SE544205C2

SE544205C2 - Dooring avoidance for autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicles

Info

Publication number: SE544205C2
Application number: SE1950990A
Authority: SE
Inventors: Assad Alam; Christoffer Norén; Col Laura Dal; Michael Åström
Original assignee: Scania Cv Ab
Priority date: 2019-08-30
Filing date: 2019-08-30
Publication date: 2022-03-01
Also published as: SE1950990A1; CN112440987A; DE102020003971A1

Abstract

The disclosure relates to a method (600), performed by a control unit (100) adapted to be comprised in a vehicle (120), for notifying geographically adjacent vehicles (128, 129) of door information, the method comprising receiving (610) characteristics data indicative of characteristics of the vehicle (120), determining (620) door information using the characteristics data, notifying (630) the plurality of vehicles (128, 129) of the door information by transmitting a wireless signal comprising the door information.

Description

DOORING AVOIDANCE FOR AUTONOMOUS AND SEMI-AUTONOMOUSVEHICLES TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a control unit configured for controlling movement of a vehicle.ln particular controlling a vehicle to avoid dooring, or collision with a suddenly opening door ofa stationary vehicle. The invention further relates to a vehicle comprising the control unit and a corresponding method of the control unit.

BACKGROUND As autonomously controlled vehicles as well as well as manually controlled vehicles areprovided with more sophisticated control, assistance or warning systems, further traffic oraccident scenarios are addressed. Afrequent type of accident occurring in urban environmentsis dooring. Dooring is a traffic collision or crash in Which road vehicle collides With a motorvehicle's door, typically caused by a human in a stationary vehicle failing to check forapproaching traffic and unexpectedly opens a vehicle door. The term dooring is also typicallyapplied when such an unexpected door opening causes the oncoming vehicle to swerve to avoid collision, potentially causing a crash or secondary collision with third party vehicles.

Conventional systems may address this by associating a safety zone having a static size toidentified stationary objects. The drawback of such solutions is that all stationary vehicles aretreated the same, regardless if there are occupants in the vehicle or not. This may causeunnecessary reduction of speed of the vehicle, unnecessary lateral movement or even bring the vehicle to a halt.

A further drawback of such conventional systems is that the width of the door zone in whichthis can happen varies, depending upon the model of the stationary vehicle. Thus, the safety zone considered around a stationary vehicle is frequently either too large or too small.

Thus, there is a need for an improved method, control unit and vehicle for notifying geographically adjacent vehicles of door information.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION An objective of embodiments of the present invention is to provide a solution Which mitigates or solves the drawbacks described above.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The above and further objectives are achieved by the subject matter described herein. Further advantageous implementation forms of the invention are described herein.

According to a first aspect of the invention the objectives are achieved by a method performedby a control unit adapted to be comprised in a vehicle, for notifying geographically adjacentvehicles of door information, the method comprising receiving characteristics data indicativeof characteristics of the vehicle, determining door information using the characteristics data,where the door information comprises opening angle and door length of one or more doors ofthe stationarv vehicle, and notifying the plurality of vehicles of the door information bytransmitting a Wireless signal comprising the door information, thus enabling the geographicallv adiacent vehicles to determine the size of the safetv zone based on the opening angle and door length.

At least one advantage of this first aspect is that road safety is improved. A further advantageis that traffic flow is improved, as unnecessary lateral movements or speed adjustments are avoided by the moving vehicle by adapting the size of a safety zone dependent on a risk level.

According to a second aspect of the invention the objectives are achieved by a methodperformed by a control unit adapted to be comprised in a moving vehicle, and for receivingdoor information from a stationary vehicle, the door information comprising opening angle anddoor length of one or more doors of the stationarv vehicle, the method comprising receiving anotification by receiving a Wireless signal comprising door information, determining a size of asafety zone around the stationary vehicle dependent on the notification, controlling the vehicleby determining a target lateral position of the vehicle within boundaries of a road and outsideof the safety zone, reducing target speed of the vehicle or halting the vehicle, based on the received notification.

According to a third aspect of the invention the objectives are achieved by a method performedby a system for notifying geographically adjacent and moving vehicles of door information, themethod comprising notifying an adjacent and moving vehicle by transmitting a Wireless signalcomprising door information from a stationary vehicle, Where the door information comprises opening angle and door length of one or more doors of the stationarv vehicle. and. receiving a notification by receiving a wireless signal comprising th_edoor information by the adjacent andmoving vehicle, determining a size of a safety zone around the vehielestationaﬂ vehicle dependent on the notification, controlling the adjacent and movingvehicle by determining a target lateral position of the vehicle within boundaries of a road andoutside of the safety zone, reducing target speed of the vehicle or halting the vehicle, based on the received notification.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention the objectives are achieved by a control unitadapted to be comprised in a vehicle and configured to perform the method according to any of the first, second or third aspect.

According to a fifth aspect of the invention, the objectives are achieved by a vehicle comprising a control unit according to the fourth aspect.

According to a sixth aspect of the invention the objectives are achieved by a computer programcomprising computer-executable instructions for causing a control unit, when the computer-executable instructions are executed on processing circuitry comprised in the control unit, to perform any of the method steps according to any of the first, second or third aspect.

The scope of the invention is defined by the claims, which are incorporated into this section byreference. A more complete understanding of embodiments of the invention will be afforded tothose skilled in the art, as well as a realization of additional advantages thereof, by aconsideration of the following detailed description of one or more embodiments. Reference will be made to the appended sheets of drawings that will first be described briefly BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1A illustrates a first exemplary scenario where a vehicle is travelling on a road where a stationary car have all doors closed.

Fig. 1B illustrates a first exemplary scenario where a vehicle is travelling on a road where a stationary car have a door opened.

Fig. 2 shows a vehicle comprising a control unit according to one or more embodiments of the present invention.

Fig. 3 shows a system for notifying geographically adjacent and moving vehicles according to one or more embodiments of the present invention.Fig. 4 illustrates how safety zones are determined in proportion to determined risk levels.Fig. 5 shows a control unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 6 shows a block diagram of a method according to one or more embodiments of the present invention.

Fig. 7 shows a block diagram of a method according to one or more embodiments of the present invention.

Fig. 8 shows a block diagram of a method according to one or more embodiments of the present invention.

A more complete understanding of embodiments of the invention will be afforded to thoseskilled in the art, as well as a realization of additional advantages thereof, by a considerationof the following detailed description of one or more embodiments. lt should be appreciated thatlike reference numerals are used to identify like elements illustrated in one or more of the figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION An ”or” in this description and the corresponding claims is to be understood as a mathematicalOR which covers ”and” and ”or”, and is not to be understand as an XOR (exclusive OR). Theindefinite article ”a” in this disclosure and claims is not limited to ”one” and can also be understood as ”one or more”, i.e., plural. ln the present disclosure the term ”target lateral position” signifies a target location at a giventime, towards which the vehicle maneuvering system attempts to control the vehicle. Multipletarget lateral positions effectively form a target path, as further illustrated by the arrow 190 inFig. 1A an 1B.

Fig. 1A illustrates a first exemplary scenario where a vehicle 128 is travelling, e.g. on a road,where a stationary car 120 have all doors closed. The vehicle 128 shown to be travelling in adownward direction in the figure. The road having left 171 and right 172 road boundaries. Theroad boundaries may e.g. be the edge of the road surface, crash barriers or tunnel walls. Theroad further have at least one road lane, having left 161 and right 162 road lane boundaries.The road lane boundaries may e.g. be road markings or road cones marking out the road lane.Sensor data indicative of an environment of the vehicle 128, e.g. the road lane boundaries, isthen obtained. Further, the sensor data may e.g. be received from one or more sensors 121-123, such as radar, lidar, video camera, infrared camera, gps, or any other suitable environment sensor. This further sensor data may indicate the stationary vehicle 120.

Based on all the sensor data, typically a target speed and/or target lateral position/path 190 of the vehicle within the left 171 and right 172 road boundaries is/are determined.

Thus, the target speed and lateral position 190 are adapted to exclude one or more positionsof obstacles, e.g. the stationary car, present in the environment of the vehicle and indicated inthe sensor data. A safety zone having a particular size and enclosing the obstacle position, may further be considered. ln one example, the target lateral position may be determined by determining a path througha drivable area, which may be estimated, calculated or derived based on the sensor data. Thedrivable area may typically initially comprise lateral boundaries, e.g. left 151 and right 152lateral boundaries, which exceeds the left 161 and right 162 road lane boundaries of the roadlane, within which the vehicle shall be kept. The drivable area may initially be estimated byadding a fixed or dynamic width margin value to the left 161 and right 162 road laneboundaries, thus making the drivable area wider than the road lane, as seen in the direction oftravel. The drivable area may further be adapted to exclude one or more positions of obstacles present in the environment of the vehicle and indicated by the sensor data. ln the scenario shown in Fig. 1A, the sensor data indicates that the stationary vehicle 120have all doors closed, and that the vehicle 128 may pass relatively close to the stationaryvehicle 120.

Fig. 1B illustrates a second exemplary scenario where a vehicle 128 is travelling on a roadwhere a stationary car 120 have an opened door. The vehicle 128 shown to be travelling in a downward direction in the figure. ln the scenario shown in Fig. 1B, the sensor data indicates that the stationary vehicle 120have one or more doors open, and that the vehicle 128 must pass further away from thestationary vehicle 120. ln other words, a relatively larger safety zone around the stationary vehicle 120 is required in relation to Fig. 1A.

Based on all the sensor data, typically a target speed and/or target lateral position 190 of thevehicle within the left 171 and right 172 road boundaries is/are determined. This may e.g.involve to reduce the target speed in relation to the target speed determined for the scenariodescribed in relation to Fig. 1A. This may further involve to determine a different target lateralposition 190 of the vehicle 128, i.e. a larger safety zone is considered for the stationary car120 and the target lateral position 190 is determined further to the right in the figure, in relationto the target speed determined for the scenario described in relation to Fig. 1A. ln somescenarios, the target speed may be determined to zero, or effectively the vehicle 128 is broughtto a halt if there is not enough space to adjust the target lateral position 190 further to the right.

This may be the case when is traffic in the adjacent lane.

However, to safely adjust the target lateral position 190 and to avoid a dooring incident, thedriving vehicle 128 must be aware of that the door on the stationary vehicle is about to openbefore the door is actually opened. lf the driving vehicle 128 only becomes aware of the doorat the time when the door is opened, a sharp turn or rapid stop may be required to avoid adooring incident. This behavior may cause further accidents, as other vehicles respond to the sharp turn or rapid stop.The present disclosure addresses and solves this problem, as further described below.

Fig. 2 shows a vehicle 120, 128, 129 comprising a control unit 100, 102, 103 according to oneor more embodiments of the present invention. The vehicle 120, 128, 129 may comprise acontrol unit 100, 102, 103 according to embodiments described herein. The vehicle may furthercomprise one or more environment sensors 121-123. The one or more environment sensorsmay be configured to detect or register or capture first sensor data indicative of theenvironment of the vehicle. The one or more environment sensors 121-123 may further beconfigured to send the first sensor data as a signal to the control unit 100, 102, 103. Examplesof environment sensors 121-123 may be any selection of radar sensor, lidar sensor, videocamera, infrared camera, GPS with map, traffic information receiver or any other suitableenvironment sensor. ln an example, the environment sensors 121-123 may include a radardetecting obstacles in the environment of the vehicle. ln a further example, the environmentsensors 121-123 may include a camera, e.g. detecting stationary vehicles, road markings orroad signs, such as white lines outlining the road or road lane surface. The environmentsensors 121-123 may comprise a processor communicatively coupled to a transceiver forwired or wireless communication. Further, the one or more environment sensors 121-123 mayfurther comprise at least one optional antenna (not shown in the figure). The antenna may becoupled to the transceiver and is configured to transmit and/or emit and/or receive wiredsignals in a wired communications system and/or wireless signals in a wireless communicationsystem. The processor may be communicatively coupled to a selection of the transceiver andthe memory. ln one example, the processor may be any of processing circuitry and/or a centralprocessing unit and/or processor modules and/or multiple processors configured to cooperatewith each-other. Further, the one or more environment sensors 121-123 may further comprisea memory. The memory may contain instructions executable by the processor to perform themethods described herein, e.g. to capture sensor data indicative of the environment of thevehicle and send first sensor data to the control unit 100, 102, 103. The vehicle may furthercomprise wheels W1-W4 of the vehicle. The vehicle may further optionally comprise a driving control unit DC configured to controlling the maneuvering of the vehicle. This may include controlling the vehicle to a target speed and/or to follow a target lateral position or position on a road.

The DC may be configured to actuate steering means of the vehicle 120, e.g. to control anangle of a pair of Wheels W1-W4 e.g. the front Wheels. ln one example, the steering meansare controlled such that the vehicle 120 is directed to a lateral position, such as the targetlateral position 190. The driving control unit DC may comprise control logic and/or a processor,an optional memory and an actuator configured to actuate the steering means. The drivingcontrol unit DC may be configured to receive control signals from the control unit 100, 102,103 and control an actuator controlled by the driving control unit and actuating the steeringmeans based on the control signal. The driving control unit DC may further be configured tosend status signals from the control unit to the control unit 100, 102, 103 indicative of status ofthe driving control unit DC, the actuator or the steering means. The steering means may beany means or arrangement suitable to steering the vehicle, e.g. hydraulic, electric or pneumatic means acting on any of the Wheels W1-W4 of the vehicle.

The DU may be configured to actuate drivetrain means of the vehicle, e.g. to control a tractionforce or momentum delivered to Wheels W1-W4 of the vehicle. The driving control unit DC mayfurther be configured to receive control signals from the control unit 100, 102, 103 and controlan actuator controlled by the driving control unit, e.g. to actuate the powertrain means basedon the control signal. The driving control unit DC may further be configured to send statussignals from the control unit to the control unit 100, 102, 103 indicative of status of the drivingcontrol unit DC, e.g. the powertrain means. The powertrain means may be any means or arrangement suitable to actuate the powertrain, e.g. hydraulic, electric or pneumatic means.

The DC may be configured to actuate braking means of the vehicle, e.g. to control a brakingforce applied to the vehicle. The driving control unit DC may further be configured to receivecontrol signals from the control unit 100, 102, 103 and control an actuator controlled by thedriving control unit, e.g. to actuate the braking means based on the control signal. The drivingcontrol unit DC may further be configured to send status signals from the control unit to thecontrol unit 100, 102, 103 indicative of status of the driving control unit DC, e.g. the brakingmeans. The braking means may be any means or arrangement suitable to produce a braking force to the vehicle, e.g. friction brakes, exhaust brakes, engine brake, retarder etc.

The control unit 100, 102, 103 may be communicatively coupled to the one or moreenvironment sensors 121-123 and/or the driving control unit DC, e.g. via Wired or Wirelesscommunication, such as a Controller Area Network (CAN) bus, Bluetooth, WiFi etc. The one or more environment sensors 121-123 may be configured to send the first sensor data directly to the control unit 100, 102, 103 or via a wired and/or wireless communications network 130.The wired or wireless communication may be performed using any of a vehicle data bus 101such as a CAN bus, Bluetooth, WiFi, GSM, UMTS, LTE or LTE advanced communications network or any other Wired or wireless communication network known in the art.

Fig. 3 shows a system 200 for notifying geographically adjacent and moving vehiclesaccording to one or more embodiments of the present invention. The system 200 typicallycomprises at least a stationary vehicle 120, and one or more driving or moving vehicles 128,129. Optionally, the system may further comprise a wireless communications network 130 and/or a cloud or server 140.

The control unit 100 comprised in the stationery vehicle 120, may be configured to receivecharacteristics data indicative of characteristics of the vehicle 120. The characteristics datamay be received from a memory and/or received by calculating the characteristics data basedon received and/or retrieved sensor data and/or received from the server 140 or other data SOUFCG.

The characteristics data may e.g. be indicative of a key sensor detecting a starting key insertedinto or being adjacent to the ignition lock, a seat weight sensor indicating a human occupantsat in a seat, a door lock sensor indicating a door lock state, a door sensor indicatingopen/closed state of a door, an engine sensor indicating that the engine is running or isactivated, control sensors indicating dashboard controls being operated, or a door handle sensor indicative of a proximity of a hand to the door lock handle.

The door handle sensor may e.g. be a touch sensor or a camera detecting the proximity of a hand to the door handle operating the lock of the door.

The control unit 100 comprised in the stationery vehicle 120, may be configured to determining door information using the characteristics data. ln a one embodiment of the disclosure, a probability or risk level that a door will open on the stationary vehicle 120 is determined locally in the stationary vehicle. ln this embodiment, the control unit 100 determines door information by determining a risklevel from a plurality of risk levels indicative of a risk that one or more doors of the stationaryvehicle 120 will be opening. The risk level is determined by determining that the characteristics data fulfill one or more predetermined conditions associated to a particular risk level. ln one example, a first low risk level is determined if characteristics data received from thevehicle data bus 101 indicates that the data fulfill one or more predetermined conditions that no weight is applied to any of the seats and/or the engine is not running and/or the starting key is not inserted into or being adjacent to the ignition lock and/or all doors are closed and locked.The door information may then be determined to indicate or comprise data indicative of the first low risk level L1.

Alternatively, a second medium-low risk level L2 is determined if Characteristics data receivedfrom the vehicle data bus 101 indicates that the data fulfill one or more predeterminedconditions that weight is applied to at least one of the seats and/or the engine is running and/orthe starting key is inserted into or being adjacent to the ignition lock and/or all doors are notlocked. The door information may then be determined to indicate or comprise data indicative of the second medium-low risk level L2.

Alternatively, a third medium-high risk level L3 is determined if characteristics data receivedfrom the vehicle data bus 101 indicates that the data fulfill one or more predeterminedconditions that weight is applied to at least one of the seats and/or the engine is running and/orthe starting is inserted into or being adjacent to the ignition lock and/or all doors not locked andproximity of a hand to a door lock handle is detected. The door information may then be determined to indicate or comprise data indicative of the third medium-high risk level L3.

Alternatively, a fourth high risk level L4 is determined if characteristics data received from thevehicle data bus 101 indicates that the data fulfill one or more predetermined conditions thatweight is applied to at least one of the seats and/or the engine is running and/or the startingkey is inserted into or being adjacent to the ignition lock and/or all doors not locked andproximity of a hand to a door lock handle is detected and a door sensor indicates an opendoor. The door information may then be determined to indicate or comprise data indicative ofthe fourth high risk level L4. ln this embodiment, the control unit 100 further notifies one or more moving vehicles 128, 129of the door information by transmitting a Wireless signal comprising the door information. Thecontrol unit typically transmits the Wireless signal by controlling a transceiver 104 for Wired orwireless communication comprised in or coupled to the control unit to transmit a wireless signal comprising the door information.

The notification may be sent directly to each of the plurality of moving vehicles 128, 129, sentvia the communications network 130 to each of the plurality of moving vehicles 128, 129, or sent via the server 140 to each of the plurality of moving vehicles 128, 129.

The control unit 102, 103 comprised in the moving vehicle 128, 129, is the configured to receive the notification by receiving a Wireless signal comprising the door information. The notification comprises door information indicative of a risk level, selected from a plurality of risk levels, indicative of a risk that one or more doors of the stationary vehicle 120 is or will be opening.

The notification may be received directly from the stationary vehicle, received via the communications network 130 from the stationary vehicle and/or the server.

The control unit 102, 103 comprised in the moving vehicle 128, 129, is further configured todetermine a safety zone around the stationary vehicle 120 dependent on the notification, i.e.the risk level L1-L4. The safety zone is typically determined in proportion to the risk level, i.e.for a relatively low risk level L1 a relatively small safety zone will be determined, and for a relatively a high risk level L4 a relatively large safety zone will be determined.

The control unit 102, 103 comprised in the moving vehicle 128, 129, is further configured tocontrol the vehicle 128, 129 by determining a target lateral position 190 of the vehicle 128, 129within boundaries 171, 172 of a road and outside of or excluding the safety zone and/orreducing target speed of the vehicle 128, 129 and/or or halting the vehicle 128, 129, based on the received notification. ln one example, with reference to Fig. 1A, if a relatively low risk level L1 is determined the vehicle 128 is controlled to a lateral position similar to what is shown in Fig. 1A. ln one further example, with reference to Fig. 1B, if a relatively high risk level L4 is determined the vehicle 128 is controlled to a lateral position similar to what is shown in Fig. 1B. ln a further embodiment of the disclosure, a probability or risk level that a door will open on the stationary vehicle 120 is determined in the server or in the moving vehicle 128, 129. ln this further embodiment, the control unit 100 determines door information by selecting a subset of the received characteristics of the stationary vehicle 120.

The selection of characteristics data may e.g. include key sensor data, seat weight sensordata, door lock sensor data, door sensor data, engine sensor data, control sensor data or doorhandle sensor data. Any data or sensor data relevant to the risk of a door being opened on the stationary vehicle may be selected. ln this further embodiment, the control unit 100 further notifies the plurality of moving vehicles128, 129 of the door information by transmitting a wireless signal comprising the doorinformation. The control unit typically transmits the wireless signal by controlling a transceiver104 for wired or wireless communication comprised in or coupled to the control unit to transmit a wireless signal comprising the door information.

The control unit 102, 103 comprised in the moving vehicle 128, 129, is the configured to receivethe notification by receiving a Wireless signal comprising the door information. The notificationcomprises door information indicative of Characteristics data indicative of characteristics of the stationary vehicle 120.

The notification may be received directly from the stationary vehicle, received via the communications network 130 from the stationary vehicle and/or the server 140. ln this further embodiment, the control unit 102, 103 or server 140 determines a risk level froma plurality of risk levels indicative of a risk that one or more doors of the stationary vehicle 120will be opening. The risk level is determined by determining that the characteristics data fulfill one or more predetermined conditions associated to a particular risk level. ln one example, a first low risk level is determined if characteristics data received from thestationary vehicle 120 or server 140 indicates that the data fulfill one or more predeterminedconditions that no Weight is applied to any of the seats and/or the engine is not running and/orthe starting key is not inserted into or being adjacent to the ignition lock and/or all doors are closed and locked. The first low risk level L1 is then determined.

Alternatively, a second medium-low risk level L2 is determined if characteristics data receivedfrom the stationary vehicle 120 or server 140 indicates that the data fulfill one or morepredetermined conditions that weight is applied to at least one of the seats and/or the engineis running and/or the starting key is inserted into or being adjacent to the ignition lock and/or all doors are not locked. The second medium-low risk level L2 may then be determined.

Alternatively, a third medium-high risk level L3 is determined if characteristics data receivedfrom the stationary vehicle 120 or server 140 indicates that the data fulfill one or morepredetermined conditions that weight is applied to at least one of the seats and/or the engineis running and/or the starting key is inserted into or being adjacent to the ignition lock and/orall doors not locked and proximity of a hand to a door lock handle is detected. The medium- high risk level L3 may then be determined.

Alternatively, a fourth high risk level L4 is determined if characteristics data received from thestationary vehicle 120 or server 140 indicates that the data fulfill one or more predeterminedconditions that weight is applied to at least one of the seats and/or the engine is running and/orthe starting key is inserted into or being adjacent to the ignition lock and/or all doors not lockedand proximity of a hand to a door lock handle is detected and a door sensor indicates an open door. The fourth high risk level L4 may then be determined.

The control unit 102, 103 comprised in the moving vehicle 128, 129, is further configured tocontrol the vehicle 128, 129 by determining a target lateral position 190 of the vehicle 128, 129within boundaries 171, 172 of a road and outside of or excluding the safety zone and/orreducing target speed of the vehicle 128, 129 and/or or halting the vehicle 128, 129, based on the received notification. ln one example, with reference to Fig. 1A, if a relatively low risk level L1 is determined the vehicle 128 is controlled to a lateral position similar to what is shown in Fig. 1A. ln one further example, with reference to Fig. 1B, if a relatively high risk level L4 is determined the vehicle 128 is controlled to a lateral position similar to what is shown in Fig. 1B. ln embodiments, the communications network 130 communicate using wired or wirelesscommunication techniques that may include at least one of a Local Area Network (LAN),Metropolitan Area Network (MAN), Global System for Mobile Network (GSM), Enhanced DataGSM Environment (EDGE), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System, Long termevolution, High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), Wideband Code Division MultipleAccess (W-CDMA), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access(TDMA), Bluetooth®, Zigbee®, Wi-Fi, Voice over lnternet Protocol (VoIP), LTE Advanced,|EEE802.16m, WirelessMAN-Advanced, Evolved High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA+), 3GPPLong Term Evolution (LTE), Mobile WiMAX (IEEE 802.16e), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB)(formerly Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO) Rev. C), Fast Low-latency Access with SeamlessHandoff Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (Flash-OFDM), High Capacity SpatialDivision Multiple Access (iBurst®) and Mobile Broadband Wireless Access (MBWA) (IEEE802.20) systems, IEEE 802.11p High Performance Radio Metropolitan Area Network(HIPERMAN), Beam-Division Multiple Access (BDMA), World lnteroperability for Microwave Access (Wi-MAX) and ultrasonic communication, etc., but is not limited thereto.Fig. 4 illustrates how safety zones are determined in proportion to determined risk levels.

As can be seen in Fig.4, the various determined risk levels L1-L4 will result in various sizes of the safety zone Z1-Z4 used for the stationary vehicle 120. ln other words for a relatively low risk level L1 a relatively small safety zone will be determined, and for a relatively a high risk level L4 a relatively large safety zone will be determined.

Fig. 5 shows a control unit 100, 102, 103 according to an embodiment of the present invention.The control unit 100, 102, 103 may be in the form of an Electronic Control Unit, a server, anon-board computer, a vehicle mounted computer system or a navigation device. The controlunit 100, 102, 103 may comprise a processor 112 communicatively coupled to a transceiver104 for Wired or wireless communication. Further, the control unit 100, 102, 103 may furthercomprise at least one optional antenna (not shown in figure). The antenna may be coupled tothe transceiver 104 and is configured to transmit and/or emit and/or receive wireless signals ina wireless communication system, e.g. send/receive control signals and/or status data to/fromthe one or more environment sensors 121-123, the driving control unit DC or any other controlunit or sensor. ln one example, the processor 112 may be any of a selection of processingcircuitry and/or a central processing unit and/or processor modules and/or multiple processorsconfigured to cooperate with each-other. Further, the control unit 100, 102, 103 may furthercomprise a memory 115. The memory 115 may contain instructions executable by theprocessor to perform the methods described herein. The processor 112 may becommunicatively coupled to a selection of any of the transceiver 104, the one or moreenvironment sensors 121-123 and the memory 115. The control unit 100, 102, 103 may beconfigured to receive the sensor data directly from the one or more environment sensors 121- 123 or via the wired and/or wireless communications network 130. ln one or more embodiments the control unit 100, 102, 103 may further comprise an inputdevice 117, configured to receive input or indications from a user and send a user-input signalindicative of the user input or indications to the processing means 112. ln one or moreembodiments the control unit 100, 102, 103 may further comprise a display 118 configured toreceive a display signal indicative of rendered objects, such as text or graphical user inputobjects, from the processing means 112 and to display the received signal as objects, such astext or graphical user input objects. ln one embodiment the display 118 is integrated with theuser input device 117 and is configured to receive a display signal indicative of renderedobjects, such as text or graphical user input objects, from the processing means 112 and todisplay the received signal as objects, such as text or graphical user input objects, and/orconfigured to receive input or indications from a user and send a user-input signal indicativeof the user input or indications to the processing means 112. ln embodiments, the processingmeans 112 is communicatively coupled to the memory 115 and/or the communications interface and/or transceiver and/or the input device 117 and/or the display 118 and/or the one or more environment sensors 121-123. ln embodiments, the communications interface and/or transceiver communicates using Wired and/or wireless communication techniques. ln embodiments, the one or more memory 115 may comprise a selection of a hard RAM, diskdrive, a floppy disk drive, a CD or DVD drive (R or RW), or other removable or fixed mediadrive or memory. ln a further embodiment, the control unit 100, 102, 103 may further compriseand/or be coupled to one or more additional sensors configured to receive and/or obtain and/ormeasure physical properties pertaining to the vehicle 120 and send one or more sensor signalsindicative of the physical properties to the processing means 112, e.g. second sensor data indicative of relative wheel speeds of the vehicle.

Fig. 6 shows a block diagram of a method 600 according to one or more embodiments of thepresent invention. The method 600 is performed by the control unit 100 adapted to becomprised in the stationary vehicle 120, for notifying geographically adjacent vehicles 128, 129 of door information, the method comprising.Step 610: receiving characteristics data indicative of characteristics of the vehicle 120.

The characteristics data may be received from the memory 115 and/or received by calculatingthe characteristics data based on received and/or retrieved sensor data and/or received from the server 140 or other data source.

As described in relation to Fig. 3, the characteristics data may e.g. be indicative of a key sensordetecting a starting key inserted into or being adjacent to the ignition lock, a seat Weight sensorindicating a human occupant sat in a seat, a door lock sensor indicating a door lock state, adoor sensor indicating open/closed state of a door, an engine sensor indicating that the engineis running or is activated, control sensors indicating dashboard controls being operated, or adoor handle sensor indicative of a proximity of a hand to the door lock handle. The door handlesensor may e.g. be a touch sensor or a camera detecting the proximity of a hand to the door handle operating the lock of the door.Step 620: determining door information using the characteristics data. ln one embodiment of the disclosure, a probability or risk level that a door will open on the stationary vehicle 120 is determined locally in the stationary vehicle. ln this embodiment, the door information is determined by determining, by the control unitcomprised in the stationary vehicle, a risk level from a plurality of risk levels indicative of a riskthat one or more doors ofthe vehicle 120 Will be opening by determining that the characteristics data fulfill one or more predetermined conditions associated to a particular risk level.

The predetermined conditions are selected from any of the conditions starting key is detected,seat weight sensor indicating human occupant, door lock states indicate open, engine isrunning, dashboard controls detected to be operated, door handle sensor detect proximity of a hand.

Any other predetermined condition indicative of human occupant in the stationary vehicle,indicative of a human attempting to open a door of the vehicle or indicative of that the door is opening may be considered. ln a further embodiment of the disclosure, a probability or risk level that a door will open on the stationary vehicle 120 is determined in the server or in the moving vehicle 128, 129. ln this embodiment, the door information is determined by determining, by the control unit 100of the stationary vehicle 120, door information by selecting a subset of the receivedcharacteristics of the stationary vehicle 120. The selection of characteristics data may e.g.include key sensor data, seat weight sensor data, door lock sensor data, door sensor data,engine sensor data, control sensor data or door handle sensor data. Any data or sensor data relevant to the risk of a door being opened on the stationary vehicle may be selected.

Step 630: notifying the plurality of (moving) vehicles 128, 129 of the door information by transmitting a Wireless signal comprising the door information. ln this further embodiment, the control unit 100 further notifies, in step 630, the plurality of(moving) vehicles 128, 129 of the door information by transmitting a Wireless signal comprisingthe door information. The control unit typically transmits the Wireless signal by controlling atransceiver 104 for wired or wireless communication comprised in or coupled to the control unit to transmit a Wireless signal comprising the door information. ln the one embodiment Where the door information is determined locally, the door information comprises the risk level determined in step 620. ln the further embodiment, Where the door information is determined in the server 140 or themoving vehicle 128, 129, the door information comprises a selected subset of the received characteristics of the stationary vehicle 120.Examples of the one and the further embodiment, is further described in relation to Fig. 3.

Fig. 7 shows a block diagram of a method 700 according to one or more embodiments of thepresent invention. The method 700 is performed by the control unit 102, 103, adapted to becomprised in the one or more moving vehicles 128, 129 and for receiving door information from the stationary vehicle 120, the method comprising: Step 710: receiving a notification by receiving a Wireless signal comprising door information.

Step 720: determining a safety zone around the stationary vehicle (120) dependent on the notification. ln one example, the sensor data is indicative of camera and lidar data describing the relativelocation and estimated extent ofthe stationary vehicle. A safety zone, larger than the estimatedextent the stationary vehicle is then determined to provide a margin from colliding with the stationary vehicle. Safety zones are further described in relation to Fig. 4.'Further examples of determining safety zones are provided in relation to Fig. 3. ln one embodiment of the disclosure, a probability or risk level that a door will open on the stationary vehicle 120 is determined locally in the stationary vehicle. ln this embodiment, the door information comprises a risk level or levels indicative of a riskthat one or more doors of the stationary vehicle 120 Will be opening, and a size of the safety zone is determined in proportion to the risk level or levels. ln one example, the size of the safety zone may be determined using the predetermined relation:safetyZoneRange = doorOccupancySizeWhenFullyOpened * SafetyFactor.

Where safetyZoneRange is the safety distance used for the safety zone from the side of the vehicle, e.g. a normal to the exterial of the side of the vehicle.

Where the safetyFactor might be bigger than 1, and preferably 2 or bigger. (Design/tuning parameter). further doorOccupancySizeWhenFullyOpened = 2 m and SafetyFactor=risk level ln a example, the safetyZoneRange is calculated using a ln the example the safetyZoneRange for the different risk levels can be calculated as:safetyZoneRange (L1) = 2*1 = 2 m,safetyZoneRange (L2) = 2*2 = 4 m,safetyZoneRange (L3) = 2*3 = 6 m, safetyZoneRange (L4) = 2*4 = 8 m.

The safety zones Z1-Z4, can then be determined as a circle or polygon enclosing the stationaryvehicle and the safetyZoneRange extending, e.g. as perpendicular normal from the side of the vehicle.

The size of the safety zone may be determined in proportion to the risk level. |.e. for a relativelylow risk level L1 a relatively small safety zone Z1 Will be determined, and for a relatively a high risk level L4 a relatively large safety zone Z4 Will be determined. ln a further embodiment of the disclosure, a probability or risk level that a door will open on thestationary vehicle 120 is determined in the server 140 or in the moving vehicle 128, 129. Whenthe server determines the risk level, in a similar manner as described for the stationary vehicleor moving vehicle 128, 129, it Will use door information indicative of characteristics of thestationary vehicle 120 to determine a risk level, generate updated door information updateddoor information indicative of the risk level, and notifying the plurality of (moving) vehicles 128,129 of the updated door information by transmitting a Wireless signal comprising the door information. ln this embodiment, the door information comprises characteristics data indicative of characteristics of the vehicle 120.

The method may further comprise determining a risk level from a plurality of risk levelsindicative of a risk that one or more doors of the vehicle 120 Will be opening by determiningthat the characteristics data fulfill one or more predetermined conditions associated to a particular risk level.

The size of the safety zone may be determined in proportion to the risk level. |.e. for a relativelylow risk level L1 a relatively small safety zone Z1 Will be determined, and for a relatively a high risk level L4 a relatively large safety zone Z4 Will be determined.

Step 730: controlling the vehicle 128, 129 by determining a target lateral position 190 of thevehicle 128, 129 typically within boundaries 171, 172 of a road and outside of or excluding thesafety zone and/or reducing target speed of the vehicle 128, 129 and/or halting the vehicle 128, 129, based on the received notification.

Additionally or alternatively, the predetermined conditions are selected from any of theconditions starting key is detected, seat weight sensor indicating human occupant, door lockstates indicate open, engine is running, dashboard controls detected to be operated, door handle sensor detect proximity of a hand.

Additionally or alternatively, the door information further comprises opening angle and doorlength of the one or more doors 124, 125 of the stationary vehicle 120, and the size of the safety zone is further determined dependent on the opening angle and door length.

Angle and door length are examples of additional quantities that might be comprised in thedoor information. The door information may e.g. also include exact shape of the door and/orroll and/or pitch and/or yaw angles as Well. Additionally or alternatively, the change rate of one or more of mentioned angles may be comprised in the door information. ln one example, the vehicle may be a bus comprising bus doors, which are moved by a rotatingaxle instead of from a fixed joint. ln this case, the shape of the door might need to be describedby complementing values, such as the length and shape of the extra axle, and the angles before and after this extra axle.

Fig. 8 shows a block diagram of a method 800 according to one or more embodiments of thepresent invention. The method 800 is performed by the system 200 for notifying geographically adjacent and moving vehicles 128, 129 of door information, the method comprising: Step 810: notifying an adjacent and moving vehicle 128, 129 by transmitting a Wireless signal comprising door information from a stationary vehicle 120, Step 820: receiving a notification by receiving a Wireless signal comprising door information by the adjacent and moving vehicle 128, 129.

Step 830: determining a safety zone around the adjLaeent-stationary vehicle 120 dependent on the notification.

Step 840: controlling the adjacent and moving vehicle 128, 129 by determining a target lateralposition 190 of the adjacent and moving vehicle 128, 129 Within boundaries 171, 172 of a roadand outside of the safety zone, reducing target speed of the vehicle 128, 129 or halting the vehicle 128, 129, based on the received notification. ln one embodiment, a control unit 100, 102, 103 adapted to be comprised in a vehicle 120,128, 129 and configured to perform any of the methods described in relation to Fig. 6 or Fig.7. ln one embodiment, a vehicle 120, 128, 129 is provided and comprising a control unit 100, 102, 103 described in the previous paragraph. ln one embodiment, a computer program comprising computer-executable instructions for causing a control unit 100, 102, 103, when the computer-executable instructions are executed on processing circuitry comprised in the control unit 100, 102, 10, to perform any of the method steps described in relation to Fig. 6, Fig. 7 or Fig. 8.

At least one advantage with this embodiment is to further improve road safety by reducingstress and level of tiredness of the driver by assisting the driver to laterally positioning the vehicle or automatically laterally positioning the vehicle. ln one embodiment, a computer program is provided comprising computer-executableinstructions for causing the control unit 100, 102, 103 when the computer-executableinstructions are executed on a processing unit comprised in the control unit 100, 102, 103, toperform any of the methods described herein. Furthermore, any methods according toembodiments of the invention may be implemented in a computer program, having codemeans, which when run by processing means causes the processing means to execute thesteps of the method. The computer program is included in a computer readable medium of a computer program product. ln one embodiment, a computer program product is provided comprising a computer-readablestorage medium, the computer-readable storage medium having the computer program aboveembodied therein. The memory and/or computer-readable storage medium referred to hereinmay comprise of essentially any memory, such as a ROM (Read-Only Memory), a PROM(Programmable Read-Only Memory), an EPROM (Erasable PROM), a Flash memory, anEEPROM (Electrically Erasable PROM), or a hard disk drive. ln one embodiment, a carrier containing the computer program above, Wherein the carrier is one of an electronic signal, optical signal, radio signal, or computer readable storage medium.

Moreover, it is realized by the skilled person that the control unit 100, 102, 103 may comprisethe necessary communication capabilities in the form of e.g., functions, means, units,elements, etc., for performing the present solution. Examples of other such means, units,elements and functions are: processors, memory, buffers, control logic, encoders, decoders,rate matchers, de-rate matchers, mapping units, multipliers, decision units, selecting units,switches, interleavers, de-interleavers, modulators, demodulators, inputs, outputs, antennas,amplifiers, receiver units, transmitter units, DSPs, MSDs, encoder, decoder, power supplyunits, power feeders, communication interfaces, communication protocols, etc. which are suitably arranged together for performing the present solution.

Especially, the processor and/or processing means of the present disclosure may compriseone or more instances of processing circuitry, processor modules and multiple processors configured to cooperate with each-other, Central Processing Unit (CPU), a processing unit, a processing circuit, a processor, an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), amicroprocessor, a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), a Graphics Processing Unit, GPUor other processing |ogic that may interpret and execute instructions. The expression”processor” and/or “processing means” may thus represent a processing circuitry comprisinga p|ura|ity of processing circuits, such as, e.g., any, some or all of the ones mentioned above.The processing means may further perform data processing functions for inputting, outputting,and processing of data comprising data buffering and device control functions, such as call processing control, user interface control, or the like.

Finally, it should be understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiments describedabove, but also relates to and incorporates all embodiments within the scope of the appended independent claims.

Claims

1. A method (600), performed by a control unit (100) adapted to be comprised in avehicle (120), for notifying geographically adjacent vehicles (128, 129) of doorinformation, the method comprising: receiving (610) characteristics data indicative of characteristics of the vehicle(120), determining (620) door information using the characteristics data, wherein thedoor information further comprises opening angle and door length of the oneor more doors (124, 125) of the stationary vehicle (120) enabling thegeographically adjacent vehicles (128- 129) to determine the size of the safety zone based on the opening angle and door length, notifying (630) the plurality of vehicles (128, 129) of the door information by transmitting a wireless signal comprising the door information.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the door information is determined by: determining door information by selecting a subset of the received characteristicsof the vehicle (120).

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the door information is determined by: determining a risk level from a plurality of risk levels indicative of a risk that oneor more doors of the vehicle (120) will be opening by determining that thecharacteristics data fulfill one or more predetermined conditions associated to a particular risk level.

4. The method according to any of claims 2 or 3, wherein the predetermined conditionsare selected from any of the conditions starting key is detected, seat weightsensor indicating human occupant, door lock states indicate open, engine isrunning, dashboard controls detected to be operated, door handle sensor detect proximity of a hand.21

5. A method (700), performed by a control unit (102, 103) adapted to be comprised ina moving vehicle (128, 129), and for receiving door information from a stationaryvehicle (120), the method comprising: receiving (710) a notification by receiving a wireless signal comprising door 5 information, wherein the door information further comprises opening angle and door length of the one or more doors (124, 125) of the stationary vehicle (120), determining (720) a size of a safety zone around the stationary vehicle (120)dependent on the notification, controlling (730) the vehicle (128, 129) by determining a target lateral position10 (190) of the vehicle (128, 129) within boundaries (171, 172) of a road andoutside of the safety zone, reducing target speed of the vehicle (128, 129) orhalting the vehicle (128, 129), based on the received notification.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the door information comprises characteristics data indicative of characteristics of the vehicle (120). 15

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the method further comprises: determining a risk level from a plurality of risk levels indicative of a risk that oneor more doors of the vehicle (120) will be opening by determining that thecharacteristics data fulfill one or more predetermined conditions associated toa particular risk level. 20

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein a size of the safety zone is determined in proportion to the risk level.

9. The method according to claim 5, wherein the door information comprises a risklevel or levels indicative of a risk that one or more doors of the stationary vehicle(120) will be opening, and a size of the safety zone is determined in proportion 25 to the risk level or levels.

10. The method according to any of claims 5-9, wherein the predetermined conditionsare selected from any of the conditions starting key is detected, seat weightsensor indicating human occupant, door lock states indicate open, engine isrunning, dashboard controls detected to be operated, door handle sensor detect proximity of a hand.

11. The method according to any of claims 5-10, wherein the door information furthercomprises opening angle and door length of the one or more doors (124, 125)of the stationary vehicle (120), and the size of the safety zone is further determined dependent on the opening angle and door length.

12. A method (800), performed by a system (200) for notifying geographically adjacent and moving vehicles (128, 129) of door information, the method comprising: notifying (810) an adjacent and moving vehicle (128, 129) by transmitting awireless signal comprising door information from a stationary vehicle (120),wherein the door information further comprises opening angle and door lengthof the one or more doors (124, 125) of the stationary vehicle (120) enablingthe geographically adjacent vehicles (128- 129) to determine the size of thesafety zone based on the opening angle and door length, receiving (820) a notification by receiving a wireless signal comprisingï door information by the adjacent and moving vehicle (128, 129), determining (830) a safety zone around the stationary vehicle (120) dependenton the notification, controlling (840) the adjacent and moving vehicle (128, 129) by determining atarget lateral position (190) of the vehicle (128, 129) within boundaries (171,172) of a road and outside of the safety zone, reducing target speed of thevehicle (128, 129) or halting the vehicle (128, 129), based on the receivednotification.

13. A control unit (100, 102, 103) adapted to be comprised in a vehicle (120, 128, 129)and configured to perform the method according to any of claims 1-4, 5-11.

14. A vehicle (120, 128, 129) comprising:a control unit (100, 102, 103) according to claim 13. 5

15. A computer program comprising computer-executable instructions for causing acontrol unit (100, 102, 103), when the computer-executable instructions areexecuted on processing circuitry comprised in the control unit (100, 102, 103), to perform any of the method steps according to any of claims 1-4, 5-11.