WO2018028959A1

WO2018028959A1 - Systems and methods for controlling vehicle manoeuvres

Info

Publication number: WO2018028959A1
Application number: PCT/EP2017/068257
Authority: WO
Inventors: Naseem AKHTAR; James Kelly
Original assignee: Jaguar Land Rover Limited
Priority date: 2016-08-11
Filing date: 2017-07-19
Publication date: 2018-02-15
Also published as: DE112017003982T5; GB201613786D0; GB2552816A; GB2552816B

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention provide systems and methods for improving autonomous control of vehicles by storing environment data during driving of the vehicle and subsequently searching the environment data for a suitable location for performing an autonomous manoeuvre after a user has requested the vehicle to perform an autonomous manoeuvre. Embodiments of the invention provide systems and methods for locating said suitable location and initiating at least semi-autonomous driving of the vehicle to said suitable location.

Description

SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CONTROLLING VEHICLE MANOEUVRES

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for controlling vehicle manoeuvres and particularly, but not exclusively, to systems and methods for controlling vehicle manoeuvres where limited space is available. Aspects of the invention relate to a system, a controller, a computer program product, a non-transitory computer readable medium, a processor, a vehicle and a method. BACKGROUND

Some modern vehicles have the capability to perform manoeuvres substantially autonomously. During such autonomous manoeuvres the user allows the vehicle to control the steering to manoeuvre the vehicle to a destination which has been set by the user or which has been identified by the vehicle. The user may retain control of the powertrain controls (i.e. the accelerator pedal, the brake pedal, the gear selector and the clutch pedal in vehicles with manual transmissions) during the manoeuvre, or the vehicle may control at least some of these inputs as well.

During an autonomous manoeuvre a vehicle will determine which parts of terrain surrounding the vehicle are suitable for driving on using inputs from a plurality of sensors, and will control the vehicle such that it only drives on terrain that the vehicle has determined to be suitable. However, under some circumstances, the region of suitable terrain surrounding the vehicle may be too small to perform the requested manoeuvre in. In prior art vehicles that can perform autonomous or semi-autonomous manoeuvres the user will typically have to retain control of the vehicle until they arrive at a suitable location for performing the manoeuvre. Although this is always somewhat inconvenient, it can be especially problematic if the user has requested the vehicle to perform an autonomous manoeuvre because the road or track ahead of the vehicle is blocked, as the user will most likely have to reverse to a suitable location to perform the manoeuvre. Reversing the vehicle to a suitable location for a manoeuvre may in fact be more challenging to the driver than performing the manoeuvre itself, especially in off-road conditions or on steep roads or tracks.

It is an object of embodiments of the invention to at least mitigate one or more of the problems of the prior art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Aspects and embodiments of the invention provide a system, a controller, a method, a computer program product, a non-transitory computer readable medium, a processor and a vehicle as claimed in the appended claims. According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided a driver assistance system for a vehicle comprising: environment sensing means configured to obtain environment data, the environment data being indicative of an environment proximal to the vehicle; input means configured to receive a request to perform a manoeuvre; and control means having access to a memory, the control means being configured to, at least periodically along a path of the vehicle, store in the memory a representation of the environment data, wherein the control means is communicably coupled to said input means and is configured, upon receipt of a request to perform a manoeuvre via said input means, to: search the representation of the environment data stored in said memory to locate a manoeuvre location at which a space requirement to perform the manoeuvre is satisfied; and initiate at least semi-autonomous driving of the vehicle to the manoeuvre location.

The request to perform the manoeuvre may be received subsequent to the representation of the environment data being stored in the memory. Advantageously environment data already stored in the memory may be searched for the manoeuvre location. Advantageously the manoeuvre location may be found in environment data existing in the memory.

The environment data may already be stored in the memory when said request to perform the manoeuvre is received. Advantageously it is not necessary to know of a need to perform the manoeuvre prior to storing the environment data.

The manoeuvre may be a vehicle passing manoeuvre. Advantageously when a vehicle is unexpectedly encountered a vehicle passing location may be found.

The control means is optionally arranged to search the representation of the environment data stored in said memory corresponding to the environment outside of a current range of the environment sensing means for the manoeuvre location. Advantageously the manoeuvre location may be found outside of the range of the environment sensing means.

Optionally, the environment sensing means comprises one or more of: a radar-based terrain ranging system, a laser-based terrain ranging system, a plurality of ultrasonic sensors, a structured light camera, or a monocular camera with structure from motion. The input means may include, but is not limited to, a user interface. The control means may comprise one or more of an electronic control unit (ECU), a controller, and an (electronic) processor.

Use of such a system may advantageously allow the autonomous manoeuvre functionality of a vehicle to be used when the vehicle does not have sufficient space to perform a manoeuvre at its current location.

The space requirement may comprise a requirement that the road width exceeds a minimum safe road width, a requirement that at least a minimum safe road width is maintained for a minimum longitudinal distance away from the manoeuvre location, or a requirement that, for a portion of the road around the manoeuvre location, the road width exceeds a variable minimum safe road width, which minimum varies as a function of longitudinal distance from the manoeuvre location. In an embodiment the control means is configured to calculate the space requirement to perform the manoeuvre. Optionally, the system comprises vehicle sensing means, the vehicle sensing means being in communication with the control means and being configured to produce an output relating to a size of another vehicle, wherein the control means is configured to calculate the space requirement of the manoeuvre in dependence on the output relating to the size of the other vehicle. The manoeuvre may comprise manoeuvring the vehicle to a location that allows sufficient space for the other vehicle to pass. This is especially advantageous in situations where a vehicle meets an oncoming vehicle when the road or track is too narrow for the vehicles to pass, as reversing the vehicle to a suitable passing location may be a particularly difficult manoeuvre.

Optionally, the vehicle sensing means comprises one or more cameras. Advantageously, a camera may be able to provide data that can be used to identify the vehicle type of an oncoming vehicle. In an embodiment the control means is configured to identify a vehicle type of the other vehicle using the output from the vehicle sensing means and to determine the space requirement of the manoeuvre in dependence on said identified vehicle type. Optionally, determining the space requirement of the manoeuvre in dependence on said identified vehicle type comprises calculating the size of the other vehicle by reference to a lookup table containing vehicle dimensions for a plurality of different vehicle types. Advantageously, more information about the size of an oncoming vehicle may be inferred from the vehicle type than could be inferred by image recognition or other object sensing methods.

Optionally, the environment sensing means comprises one or more of: a radar-based terrain ranging system, a laser-based terrain ranging system, a plurality of ultrasonic sensors, a structured light camera, or a monocular camera with structure from motion. Advantageously, at least some of these systems may provide alternative functionality in addition to their use in the system of the present invention. For example, one or more of the above systems may provide data to an adaptive cruise control (ACC) system or a parking aid system of the vehicle.

In an embodiment the environment sensing means are configured to generate a point cloud representation of the environment in the vicinity of the vehicle, and the environment data comprises a point cloud representation of a portion the environment over which the vehicle has travelled. Such a representation may provide a convenient, three-dimensional representation of the environment surrounding the vehicle.

Optionally the system is configured to commence recording of environment data in response to one or more of: a user input instructing the system to commence recording environment data; an automatic determination that the vehicle is travelling on a narrow route; and an automatic determination that the vehicle is travelling on a route for which map data are not available. This may avoid storage of excessively large datasets, whilst ensuring that sufficient environment data is available in situations where the system of the present invention is likely to be used. Alternatively, the system is configured to continuously record environment data during operation of the vehicle. Data may be deleted a predetermined time after it is stored, or if the amount of data stored by the system exceeds a predetermined amount. Preferably, data recorded less recently is deleted before more recent data.

In an embodiment the manoeuvre comprises turning the vehicle so that it faces substantially the opposite direction. This may be particularly advantageous in situations where the vehicle is travelling along a narrow path and finds the route ahead blocked by an immovable object such as a fallen tree.

Optionally, the environment sensing means comprises a first group of one or more sensors, the vehicle sensing means comprises a second group of one or more sensors and at least one of the sensors in the second group of sensors is also in the first group of sensors. This may reduce the overall number of sensors needed by the system, thereby reducing the cost of the system.

Optionally said environment sensing means comprises one or more environment sensors configured to obtain environment data and said control means is a controller comprising an electronic processor electrically coupled to an electronic memory, said electronic memory having instructions stored thereon, the processor being configured to access the electronic memory and execute the instructions stored thereon such that it is operable, at least periodically along a path of the vehicle, to command said electronic memory to store a representation of the environment data, wherein the processor has an (optionally electrical) input for receiving a request to perform a manoeuvre via the input means, and the input means comprises a user interface.

Optionally, said electronic memory comprises a first electronic memory device and a second electronic memory device, and wherein said instructions are stored on said first electronic memory device and said representation of the environmental data is stored on said second electronic memory device.

Optionally, said environment sensors output an electrical signal indicative the environment data, and wherein the electronic processor has an electrical input for receiving said electrical signal indicative of the environment data.

The control means may be arranged to store in the memory the representation of the environment data along at least a portion of the path of the vehicle. The control means may be arranged to search the representation of the environment data stored in the memory along at least a portion of the path of the vehicle

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a controller for a driver assistance system of a vehicle, comprising: input means for receiving environment data from one or more environment sensing means, the environment data being indicative of an environment proximal to the vehicle; control means arranged to, at least periodically along a path of the vehicle, store in a memory accessible to the controller a representation of the environment data; wherein the control means is arranged to, in dependence on receiving an input indicative of a request to perform a vehicle manoeuvre, search the representation of the environment data stored in said memory for a manoeuvre location along the path of the vehicle at which a space requirement to perform the vehicle manoeuvre is satisfied; and initiate at least semi-autonomous driving of the vehicle to the manoeuvre location. The input indicative of the request to perform the vehicle manoeuvre may be received subsequent to environment data being stored in the memory. Optionally the manoeuvre is a vehicle passing manoeuvre.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of operating a vehicle comprising: at least periodically along a path of the vehicle, storing environment data in a memory, the environment data being indicative of an environment proximal to the vehicle; and in dependence on receiving an input indicative of a request to perform a vehicle manoeuvre: searching the environment data stored in said memory for a manoeuvre location along the path of the vehicle at which a space requirement to perform the manoeuvre is satisfied; and initiating at least semi-autonomous driving the vehicle to the manoeuvre location.

The input indicative of the request to perform the vehicle manoeuvre is received subsequent to the storing of the environment data in the memory.

The manoeuvre may be a vehicle passing manoeuvre.

The environment data stored in said memory corresponding to the environment outside of a current range of environment sensing means associated with the vehicle may be searched for the manoeuvre location. According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a computer program product executable on a processor so as to implement a method as described above.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a non-transitory computer readable medium carrying computer readable code which when executed causes a vehicle to carry out a method as described above.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a processor arranged to implement a method or a computer program product as described above. According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a vehicle comprising a system, a controller, a computer program product, a non-transitory computer readable medium or a processor as described above. According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided systems and methods for improving autonomous control of vehicles by storing environment data during driving of the vehicle and subsequently searching the environment data for a suitable location for performing an autonomous manoeuvre after a user has requested the vehicle to perform an autonomous manoeuvre. Embodiments of the invention provide systems and methods for locating said suitable location and initiating at least semi-autonomous driving of the vehicle to said suitable location. Within the scope of this application it is expressly intended that the various aspects, embodiments, examples and alternatives set out in the preceding paragraphs, in the claims and/or in the following description and drawings, and in particular the individual features thereof, may be taken independently or in any combination. That is, all embodiments and/or features of any embodiment can be combined in any way and/or combination, unless such features are incompatible. The applicant reserves the right to change any originally filed claim or file any new claim accordingly, including the right to amend any originally filed claim to depend from and/or incorporate any feature of any other claim although not originally claimed in that manner. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

One or more embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a block diagram of a system for a vehicle in an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 shows a graphical representation of a digital map that is generated by a system in embodiments of the present invention;

Figure 3 shows a flow chart illustrating a method of operating a vehicle in an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 4 shows a flow chart illustrating a method of operating a vehicle in another embodiment of the present invention; and

Figure 5 shows a vehicle in an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Figure 1 shows a system 10 in an embodiment of the present invention, and Figure 5 shows a vehicle 100 in which the system shown in Figure 1 may be installed. The system 10 comprises a control means 12, which is an autonomous manoeuvre (AM) controller in the illustrated embodiment. The AM controller 12 comprises a memory means in the form of an electronic memory 14 and a processing means 16 communicably coupled to the electronic memory. In the illustrated embodiment the processing means is a processor. AM controller 12 has input means comprising one or more electrical inputs arranged to communicate with one or more sensing means. In the illustrated embodiment the sensing means comprises one or more environment sensors 18 which are configured to receive information relating to the environment surrounding the vehicle and to produce environment data indicative of the received information relating to the environment surrounding the vehicle. The environment sensors may comprise a radar-based terrain ranging system, a laser-based terrain ranging system, a plurality of ultrasonic sensors, a structured light camera, or a monocular camera with structure from motion, and they may also provide data to other vehicle systems, such as an adaptive cruise control system or a parking aid system.

AM controller 12 is coupled to user input means in the form of a user interface 38 so that signals indicative of an input that has been provided by a user at the user interface can be communicated to the AM controller 12. The user interface 38 may be a touch screen or any other suitable user interface such as a voice input or gesture recognition interface. In any event, user interface 38 is configured to receive an input indicative of a user request for the vehicle to perform an autonomous manoeuvre and to communicate a signal indicative of such a request to the AM controller 12. Upon receipt of the request to perform an autonomous manoeuvre, the AM controller 12 is configured to initiate autonomous control of a vehicle 100 by communicating with steering system controller 26 and in some embodiments powertrain system controller 32. Steering system controller 26 and in some embodiments powertrain controller 32 are both communicably coupled to the AM controller 12.

Steering system controller 26 comprises a processor 28 and an electronic memory 30 and is communicably coupled to an actuator means of a power steering system 22, for example an electric motor or hydraulic system. Steering system controller 26 is configured to provide electrical inputs to the actuator of the power steering system 22, thereby to control the steering of a vehicle 100.

Powertrain system controller 32 comprises a processor 34 and an electronic memory 36 and is communicably coupled to one or more powertrain control actuators 24. For example, the powertrain system controller may be communicably coupled with a linear actuator configured to control an accelerator pedal of the vehicle 100 and a linear actuator configured to control a brake pedal of the vehicle 100. In some embodiments, especially embodiments in which the vehicle 100 has a manual transmission, the powertrain system controller may also be configured to control actuators that control a clutch pedal and/or a gear selector of the vehicle 100. Powertrain system controller 26 is configured to provide inputs to the actuators that control the pedals and/or gear selector of the vehicle, thereby to control the powertrain of a vehicle 100. Alternatively, the powertrain system controller 32 may not be operable to directly control the pedals and may instead provide inputs directly to the systems that are controlled in dependence on the position of the pedals. For example in vehicles having "drive-by-wire" powertrain control in which the user's inputs to the pedals are converted to electrical signals indicative of the position of the pedals the powertrain system controller 32 may provide electrical signals to the systems that are controlled by the pedals, which signals may replace the signals indicative of the position of the pedals when the vehicle is operating in an autonomous mode thereof.

Although the embodiment shown in figure 1 illustrates an AM controller 12 that is communicably coupled with powertrain system controller 32, it will be understood that in some embodiments the system will not be operable to provide inputs to the powertrain system controller 32 and indeed a powertrain system controller 32 may not be provided as part of the system 10. In such embodiments the user may retain control of the accelerator and brake pedals (and also the clutch pedal and gear selector for vehicles with manual transmissions) during autonomous manoeuvres. The vehicle may provide the user with instructions regarding what motive control inputs are required from them to complete the manoeuvre.

Upon receipt of a request to perform an autonomous manoeuvre from the user interface 38 the AM controller 12 is configured to determine a first zone of the terrain surrounding the vehicle such that the first zone comprises only terrain that controller 12 has determined that the vehicle can drive on. The AM controller 12 only includes terrain in the first zone if it has determined that the terrain is suitable for the vehicle to drive on with a sufficiently high confidence level.

The first zone is typically defined in dependence on environment data received from environment sensors 18. In the illustrated embodiment the environment sensing means 18 comprises a plurality of scanning lasers arranged to generate a point cloud representation of the terrain surrounding the vehicle as well as any obstacles that may be present in the vicinity of the vehicle. It will be understood that a single scanning laser could also be used to generate a point cloud representation of the environment surrounding a vehicle. However, using more than one scanning laser may improve the speed with which such a representation can be generated and may provide a larger field of view than a single scanning laser.

In accordance with embodiments of the present invention the AM controller 12 may be configured to receive environment data from environment sensors 18 as the vehicle 100 is driving, whether autonomously or otherwise. Such environment data may be stored in electronic memory 14 or another computer-readable storage device. As will be explained in greater detail below, storage of environment data may be initiated by a user input instructing the system to commence recording environment data or in response to an automatic determination that the vehicle is travelling on a narrow route or a route for which map data are not available. Recording of environment data may enable the AM controller to define a first zone that includes terrain that is not currently within range of the environment sensors 18 if environment data have been recorded. Figure 2 shows a graphical representation of a digital map generated by the system 10 of the present invention that has been installed in a vehicle 100. In the digital map shown in figure 2 recording of environment data has been initiated when the vehicle was in the vicinity of line 56, and the system has stored environment data indicative of the environment proximal the vehicle as it travelled from its position at which recording was initiated to the position illustrated in figure 2. In the map illustrated in figure 2 lines 54 and 52 are indicative of track edges, which could be one or more of raised curbs, ditches, trenches, cliff edges or any other linear boundary that the vehicle 100 cannot or should not cross. As can be seen in figure 2, the forward (i.e. generally left to right) path of the vehicle 100 is blocked by obstacle 102, which is an oncoming vehicle 102 that is too large for vehicle 100 to pass without crossing one of the track edges 52, 54 in the illustrated embodiment. However, it will be understood that the present invention may also be useful in situations in which a path is blocked by another obstacle, for example a parked vehicle or a fallen tree. As the vehicle 100 is unable to continue in a forward direction in the situation illustrated by the digital map in figure 2 a user may request the vehicle to perform an autonomous manoeuvre. For example, if the obstacle 102 is an oncoming vehicle the user may request the vehicle to reverse to a suitable location for the oncoming vehicle to pass. Alternatively, the user may request the vehicle to perform an about-turn so that they can search for an alternative route.

As illustrated in figure 2, the distance between the track edges 52, 54 in the vicinity of the current position of vehicle 100 is too small to allow the vehicle 100 in which the system 10 is installed to pass oncoming vehicle 102 or to allow the oncoming vehicle 102 to pass the vehicle 100. Furthermore, the distance between track edges 52, 54 is too small for the vehicle 100 to perform an about-turn at its current location. Having recognised that the track is too narrow for the vehicles 100, 102 to pass one another a user of the vehicle 100 may input a request for the vehicle to perform an autonomous manoeuvre via user interface 38. For example, the user may input a request for the vehicle to drive to a passing location, that is, a location that allows the oncoming vehicle 102 to pass the vehicle 100. This may be interpreted as a request for the vehicle 100 to manoeuvre to the side of the track, whilst leaving sufficient space for the oncoming vehicle 102 to pass.

When the vehicle arrives at the location shown in figure 2 the system 10 may implement the method 200 illustrated in figure 3. The method is initiated at step 202 and then proceeds to step 204 when a user request to autonomously drive the vehicle to a passing location is received, for example via user interface 38. Upon receipt of a request to autonomously drive to a passing location the method proceeds to step 206, at which the system determines a size of the oncoming vehicle. This may be achieved by sensing the width of the oncoming vehicle using environment sensor 18 or another sensor. Alternatively, the system may have access to a database of the dimensions of common types of vehicles, which may be stored in an on-board memory device or in a cloud storage location that the system has access to. In this case the environment sensor 18 or another sensor such as a forward facing camera may be arranged to determine the type of the oncoming vehicle and then the system may detect a signal indicative of the type of the oncoming vehicle and determine the width and/or length of the oncoming vehicle by reference to the database. If the system is unable to accurately determine a size of the oncoming vehicle in step 206 then the method may proceed on the basis of an assumed vehicle size, which may be representative of a large vehicle so as to ensure that the probability that the system will identify an inappropriate passing location is reduced. Alternatively, the system may prompt the user to provide an input indicative of the approximate size of the oncoming vehicle.

Once the system has determined a size of the oncoming vehicle the method proceeds to step 208, at which the system searches the environment data, which is represented on the digital map shown in figure 2, for a suitable passing location. From the environment data the system is able to identify a first zone 60, which is bounded by track edges 52, 54, which represent boundaries that the system has determined that the vehicle should not cross, and lines 56 and 58, which represent boundaries beyond which environment data are no longer available. The first zone 60 represents driving terrain, i.e. terrain that the system has determined to be suitable for driving on. In step 208 the system searches the first zone 60 for a region of driving terrain that is sufficiently large to allow the vehicle 100 and the oncoming vehicle 102 to safely pass each other. For example, the system may determine a space requirement being a required path width that is maintained for a required path length, which width and length may be determined in dependence on the determined size of the oncoming vehicle 102 and the size of the host vehicle 100. The system may then search the first zone for a location that satisfies the space requirement. In the situation illustrated in figure 2 the first zone 60 widens in the region indicated be arrow 62. Accordingly, the system will determine that a passing location exists in the region indicated by arrow 62 in step 208.

Once the system has identified a suitable passing location the system initiates at least semi- autonomous driving of the vehicle to the passing location in step 210. The method then ends at step 212 once the vehicle has been driven to the passing location.

In some embodiments the system may offer the user the option for the vehicle to autonomously perform a non-passing manoeuvre, for example an about-turn, and the vehicle may be operable to autonomously drive the vehicle to a suitable location if sufficient space to perform the manoeuvre is not available at the current location of the vehicle. The ability to perform an autonomous manoeuvre such as an autonomous about-turn may be provided in addition to or instead of the ability to autonomously drive the vehicle to a passing location. It will be understood that an autonomous about-turn may be especially useful in situations where the vehicle arrives at a blockage such as a parked vehicle or a fallen tree on a narrow track.

A method 220 of performing an autonomous non-passing manoeuvre is illustrated in figure 4. The method starts at step 222 and proceeds to step 224 when an input indicative of a user request to perform an autonomous manoeuvre is received, for example via user interface 38. Upon receipt of the input indicative of a user request to perform an autonomous manoeuvre the method proceeds to step 226 wherein the system determines a space requirement of the manoeuvre. For an about-turn the space requirement may be a requirement that a region of driving terrain that exceeds a predetermined track width for a predetermined track length is available. The predetermined track width and length may be based on the vehicle dimensions and turning capability and may be representative of the smallest area that it is possible for the vehicle to perform an autonomous about-turn in. Indeed, the required track width may vary as a function of track length as measured from a given datum, as the maximum width may only be required for a relatively small proportion of the required region. In some embodiments the system may directly calculate the space requirement every time an autonomous non-passing manoeuvre is requested. Alternatively, the system may have access to a database containing the space requirement for all of the autonomous non-passing manoeuvres that the system is operable to initiate performance of.

Once the space requirement has been determined the method proceeds to step 228, in which the system searches the stored environment data for a suitable manoeuvre location at which the space requirement determined in step 226 is satisfied. Once a suitable manoeuvre location has been identified the method proceeds to step 230 in which the system initiates autonomous driving of the vehicle to the manoeuvre location. The method then proceeds to step 232 at which the system initiates performance of the autonomous manoeuvre requested in step 222. Once the autonomous manoeuvre has been completed the method ends at step 234.

It will be appreciated that embodiments of the present invention can be realised in the form of hardware, software or a combination of hardware and software. Any such software may be stored in the form of volatile or non-volatile storage such as, for example, a storage device like a ROM, whether erasable or rewritable or not, or in the form of memory such as, for example, RAM, memory chips, device or integrated circuits or on an optically or magnetically readable medium such as, for example, a CD, DVD, magnetic disk or magnetic tape. It will be appreciated that the storage devices and storage media are embodiments of machine-readable storage that are suitable for storing a program or programs that, when executed, implement embodiments of the present invention. Accordingly, embodiments provide a program comprising code for implementing a system or method as claimed in any accompanying claim and a machine readable storage storing such a program. Still further, embodiments of the present invention may be conveyed electronically via any medium such as a communication signal carried over a wired or wireless connection and embodiments suitably encompass the same.

All of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), and/or all of the steps of any method or process so disclosed, may be combined in any combination, except combinations where at least some of such features and/or steps are mutually exclusive.

Each feature disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent or similar features. The invention is not restricted to the details of any foregoing embodiments. The invention extends to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), or to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the steps of any method or process so disclosed. The claims should not be construed to cover merely the foregoing embodiments, but also any embodiments which fall within the scope of the claims.

Claims

1 . A driver assistance system for a vehicle comprising:

environment sensing means configured to obtain environment data, the environment data being indicative of an environment proximal to the vehicle;

input means configured to receive a request to perform a manoeuvre; and control means having access to a memory, the control means being configured to, at least periodically along a path of the vehicle, store in the memory a representation of the environment data,

wherein the control means is communicably coupled to said input means and is configured, upon receipt of a request to perform a manoeuvre via said input means, to: search the representation of the environment data stored in said memory to locate a manoeuvre location at which a space requirement to perform the manoeuvre is satisfied; and initiate at least semi-autonomous driving of the vehicle to the manoeuvre location.

2. The driver assistance system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the request to perform the manoeuvre is received subsequent to the representation of the environment data being stored in the memory.

3. The driver assistance system as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the manoeuvre is a vehicle passing manoeuvre.

4. The driver assistance system as claimed in claim 1 , 2 or 3, wherein the control means is arranged to search the representation of the environment data stored in said memory corresponding to the environment outside of a current range of the environment sensing means for the manoeuvre location.

5. A driver assistance system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the control means is configured to calculate the space requirement to perform the manoeuvre.

6. A driver assistance system as claimed in claim 5, wherein the system comprises vehicle sensing means, the vehicle sensing means being in communication with the control means and being configured to produce an output relating to a size of another vehicle,

wherein the control means is configured to calculate the space requirement of the manoeuvre in dependence on the output relating to the size of an other vehicle.

7. A driver assistance system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the manoeuvre comprises manoeuvring the vehicle to a location that allows sufficient space for the other vehicle to pass.

8. A driver assistance system as claimed in claim 6 or claim 7, wherein the vehicle sensing means comprises one or more cameras.

9. A driver assistance system as claimed in any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein the control means is configured to identify a vehicle type of the other vehicle using the output from the vehicle sensing means and to determine the space requirement of the manoeuvre in dependence on said identified vehicle type.

10. A driver assistance system as claimed in claim 9, wherein determining the space requirement of the manoeuvre in dependence on said identified vehicle type comprises calculating the size of the other vehicle by reference to a lookup table containing vehicle dimensions for a plurality of different vehicle types.

1 1 . A driver assistance system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the environment sensing means comprises one or more of: a radar-based terrain ranging system, a laser-based terrain ranging system, a plurality of ultrasonic sensors, a structured light camera, or a monocular camera with structure from motion.

12. A driver assistance system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the environment sensing means are configured to generate a point cloud representation of the environment in the vicinity of the vehicle, and the environment data comprises a point cloud representation of a portion the environment over which the vehicle has travelled.

13. A driver assistance system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the system is configured to commence the storing in the memory the representation of the environment data in response to one or more of:

a user input instructing the system to commence recording environment data;

an automatic determination that the vehicle is travelling on a narrow route; and an automatic determination that the vehicle is travelling on a route for which map data are not available.

14. A driver assistance system as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the system is configured to continuously store in the memory the representation of the environment data during operation of the vehicle.

15. A driver assistance system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the manoeuvre comprises turning the vehicle so that it faces substantially the opposite direction.

16. A driver assistance system as claimed in claim 6, or any one of claims 7 to 15 where dependent on claim 6, wherein the environment sensing means comprises a first group of one or more sensors, the vehicle sensing means comprises a second group of one or more sensors and at least one of the sensors in the second group of sensors is also in the first group of sensors.

17. A driver assistance system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein:

said environment sensing means comprises one or more environment sensors configured to obtain environment data;

said control means is a controller comprising an electronic processor electrically coupled to an electronic memory, said electronic memory having instructions stored thereon, the processor being configured to access the electronic memory and execute the instructions stored thereon such that it is operable, at least periodically along a path of the vehicle, to command said electronic memory to store a representation of the environment data,

wherein the processor has an input for receiving a request to perform a manoeuvre via the input means, and the input means comprises a user interface.

18. A driver assistance system according to claim 17 wherein said electronic memory comprises a first electronic memory device and a second electronic memory device, and wherein said instructions are stored on said first electronic memory device and said representation of the environmental data is stored on said second electronic memory device.

19. A driver assistance system as claimed in claim 17 or claim 18 wherein said environment sensors output an electrical signal indicative the environment data, and wherein the electronic processor has an electrical input for receiving said electrical signal indicative of the environment data.

20. A controller for a driver assistance system of a vehicle, comprising: input means for receiving environment data from one or more environment sensing means, the environment data being indicative of an environment proximal to the vehicle; control means arranged to, at least periodically along a path of the vehicle, store in a memory accessible to the controller a representation of the environment data;

wherein the control means is arranged to, in dependence on receiving an input indicative of a request to perform a vehicle manoeuvre, search the representation of the environment data stored in said memory for a manoeuvre location along the path of the vehicle at which a space requirement to perform the vehicle manoeuvre is satisfied; and initiate at least semi-autonomous driving of the vehicle to the manoeuvre location.

21 . The controller as claimed in claim 20, wherein the input indicative of the request to perform the vehicle manoeuvre is received subsequent to environment data being stored in the memory.

22. The controller as claimed in claim 20 or claim 21 , wherein the manoeuvre is a vehicle passing manoeuvre.

23. A method of operating a vehicle comprising:

at least periodically along a path of the vehicle, storing environment data in a memory, the environment data being indicative of an environment proximal to the vehicle; and

in dependence on receiving an input indicative of a request to perform a vehicle manoeuvre:

searching the environment data stored in said memory for a manoeuvre location along the path of the vehicle at which a space requirement to perform the manoeuvre is satisfied; and

initiating at least semi-autonomous driving the vehicle to the manoeuvre location.

24. The method as claimed in claim 23, wherein the input indicative of the request to perform the vehicle manoeuvre is received subsequent to the storing of the environment data in the memory.

25. The method as claimed in claim 23 or claim 24, wherein the manoeuvre is a vehicle passing manoeuvre.

26. The method as claimed in claim 23, 24 or 25, wherein the environment data stored in said memory corresponding to the environment outside of a current range of environment sensing means associated with the vehicle is searched for the manoeuvre location.

27. A computer program product executable on a processor so as to implement a method as claimed in any of claims 23 to 26.

28. A non-transitory computer readable medium carrying computer readable code which when executed causes a vehicle to carry out the method of any of claims 23 to 26.

29. A processor arranged to implement the method of any of claims 23 to 26 or the computer program product of claim 27.

30. A vehicle comprising a system as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 19, a controller as claimed in any one of claims 20 to 22, a computer program product as claimed in claim

27, a non-transitory computer readable medium as claimed in claim 28 or a processor as claimed in claim 29.