Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G08—SIGNALLING
  • G08G—TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS
  • G08G1/00—Traffic control systems for road vehicles
  • G08G1/16—Anti-collision systems
  • G08G1/161—Decentralised systems, e.g. inter-vehicle communication
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B60R25/00—Fittings or systems for preventing or indicating unauthorised use or theft of vehicles
  • B60R25/10—Fittings or systems for preventing or indicating unauthorised use or theft of vehicles actuating a signalling device
  • B60R25/102—Fittings or systems for preventing or indicating unauthorised use or theft of vehicles actuating a signalling device a signal being sent to a remote location, e.g. a radio signal being transmitted to a police station, a security company or the owner
  • B60R25/1025—Fittings or systems for preventing or indicating unauthorised use or theft of vehicles actuating a signalling device a signal being sent to a remote location, e.g. a radio signal being transmitted to a police station, a security company or the owner preventing jamming or interference of said signal
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G08—SIGNALLING
  • G08G—TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS
  • G08G1/00—Traffic control systems for road vehicles
  • G08G1/09—Arrangements for giving variable traffic instructions
  • G08G1/0962—Arrangements for giving variable traffic instructions having an indicator mounted inside the vehicle, e.g. giving voice messages
  • G08G1/0967—Systems involving transmission of highway information, e.g. weather, speed limits
  • G08G1/096708—Systems involving transmission of highway information, e.g. weather, speed limits where the received information might be used to generate an automatic action on the vehicle control
  • G08G1/096716—Systems involving transmission of highway information, e.g. weather, speed limits where the received information might be used to generate an automatic action on the vehicle control where the received information does not generate an automatic action on the vehicle control
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G08—SIGNALLING
  • G08G—TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS
  • G08G1/00—Traffic control systems for road vehicles
  • G08G1/09—Arrangements for giving variable traffic instructions
  • G08G1/0962—Arrangements for giving variable traffic instructions having an indicator mounted inside the vehicle, e.g. giving voice messages
  • G08G1/0967—Systems involving transmission of highway information, e.g. weather, speed limits
  • G08G1/096733—Systems involving transmission of highway information, e.g. weather, speed limits where a selection of the information might take place
  • G08G1/096741—Systems involving transmission of highway information, e.g. weather, speed limits where a selection of the information might take place where the source of the transmitted information selects which information to transmit to each vehicle
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G08—SIGNALLING
  • G08G—TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS
  • G08G1/00—Traffic control systems for road vehicles
  • G08G1/09—Arrangements for giving variable traffic instructions
  • G08G1/0962—Arrangements for giving variable traffic instructions having an indicator mounted inside the vehicle, e.g. giving voice messages
  • G08G1/0967—Systems involving transmission of highway information, e.g. weather, speed limits
  • G08G1/096766—Systems involving transmission of highway information, e.g. weather, speed limits where the system is characterised by the origin of the information transmission
  • G08G1/096791—Systems involving transmission of highway information, e.g. weather, speed limits where the system is characterised by the origin of the information transmission where the origin of the information is another vehicle
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G08—SIGNALLING
  • G08G—TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS
  • G08G1/00—Traffic control systems for road vehicles
  • G08G1/20—Monitoring the location of vehicles belonging to a group, e.g. fleet of vehicles, countable or determined number of vehicles
  • G08G1/205—Indicating the location of the monitored vehicles as destination, e.g. accidents, stolen, rental

Definitions

• the invention generally relates to vehicle-to-vehicle communication.
• the invention relates to a technique for delivering a message to one or more target destinations via vehicle-to-vehicle communication.
• the conventional inter-vehicle communication techniques suffer from several problems and disadvantages.
• One major problem is that information is broadcasted in an undirected way.
• US 6,985,089 teaches to repeat the transmission multiple times in order to enhance delivery probability.
• redundant messages may saturate the communication channels, and the delivery probability is poor.
• a method for transferring a message to at least one target destination comprising the steps performed by a first vehicle of receiving geographical information of a second vehicle, determining a relationship between the geographical information and the at least one target desti nation, and conditionally sending the message to the second vehicle depending on a result of the determination.
• the geographical information includes at least one of a position, a route, and a destination of the second vehicle.
• an electronic navigation system may be applied as a source of the geographical information.
• the message is exchanged if the relationship indicates that the second vehicle is suited to participate in the transfer of the message to the at least one target destination.
• the target destination may be stationary or mobile. In the latter case it is possible to consider the mobility of the target destination when determining the relationship between the geographical information of the second vehicle and the (mobile) target destination.
• the target destination may be different from the second vehicle.
• the target destination may be a roadside destination.
• a typical example for the roadside destination may be a police station or an Internet or other communication gateway. In certain cases the target destination may also be the second vehicle itself.
• a vehicle encompasses also a non-motorised vehicle, including a bicycle, a cyclist, or a pedestrian.
• the techniques presented herein can be performed by or in co-operation with a mobile phone, a laptop, or a mobile (personal) or fixedly installed electronic navigation system.
• the message may include information regarding the at least one target destination either implicitly (e.g., in the form of an identifier) or explicitly (e.g., in the form of terrestrial coordinates).
• the message may furthermore include event information regarding an event.
• the event may pose a traffic hazard or cause a traffic delay.
• a natural phenomenon fallen tree on the road, landslide, etc.
• the message or the event information regarding such an event may, for example, contain a warning to other road users.
• the event detected may relate to an accident.
• the accident may relate to other vehicles in the vicinity of the first vehicle, or may involve the first vehicle itself.
• the event information may include at least one of a time, a place, and a type of the event.
• the time of the event may be used to assign a priority to the message.
• One may also think of defining a time limit based on the time of the event. Messages which have not reached their target destination before the time limit has expired may be discarded.
• the place may be used to direct help to the place of the event.
• the event information includes the type of the event, the event type may identify for example a technical failure, an accident, a natural event, or a predefined traffic situation.
• the method may further comprise the step of detecting the event.
• the event may be detected within (i.e., onboard) the first vehicle including the cases of a technical malfunction and an accident of the first vehicle.
• the event may also be detected outside the first vehicle.
• the external event detection is for example useful in the case of a breakdown or accident of another vehicle.
• the method may also comprise the step of creating the message.
• the step of detecting the event and the step of creating the message may be related in that message creation is triggered by detection of the event.
• the method may further comprise the step of selecting the at least one target destination out of a set of target destinations.
• the selection may depend on at least one of the event information and the geographical information. For example, the selection may consider one or more target destinations along the planned route of the second vehicle. Roadside destinations may be preferred in the step of selecting the at least one target destination in order to be within the range of communication while the second vehicle passes the roadside destination.
• the step of determining the relationship may comprise assessing if the position of the second vehicle is inside a zone of the event. This allows for example the first vehicle, having passed the location of the event, to send the message as the result of the determination to an oncoming second vehicle, before the second vehicle reaches the event.
• determining the relationship may comprise assessing if the route of the second vehicle approaches the event or encounters a zone of the event.
• the route of the second vehicle can be derived directly from the received geographical information containing the route of the second vehicle, or the route can be computed according to the destination of the second vehicle. If the route of the second vehicle approaches the event, the message can be sent to the second vehicle as the result of the determination. This approach may be useful to the second vehicle, for example to circumnavigate the event.
• the relationship may be determined based on this position. This is, for example, advantageous if there is only a single traffic lane, which is occupied by a long queue of vehicles. In transferring the message to the second vehicle being in front of the first vehicle, the message advances within the queue and thereby moves at a speed higher than an average travel speed of the queue.
• determining the relationship may comprise determining if the destination of the second vehicle is inside the zone of the event. If so, the message can be of relevance to the second vehicle. Accordingly, the message can be sent to the second vehicle as the result of the determination.
• the position of the second vehicle is or will be closer to the at least one target destination as compared to a position or route of the first vehicle.
• “closer”, “nearer” and similar distance-related terms can be defined in the sense of a beeline distance, a road distance, a travel time or a combination thereof.
• determining the relationship may comprise assessing if the route of the second vehicle approaches the at least one target destination.
• the selection of the at least one target destination may also depend on the route of the second vehicle. In this case, at least one target destination can be selected such that the second vehicle approaches this target destination.
• the method can furthermore comprise the step of determining a first discriminator as to the first vehicle approaching the at least one target destination (e.g., any one of a set of possible target destinations).
• the first discriminator may quantify a parameter indicative of the first vehicle to come within the range of communication with the at least one target destination.
• the determined discriminator can be estimated or calculated by map matching algorithms or retrieved from tabulated locations distances.
• a second discriminator regarding the second vehicle approaching the at least one target destination can also be determined.
• the second discriminator can be quantified onboard the first vehicle or received from the second vehicle.
• the second discriminator may be received with the geographical information or after information regarding the at least one target destination has been sent to the second vehicle.
• the second discriminator may account for the second vehicle approaching a different target destination as compared to the target destination taken into account by the first discriminator for the first vehicle. By this it is possible to assess different vehicles and different target destinations. Whenever the first discriminator and second discriminator are available, the method may further comprise comparing both discriminators.
• the discriminators can be chosen to be a time period or a distance measure.
• the discriminators can be computed by an electronic navigation system based on known or computed routes. It is furthermore possible to have a combination of the time period and the distance measure, for instance, according to a weighting system for time and distance.
• the weighting system may take properties of the first and second vehicle, such as a mean velocity, into account.
• the method may comprise the step of receiving equipment information regarding mobile communication equipment of the second vehicle. This step may be combined with the step of receiving geographical information. Alternatively, the equipment information may be received upon request by the first vehicle only.
• the decision for sending the message to the second vehicle may additionally depend on the equipment information. For example, if the event is a case of emergency, the message is forwarded to the second vehicle if vehicle specific communication devices are accessible, such as a cellular phone or police phone.
• the method may further comprise the step of computing the route of the second vehicle based on the received geographical information.
• the computation of the route of the second vehicle can be carried out by the navigation system onboard the first vehicle.
• a method of transferring a message to at least one target destination comprises the steps performed by a first vehicle of determining geographical information of the first vehicle, sending the geographical information to a second vehicle, and receiving the message from the second vehicle in response to the sending of the geographical information for transfer to the target destination.
• the geographical information includes at least one of a position, a route, and a destination of the first vehicle.
• the message may be received from the second vehicle for transfer to the at least one target destination.
• the message can be received from the second vehicle to form a side branch of a communication chain. This is advantageous, for example, for a warning message or for a "carbon copy" message.
• the message received may include at least one of event information and information regarding the target destination.
• the method may also comprise the step of processing the received message.
• the processing of the received message may depend on the at least one target destination.
• the method may further comprise the step of selecting the at least one target destination depending on at least one of the event information and the geographical information.
• a dependency on the geographical information arises for example when the at least one target destination is chosen according to the route of the second vehicle.
• a dependency on the event information may guarantee that the message is of relevance to the selected target destination.
• the method may further comprise the step of sending and/or receiving a discriminator regarding the first vehicle approaching the at least one target destination.
• the step of sending the discriminator may precede the step of receiving the message from the second vehicle, so as to allow the second vehicle to analyse the discriminator before sending the message. Accordingly, the step of receiving the message may depend on the discriminator sent to the second vehicle.
• a method of transferring a message to at least one target destination comprises the steps performed by a first vehicle of detecting an event by the first vehicle, generating the message in response to the detection of the event, the message including at least one of event information and the target desti ⁇ nation, and sending the message to a second vehicle for being transported to the target destination.
• the method may further comprise receiving from the second vehicle an acknowledgement for acceptance of the message or a rejection of the message.
• the received acknowledgment may further include the at least one target destination to which the second vehicle intends to transfer the message.
• the method may further comprise repeatedly sending the message.
• the step of repeatedly sending may be triggered if the message is rejected by the second vehicle or the message is to be transferred to another target destination not acknowledged by the second vehicle.
• the event may be detected by (or onboard) the first vehicle.
• the sending and receiving steps and techniques may apply wireless communication.
• the applied wireless communication can be based on radio frequency signals.
• DSRC Dedicated Short Range Communication
• IEEE 802.15.1 BluetoothTM technology
• Wi-FiTM IEEE 802.11
• Any other wireless communication technique, including infrared signalling or supersonic signalling may be applied.
• Any of the techniques can furthermore comprise signalling information inside or outside the first vehicle regarding the created or received message.
• the received message or any informational part thereof may be displayed on a vehicle display.
• information included in the message may be signalled acoustically inside at least one of the first and second vehicle. Speech synthesis mechanisms may be applied to this end.
• the target destinations relevant for the first and second vehicle may differ. This includes that the sets of target destinations considered for the vehicles are disjoint in the sense of having no target destination in common. Furthermore, one or more target destinations may be identical for the first and second vehicle. Differing target destinations may as well be applied for the above- mentioned discriminators.
• any of the techniques presented herein may comprise the step of sending the message to the at least one target destination (e.g., upon coming into the communication range of the target destination).
• a possible target destination encompasses another vehicle or a stationary destination (in particular a roadside destination).
• an onboard mobile phone or other onboard communication mechanism may be applied.
• a decision for usage of the onboard mobile phone in favour of a short ranged wireless communications system may depend on a priority of the message. For example, a message related to a traffic accident may have the priority for using any available or accessible communication.
• Merging of messages having at least one target destination in common is also taken into consideration.
• This process may further comprise analysing message contents. Based on a result of the analysis, the transfer of redundant or identical messages can be avoided. Especially, redundant or identical information may be deleted from the message.
• the message may be augmented with additional information (e.g., information accrued while driving).
• additional information e.g., information accrued while driving
• a vehicle hosting the message may add content to the message, if such content is related to the type of the event or of relevance to the at least one target destination.
• the additional information may include data of an onboard sensor or information regarding a traffic jam. Such additional information may be derived from a sensor detecting a motion of the hosting vehicle or close-by vehicles.
• a computer program product which comprises program code portions for performing the steps of one or more of the methods and method aspects described herein when the computer program product is executed on one or more computing devices, for example a transceiver device or a device adapted to be used onboard a vehicle.
• the computer program product may be stored on a computer readable recording medium, such as a permanent or re-write- able memory within or associated with a computing device or a removable memory card, CD-ROM, DVD or USB stick.
• the computer program product may be provided for download to a computing device, for example via a data network such as the Internet or a communication line such as a telephone line or wireless link.
• a device adapted to be used onboard a first vehicle for transferring a message to at least one target destination.
• the device comprises a receiver, a processor, and a transmitter.
• the receiver is adapted to receive geographic information regarding at least one of a position, a route, and a destination of a second vehicle.
• the processor is adapted to determine a relationship between the geographical information and the at least one target destination.
• the transmitter is adapted to conditionally send the message to the second vehicle depending on a result of the determination.
• the processor can be adapted to receive or determine a discriminator as discussed above which can quantify the relationship.
• a device adapted to be used with a first vehicle for transferring a message to at least one target destination which comprises a processor, a transmitter, and a receiver.
• the processor is adapted to determine geographical information regarding at least one of a position, a route, and a destination of the first vehicle.
• the transmitter is adapted to send the geographical information to a second vehicle.
• the receiver is adapted to receive the message from the second vehicle in response to the sending of the geographical information for transfer to the target destination.
• the processor may further be adapted to process the received message. The processing of the received message may depend on the at least one target destination.
• a device adapted to be used with a first vehicle for transferring a message to at least one target destination which comprises a detection unit, a processor, and a transmitter.
• the detection unit is adapted to detect an event by the first vehicle.
• the processor is adapted to generate the message in response to the detection of the event, wherein the message includes at least one of event information and the target destination.
• the transmitter is adapted to send the message to a second vehicle for being transported to the target destination.
• Each device may further comprise a signalling unit adapted to signal information regarding the message.
• the signalling unit may apply vehicular signals, such as warning lights or a horn.
• the signalling unit may further be adapted to signal information inside the first vehicle.
• the signalling unit may also comprise or access a display to display the signalled information.
• the signalling unit may comprise or access a loudspeaker or an audio system for signalling information acoustically. In the latter case, the signalling unit may also comprise an electronic speech synthesis unit generating an audio signal related to the received message.
• Each device may further comprise or have access to an electronic navigation system such as an electronic navigation system, such as satellite navigation systems.
• the processor may form a processing unit of the navigation system or be adapted to process results of the navigation system. Such results of the navigation system may encompass a route or a road distance or a time period estimated by the electronic navigation system. It is also beneficial to adapt the processor as to process such results to compute the aforementioned discriminator in determining the relationship.
• the processor may also be adapted to include event information in the message regarding an event.
• the processor may further be adapted to select the at least one target destination depending on the event information or the geographical information.
• Rg. 1 shows schematically the routes of two vehicles and their positions before passing an event
• Fig. 2 shows the scenery of Fig. 1 at a later time when one of the two vehicles has passed the event
• Fig. 3 shows a transmission and a reception of geographical information as the vehicles come within a mutual range of communication
• Fig. 4 shows schematically a reception and a transmission of a message
• Fig. 5 shows schematically the message being hosted by the other vehicle of the two vehicles
• Fig. 6 shows schematically the message being sent to a target destination
• Fig. 7 shows schematically modules of a device embodiment onboard the vehicles for transferring the message
• Figs. 8A, B show steps of a method embodiment performed for sending the message
• Fig. 9 shows steps of a complementary method embodiment for receiving the message.
• Fig. 10 shows steps of a further method embodiment.
• an efficient transfer of a message to at least one target destination is facilitated using vehicle-to-vehicle communication.
• the efficiency comes about with geographical information, which may be provided by a navigation system.
• the navigation system may be a self-contained onboard system or a distributed system partially located onboard a vehicle and partially located at one or more remote sites, wherein the individual system parts are configured to communicate with each other (using, e.g., cellular communication techniques).
• Figs. 1 to 6 show in temporal order the routes and geographical positions of a first vehicle 10 and a second vehicle 12.
• Each of the vehicles 10 and 12 is equipped with a wireless network module 14, an electronic navigation system 16, a processor 50, and a memory module 52 accessible to the processor 50 as schematically shown in Fig. 7.
• the electronic navigation system can be satellite-based. To this end, signals from satellites of the Global Position System (GPS) or the Galileo Navigation System are received. In case of lacking contact to a sufficient number of satellites or other cases, the electronic navigation system may locate the vehicle's position within a mobile network. To this end, most frequently cellular communication networks are applied (e.g., signal strengths of known base stations can be compared).
• GPS Global Position System
• Galileo Navigation System Galileo Navigation System
• the position is directly requested (e.g., from a mobile communications service provider).
• the navigation system may track the current position of the vehicle using onboard sensors (e.g., steering sensors and sensors for velocity and acceleration).
• onboard sensors e.g., steering sensors and sensors for velocity and acceleration.
• any equivalent method can be applied for evaluating at least one of a position, a route, and a destination.
• Destinations of the first and second vehicle 10, 12 are stored in the corresponding navigation systems 16 and are identified in Fig. 1 as locations 18 and 20, respectively.
• a route 22 for the first vehicle leads to its destination 18, and a route 24 of the vehicle 12 leads to its destination 20.
• the routes 22 and 24 are computed by the navigation systems 16 and/or stored onboard the vehicles 10, 12.
• an event 26 has occurred on a roadside along the route 22 of the first vehicle 10.
• the event 26 is, for example, an accident which blocks the lane opposite to the route 22 of vehicle 10.
• the map of Fig. 1 furthermore shows two roadside target destinations 28 and 30, which are police stations at least one of which is to be informed as to the occurrence of the event.
• the target destination 28 is located on a roadside of the route 22 of vehicle 10 and the target destination 30 is located at a junction of the route 24 of vehicle 12.
• a minimal beeline distance between each of the target destinations 28, 30 and the corresponding routes 22, 24 is sufficiently short to fall within the range of communication of the wireless network modules 14 installed in the vehicles 10 and 12.
• the event 26 is detected by a detection unit 32 shown schematically in Fig. 7.
• the detection unit 32 receives data from the sensor unit 44, i.e. from one or more sensors connected to the sensor unit 44.
• a vehicle occupant can enter information via a user interface of a driver assistance system 42.
• An inexpensive embodiment of the user interface may be a switch or keyboard.
• the signalling unit 38 of the driver assistance system 42 comprises a touch screen which provides the functionality of the user interface.
• a microphone and a speech recognition device are additionally installed to offer a contactless input to the vehicle occupant.
• a set of types for events onboard the vehicle comprises the types of "slippery road” detected by sensors of an anti-slip control system; "dense fog” detected by cameras or the fact that the front/rear fog light got switched on; "car accident” detected by acceleration sensors, airbag sensors, cameras or entered via the user interface; "car theft in progress” detected by alarm system of the first vehicle 10; and “medical emergency” detected by ace- leration sensors, airbag sensors or entered via the user interface.
• the flowchart 800 of Fig. 8A, B shows a method embodiment of steps performed by the processor 50 onboard the vehicle 10, while the flowchart 900 of Fig. 9 shows complementary or combinable steps of a method embodiment performable by the processor 50 onboard the vehicle 12.
• an evidence value is assigned to the detected event 26.
• the evidence value represents a trustiness of the sensor applied in the detection 810 as well as quality and significance of the received signal.
• a message 34 is created. This allows to efficiently eliminate "false events" onboard the first vehicle 10.
• the message 34 has been created and is now hosted by the vehicle 10.
• the message 34 includes event information which is based on data received from the detection unit 32 shown in Fig. 7. As the first vehicle 10 passes the event 26, further data related to the event 26 is received from the detection unit 32.
• the evidence values assigned to such successional events accumulate. The message is regarded as transferable only if the accumulated evidence value exceeds a transfer threshold. This allows to efficiently avoid the transfer of "false messages”.
• the message 34 has accumulated sufficient evidence values for a transfer and advances by the motion of the first vehicle 10.
• the first vehicle 10 may, as long as it is inside a predefined proximity of the event 26, send the message 34 to any second vehicle 12 within its range of communication as to inform such vehicles being inside a zone of the event.
• One way of realizing this feature is a broadcasting mode.
• the first vehicle 10 switches to the broadcasting mode as long it is within the predefined proximity to the event 26. Being in the broadcasting mode, the message 34 is broadcasted by the first vehicle 10 to any second vehicle 12 which is within the range of communication.
• This functionality may, for example, warn the oncoming traffic of the event 26, before the oncoming traffic encounters the event 26.
• the target destination 28 is selected in step 814 based on the known route 22 of vehicle 10 (as calculated by the onboard navigation system 16). In the cause of this selection, an electronic map is consulted, which comprises locations of possible target destinations 28, 30. Depending on the event, it is also possible that the message has only one suitable target destination, in which case the step of selecting the target destination 28, 30 is skipped. In such a case vehicle 10 aims at finding such vehicles 12, which can carry the message to the suitable target destination in an effective way.
• Fig. 3 The second vehicle 12 is now within the range of communication of vehicle 10. Geographical information related to at least one of a current position, the destination 20, and the route 24 of the second vehicle 12 is communicated from vehicle 12 to vehicle 10 either automatically or upon specific request from vehicle 10. This step 816 is also shown in the flowchart 800 of Fig. 8.
• Step 818 analyses whether the route 24 of the second vehicle 12 is also included in the received geographical information. If only the destination 20 is received, the route 24 of vehicle 12 is computed in step 820 by the onboard navigation system 16 of vehicle 10 based on the destination 20 of vehicle 12.
• a target selection 822 may retrieve possible targets from a set of known target destinations, which are related to this type of the event. For instance in the case of an accident, the selection may be based on an electronic map comprising locations of police stations. A plurality of other dependencies regarding the event information is possible. In general, the selection 822 may depend on both the event information and the geographical information.
• the selection of the at least one target destination can be based on the type of the event: for instance, a service station may be chosen in the case of a technical malfunction. At the same time this target destination may be chosen to be located in the neighbourhood of the second route of the second vehicle 12.
• the target destination 30 is selected in step 822 based on the route 24 and a type of the event 26 regarding the second vehicle 12 as a potential carrier of the message 34.
• the following step 824 generally determines a relationship between at least two of the geographical information, the message 34, and the target destinations 28, 30.
• step 826 analyses whether an additional warning regarding the event 26 is to be sent to vehicle 12.
• step 828 analyses whether the route 24 of vehicle 12 approaches the event 26.
• step 830 analyses whether the current position of vehicle 12 is inside a zone of the event 26.
• the zone of the event 26 covers the segment 36 in Rg. 3 of the road affected by the event 26.
• vehicle 10 does not transmit a warning to vehicle 12.
• step 832 which tests for the route 24 of the second vehicle 12 approaching the target destination 30.
• a positive result of the analysis of step 832 may indicate an advantage in transferring the message to the second vehicle 12.
• a first discriminator regarding the first vehicle 10 is estimated by the navigation system onboard vehicle 10 in step 836.
• the first discriminator gives the time for vehicle 10 following the route 22 to reach the target destination 28.
• a second discriminator is defined by the time of the second vehicle 12 following its route 24 to reach the target destination 30.
• Step 838 analyses whether the second discriminator has been or should be received from vehicle 12. Receiving the second discriminator may be necessary if, for example, the navigation system onboard the first vehicle 10 was unable to compute the route 24 of the second vehicle 12. In such a situation, vehicle 10 can send a request to vehicle 12, optionally along with information regarding the target destination 30, for receiving the second discriminator from vehicle 12.
• the route 24 of the second vehicle 12 is known, so that the second discriminator is estimated in step 840 onboard the first vehicle 10.
• the second discriminator quantifies whether or under which circumstances the second vehicle 12 approaches the at least one target destination.
• the second discriminator may encompass a list with entries one for each of the target destinations.
• the second discriminator may furthermore include a weighting factor in order to quantify the importance or suitability of the target destinations.
• step 842 compares the first and second discriminator.
• the result of the comparison of step 842 shows in this case that the time for vehicle 12 to reach its target destination 30 is shorter than the time for vehicle 10 to reach its target destination 28.
• the message 34 is sent in step 850 from the first vehicle 10 to the second vehicle 12 as is shown schematically in Rg. 4.
• the determination of the relationship considers whether the second vehicle 12 is more appropriate for transporting the message 34 as compared to the first vehicle 10. This has the advantage that the message 34 is hosted by a vehicle that advances the message by its own motion, generally in accordance with the at least one target destination 28, 30. By this, the present technique turns the fact that its communication nodes are moving into an advantage for delivering the message 34.
• step 844 analyses whether equipment information can be received, possibly upon request, from the second vehicle 12.
• step 848 analyses whether it is advantageous to forward the message 34 to the second vehicle 12 and to use the communication equipment of vehicle 12.
• the result of the step 848 can be positive if a mobile phone is accessible onboard the second vehicle 12.
• the above-mentioned (accumulated) evidence value can be included in the message 34.
• further evidence values can be assigned to the message 34 and accumulated by the message 34 onboard the second vehicle 12.
• the message is handed over to the second vehicle 12. That is to say that vehicle 10 formerly hosting the message 34 continues to warn upcoming traffic according to the group of steps 826, but the vehicle 10 will no longer send the message to another vehicle, instructing the other vehicle to transfer the message to one of the target destinations. By this, an avalanche effect in transferring the message 34 is avoided.
• a timer T34 assigned to the message 34 is initiated as the message 34 is sent.
• the first vehicle 10 sends a similar message 34' at a later time not until a certain latency time has elapsed, i.e. if T34 > TLATENCY-
• T34 > TLATENCY For example, if a natural event 26 of type "dense fog" is detected in a zone 36, the latency time TLATENCY is set to a minimal estimated time for the fog to clear off in the zone 36.
• the similar message 34' is send if, for example, its detection falls outside the zone 36 of the event 26 reported previously by message 34. This allows beneficially to update the extent of the event.
• the decision whether to generate the message 34' may also depend on the (accumulated) evidence value assigned to the message 34 (if such is available) and the (accumulated) evidence value of the current message 34'.
• the latency time TLATENCY can be computed as a function of such evidence values.
• the message 34 is sent to the second vehicle 12, instructing the second vehicle 12 to transfer the message 34 to one or more specific target destinations 30 included as target information in the message 34, while it remains a task of the first vehicle 10 to transfer the message 34 to one or more other target destinations 28.
• the task of transferring the message 34 to a set of target destinations 28, 30 may be split among two or more vehicles 10, 12.
• the target information can instead of explicit target destination or in addition include a type of the target destination, which generically specifies possible destinations. This type of the target destination beneficially increases the flexibility of the second vehicle in transferring the message.
• the second vehicle 12 takes over the message 34 exclusively as is shown in Hg. 5. At this point in time, the message 34 advances by the motion of the second vehicle 12.
• the analogue method for transferring the message 34 from the first vehicle 10 to the second vehicle 12 can be applied independently of the origin of the message 34.
• the vehicle 10 receives the message 34 according to step 808 of the flowchart 800 of Fig. 8 in a way similar to or other than the vehicle 12 receiving the message from the vehicle 10.
• the complementary method embodiment starts in step 910 with determining geographical information. This is done upon request of another vehicle 10, which has come within the range of communication of the vehicle 12. A possible scene thereof is shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 3 also illustrates the following step 912 of sending the geographical information from the vehicle 12 to the vehicle 10.
• the vehicle 10 also requests a discriminator regarding the vehicle 12 following route 24 to reach a target destination 30. If so, a navigation system 16 onboard the vehicle 12 estimates the discriminator based on an electronic map, for example by computing a road distance to the target destination 30. The resulting discriminator is stored, for example to avoid its re-computation in a later comparison of different discriminators. The discriminator is sent from the vehicle 12 to the vehicle 10 according to step 914.
• the vehicle 10 requests information regarding equipment of the vehicle 12.
• the vehicle 12 sends according to step 916 the requested equipment information.
• the message is received from the vehicle 10 in step 918 and analysed regarding its relevance to the vehicle 12 in step 920. If the result of the analysis 920 is positive, for example, because the received message is a warning, information included in the message 34 is signalled in step 922 inside the vehicle 12. For signalling, a signalling unit 38 shown in Fig. 7 is applied. It is often important to also signal the warning outside of vehicle 12. To this end, the signalling unit 38 directly controls the warning lights of vehicle 12. An example illustrating the advantage is given by a received message that warns against a traffic jam ahead on a freeway. The warning lights of vehicle 12 will then alert vehicles further behind, thus reducing the risk of a rear-end collision.
• step 924 analyses whether the message includes specific target information, which includes the at least one target destination.
• the target destination can comprise a type of the target destination, i.e. a predefined or generic identifier (for example: "hospital within a radius of 20 km"). If no explicit target destination is included, step 926 selects at least one target destination. The at least one target destination is selected along the route 24 depending on the type of the target destination (if received) or an event type, which is assigned to the received message 34 or included in the event information of the message 34. In general, the selection of the at least one target destination for transferring the message 34 related to the event 26 depends on the event information.
• the message received may further be augmented in step 928 with additional information which is available to the vehicle 12.
• the additional information may be chosen according to the type of the message 34 or depending on the selected target destination 30.
• the additional information may include a time stamp, information about traffic jams or sensor information of the vehicle 12. Possible sensor information may comprise an average speed of the vehicle 12, which can indicate the presence of a traffic jam.
• the step 926 of selecting the at least one target destination may be repeated to include recent information of the present traffic situation.
• the target destination can thus be adjusted, for instance as to a vehicle further ahead in the traffic jam or a vehicle leaving the jammed road.
• step 930 analyses whether messages with common content or at least one common target destination are present onboard the vehicle 12. If so, in step 932 messages having redundant information or equal target destinations are mutually affiliated.
• An implement on of step 932 for common target destinations deletes all but one of message headers (which contain the common target destination) and concatenates the message content.
• Another implementation of step 932 for common content assigns predefined categories to data records in the message 34 or sorts the data records in the message 34 according to the predefined categories. Subsequently, redundant data records are deleted within each predefined category.
• step 930 is followed by the step 934 of sending the message 34 to the target destination 30 as is shown in Fig. 6.
• the message 34 has reached at least one of its target destinations.
• step 934 may trigger the step 934 of sending the message 34 to the at least one target destination 30.
• This step 934 may also be triggered by the discriminator reaching a predefined value or crossing a predefined limiting value. Alternatively or in addition, the step 934 may be triggered by testing for a robustness of a communication connection with the at least one target destination 30.
• transfer information is included in step 1020 in the message 34.
• the transfer information comprises a type of the event or a type of the target destination, which allows a second vehicle to select a corresponding target destination.
• the transfer information readily comprises the at least one target destination 28, 30 selected by the first vehicle 10.
• the first vehicle 10 broadcasts the message in step 1030 so that any second vehicle 12 entering the range of communication of the vehicle 10 receives the message.
• the receiving second vehicle 12 optionally decides whether it accepts or rejects transferring the message 34. This decision is based on the transfer information.
• the receiving second vehicle 12 analyses if its route matches the at least one target destination 28, 30. The analysis may be quantified by a discriminator as discussed above. If the route does not match, vehicle 12 cancels the message, (optionally by sending a rejection). In case the analysis is negative after the message has been formally transferred to vehicle 12, the message is returned to vehicle 10.
• the rejection sent by the second vehicle 12 can also be a partial rejection: the transfer of some of the target destinations is acknowledged, while some other destinations are rejected.
• the first vehicle 10 Whenever the first vehicle 10 receives the rejection, it continues sending the message.
• Those of skill in the art will readily appreciate that by deleting acknowledged target destinations from a list of the at least one target destination, a message avalanche effect is avoided. This feature of the method embodiment beneficially allows to extend any variant of the transfer method presented above to vehicles which are involved in an accident.
• the message 34 behaves like a "virtual hitchhiker" in a hosting vehicle depending on geographical information of the hosting vehicle.
• the geographical information comprises at least one of a current position, the hosting vehicle's destination, and a route of the hosting vehicle.
• the message can be implemented as a general object in an object-orientated way.
• the general object is referred to as a "transport agent”.
• the message 34 is a data member associated with the transport agent and at least parts of the above-mentioned methods are included as methods of the transport agent.
• the transport agent module 40 executes the transport agent using the transport agent module library 41 and has access to the navigation system 16 onboard the hosting vehicle.
• the transport agent can communicate by wireless communication technique such as the wireless network interface 14 of the hosting vehicle.
• the transport agent module 40 furthermore allows the transport agent to exchange information with a driver assistance system 42.
• the driver assistance system 42 may comprise a detection unit 32, a signalling unit 38, and a sensor unit (44).
• the transport agent module 40 or the transport agent module library 41 can provide the functionality for routing messages of higher-level applications, for example the driver assistance system 42, in an ad-hoc network of vehicles by using the wireless network interface 14.
• the present technique allows to setup a communication network without setting up stationary gateways as a backbone of the communication. Without the need for such a stationary infrastructure, service costs are comparatively low.
• stationary antenna systems located at elevated spots are frequent- tly regarded as disturbing the environment or landscape, which can also be avoided by the present technique.
• the transport agent may compute a route of the message 34 or the transport agent itself to reach one or more of its target destinations 28, 30 by accessing the navigation system 16.
• the transport agent may furthermore determine a relationship between the computed route and the route 22 or 24 of the hosting vehicle.
• the transport agent is adapted to receive geographical information from one or more other vehicles.
• the transport agent can assign a discriminator to each of the one or more other vehicles.
• the discriminator may quantify whether a route of the one or more other vehicles fits better to the computed route of the message 34 or the transport agent.
• the discriminator may quantify whether the received geographical information indicates the same route but a higher speed of travel.
• the discriminator may assess the position of the one ore more other vehicles. The latter assessment is, for example, of importance to the transport agent, if the hosting vehicle is stuck in traffic.
• the transport agent can decide to advance by repeatedly changing its current hosting vehicle using the wireless network interface 14.
• the transport agent can beneficially pursue a strategy of repeatedly changing the hosting vehicle under very dense traffic conditions and pursue a strategy of advancing by the motion of the hosting vehicle, if communication links are rare.
• the transport agent may furthermore interact with other transport agents being hosted by the transport agent module 40.
• the interaction can include a merging 932 of transport agents or messages 34 having at least one target destination in common.
• New transport agents or messages 34 are generated by the transport agent module 40 as a result of an event 26 being detected by the detection unit 32 as is shown in Fig. 2.
• the message 34 of the transport agent may be augmented by data received from a sensor unit 44.
• the transport agent module 40 uses a signalling unit 38 to signal information of the transport agent or its message 34 inside the hosting vehicle.
• the transport agent module can also be implemented as a device 40 comprising a processor 50, memory 52 accessible for the processor 50, and a transport agent module library 41 stored within the memory 52.
• the transport agent 40 is adapted to perform any one of the aforementioned steps for transferring a transport agent or its message 34 to at least one target destination.
• the device 40 can exchange data with the wireless network interface/module 14, which provides the functionality of a receiver and a transmitter.
• the processor 50 is further adapted to determine a relationship as to the route of the one ore more other vehicles approaching the at least one target destination. In case that the route of the vehicle 12 is not yet known, the processor 50 may further be adapted to compute the route of the vehicle 12 using an electronic map. The computation may be based on the received geographical information. In determining the relationship, the processor 50 may be adapted to compute a minimal distance between the route of the vehicle 12 and the at least one target destination. The minimal distance can be compared by the processor 50 to a maximum range of the transmitter 54, so as to decide on sending the message 34.
• the techniques presented herein provide various advantages.
• the techniques can be implemented using already existing and widespread technologies such as electronic navigation systems and wireless communication devices.
• the techniques presented herein may be the only efficient way for a message to reach a target destination in the case of a far-scheduled communication network and when no local access to a fixed communication infrastructure is available.
• messages can be preserved even if there is no communication connection to a desired target destination over a longer period of time.
• overload of available communication resources can be prevented or at least reduced (with the optional exception of a broadcasting mode for a delimited danger zone).
• the techniques presented herein exploit the fact that mobile communication nodes move on (at least partially) known routes and/or to (at least partially) known destinations. Moreover, the techniques provide message merging and message dissemination functionalities that can be performed while the communication nodes (the vehicles) are travelling to their destination.

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