SE540720C2

SE540720C2 - Method and control unit for safe changing of driving lanes for a vehicle in a platoon

Info

Publication number: SE540720C2
Application number: SE1650339A
Authority: SE
Inventors: Alam Assad; Jeddi-Tehrani Maisam
Original assignee: Scania Cv Ab
Priority date: 2016-03-14
Filing date: 2016-03-14
Publication date: 2018-10-23
Also published as: DE102017001878A1; SE1650339A1

Abstract

Method (500) and control unit (410), for facilitating exit of a vehicle platoon (110) of a vehicle (100-2) comprised in the platoon (110) by changing driving lanes (210, 220). The method (500) comprises: calculating (501) a first time period required for the vehicle (100-2) to change driving lanes (210, 220); detecting (502) an oncoming vehicle (200) in the target driving lane (220); estimating (503) a second time period for the detected (502) oncoming vehicle (200) in the target driving lane (220) to catch up with the vehicle (100-2); and outputting (505) information concerning driving lane change to the driver of the vehicle (100-2), based on the time difference between the calculated (501) first time period and the estimated (503) second time period.

Description

METHOD AND CONTROL UNIT FOR SAFE CHANGING OF DRIVING LANES FOR A VE-HICLE IN A PLATOON TECHNICAL FIELD This document discloses a control unit and a method in a control unit. More particularly, a method and a control unit is provided, for facilitating exit of a vehicle platoon of a vehicle comprised in the platoon by changing driving lanes.

BACKGROUND Safety is one of the main aspects that must be considered when operating a vehicle, such as e.g. a truck, a bus, a car, a motorcycle etc. Therefore, it must be taken under special consideration when designing automated systems for governing vehicles that operate in a platoon formation. Vehicles participating in a platoon may communicate wirelessly with each other, e.g. by Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) communication. Thereby, information may be sent from one vehicle in the platoon to the other vehicles e.g. when that vehicle brakes. Also other driving commands such as acceleration or turning may be transmitted from the vehicle to the other vehicles in the platoon.

It is then possible to obtain information from other vehicles in the platoon, which can add to drivers’ knowledge about what is happening in the platoon and the close environment and hence a safer driving experience can be obtained.

Most drivers are not aware of when they can leave/ abort the platoon while feeling confident that it is safe to do so. This is due to the fact that the knowledge about surrounding traffic can be severely obstructed with limited field of view when travelling in a platoon formation.

For example: if another vehicle is travelling at high speed in the platoon’s adjacent lane, the drivers needs to have the information whether it is safe to leave the platoon or not. Otherwise a collision might occur when a platooning vehicle is changing lane to leave the platoon because the high speeding vehicle was not detected in time. Furthermore, if leaving the platoon is automated, a control system needs to be able to guarantee that it is safe to do so, i.e. guaranteeing that a collision will not occur.

Document US 2014207325 describes a fully autonomous vehicle changing driving lanes. A control unit determines which segments of the road where a change of driving lanes may be made, based on information achieved from other vehicles. However, the document does not describe the particular situation in a platoon when a vehicle changes driving lanes. The behind vehicle must for example know if the vehicle is changing driving lanes due to an obstacle on the road (in such case, the behind vehicle should follow the ahead vehicle and also change driving lanes), or due to the ahead vehicle is leaving the platoon (then the behind vehicle should close the gap to the vehicle ahead for reducing air drag and avoiding that another vehicle occupies the gap).

Further the solution in the cited document is based on V2V communication between vehicles. However, one or several of the involved vehicles may lack V2V communication ability, no solution is then provided.

In addition, the cited document only discusses an autonomous vehicle changing driving lanes, not how a support may be provided to a driver when changing driving lanes for exiting a platoon, warning him/ her for an upcoming vehicle from behind.

It appears that further development is required for improving traffic safety when a vehicle is leaving a platoon.

SUMMARY It is therefore an object of this invention to solve at least some of the above problems and improve traffic safety when a vehicle is leaving a platoon.

According to a first aspect of the invention, this objective is achieved by a method in a control unit in a vehicle. The vehicle is comprised in a group of coordinated vehicles in a formation. The method aims at facilitating exit of a vehicle platoon of a vehicle comprised in the platoon. The vehicle exits the platoon by changing driving lanes. The method comprises calculating a first time period required for the vehicle to change driving lanes. Further, the method comprises detecting an oncoming vehicle in the target driving lane. The method also comprises estimating a second time period for the detected oncoming vehicle in the target driving lane to catch up with the vehicle. Furthermore, the method also comprises outputting information concerning driving lane change to the driver of the vehicle, based on the time difference between the calculated first time period and the estimated second time period.

According to a second aspect of the invention, this objective is achieved by a control unit in a vehicle. The vehicle is comprised in a vehicle platoon in a formation. The control unit aims at facilitating vehicle exit of the vehicle platoon by changing driving lanes. The control unit is configured to calculate a first time period required for the vehicle to change driving lanes. Further the control unit is configured to detect an oncoming vehicle in the target driving lane.

In addition, the control unit is further configured to estimate a second time period for the detected oncoming vehicle in the target driving lane to catch up with the vehicle. Also, the control unit is configured to output information concerning driving lane change to the driver of the vehicle, based on the time difference between the calculated first time period and the estimated second time period.

Thanks to the described aspects, by detecting obstacles in a target driving lane and presenting the result of such detection, an aiding appliance is provided for assisting a driver of a vehicle in a platoon. By estimating the time it will take for the vehicle to change driving lanes and also estimating the time it will take for a detected upcoming vehicle in the target driving lane to catch up and pass the vehicle in the platoon, and compare these time periods, it could be assessed if it is safe for the vehicle to exit the platoon or not. By providing this information to the driver, accidents associated with platoon exit are avoided. Further, by providing the information also to the other vehicles in the platoon, the drivers of these vehicles becomes aware that the vehicle is going to leave the platoon. Thereby any misunderstandings could be avoided. Also, the gap arising when the vehicle leave the platoon could instantly be closed by the behind vehicle, thereby reducing air resistance and also preventing that any other vehicle occupies the gap. Thereby traffic safety is enhanced.

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: Figure 1 illustrates a side view of a vehicle platoon according to an embodiment; Figure 2 illustrates a vehicle platoon according to an embodiment, seen from above; Figure 3 illustrates a vehicle platoon according to an embodiment, seen from above; Figure 4 illustrates a vehicle interior according to an embodiment; Figure 5 is a flow chart illustrating an embodiment of the method; Figure 6 is an illustration depicting a system according to an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Embodiments of the invention described herein are defined as a control unit and a method in a control unit, 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 limited 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 description, considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It 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 wherein a number of vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, driving in a driving direction 105, with an inter-vehicular distance t1, t2. The vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 are coordinated and organised in a platoon 110.

The platoon 110, or coordinated group of vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 may be described as a chain of coordinated, inter-communicating vehicles 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. Thus the distances t1, t2 may be e.g. some centimetres, some decimetres, some meters or some tenths of meters in different embodiments. 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 to other vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the coordinated group 110.

The vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 may comprise e.g. a truck, a car, a multi-passenger vehicle such as a bus, a coach or any similar vehicle or other means of conveyance. The vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110 may comprise vehicles of the same, or different types in different embodiments.

The vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 may be driver controlled or driverless autonomously controlled vehicles in different embodiments. However, for enhanced clarity, the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 are subsequently described as having a driver, at least in the leading vehicle 100-1.

The vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110 may be coordinated via a wireless signal. Such wireless signal may comprise, or at least be inspired by wireless communication technology such as Wi-Fi, Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), Bluetooth (BT), Near Field Communication (NFC), Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID), optical communication such as Infrared Data Association (IrDA) or infrared transmission to name but a few possible examples of wireless communications in some embodiments.

In some embodiments, the communication between vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110 may be performed via vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, e.g. based on Dedicated Short-Range Communications (DSRC) devices. DSRC works in 5.9 GHz band with bandwidth of 75 MHz and approximate range of 1000 m in some embodiments.

The wireless communication may be made according to any IEEE standard for wireless vehicular communication like e.g. a special mode of operation of IEEE 802.11 for vehicular networks called Wireless Access in Vehicular Environments (WAVE). IEEE 802.11p is an extension to 802.11 Wireless LAN medium access layer (MAC) and physical layer (PHY) specification.

The communication may alternatively be made over a wireless interface comprising, or at least being inspired by radio access technologies such as e.g. 3GPP LTE, LTE-Advanced, E-UTRAN, UMTS, GSM, GSM/ EDGE, WCDMA, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) networks, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) networks, Orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) networks, Single-Carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) networks, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), or Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA), Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), GSM EDGE Radio Access Network (GERAN), 3GPP2 CDMA technologies, e.g., CDMA2000 1x RTT and High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), or similar, just to mention some few options, via a wireless communication network.

With the help of a sensor such as e.g. a camera and / or a side looking radar or similar, a vehicle in an adjacent lane may be detected when it passes a platooning vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3. Furthermore, information about the car’s velocity and position relative to the platoon 110 can also be obtained through these sensors. Thereby, the distance to one of the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, which is going to leave the platoon 110, is transmitted wirelessly to the other vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110. Taking the relative distance and velocity, possible along with e.g. the curvature of the road, a suitable algorithm may calculate whether it is safe to leave the platoon 110 or not. This is further exemplified in Figure 2.

Figure 2 illustrates the platoon 110 of Figure 1 as seen from above, when driving in a curve. The platoon 110 comprising the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 is driving in a driving lane 210.

One of the vehicles 100-2 intends to leave the platoon 110 by turning the vehicle 100-2 into a target lane 220.

As illustrated by the dotted lines in Figure 2, the driver of the vehicle 100-2 in the platoon 110 may have a limited view of the surrounding traffic situation in particular when driving in the platoon 110, and even more in particular when driving in a curve. In this case, the driver of the vehicle 100-2 cannot see an approaching vehicle 200 in the target lane 220 before having turned the vehicle 100-2 at least partly into the target lane 220, which may be too late for avoiding an accident.

Another problem in the illustrated scenario is for the driver in the upcoming vehicle 200 to see the blinkers of the vehicle 100-2, which is going to turn into the target lane 220.

An algorithm, according to some embodiments, is calculating the time it will take for the vehicle 100-2 to leave the platoon 110, i.e. change the lanes 210, 220. Further, it is calculated how long time it will take for the oncoming vehicle 200 in the target lane 220 to be in the same position based on its speed, relative distance between the vehicles 200, 100-2 and road properties such as e.g. curvature or hill. The computed time periods are then compared and it may be determined to execute or not to execute the lane change, i.e. leaving the platoon 110, based on the computed time periods.

The algorithm may in some embodiments be aggressive, i.e. make the lane change even though there is a risk of collision. In this case, line of sight and other road conditions such as if the road is dry (weather conditions), the curvature etc., may be taken into consideration. If the risk is low, then the manoeuvre can be carried out on the assumption that the speeding vehicle 200 approaching the same point will be able to slow down.

The information for detecting whether there is an oncoming vehicle 200 that might collide with the platooning vehicle 100-2 if the driver decides to change lanes 210, 220 can be a warning (visual, audible, haptic or any combination thereof) in some embodiments. In this case, the information may be displayed in at least some of the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 participating in the platoon 110. If the driver of one of the vehicles 100-2 intends to leave the platoon 110, which is detected e.g. by the driver hitting the indicator light or sensors (cameras or radar) detect that the lane marking has been crossed, a warning may be displayed.

On the other hand, the system may be automated and then the active steering might prohibit the lane change to be allowed. In this case the oncoming vehicle 200 can still be displayed to justify the action performed by the active steering or not in different embodiments.

A significant number of accidents may be prevented with a system that aids the driver to know when it is safe to leave the platoon 110. Thereby, safety, economy and environment benefit, since harsh (and potentially hazardous) braking can be avoided.

By providing information that one vehicle 100-2 is going to leave the platoon 110, to at least the behind vehicle 100-3 in the platoon 110, that vehicle 100-3 may close the gap to the in front vehicle 100-1. Thereby, air resistance is reduced for the behind vehicle 100-3, as well as for the platoon 110 as a whole. It is also avoided that another vehicle place itself in the gap between the remaining vehicles 100-1, 100-3 in the platoon 110, splitting up the platoon 110 and reducing the gain in reduced air resistance, in particular when the intervening vehicle is of another (smaller) type such as a motorcycle or car.

Figure 3 discloses the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110 driving in the driving direction 105.

At least one sensor 310-1, 310-2, 310-3 may be placed on at least one of the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110, for detecting the overtaking vehicle 200 in the target driving lane, at the side of the platoon 110 or approaching from behind. Such sensor 310-1, 310-2, 310-3 may be based on electromagnetic radiation and may comprise e.g. a radar unit for emitting radio signals and receiving reflections of the emitted signals, in some embodiments. However, such sensor may comprise a camera in combination with an image interpretation program in some embodiments, and / or a laser; or a combination of different kinds of sensors for detecting other vehicles/ road users 200.

Besides comprising a camera, the sensor 310-1, 310-2, 310-3 in other embodiments may comprise e.g. a stereo camera, a film camera, or similar device based on radar, infra-red light or micro waves.

In some embodiments, the sensor 310-1, 310-2, 310-3 may comprise, or cooperate with another sensor based on laser, radar or microwaves, for determining the presence and / or distance to the overtaking vehicle 200.

Figure 4 illustrates an example of a scenario as illustrated in any of Figure 2 and / or Figure 3, as it may be perceived by the driver of the vehicle 100-2, i.e. the vehicle 100-2 wherein the driver desires to leave the platoon 110.

In the discussed examples, the vehicle 100-2 is intending to leave the platoon 110 by changing driving lanes 210, 220 by turning to the left, in the driving direction 105. However, the vehicle 100-2 may also leave the platoon 110 by turning right, e.g. to a highway exit. The problem of detecting an upcoming or overtaking vehicle 200 from behind remains, as many vehicles 200 in reality overtake on the inside (although not legal). Also, in some legislations such as Sweden, bus lanes and / or bicycle paths are often situated inside of the rightmost driving lane 210 for other vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3.

The vehicle 100-2 comprises a control unit 410. The control unit 410 is a computational device for facilitating for the driver of the vehicle 100-2 to leave the vehicle platoon 110 by changing driving lanes 210, 220. The control unit 410 may receive signals over a wired or wireless communication interface, e.g. as any of the previously discussed, from the sensor 310-1, 310-2, 310-3 in the own vehicle 100-2, and / or other vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110.

The sensor 310-1, 310-2, 310-3 may be directed towards the target driving lane 220, possibly directed slightly backwards, in relation to the driving direction 105, in order to detect the overtaking vehicle 200.

Based on the received sensor detection values and computations concerning the time it is estimated for the vehicle 100-2 to leave the platoon 110 and change driving lanes 210, 220, and also an estimation of the relative velocity between the vehicles 100-2, 200. It may thereby be estimated if the vehicle 100-2 can drive into the target driving lane 220 without risking a collision with the overtaking vehicle 200.

The result of the estimation may be disclosed to the driver of the vehicle 100-2, e.g. on a display 420, and / or a loudspeaker 430. In some embodiments, the result of the estimation may be disclosed also to other vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110. Thereby, the driver may be warned from making a driving lane shift when the vehicle 200 has been detected at the target driving lane 220 and a collision is impending. The vehicle 100-2 may in addition, or alternatively, comprise a haptic interface, for haptic communication with the driver, e.g. via a tactile device in the driving chair or other vehicle part in physical contact with the driver, warning him/ her from changing driving lanes 210, 220.

In some embodiments, when the detected vehicle 200 in the target driving lane 220 is travelling with a relative low velocity, it is safe to change driving lanes 210, 220. This may be illustrated with a colour indication on the display 420, e.g. by using green colour.

In some embodiments, when the detected vehicle 200 in the target driving lane 220 is travelling a bit faster, but the detected vehicle 200 is estimated to have time to see the vehicle 100-2, react and brake, another colour on the display 420 may be used for indicating the riskiness of the driving lane change.

Further, in case it is not possible to avoid a collision with the vehicle 200 when leaving the platoon 110, a warning message is presented on the display 420, e.g. by using red colour; by an audio signal; by a haptic signal and / or a combination of these alerting methods.

Figure 5 illustrates an example of a method 500 according to an embodiment. The flow chart in Figure 5 shows the method 500 in a control unit 110. The control unit 110 may in some embodiments be comprised in a vehicle 100-2, comprised in a group 110 of coordinated vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in a formation, i.e. one vehicle after another in a queue sequence (vehicle platoon 110).

The method 500 aims at facilitating exit of a vehicle platoon 110 of a vehicle 100-2 comprised in the platoon 110 by changing driving lanes 210, 220.

The vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110 may be any arbitrary kind of means for conveyance. However, in some particular embodiments, the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 may be vehicles for public transportation of passengers such as busses, coaches or similar; or for transportation of goods such as a truck, trailer etc. The vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 may communicate with each other via wireless signals transmitted on any of the previously mentioned wireless interfaces, or e.g. by infrared light.

In order to be able to facilitate exit of the vehicle platoon 110, the method 500 may comprise a number of steps 501-505. However, some of these steps 501-505 may be performed solely in some alternative embodiments, like e.g. step 504. Further, the described steps 501-505 may be performed in a somewhat different chronological order than the numbering suggests. The method 500 may comprise the subsequent steps: Step 501 comprises calculating a first time period required for the vehicle 100-2 to change driving lanes 210, 220.

The calculation may be based on current vehicle/ platoon velocity, vehicle weight, engine capacity of the vehicle 100-2, vehicle constraints of the vehicle 100-2, curvature of the road in front and similar factors influencing the first time period.

Step 502 comprises detecting an oncoming vehicle 200 in the target driving lane 220.

The oncoming vehicle 200 may be detected via one or more sensors 310-1, 310-2, 310-3 comprised in one or more of the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110.

Such sensor 310-1, 310-2, 310-3 may be based on electromagnetic radiation such as e.g. radar. However, such detection may alternatively be made by visual detection made by a camera, in combination with an image recognition program; by a sensor based on infra-red light, laser or micro waves; and / or by a tomographic motion detection system based on detection of radio wave disturbances, in different embodiments.

Step 503 comprises estimating a second time period for the detected 502 oncoming vehicle 200 in the target driving lane 220 to catch up with and / or pass the vehicle 100-2.

Further the estimation of the second period may be based on vehicle speed of the vehicles 100-2, 200, relative distance between vehicles 100-2, 200 and / or road properties such as curvature.

Step 504, which may be performed only in some embodiments, comprises estimating a third time period for the detected oncoming vehicle 200 to notice an initiated driving lane change in addition to a velocity adjustment to the velocity of the vehicle 100-2.

Further the estimation of the third period may be based on vehicle speed of the vehicles 100-2, 200, relative distance between vehicles 100-2, 200 and / or road properties such as curvature.

Step 505 comprises outputting information concerning driving lane change to the driver of the vehicle 100-2, based on the time difference between the calculated 501 first time period and the estimated 503 second time period.

The outputted information concerning driving lane change comprises a visual indication of the target driving lane 220 and any vehicle 200 therein. Further, a visual indication may comprise different colours such as e.g. green when it is OK for the vehicle 100-2 to change driving lanes 210, 220 and thereby leave the platoon 110; yellow when it is OK to change driving lanes 210, 220 but the vehicle 200 approaching from behind in the target driving lane 220 may have to slow down/ brake; and / or red when the vehicle 100-2 may cause an accident with the approaching vehicle 200 in the target driving lane 220 if trying to change driving lanes 210, 220.

The information may be outputted to other vehicles 100-1, 100-3 in the platoon 110, in some embodiments. Thereby the other vehicles 100-1, 100-3, in particular vehicles 100-3 driving behind the exiting vehicle 100-2 becomes aware of the situation and can prepare for closing the gap in the platoon formation. Thereby fuel consumption is reduced. It is also avoided that another vehicle (not belonging to the platoon 110) occupies the gap.

Further the information may comprise an alert, warning the driver from changing driving lanes 210, 220 when the first time period is smaller than the second time period and / or the third time period.

The information may comprise a recommendation to the driver of the vehicle 100-2 for changing driving lanes 210, 220 when the first time period is smaller than the second time period in addition to a safety margin.

The safety margin may be based on road conditions such as e.g. temperature, air humidity, road humidity, curvature, velocity of any of the vehicles, line of sight, precipitation.

In some embodiments wherein step 504 has been performed, the information concerning driving lane change may be made when the first time period is smaller than the third time period in addition to a safety margin.

Figure 6 presents a system 600. The system 600 aims at facilitating exit of a vehicle platoon 110 of a vehicle 100-2 comprised in the platoon 110 by changing driving lanes 210, 220.

Further the system 600 comprises a control unit 410 for performing the method 500 according to any of the previously described steps 501-505 as described above and illustrated in Figure 5. Thus the control unit 410 aims at facilitating exit of a vehicle platoon 110 of a vehicle 100-2 comprised in the platoon 110 by changing driving lanes 210, 220.

The control unit 410 is configured to calculate a first time period required for the vehicle 100-2 to change driving lanes 210, 220. The control unit 410 is also configured to detect an oncoming vehicle 200 in the target driving lane 220. Further the control unit 410 is additionally configured to estimate a second time period for the detected oncoming vehicle 200 in the target driving lane 220 to catch up and pass the vehicle 100-2. The control unit 410 is furthermore configured to output information concerning driving lane change to the driver of the vehicle 100-2, based on the time difference between the calculated first time period and the estimated second time period.

The control unit 410 may in some embodiments be further configured to output information concerning driving lane change comprises a visual indication of the target driving lane 220 and any vehicle 200 therein.

Also, the control unit 410 may be further configured to estimate a third time period for the detected oncoming vehicle 200 to notice an initiated driving lane change in addition to a velocity adjustment to the velocity of the vehicle 100-2.

The system 600 also comprises a sensor 310-1, 310-2, 310-3, arranged on any vehicle 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110.

Also, the system 600 comprises a display 420, arranged in the vehicle 100-2 configured to output information concerning driving lane change to the driver of the vehicle 100-2.

The control unit 410 may comprise a receiver 610 configured for receiving information from sensors 310-1, 310-2, 210-3 of other vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110.

The control unit 410 further may comprise a processor 620 configured for performing various calculations for conducting the method 500 according to at least some of steps 501-505.

Such processor 620 may comprise one or more instances of a processing circuit, i.e. a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a processing unit, 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 410 may comprise a memory 625 in some embodiments. The optional memory 625 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 embodiments, the memory 625 may comprise integrated circuits comprising silicon-based transistors. The memory 625 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), PROM (Programmable Read-Only Memory), EPROM (Erasable PROM), EEPROM (Electrically Erasable PROM), etc. in different embodiments.

Further, the control unit 410 may comprise a signal transmitter 630. The signal transmitter 630 may be configured for transmitting a signal to be received by the display 420 in the vehicle 100-2, and / or displays in other vehicles 100-1, 100-2, 100-3 in the platoon 110.

The previously described steps 501-505 to be performed in the control unit 410 may be implemented through the one or more processors 620 within the control unit 410, together with computer program product for performing at least some of the functions of the steps 501-505. Thus a computer program product, comprising instructions for performing the steps 501-505 in the control unit 410 may perform the method 500 comprising at least some of the steps 501-505 for facilitating exit of a vehicle platoon 110, when the computer program is loaded into the one or more processors 620 of the control unit 410.

The described steps 501-505 thus may be performed by a computer algorithm, a machine executable code, a non-transitory computer-readable medium, or a software instructions programmed into a suitable programmable logic such as the processor 620 in the control unit 410.

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 501-505 according to some embodiments when being loaded into the one or more processors 620 of the control unit 410. 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 computer program code on a server and downloaded to the control unit 410 remotely, e.g., over an Internet or an intranet connection.

Further, some embodiments may comprise a vehicle 100-2, comprising the control unit 410, as described above, for performing the method according to at least some of the described steps 501-505.

The terminology used in the description of the embodiments as illustrated in the accompanying drawings is not intended to be limiting of the described method 500, control unit 410; computer program, and/ or system 600. Various changes, substitutions and/ 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 mathematical OR, i.e., as an inclusive disjunction; not as a mathematical exclusive OR (XOR), unless expressly stated otherwise. In 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. It will be further understood that the terms "includes", "comprises", "including" and / or "comprising", specifies the presence of stated features, actions, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, actions, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / 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/ distributed 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.

Claims

PATENT CLAIMS

1. A method (500) for facilitating exit of a vehicle platoon (110) of a vehicle (100-2) comprised in the platoon (110) by changing driving lanes (210, 220), wherein the method (500) comprises: calculating (501) a first time period required for the vehicle (100-2) to change driving lanes (210, 220); detecting (502) an oncoming vehicle (200) in the target driving lane (220); estimating (503) a second time period for the detected (502) oncoming vehicle (200) in the target driving lane (220) to catch up with the vehicle (100-2); and outputting (505) information concerning driving lane change to the driver of the vehicle (100-2) and to other vehicles (100-1, 100-3) in the platoon (110), based on the time difference between the calculated (501) first time period and the estimated (503) second time period.

2. The method (500) according to claim 1 wherein the outputted (505) information concerning driving lane change comprises a visual indication of the target driving lane (220) and any vehicle (200) therein.

3. The method (500) according to any of claim 1 or claim 2 further comprising: estimating (504) a third time period for the detected oncoming vehicle (200) to notice an initiated driving lane change in addition to a velocity adjustment to the velocity of the vehicle (100-2); and wherein the information concerning driving lane change is outputted (505) when the first time period is smaller than the third time period in addition to a safety margin.

4. The method (500) according to any of claims 1-3 wherein said information comprises an alert, warning the driver from changing driving lanes (210, 220) when the first time period is smaller than the second time period and / or the third time period.

5. The method (500) according to any of claims 1-3 wherein said information comprises a recommendation to the driver of the vehicle (100-2) for changing driving lanes (210, 220) when the first time period is smaller than the second time period in addition to a safety margin.

6. The method (500) according to any of claims 3-5 wherein the safety margin is based on road conditions such as temperature, air humidity, road humidity, curvature, velocity of any of the vehicles, line of sight, precipitation.

7. The method (500) according to any of claims 1-6 wherein the estimation (503, 504) of the second and / or third period is based on vehicle speed, relative distance between vehicles (100-2, 200) and / or road properties.

8. The method (500) according to any of claims 1-7 wherein the oncoming vehicle (200) in the target driving lane (220) is detected (502) via a sensor (310-1, 310-2, 310-3) situated on another vehicle (100-1, 100-2, 100-3) in the platoon (110).

9. A control unit (410) in a vehicle (100-2), for facilitating exit of a vehicle platoon (110) of a vehicle (100-2) comprised in the platoon (110) by changing driving lanes (210, 220), which control unit (410) is configured to: calculate a first time period required for the vehicle (100-2) to change driving lanes (210, 220); detect an oncoming vehicle (200) in the target driving lane (220); estimate a second time period for the detected oncoming vehicle (200) in the target driving lane (220) to catch up with the vehicle (100-2); and output information concerning driving lane change to the driver of the vehicle (100-2) and to other vehicles (100-1, 100-3) in the platoon (110), based on the time difference between the calculated first time period and the estimated second time period.

10. The control unit (410) according to claim 9, further configured to output information concerning driving lane change comprises a visual indication of the target driving lane (220) and any vehicle (200) therein.

11. The control unit (410) according to any of claim 9 or claim 10, further configured to: estimate a third time period for the detected oncoming vehicle (200) to notice an initiated driving lane change in addition to a velocity adjustment to the velocity of the vehicle (100-2); and wherein the information concerning driving lane change is outputted when the first time period is smaller than the third time period in addition to a safety margin.

12. The control unit (410) according to any of claims 9-11, further configured to: detect the oncoming vehicle (200) in the target driving lane (220) via a sensor (310-1, 310-2, 310-3) situated on another vehicle (100-1, 100-2, 100-3) in the platoon (110);

13. A computer program comprising program code for performing a method (500) according to any of claims 1-8 when the computer program is executed in a processor in a control unit (410), according to any of claims 9-12.

14. A system (600) for facilitating exit of a vehicle platoon (110) of a vehicle (100-2) comprised in the platoon (110) by changing driving lanes (210, 220), which system (600) comprises: a control unit (410), according to any of claims 9-12; a sensor (310-1, 310-2, 310-3), arranged on any vehicle (100-1, 100-2, 100-3) in the platoon (110); and a display (420), arranged in the vehicle (100-2) configured to output information concerning driving lane change to the driver of the vehicle (100-2).