI”.

Figure 6 illustrates an example of a method 600 in a vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in a pla- toon 110, according to an embodiment. The flow chart in Figure 6 shows the method 600 for assisting a central node 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, 380 in determining a velocity profile for each vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110, for use in an upcoming road section 220-2 situated ahead of the platoon 110 in the driving direction 105. ln order to correctly be able to assist the central node 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, 380 in deter- mining the velocity profile for each of the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110, the method 600 may comprise a number of steps 601-604. However, some of these steps 601-604 may be performed in alternative manners. Further, the described steps 601-604 may be performed in a somewhat different chronological order than the numbering sug- gests. The method 600 may comprise the subsequent steps: Step 601 comprises receiving a request for vehicle related information, relevant for the upcoming road section 220-2, from the central node 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, 380.

The upcoming road section 220-2 may be predefined in some embodiments. ln other em- bodiments, the central node 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, 380, or any of the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110 may determine and define the upcoming road section 220-2. 24 10 15 20 25 30 35 538 766 ln some embodiments, the central node 380 may comprise a server, or a cloud service in some embodiments.

The requested vehicle related information, or model, may comprise modes or states of the vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, gear ratios in the gearbox of the vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, minimum and maximum speed of the vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, air drag, speed- and load-dependent losses, cooling/ heating requirements, maximum torque curve, information concerning the relation between torque, engine speed and energy consumption, gear-shift timing, gear shift time, charging level of batteries, pressure level of pneumatic reservoir, exhaust after treatment system temperature, emissions and/ or similar information relevant for vehicle performance on the upcoming road section 220-2, in some embodiments.

Step 602 comprises determining a set of vehicle related information, relevant for the vehi- cle performance in the upcoming road section 220-2, based on topography of the upcom- ing road section 220-2.

The requested information may be extracted from a memory or database in the vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in some embodiments.

Some vehicle related information such as e.g. the weight of the vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 may be measured by a weight sensor on the vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, or estimated based on the load in some embodiments.

Step 603 comprises transmitting the determined 602 set of vehicle related information, to be received by the central node 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, 380.

The information may be transmitted wirelessly.

Step 604 comprises receiving an instruction from the central node 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, 380, concerning the determined velocity profile to be used by the vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110 upon arrival to the upcoming road section 220-2.

Thus the velocity profile to be used by the vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 upon arrival to the upcoming road section 220-2 with the smallest weighted sum of energy consumption and 25 10 15 20 25 30 35 538 766 travel time for the platoon 110 may be used by the vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, e.g. the velocity profile that gives the vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 the lowest possible energy con- sumption while passing the upcoming road section 220-2 within a velocity interval, such as e.g. between about 70-80 km/h in a non-Iimiting example. Typically the lowest velocity in the velocity interval may be kept while driving uphill or reached at the crest and the highest velocity in the velocity interval may be kept in the downhill.

The velocity profile may thereby be selected so that energy consumption is minimised or reduced, appropriate for the topography of the upcoming road section 220-2. For example, in a downhill, the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 may change state, e.g. charge the batteries and/ or the pneumatic compressor tank.

Thus the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110 may start using the determined velocity profiles simultaneously when arriving at the upcoming road section 220-2, e.g. when the first vehicle 100-1 of the platoon 110 arrives at the upcoming road section 220-2.

Figure 7 illustrates an embodiment of a system 700 in a vehicle platoon 110. The system 700 comprises a computing unit 390 in a vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the vehicle platoon 110. The computing unit 390 is configured for assisting a central node 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, 380 in determining a velocity profile for each vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110, for use in an upcoming road section 220-2 situated ahead of the platoon 110 in the driving direction 105. The platoon 110 comprises a grouped set of vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3.

The computing unit 390 may thus perform at least some of the previously described steps 601-604 according to the method 600 described above and illustrated in Figure 6.

The central node 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, 380 may be one of the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110, such as e.g. the first vehicle 100-1 in the platoon 110, or alternatively be external to the platoon 110, i.e. a stationary central node 380.

Thus the computing unit 390 is configured for receiving a request for vehicle related infor- mation, relevant for the topology of the upcoming road section 220-2, from the central node 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, 380. Further the computing unit 390 is also configured for determining a set of vehicle related information, relevant for the vehicle performance in the upcoming road section 220-2 based on topography of the upcoming road section 220-2. Additionally, the computing unit 390 is further configured for transmitting the determined set of vehicle 26 10 15 20 25 30 35 538 766 related information, to be received by the central node 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, 380. Also, the computing unit 390 is configured for receiving an instruction from the central node 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, 380, concerning a velocity profile to be used by the vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110 upon arrival at the upcoming road section 220-2.

Thereby, the selection of velocity profile to be used by the vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110 may be based on the topography or road inclination of the upcoming road section 220-2. The road inclination will typically vary with the geographical position when driving through the upcoming road section 220-2, e.g. when driving in a hilly region.

Also, in some embodiments, the computing unit 390 may be further configured for disre- garding any candidate velocity profiles that result in that minimum distances t1, t2 between any vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110 cannot be kept. Thus any vehicle 100- 1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110 may exclude a particular candidate velocity profile from use by the platoon 110 in some embodiments. ln other embodiments, any vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110 may exclude a particular candidate velocity profiles from use by that vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3.

The computing unit 390 may comprise a receiving circuit 710 configured for receiving wire- less and/ or wired signals from e.g. a distance measuring device 320 and a positioning device 330.

The computing unit 390 may also comprise a processor 720 configured for performing at least some of the calculating or computing of the computing unit 390. Thus the processor 720 may be configured for assisting a central node 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, 380 in determining a velocity profile for the vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110, for use in an up- coming road section 220-2 situated ahead of the platoon 110 in the driving direction 105.

The processor 720 may thus be further configured for receiving a request for vehicle relat- ed information, relevant for the topology of the upcoming road section 220-2, from the cen- tral node 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, 380. The processor 720 may in addition be configured for determining a set of vehicle related information, relevant for the vehicle performance in the upcoming road section 220-2 based on topography of the upcoming road section 220-2.

Furthermore, the processor 720 may in addition be configured for transmitting the deter- mined set of vehicle related information, via a signal transmitter 730, to be received by the central node 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, 380. Also, the processor 720 may be configured for re- ceiving an instruction from the central node 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, 380, via the receiving cir- 27 10 15 20 25 30 35 538 766 cuit 710, concerning a velocity profile to be used by the vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110 upon arrival at the upcoming road section 220-2.

Such processor 720 may comprise one or more instances of a processing circuit, i.e. a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a processing unit, a processing circuit, a processor, an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a microprocessor, or other processing logic that may interpret and execute instructions. The herein utilised expression “processor" may thus represent a processing circuitry comprising a plurality of processing circuits, such as, e.g., any, some or all of the ones enumerated above.

Furthermore, the computing unit 390 may comprise a memory 725 in some embodiments.

The optional memory 725 may comprise a physical device utilised to store data or pro- grams, i.e., sequences of instructions, on a temporary or permanent basis. According to some embodiments, the memory 725 may comprise integrated circuits comprising silicon- based transistors. The memory 725 may comprise e.g. a memory card, a flash memory, a USB memory, a hard disc, or another similar volatile or non-volatile storage unit for storing data such as e.g. ROM (Read-Only Memory), PROIVI (Programmable Read-Only Memory), EPROIVI (Erasable PROM), EEPROIVI (Electrically Erasable PROIVI), etc. in different em- bodiments.

Further, the computing unit 390 may comprise a signal transmitter 730. The signal trans- mitter 730 may be configured for transmitting a control signal over a wired or wireless inter- face to a wireless transmitter 360 which in turn may signal or broadcast wireless signals to vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 of the platoon 110 and/ or stationary central node 380.

The previously described steps 601-604 to be performed in the computing unit 390 may be implemented through the one or more processors 720 within the computing unit 390, to- gether with computer program product for performing at least some of the functions of the steps 601-604. Thus a computer program product, comprising instructions for performing the steps 601-604 in computing unit 390 may perform the method 600 comprising at least some of the steps 601-604 for determining a velocity profile for the vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in a platoon 110, comprising a grouped set of vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, for use in an upcoming road section 220-2, situated ahead of the platoon 110 in the driving direc- tion 105, when the computer program is loaded into the one or more processors 720 of the computing unit 390. 28 10 15 20 25 30 35 538 766 The computer program product mentioned above may be provided for instance in the form of a data carrier carrying computer program code for performing at least some of the step 601-604 according to some embodiments when being loaded into the one or more proces- sors 720 of the computing unit 390. The data carrier may be, e.g., a hard disk, a CD ROM disc, a memory stick, an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device or any other appropriate medium such as a disk or tape that may hold machine readable data in a non- transitory manner. The computer program product may furthermore be provided as com- puter program code on a server and downloaded to the computing unit 390 remotely, e.g., over an Internet or an intranet connection.

Further, some embodiments may comprise a vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 comprising a computing unit 390 as described above.

The terminology used in the description of the embodiments as illustrated in the accompa- nying drawings is not intended to be limiting of the described methods 400, 600; the control unit 310; the computing unit 390; the systems 500, 700; the computer programs; the vehi- cle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3; or the stationary central node 380. Various changes, substitutions or alterations may be made, without departing from invention embodiments as defined by the appended claims.

As used herein, the term "and/ or" comprises any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. The term "or" as used herein, is to be interpreted as a mathe- matical OR, i.e., as an inclusive disjunction; not as a mathematical exclusive OR (XOR), unless expressly stated othen/vise. ln addition, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are to be interpreted as “at least one", thus also possibly comprising a plurality of entities of the same kind, unless expressly stated otherwise. lt will be further understood that the terms "includes", "comprises", "including" or "comprising", specifies the presence of stated feat- ures, actions, integers, steps, operations, elements, or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, actions, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, or groups thereof. A single unit such as e.g. a processor may fulfil the functions of several items recited in the claims. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage. A computer program may be stored/ distrib- uted on a suitable medium, such as an optical storage medium or a solid-state medium supplied together with or as part of other hardware, but may also be distributed in other forms such as via Internet or other wired or wireless communication system. 29

Claims

10 15 20 25 30 35 538 766 PATENT CLAIMS

1. A method (400) in a central node (100-1, 100-2, 100-3, 380), for determining a velocity profile for each vehicle (100-1, 100-2, 100-3) comprised in a platoon (110) of grouped vehicles (100-1, 100-2, 100-3), for use in an upcoming road section (220-2), situ- ated ahead of the platoon (110) in the driving direction (105), wherein the method (400) comprises: transmitting (402) a request for vehicle related information, relevant for the vehicle performance in the upcoming road section (220-2) with regard to topology of the upcoming road section (220-2); receiving (403) the requested vehicle related information from at least one vehicle (100-1, 100-2, 100-3) in the platoon (110); determining (404) the velocity profile for each vehicle (100-1, 100-2, 100-3) in the platoon (110) to keep at the upcoming road section (220-2), in order to reduce a weighted sum of energy consumption and travel time of the platoon (110) with regard to topology of the upcoming road section (220-2), based on the received (403) vehicle related infor- mation; and instructing (405) each vehicle (100-1, 100-2, 100-3) in the platoon (110) to start using the determined (404) velocity profile upon arrival at the upcoming road section (220- 2).

2. The method (400) according to claim 1, wherein the velocity profile for each vehi- cle (100-1, 100-2, 100-3) in the platoon (110) is determined (404) so that minimum dis- tances (t1, t2) between the vehicles (100-1, 100-2, 100-3) in the platoon (110) is main- tained when passing the upcoming road section (220-2).

3. The method (400) according to any of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the velocity pro- file for each vehicle (100-1, 100-2, 100-3) in the platoon (110) is determined (404) so that all vehicles (100-1, 100-2, 100-3) in the platoon (110) are able to follow the respective de- termined (404) velocity profile and maintain maximum distances (t1, t2) to the vehicle (100- 1, 100-2, 100-3) in front when passing the upcoming road section (220-2).

4. The method (400) according to any of claims 1-3, further comprising extending the distances (t1, t2) between the vehicles (100-1, 100-2, 100-3) in the platoon (110), when an altitude difference between the highest and lowest point of the upcoming road section (220- 2) exceeds a threshold value. 30 10 15 20 25 30 35 538 766

5. The method (400) according to any of claims 1-4, wherein the requested vehicle related information comprises modes or states of the respective vehicle (100-1, 100-2, 100- 3), gear ratios in the gearbox of the respective vehicle (100-1, 100-2, 100-3), minimum and maximum speed of the respective vehicle (100-1, 100-2, 100-3), air drag, speed- and load- dependent losses, cooling/ heating requirements, maximum torque curve, information con- cerning the relation between torque, engine speed and energy consumption, gear-shift timing, gear shift time, charging level of batteries, pressure level of pneumatic reservoir, emissions and similar information relevant for the vehicle performance on the upcoming road section (220-2).

6. The method (400) according to any of claims 1-5, further comprising distributing (401) geographical information defining the upcoming road section (220-2).

7. The method (400) according to any of claims 1-6, wherein upon arriving at the upcoming road section (220-2), the method (400) is repeated for determining a velocity profile for each vehicle (100-1, 100-2, 100-3) comprised in a platoon (110), for use in a further upcoming road section (220-3), situated ahead of the platoon (110) in the driving direction (105).

8. A control unit (310) in a central node (100-1, 100-2, 100-3, 380), for determining a velocity profile for each vehicle (100-1, 100-2, 100-3) comprised in a platoon (110) of grouped vehicles (100-1, 100-2, 100-3), for use in an upcoming road section (220-2), situ- ated ahead of the platoon (110) in the driving direction (105), wherein the control unit (310) is configured for transmitting a request for vehicle related information, relevant for the vehi- cle performance in the upcoming road section (220-2) with regard to topology of the up- coming road section (220-2); and in addition configured for receiving the requested vehicle related information from at least one vehicle (100-1, 100-2, 100-3) in the platoon (110); and also configured for determining the velocity profile for each vehicle (100-1, 100-2, 100-3) in the platoon (110) to keep at the upcoming road section (220-2), in order to reduce a weighted sum of energy consumption and travel time of the platoon (110) with regard to topology of the upcoming road section (220-2), based on the received vehicle related in- formation; and furthermore configured for instructing each vehicle (100-1, 100-2, 100-3) comprised in the platoon (110) to start using the determined velocity profile upon arrival at the upcoming road section (220-2). 31 10 15 20 25 30 35 538 766

9. A computer program comprising program code for performing a method (400) ac- cording to any of claims 1-7 when the computer program is executed in the control unit (310), according to claim 8.

10. A vehicle (100-1, 100-2, 100-3) comprising a control unit (310) according to claim 8.

11. A stationary central node (380) comprising a control unit (310) according to claim 8.

12. A method (600) in a vehicle (100-1, 100-2, 100-3) in a platoon (110) of grouped vehicles (100-1, 100-2, 100-3), for assisting a central node (100-1, 100-2, 100-3, 380) in determining a velocity profile for each vehicle (100-1, 100-2, 100-3) in the platoon (110), for use in an upcoming road section (220-2) situated ahead of the platoon (110) in the driving direction (105), wherein the method (600) comprises: receiving (601) a request for vehicle related information, relevant for the topology of the upcoming road section (220-2), from the central node (100-1, 100-2, 100-3, 380); determining (602) a set of vehicle related information, relevant for the vehicle per- formance in the upcoming road section (220-2), based on topography of the upcoming road section (220-2); transmitting (603) the determined (602) set of vehicle related information, to be received by the central node (100-1, 100-2, 100-3, 380); and receiving (604) an instruction from the central node (100-1, 100-2, 100-3, 380), concerning a velocity profile to be used by the vehicle (100-1, 100-2, 100-3) upon arrival to the upcoming road section (220-2).

13. information comprises modes or states of the vehicle (100-1, 100-2, 100-3), gear ratios in The method (600) according to claims 12, wherein the requested vehicle related the gearbox of the vehicle (100-1, 100-2, 100-3), minimum and maximum speed of the ve- hicle (100-1, 100-2, 100-3), air drag, speed- and load-dependent losses, cooling/ heating requirements, maximum torque curve, information concerning the relation between torque, engine speed and energy consumption, gear-shift timing, gear shift time, charging level of batteries, pressure level of pneumatic reservoir, exhaust after treatment system tempera- ture, emissions and similar information relevant for vehicle performance on the upcoming road section (220-2). 32 10 15 20 538 766

14. A computing unit (390) in a vehicle (100-1, 100-2, 100-3) in a platoon (110) of grouped vehicles (100-1, 100-2, 100-3), configured for assisting a central node (100-1, 100-2, 100-3, 380) in determining a velocity profile for each vehicle (100-1, 100-2, 100-3) in the platoon (110), for use in an upcoming road section (220-2) situated ahead of the pla- toon (110) in the driving direction (105), wherein the computing unit (390) is configured for receiving a request for vehicle related information, relevant for the topology of the upcom- ing road section (220-2), from the central node (100-1, 100-2, 100-3, 380); and also for determining a set of vehicle related information, relevant for the vehicle performance in the upcoming road section (220-2) based on topography of the upcoming road section (220-2); and additionally also for transmitting the determined set of vehicle related information, to be received by the central node (100-1, 100-2, 100-3, 380); and further configured for receiv- ing an instruction from the central node (100-1, 100-2, 100-3, 380), concerning a velocity profile to be used by the vehicle (100-1, 100-2, 100-3) upon arrival at the upcoming road section (220-2).

15. cording to any of claims 12-13 when the computer program is executed in the computing A computer program comprising program code for performing a method (600) ac- unit (390), according to claim 14.

16. A vehicle (100) comprising a computing unit (390) according to claim 14. 33