WO2018141340A1

WO2018141340A1 - Detection of road unevenness based on a situational analysis

Info

Publication number: WO2018141340A1
Application number: PCT/DE2018/200002
Authority: WO
Inventors: Oana GASKEY
Original assignee: Continental Automotive Gmbh
Priority date: 2017-02-06
Filing date: 2018-01-26
Publication date: 2018-08-09
Also published as: DE112018000165A5

Abstract

The invention relates to a device (100) for a vehicle. Said device comprises a detector arrangement (110), which is designed to detect a vertical position change of a vehicle driving ahead, and a control unit (120), wherein the vertical position change of the vehicle driving ahead is caused by a roadway unevenness which is driven over. The control unit (120) is designed to conclude that there is a significant roadway unevenness if the vertical position change of the vehicle driving ahead exceeds a predefined threshold and occurs within a predefined time span.

Description

Detection of road bumps using a situation analysis

The invention relates to a device for a vehicle, a vehicle with a device, a method, a program element and a computer-readable medium.

Since the beginning of the development of motor vehicles, the comfort for the passengers is an important criterion. Some important milestones here are air suspension, parking assistant and cruise control. Especially in the last 10 years, numerous other active comfort functions have been developed for vehicles. Road bumps can be present in the form of potholes, as well as in the form of a deliberately mounted speed threshold. The comfort of the passengers can be affected by the running track unevenness ^¬ and the resulting mechanical stresses may lead to reduced life of the vehicle. The effect of roadway unevenness on the vehicle structure and comfort can be influenced inter alia by the speed with which the road bumpiness is run over.

It is the object of the invention, the longevity of

Vehicles and to increase the comfort for their occupants.

This object is solved by the features of the independent claims. Further developments of the invention will become apparent from the subclaims and the following description of embodiments.

A first aspect of the invention relates to a device for a vehicle, which is integrated, for example, in a driver assistance system. This has a detector arrangement which is guided to detect a vertical position change of a driving ahead ^¬ vehicle, and a control unit on. The vertical position change of the preceding vehicle is caused by a ridden road surface unevenness. The controller is executed when the vertical position change of the preceding vehicle exceeds a predefined threshold value and occurs within a predefined period of time to conclude a significant roadway unevenness. Preferably, the speed of the vehicle is reduced when a significant road bump has been concluded.

Accordingly, the detector arrangement can be used for the detection of road bumps. This can search the road directly in front of the vehicle for bumps in the road. However, this can lead to problems in the detection, especially in poor visibility conditions such as darkness or moisture. Furthermore, it is advantageous to estimate the effects of uneven road surface on one's own vehicle. Another possibility road bumps is to indirectly detect the road bumps by the movement of a vo ^¬ outgoing vehicle. The preceding vehicle may be continuously monitored by the detector arrangement of the device. The individual images of the detector arrangement can be compared with one another.

A roadway unevenness typically leads to a vertical change in position of the vehicle body. These effects on the preceding vehicle can be detected by the detector array. When comparing the images, attention can be paid to a vertical change in position of the preceding vehicle within a predefined period of time. If the device detects a predefined threshold, such as 10cm, 15cm or 20cm, a vertical position change of the preceding vehicle is exceeded within a predefined time interval, for example 200 ms or 300 ms, it is possible to conclude that there is a significant road surface roughness. The detector array can estimate the effect of road roughness to the host vehicle better, as the impact of each road roughness may be in the advance ^¬ vehicle observed. As a countermeasure to the roadway unevenness in order to increase the comfort for the passengers and the durability of the vehicle, in a preferred embodiment, the device may reduce the speed upon detection of significant roadway unevenness.

The speed reduction may be triggered by an indication to the driver of the vehicle. Alternatively it can be provided that the speed reduction takes place independently through the device. Also, the reduction in speed may be dependent on the nature of the roadway bumpiness, i. the stronger the expected effects of roadway roughness on the vehicle, the more the speed of the vehicle can be reduced.

As a further embodiment, the device may provide that after passing the road bump, the original speed is restored. This may be particularly advantageous when the vehicle is provided with a VELOCITY ^¬ keitsregeleinrichtung (cruise control). Ie, the vehicle reduces speed, because a significant driving ^¬ ground unevenness was detected and passed this road roughness can be accelerated to the set in the cruise control speed.

An embodiment of the invention provides that the device is executed, the distance to the preceding Determine vehicle and calculate the time at which the road bumpiness is reached.

For the determination of the time of occurrence of the driving ^¬ web rub or for determining the remaining distance to the road unevenness, it may be necessary to determine the distance between the own vehicle and the preceding vehicle. By determining the time or the distance, the device can reduce the speed to the required level by this time, so that the final speed is reached only when reaching the road surface unevenness.

As a further advantage of determining the distance between the own vehicle and the vehicle ahead, it can be mentioned that the evaluation of the individual images of the detector arrangement can be simplified by the distance data. In other words, the individual images can be corrected more easily by the distance data so as to more easily detect a vertical position change of the preceding vehicle. Furthermore, it can be determined the speed of the preceding vehicle, thereby, as the own Ge ^¬ speed is known and can include the change of distance to a differential speed between the own vehicle and the preceding vehicle. Also can raise by determining the timing of road roughness the pros ^¬ direction the speed after passing the road roughness return to the starting speed. Outliers in the detector data can be compensated by the controller by comparing the history of the individual images. Thus, only existing road bumps lead to a reduction in speed.

A further embodiment of the invention provides that the detector arrangement has a camera, preferably with one Image processing, wherein the distance to the vehicle ahead by means of a radar or a Lidarsensor takes place.

As a cost-effective and reliable embodiment of the detector arrangement, a camera can be provided with a corresponding image processing. It is also possible to use several cameras together. For the determination of the distance between the own vehicle and the preceding vehicle a radar and / or a lidar sensor can be used. As a further embodiment, ultrasonic sensors and / or laser scanners for the distance detection can be used. A combination of several different sensor technologies is also provided. The device can also rely on existing sensors in the vehicle, so that the device can be integrated inexpensively and with little space in a vehicle concept.

An embodiment of the invention provides that the device is designed to determine the distance to the vehicle ahead by means of a stereo camera and image processing.

The distance to the vehicle ahead can also be measured by a stereo camera with appropriate image processing. That is, two cameras are used with a defined distance from each other, which have substantially the same field of view. Due to the different perspectives of the two cameras, the depth can be determined by means of image analysis. As a result, space and costs can be saved. In addition, the flexibility is increased in a subsequent integration into a vehicle concept, since not every vehicle concept, a radar or a lidar sensor is provided. An embodiment of the invention provides that the device is designed to adapt the settings of the springs and the dampers of the vehicle on detection of a significant roadway unevenness in order to compensate for the road surface unevenness.

In addition to reducing vehicle speed, the device may also adjust the vehicle's springs and dampers to the road surface unevenness, thereby minimizing the effects of roadway roughness on the passengers. If the springs and dampers can be adjusted according to the situation, the vehicle can be adapted to the specific road surface roughness. Among other things, this can lead to a gain in comfort or the speed does not have to be reduced so far.

An embodiment of the invention provides that the device is designed to increase the speed of the vehicle as soon as the road surface unevenness has passed.

By knowing when the road roughness reached the vehicle, the vehicle can be accelerated to be ^¬ the initial speed again after passing this road roughness. Especially if the vehicle by a speed control device (cruise control) holds the speed, after the road bump again

Driver's request and continue at a higher speed.

A further aspect of the invention relates to a method for detecting a roadway unevenness. In a first step, the preceding vehicle can be detected, so that vertical position changes of the preceding vehicle can be detected. In a second step, now the vertical Position changes are detected, which were caused by road bumps. In a subsequent step, the method may detect the road surface roughness when the vertical position change of the preceding vehicle exceeds a predefined threshold and occurs within a predefined period of time such that the effect of roadway unevenness on the vehicle and its occupants is minimized. The individual steps of the method can also be carried out in different order or can also be carried out simultaneously.

Subsequent to the recognition of the road unevenness, in a further step the speed of the vehicle re duced ^¬ can be.

Another aspect of this invention relates to a vehicle having a device described above and below.

The vehicle may be, for example, a motor vehicle, such as a car, bus or truck.

Another aspect of the present invention relates to a program element that, when executed by a controller of a vehicle, instructs the vehicle to perform the method described in the context of the present invention.

Another aspect of the present invention relates to a computer readable medium having stored thereon a computer program which, when executed by a controller, directs the controller to perform the method described in the context of the present invention. Other features, advantages and applications of the invention will become apparent from the following description of the embodiments and figures. The figures are schematic and not to scale. If the same reference numerals are given in the following description in different figures, these designate the same or similar elements.

Fig. 1 shows a schematic representation of a device according to an embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 2 shows a schematic representation of a vertical

Position change of a vehicle in individual pictures. FIG. 3 shows a schematic representation of a vehicle with a device and a roadway unevenness.

FIG. 4 shows a schematic representation of a vehicle with a device and a vehicle ahead, which undergoes a vertical position change due to a road surface unevenness.

FIG. 5 shows a flow chart for a method for reducing the speed when detecting road bumps.

1 shows a vehicle 200 with a device 100. The device 100 has a detector arrangement 110, a control device 120 and a distance measuring arrangement 130. In this case, the detector arrangement 110 is designed to recognize a preceding vehicle and to record its vertical position changes (movements). Typically, the detector assembly 110 may consist of one or more cameras. The control unit 120 is executed from the data of the detector Order 110 to extract and evaluate the vertical position changes of the preceding vehicle. For the evaluation, the control unit can compare the images of the vehicle ahead with each other and thus detect the vertical position changes of the vehicle ahead. As soon as the control unit detects a vertical position change of the preceding vehicle, which has a predefi ^¬-defined threshold value of the positional change exceeds, for example, 10cm, 15cm or 20cm and pre-defined within a

Time interval, for example, 200ms or 300ms takes place, the STEU ^¬ ergerät 120 close to a significant road surface unevenness. These significant road bumps may be, for example, potholes or speed bumps. If such significant roadway unevenness is detected by the controller, the controller may instruct the driver of the vehicle 200 to reduce the speed of the vehicle 200 so that the roadway roughness has less effect on the vehicle 200 and its occupants. On the one hand, this reduces the mechanical load on the vehicle parts, that is, reduces the wear and, on the other hand, the comfort for the passengers of the vehicle 200 can be increased. According to one embodiment of the invention, the controller 120 may also direct the vehicle 200 to reduce the speed, particularly when the vehicle 200 has semi-automated or fully automated driving functions. By the distance measuring arrangement 130 the distance between the vehicle 200 and the preceding ^¬ vehicle can be determined. By determining the distance, the controller 120 may determine when the vehicle 200 reaches the roadway unevenness. Thus, a targeted reduction of the speed can be done until reaching the position of the road bump. Also, the vehicle can be accelerated to 200 from his ^¬ gear speed after passing the road roughness. The removal ^¬ measuring arrangement 130 is further provided for the detection of vertical position changes of the preceding vehicle helpful, since the controller 120, the images of the detector assembly 110 easier to correct the distance change between the vehicle 200 and the vehicle ahead. Also can be closed by means of the distance measuring arrangement 130 on the speed of the vehicle ahead. On the one hand, one's own speed is known and, on the other hand, it is possible to deduce the speed of the vehicle ahead by means of the distance and the temporal change of the distance. The distance measuring arrangement 130 can consist of a radar, an ultrasound or a lidar sensor, for example. Also conceivable, however, the distance measuring device 130 is to be realized by a stereo camera with a entspre ^¬ sponding image processing or a laser scanner. Furthermore, the control unit 120 based on the data of the

Detector assembly 110 determine the effects of road bumps on the vehicle 200. Thus, the controller may reduce the speed of the vehicle 200, depending on the expected effects of roadway bumps on the vehicle 200. According to a further embodiment of the invention, the control unit 120 may adjust, in addition to a reduction in the vehicle speed, the settings of the springs and the dampers of the vehicle 200, so that the off ^¬ effects of road unevenness on the vehicle to be lower 200th The device 100 can also be operated, for example, in the dark and / or wet, since the vehicle ahead ^{¬ ¬} driving is recognizable even in the dark by its lighting ^¬ processing facilities. The effects of road bumps on one's own vehicle can also be better estimated since the effects of road bumps on the vehicle ahead have been observed and are therefore known. Fig. 2 shows a schematic representation of a vehicle which undergoes through a road unevenness vertical positi ^¬ onsänderung. For this purpose, the individual images of the detector arrangement are compared. In Figure 1, the vehicle is at an initial position, which is symbolized by the upper dashed line. In Figure 2, the vehicle is already below the starting position from Figure 1. In this case, image n stands for an image larger than two and is intended to represent the time course of the vertical change in position of the vehicle. It can be seen that the vehicle continues to move down until image n is reached. This vertical positi ^¬ onsänderung of picture 1 on picture 2 to picture n indicates a road unevenness in the form of, for example, a pothole. The temporal course of the change in position over the individual images of the detector arrangement can also be used to deduce the duration of this change in position. In other words, in which time interval the vertical position change takes place and how big the position change is. The time interval in which images are taken is known, and the resulting vertical positi ^¬ onsänderung can be determined by image analysis. Thus, it can also be concluded that the road surface is uneven. The greater the vertical position change in a shorter time interval, the stronger the impact of the road surface roughness on the vehicle and its occupants.

FIG. 3 shows a vehicle 200 with the device 100 on a road having a roadway unevenness. The road surface unevenness is indicated by the gray area in front of the vehicle. The road surface unevenness is difficult to detect by a camera system of the vehicle, especially in the dark or when wet. If the vehicle drives over the roadway unevenness, here a pothole, the roadway unevenness induces a vertical change in position into the vehicle. 4 shows a schematic representation of a vehicle 200 with the device 100 and a vehicle in front. FIG. 4 shows two possibilities for a roadway unevenness. On the one hand a pothole (upper part) and on the other a speed threshold (lower part). Due to the roadway unevenness, the rear of the vehicle in front is subjected to a vertical change in position. This is illustrated in Fig. 4 by the small black arrows. This vertical position change of the rear of the vehicle in front can be picked up by the detector arrangement 110 of the device 100 and evaluated by the control device 120. The Ent ^¬ fernungsmessanordnung 130 may determine 200 and the preceding vehicle, the distance between the own vehicle. Thus, it can be calculated when the road surface unevenness will reach or reach the own vehicle. In addition, based on the distance, the time or the distance can be determined in which the speed of the vehicle 200 is to be reduced. Also can be calculated, must be delayed as much to own property adequate Ge ^¬ speed until reaching the road roughness. As a further aspect, after passing the roadway unevenness, the vehicle 200 may be accelerated back to its initial speed. 5 shows a flow chart for a method for speed adaptation of a vehicle. In step 501, a preceding vehicle is detected and observed by a detector arrangement. Step 502 is used to detect a ver ^¬ tical position change of the preceding vehicle, the vertical position change is caused by a road bump. In step 503, the speed of the vehicle is reduced if the vertical position change of the preceding vehicle is a predefined threshold exceeds and occurs within a predefined period of time.

Claims

claims

A device (100) for a vehicle, comprising:

a detector assembly (110) configured to detect a vertical position change of a preceding vehicle; and

a controller (120);

wherein the vertical position change of the preceding vehicle is caused by a ridden road surface unevenness;

wherein the control unit (120) is executed when the vertical position change of the preceding vehicle exceeds a predefined threshold value and takes place within a predefined period of time to conclude a significant roadway unevenness.

2. Device (100) according to claim 1,

wherein the device re ^¬ duced the speed of the vehicle, it is concluded if overall a significant road unevenness.

3. Device (100) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the device (100) is designed to determine the distance to the vehicle in front and to calculate therefrom the time at which the road surface unevenness is reached.

4. Device (100) according to claim 3,

wherein the detector assembly (110) comprises a camera.

5. Device (100) according to claim 3 or 4,

wherein the determination of the distance to the vehicle ahead by means of a radar or a lidar sensor (130) and / or by means of a stereo camera (110).

6. Device (100) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the device (100) is designed to adjust the settings of the springs and the dampers of the vehicle upon detection of a significant road bump.

7. The apparatus (100) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the device (100) is configured to increase the Ge ^¬ speed of the vehicle as soon as the driving ^¬ ground unevenness has been passed.

8. vehicle (200) with a device (100) according to one of the preceding claims.

9. A method for detecting a road bump with the following steps:

Detecting (501) a preceding vehicle by a

Detector assembly;

Detecting (502) a vertical position change of the preceding vehicle, wherein the vertical positi ^¬ onsänderung is caused by road unevenness;

Detecting a road surface when the vertical

Position change of the preceding vehicle exceeds a predefined threshold and takes place within a predefined period of time.

10 method according to claim 9,

wherein after detecting a road unevenness, the Ge ^¬ speed of the vehicle is reduced (503)

A computer program element which, when executed on a control unit of a vehicle, instructs the vehicle to perform the method according to claim 9.

12. A computer readable storage medium on which the Compu ^¬ terprogrammelement stored according to claim. 11