WO2021186116A1

WO2021186116A1 - Longitudinal positioning, on the basis of an inter-vehicle time, of an autonomous vehicle in relation to adjacent vehicles

Info

Publication number: WO2021186116A1
Application number: PCT/FR2021/050168
Authority: WO
Inventors: Florian THEEL; Fabien Gurret; Jose Antonio FLORES GONZALEZ
Original assignee: Psa Automobiles Sa
Priority date: 2020-03-17
Filing date: 2021-01-29
Publication date: 2021-09-23
Also published as: FR3108296B1; FR3108296A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for driving an autonomous vehicle, termed ego vehicle (EV), travelling in a current lane (V_EGO) of a roadway for the longitudinal positioning of the ego vehicle with respect to other vehicles (VC1; VC2; VC3; VC4) travelling in at least one lane (VA1; VA2) adjacent to the current lane.

Description

DESCRIPTION

TITLE: Longitudinal positioning from an inter-vehicle time of an autonomous vehicle vis-à-vis adjacent vehicles

The present invention belongs to the field of the autonomous vehicle. It relates in particular to the longitudinal positioning of an autonomous vehicle, called ego-vehicle, relative to other vehicles moving in one or more lanes adjacent to the lane of the ego-vehicle.

By "vehicle" is meant any type of vehicle such as a motor vehicle, a moped, a motorcycle, a storage robot in a warehouse, etc. By "autonomous driving" of an "autonomous vehicle" is meant any process capable of assisting the driving of the vehicle. The method can thus consist in partially or totally steering the vehicle or in providing any type of assistance to a natural person driving the vehicle. The process thus covers all autonomous driving, from level 0 to level 5 in the OICA scale, for the International Organization of Automobile Manufacturers.

By "road" is meant any means of communication involving the physical movement of a vehicle. A national, departmental, local, European, international road, a national, European, international highway, a forest path, a route for autonomous storage devices of a storage warehouse, etc. are examples of routes.

The road includes at least one carriageway. By "roadway" is meant any physical means capable of supporting the movement of a vehicle. A highway typically comprises two carriageways separated by a central reservation.

The roadway includes at least one lane. The term “lane” is understood to mean any portion of the roadway assigned to a line of vehicle. A highway carriageway typically includes at least two traffic lanes. An integration route on the motorway, a single lane in a tunnel, a one-way traffic lane located in a city, etc. are examples of ways.

A lane can be delimited by markings on the ground but it can also correspond to a path on the roadway taken by vehicles traveling on the roadway. Such a lane can be called a "virtual lane" because this lane is not delimited by physical markings but is generated from past paths taken by vehicles traveling on the roadway.

One of the main difficulties in the design of autonomous driving algorithms is to provide autonomous driving as close as possible to human driving.

In particular, regulations or dynamic constraints capable of being supported by the e-vehicle are not the only parameters to be taken into account to ensure comfortable autonomous driving for the occupants of the e-vehicle and the occupants of surrounding vehicles. the ego-vehicle.

The longitudinal positioning of the e-vehicle, in particular on motorway segments, can thus pose a problem. Indeed, the situations where the ego-vehicle would position itself directly opposite another vehicle located on an adjacent lane are poorly perceived by the occupants of the ego-vehicle as well as by the occupants of the other vehicle.

On the one hand, the occupants are facing each other and are very close and the occupants of the vehicles can spy on each other. On the other hand, the situation may be made to last, for example if the set speeds determined by the e-vehicle and the other vehicle (which may also be an autonomous vehicle) are close.

There is therefore a need for ergonomic regulation of the longitudinal positioning of the ego-vehicle, outside of the regulations or dynamic constraints of the e-vehicle.

The present invention improves the situation. A first aspect of the invention provides for this purpose a method of driving an autonomous vehicle, called ego-vehicle, moving in a current lane of a roadway, at least a first vehicle moving in a lane adjacent to the current lane. , the first vehicle moving in front of the ego-vehicle, that is to say that in a Cartesian frame orthonormal of a frame of reference of the ego-vehicle having for axis of the ordinates an axis starting from a central point of the 'ego-vehicle and oriented in the direction of movement of the vehicle, the ordinate of a central point of the first vehicle is greater than the ordinate of the central point of the ego-vehicle, at least one second vehicle moving in the lane adjacent to or moving in another lane adjacent to the current lane, the second vehicle moving behind the e-vehicle, that is to say that the ordinate of a central point of the second vehicle is less than the ordinate of the central point of the e-vehicle in the frame, the method comprising the steps of s:

- determination of a first longitudinal inter-vehicle time between the ego-vehicle and the first vehicle;

- determination of a second longitudinal inter-vehicle time between the ego-vehicle and the second vehicle;

- calculation of a longitudinal acceleration measurement of the e-vehicle configured so that the first inter-vehicle time is equal to the second inter-vehicle time;

- generation of an e-vehicle driving instruction from the longitudinal acceleration measurement.

A longitudinal positioning configured so that the e-vehicle is at an identical inter-vehicle time forward and backward reduces the discomfort associated with facing occupants without generating uncomfortable jerks for the occupants of the ego. vehicle.

Indeed, the use of inter-vehicle times implies the continuous consideration of vehicle speeds (unlike a situation where only the distance would be taken into account). It is thus possible to continuously regulate the longitudinal positioning of the e-vehicle relative to the first and to the second vehicle.

In addition, the placement of the autonomous vehicle is thus natural for the occupants of the vehicles, who are not facing each other and do not have the feeling of being watched. In addition, from a safety point of view, the e-vehicle has greater lateral leeway.

In one embodiment, the first inter-vehicle time and / or the second inter-vehicle time is obtained from at least one of the following elements: a radar; a camera ; a laser and / or an ultrasonic sensor.

In one embodiment, the first inter-vehicle time and / or the second inter-vehicle time is obtained from data received by an antenna of the ego vehicle.

A second aspect of the invention relates to a computer program comprising instructions for implementing the method according to the first aspect of the invention, when these instructions are executed by a processor.

A third aspect of the invention relates to a device for driving an autonomous vehicle, called an ego-vehicle, moving in a current lane of a roadway, at least a first vehicle moving in a lane adjacent to the current lane, the first vehicle moving in front of the ego-vehicle, that is to say that in a Cartesian frame orthonormal of a frame of reference of the ego-vehicle having for axis of the ordinates an axis starting from a central point of the ego -vehicle and oriented in the direction of movement of the vehicle, the ordinate of a central point of the first vehicle is greater than the ordinate of the central point of the e-vehicle, at least one second vehicle moving in the adjacent lane or moving in another lane adjacent to the current lane, the second vehicle moving behind the ego vehicle, that is to say that the ordinate of a central point of the second vehicle is less than the ordinate of the central point of the ego-vehicle in the marker, the device comprising at least one processor and at least one memory configured to perform the operations of: determining a first longitudinal inter-vehicle time between the e-vehicle and the first vehicle; determining a second longitudinal inter-vehicle time between the ego-vehicle and the second vehicle; calculating a longitudinal acceleration measurement of the e-vehicle configured so that the first inter-vehicle time is equal to the second inter-vehicle time; generation of a driving instruction for the e-vehicle from the longitudinal acceleration measurement.

A fourth aspect of the invention relates to a vehicle comprising the device according to the third aspect of the invention.

Brief description of the figures

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will become apparent on examination of the detailed description below, and of the accompanying drawings, in which:

[Fig. 1] schematically illustrates the context of the implementation of the invention,

[Fig. 2] illustrates a method according to one embodiment of the invention,

[Fig. 3] illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a device according to the invention.

Detailed description of the invention

The invention is described below in its non-limiting application to the case of motor vehicles traveling on a roadway comprising three lanes. Other applications are naturally conceivable for the present invention. For example, the method according to the invention can be implemented for a roadway with two lanes, more than three lanes, for trucks, etc.

In addition, and as detailed at the end of the detailed description, the invention is described in its exemplary embodiment, without limitation, in which an ego-vehicle is in the vicinity of four vehicles.

Figure 1 illustrates an environment of an EV ego vehicle in one embodiment of the invention.

In this embodiment, the ego vehicle EV moves in a running lane V_EGO of a roadway.

A first vehicle VC1 and a fourth vehicle VC4 move in a first adjacent lane VA1 to the current lane V_EGO.

A third vehicle VC3 and a second vehicle VC2 move in a second adjacent lane VA2 to the current lane V_EGO.

It is considered that the direction of movement of the vehicles, in the drawing, is from the bottom of Figure 1 to the top of Figure 1.

VC1 and VC3 are located in front of the ego-vehicle EV. This means that in a Cartesian coordinate system R orthonormal of a frame of reference of the ego-vehicle having for axis of the ordinates Ay an axis starting from a central point 0 of the ego-vehicle and oriented in the direction of movement of the vehicle, the ordinate of a central point of VC1 and of VC3 is greater than the ordinate of the central point O of the ego-vehicle.

VC2 and VC4 are located behind the EV ego-vehicle. This means that in the R frame, the ordinate of a central point of VC2 and VC4 is less than the ordinate of the central point O of the ego-vehicle.

The center point of a vehicle may be a barycenter of the vehicle, the vehicle's center of gravity, an average head position of an occupant of the vehicle, etc.

In FIG. 1, a first longitudinal inter-vehicle time TIV_FW between EV and VC1 is shown. In addition, a second longitudinal inter-vehicle time TIV_BW between EV and VC2 is also shown. The definition of TIV_FW and TIV_BW is given below with reference to Figure 2.

FIG. 2 illustrates a method according to an embodiment of the invention. In step 20, the first longitudinal inter-vehicle time TIV_FW and the second longitudinal inter-vehicle time TIV_BW are determined.

In one embodiment,

[Math. 1]

D (EV <® VCi _e closer in front)

TIV _FW =

V EV

With

[Math. 2]

D (EV VC closest in front) the distance between the ego-vehicle EV and the vehicle VCi _{e closest in} front of the close one in front of the ego-vehicle. The term “closest vehicle located in front of the ego-vehicle” is understood to mean the vehicle whose lowest ordinate in R (typically the rear end of the vehicle, at the level of the rear bumper) is closest to the lowest ordinate. higher of the ego-vehicle (typically the front end of the vehicle, at the level of the front bumper). In the embodiment described in FIG. 1, VCi _{e Pius p} roc _{he in} front corresponds to VC1.

Thereby,

[Math. 3]

D (EV VC closest in front) is then equal to the difference between the lowest ordinate of VCi _{e nearest in} front and the highest ordinate of EV.

And VEV corresponds to an instantaneous speed of the ego-vehicle.

Likewise, in one embodiment,

[Math. 4]

With [Math. 5]

the distance between the ego-vehicle EV and the closest VCie vehicle behind the nearest one behind the ego-vehicle. The term “closest vehicle located behind the ego-vehicle” is understood to mean the vehicle whose highest ordinate in R (typically the front end of the vehicle, at the level of the front bumper) is closest to the highest ordinate. higher of the ego-vehicle (typically the rear end of the vehicle, at the rear bumper). In the embodiment depicted in Figure 1, VCie closer behind corresponds to VC2.

Thereby,

[Math. 6]

D (EV <® VC nearest behind) is then equal to the difference between the lowest ordinate of VCi _{e nearest} behind and the highest ordinate of EV.

And [Math. 7] v _{VClevlusvrochederrlère} corresponds to an instantaneous speed of VCie closer behind-

Other embodiments are possible to define TIV_FW and TIV_BW. Thus, these inter-vehicle times can be defined by other reference speeds, such as, for TIV_FW an average speed between the instantaneous speed of VCie _Pius close in front and the instantaneous speed of EV and for TIV_BW an average speed between the instantaneous speed of VCie closer behind and instantaneous speed of EV.

The arrangement of the vehicles in FIG. 1 is purely illustrative, and it would for example have been possible for VCie closer in front and VCie closer behind SOI to be located SUT on the same adjacent lane.

The acquisition of the values of distances and speeds is obtained using sensors or communication devices of the e-vehicle, and in particular from at least one of the following elements:

- a radar ;

- a lidar;

a camera, for example a multifunction video camera, CVM;

- an ultrasonic sensor; - a communication system (for example Car2X or 5G) configured to receive information from at least one other vehicle, an infrastructure, a user terminal, etc. ;

- a laser;

- etc.

In step 22, a longitudinal Accel acceleration of the ego-vehicle EV is calculated so that the first inter-vehicle time equals the second inter-vehicle time. In particular, the acceleration is determined so that TIV_FW is equal to TIV_BW in a time At. In one embodiment, At is a constant between 1 millisecond and 1 minute or equal to 1 second, 10 seconds or even 30 seconds. In step 24, a driving instruction INST is generated from the longitudinal acceleration measurement Accel. INST is then used by EV for its autonomous driving.

In step 26, a temporal incrementation is implemented so that steps 20 to 24 are implemented again after a predetermined duration (typically corresponding to a frequency of a processor or of refreshing of at least one sensor. ).

FIG. 3 represents an example of a device D included in the vehicle 14. This device D can be used as a centralized device in charge of at least certain steps of the method described above with reference to FIG. 2. It puts by example implementing at least some steps of Figure 2 on the side of the vehicle 14 or the remote device 16.

This device D can take the form of a case comprising printed circuits, of any type of computer or even of a smartphone.

The device D comprises a random access memory 1 for storing instructions for the implementation by a processor 2 of at least one step of the methods as described above. The device also comprises a mass memory 3 for storing data intended to be kept after the implementation of the method. Device D may further include a digital signal processor (DSP) 4. This DSP 4 receives data in order to format, demodulate and amplify these data in a manner known per se.

The device also includes an input interface 5 for receiving data implemented by methods according to the invention and an output interface 6 for transmitting data implemented by the methods.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above by way of example; it extends to other variations.

Thus, he described an embodiment where the e-vehicle was located on a running lane surrounded by two adjacent lanes. Provisions are naturally conceivable and directly taken into account by the explanations given above. For example, if only one adjacent lane is present, the first and second vehicles are located on that adjacent lane.

Claims

1. Method of driving an autonomous vehicle, called ego-vehicle (EV), moving in a current lane (V_EGO) of a roadway, at least a first vehicle (VC1) moving in an adjacent lane (VA1) to the current lane, the first vehicle moving in front of the ego-vehicle, that is to say that in a Cartesian coordinate system (R) orthonormal of a frame of reference of the ego-vehicle having for axis of the ordinates (Ay) an axis starting from a central point (0) of the ego-vehicle and oriented in the direction of movement of the vehicle, the ordinate of a central point of the first vehicle is greater than the ordinate of the central point of the ego vehicle, at least one second vehicle (VC2) moving in the adjacent lane or moving in another adjacent lane (VA2) to the current lane, the second vehicle moving behind the e-vehicle, that is to say that the 'the ordinate of a central point of the second vehicle is less than the ordinate of the central point of the ego-vehicle in the frame, the method comprising the steps of:

- determination (20) of a first longitudinal inter-vehicle time (TIV_FW) between the ego-vehicle and the first vehicle;

- determination (20) of a second longitudinal inter-vehicle time (TIV_BW) between the ego-vehicle and the second vehicle;

- calculation (22) of a longitudinal acceleration measurement of the ego-vehicle configured so that the first inter-vehicle time is equal to the second inter-vehicle time;

- generation (24) of an e-vehicle driving instruction from the longitudinal acceleration measurement.

2. Method according to claim 1, the first inter-vehicle time and / or the second inter-vehicle time is obtained from at least one of the following elements:

He a radar ;

- a camera ;

- a laser; an ultrasonic sensor.

3. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the first inter-vehicle time and / or the second inter-vehicle time is obtained from data received by an antenna of the e-vehicle.

4. Computer program comprising instructions for implementing the method according to any one of the preceding claims, when these instructions are executed by a processor (2).

5. Device (D) for driving an autonomous vehicle, called ego-vehicle (EV), moving in a current lane (V_EGO) of a roadway, at least a first vehicle moving in a lane adjacent to the current lane, the first vehicle moving in front of the ego-vehicle, that is to say that in a Cartesian frame orthonormal of a frame of reference of the ego-vehicle having for axis of the ordinates an axis starting from a central point of the ego-vehicle and oriented in the direction of movement of the vehicle, the ordinate of a central point of the first vehicle is greater than the ordinate of the central point of the ego-vehicle, at least one second vehicle moving in the adjacent lane or moving in another lane adjacent to the current lane, the second vehicle moving behind the e-vehicle, that is to say that the ordinate of a central point of the second vehicle is less than the ordinate of the point e-vehicle central in the reference, the device comprising at least one processor and at least one memory re configured to perform the operations of: - determination of a first longitudinal inter-vehicle time between the ego-vehicle and the first vehicle;

6. Vehicle (EV) comprising a device according to claim 5.