• 专利附录
  • 专利说明
  • 权利要求
  • 类似技术
  • 同族专利
  • 引用文献
  • 法律状态
  • 优先权
    • 专利摘要:
    Method (400) and platooning orchestrator (300), for coordinating arrival of a set of vehicles (100-1, 100-2) to a merging point (200) at a predetermined time period, where the set of vehicles (100-1, 100-2) is planned to form a platoon. The method (400) comprises: detecting (401) a first vehicle (100-1) comprised in the set of vehicles (100-1, 100-2) at a distance (d1, d2) from the merging point (200); collecting (402) data from each of the vehicles (100-1, 100-2); simulating (403) arrival time of each of the respective vehicles (100-1, 100-2), based on the collected (402) data; calculating (404) an appropriate speed for each of the respective vehicles (100-1, 100-2) to keep in order to arrive at the merging point (200) simultaneously at the predetermined time period; and transmitting (405) the calculated (404) respective speed to keep to each of the vehicles (100-1, 100-2), in case it is possible for the vehicles (100-1, 100-2) to arrive at the merging point (200) simultaneously at the predetermined time period without exceeding speed limits; or otherwise transmitting (405) information to the vehicles (100-1, 100-2) that the platoon merge is cancelled.
    公开号:SE1651160A1
    申请号:SE1651160
    申请日:2016-08-30
    公开日:2018-03-01
    发明作者:FORSBERG Dennis；Wickström Samuel
    申请人:Scania Cv Ab；
    IPC主号:
    专利说明:

    PLATOONING ORCHESTRATORTECHNICAL FIELDThis document discloses a method and a platooning orchestrator. More particularly, amethod and a platooning orchestrator are described, for coordinating arrival of a set of vehi-cles to a merging point at a predetermined time period, where the set of vehicles is plannedto form a platoon.
    BACKGROUNDGrouping vehicles into platoons is an emerging technology, leading to reduced fuel con-sumption and increased capacity of the roads. A number of vehicles, e.g. 2-25 or more, maybe organised in a platoon or vehicle convoy, wherein the vehicles are driving in coordinationafter each other with only a small distance between the vehicles, such as some decimetresor some meters, e.g. up to 20 meters or there about. Thereby air resistance is reduced, whichis important for reducing energy consumption, in particular for trucks, busses and goodsvehicles or other vehicles having a large frontal area, causing high air resistance. ln principle,the shorter the distance is between the vehicles, the lower the air resistance becomes, whichreduces energy consumption for the vehicle platoon.
    The distance between the vehicles in the platoon may be reduced as the vehicles are ena-bled to communicate wirelessly with each other and thereby coordinate their velocity by e.g.accelerating or braking simultaneously. Thereby the reacting distance needed for humanreaction during normal driving is eliminated.
    Platooning brings a multitude of advantages, such as improved fuel economy due to reducedair resistance, and also reduced traffic congestion, leading to increased capacity of the roadsand enhanced traffic flow. On long distance routes, vehicles could be mostly unattendedwhilst in following mode, giving the driver an opportunity to rest and be well rested whenleaving the platoon for the final destination, which potentially leads to less traffic incidentsdue to sleepy/ inattentive drivers. Further, it may not be required to stop the vehicle in orderfor the driver to rest, leading to a reduced transportation time (this may require modified lawregulation concerning driving times, breaks and rest periods for drivers of vehicles in a pla-toon + a regular change of the first vehicle in the platoon).
    To drive efficiently using platooning as much as possible, a driving plan may be generatedbefore the vehicles take off. Such plan may comprise a specification of desired velocity,driving routes and merging points for all the vehicles included in the plan. A merging point isa geographical point where two or more vehicles are merging into a platoon, this is typicallya ramp on to a highway, or a point where two roads merge. To enable a merge of a platoonat the merging point, each vehicle that are supposed to participate in the platoon has to bethere at the same time.
    However, the chance that all vehicles will drive according to the premade plan the wholetime, and thus arrive simultaneously at the merging point is very slim. The reason for thiscould for example be traffic congestion, accidents, road work or a steep slope where thevehicle cannot keep the desired speed. This leads to different arrival time to the mergingpoints for each vehicle, which makes it impossible to merge in an efficient manner. The firstvehicle arriving at the merging point often has no possibility to stop the vehicle and wait forthe other vehicle(s), as the merging point typically is situated on a highway or entrance to ahighway, where stops are prohibited and may cause a severe accident. Even in case it wouldbe possible to stop and wait, it is typically not desired as it leads to transportation delays.The first arriving vehicle may have yet a deadline to meet, e.g. a ferry to catch, anothermerging point to reach at a certain time etc.
    Document EP2056270 concerns a method and system for determining if it is possible to forma platoon of a number of vehicles. The vehicles communicate with each other by vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication. The route plans (road and target arrival time) of a plurality ofvehicles are compared. Based thereupon, it is determined if a platoon is to be formed or not.However, there is no mechanism described how to form the platoon and make the vehiclesarrive in time to a common merging point; or what to do in case a vehicle is only slightlydelayed. Neither is it described how to determine where to form the platoon, i.e. the mergingpoint.
    Document WO201 4092628 discloses a system and method for forming a platoon comprisinga plurality of vehicles. Characteristics of the involved vehicles are collected by one of thevehicles, or interchanged between the vehicles. The method is computing the desired arrivaltime to the respective target of the involved vehicles and base the formation of the platoonon that information. There is no determination of any merging point where the vehicles areto meet and form the platoon, and/ or determining the time to meet at the merging point. Themethod further concerns vehicles driving on the same road in the same direction, not vehi-cles arriving at a merging point from different directions. The vehicles would thereby sufferfrom the same disadvantages as previously mentioned above.
    Document WO2012105889 also discloses a system and method for forming a platoon com-prising a plurality of vehicles. The document is very similar to the solution provided in thepreviously described WO2014092628, sharing the same problems. lt is not disclosed or de-scribed that two vehicles are meeting at a merging point for forming a platoon, but rather onevehicle joins an already formed platoon while driving. lt is not described how to determinewhere and/ or when to join the platoon.
    Document US2013066511 presents a method and system for forming a platoon. A centralnode collects information such as current position, destination etc., from a plurality of vehi-cles and determines if a platoon is to be formed ad hoc by at least some of the vehicles.ln case the central node decides that a platoon is to be formed by the vehicles, the vehiclesare instructed to adapt their respective vehicle speed in order to form a platoon. However,no determination of any particular unification point/ merging point is made; instead it is de-termined based on the direction and speed of the respective vehicles if, how and where theyare to form the platoon. The provided solution seems to presuppose that the involved vehi-cles are situated relatively close to each other, driving on the same road.
    Document US20140316671 shows a "platoon Organisation Unit" which decides if vehiclesin an already established platoon are to slow down in order to enable another vehicle, drivingbehind the platoon, to connect to the platoon. The document does not discuss the casewhere a platoon is created from distinct vehicles arriving at a merging point from differentdirections.
    None of the cited documents discusses how to plan a merging of a platoon at a merge point,wherein each vehicle which will participate in the platoon are synchronised in speed in orderto arrive at the merging point at the same time and form the platoon.
    To avoid the above stated problems and enable the vehicles planned to be merged into aplatoon to arrive about simultaneously, i.e. within a time window, to the agreed merging point,it would be desired to find a solution for coordinating the vehicles in order to achieve theadvantages of platoon driving.
    SUMMARYlt is therefore an object of this invention to solve at least some of the above problems andimprove platoon formation.
    According to a first aspect of the invention, this objective is achieved by a method in a pla-tooning orchestrator, for coordinating arrival of a set of vehicles to a merging point at a pre-determined time period, where the set of vehicles is planned to form a platoon. The methodcomprises detecting a first vehicle comprised in the set of vehicles at a distance from themerging point. Further, the method also comprises collecting data from each of the vehicles.The method in addition comprises simulating arrival time of each of the respective vehicles,based on the collected data. The method also comprises calculating an appropriate speedfor each of the respective vehicles to keep in order to arrive at the merging point simultane-ously at the predetermined time period. ln further addition, the method also comprises trans-mitting the calculated respective speed to keep to each of the vehicles, in case it is possiblefor the vehicles to arrive at the merging point simultaneously at the predetermined time pe-riod without exceeding speed limits; or otherwise transmitting information to the vehicles thatthe platoon merge is cancelled.
    According to a second aspect of the invention, this objective is achieved by a platooningorchestrator. The platooning orchestrator aims at coordinating arrival of a set of vehicles toa merging point at a predetermined time period, where the set of vehicles is planned to forma platoon. The platooning orchestrator is configured to detect a first vehicle comprised in theset of vehicles at a distance from the merging point. Further, the platooning orchestrator isconfigured to collect data from each of the vehicles. The platooning orchestrator is addition-ally configured to simulate arrival time of each of the respective vehicles, based on the col-lected data. The platooning orchestrator is also configured to calculate an appropriate speedfor each of the respective vehicles to keep in order to arrive at the merging point simultane-ously at the predetermined time period. ln further addition the platooning orchestrator is fur-thermore configured to transmit the calculated respective speed to keep to each of the vehi-cles, in case it is possible for the vehicles to arrive at the merging point simultaneously at thepredetermined time period without exceeding speed limits; or othenivise transmitting infor-mation to the vehicles that the platoon merge is cancelled.
    Thanks to the described aspects, by activating the platooning orchestrator when at least oneof the vehicles planned to form a platoon is approaching a merging point at a certain triggerdistance, and start collecting data such as current geographical position from the involvedvehicles, it is possible to perform a simulation of the arrival time of the respective vehicle tothe merging point. Based on the result of such simulation, the platooning orchestrator maycalculate which speed each of the respective vehicles has to keep in order to arrive simulta-neously at the merging point and provide this information to the respective vehicle. lt therebybecomes possible to fine-tune the speed of the respective vehicles in order to form the pla-toon at the merging point, which increases the possibility to successfully form a platoon.Thereby the various known advantages of platooning may be achieved. Thereby energyconsumption of the platoon as awhole is reduced, while maintaining a safe distance betweenthe vehicles in the platoon, thereby avoiding accidents. Thereby, platoon formation is im-proved.
    Other advantages and additional novel features will become apparent from the subsequentdetailed description.
    FIGURESEmbodiments of the invention will now be described in further detail with reference to theaccompanying figures, in which:Figure 1 illustrates a vehicle;Figure 2 illustrates vehicles approaching a merging point according to an embodimentof the invention;Figure 3 illustrates a vehicle interior according to an embodiment of the invention;Figure 4 is a flow chart illustrating an embodiment of the method;Figure 5 is an illustration depicting a system according to an embodiment.
    DETAILED DESCRIPTIONEmbodiments of the invention described herein are defined as a method and a platooningorchestrator, which may be put into practice in the embodiments described below. Theseembodiments may, however, be exemplified and realised in many different forms and arenot to be limited to the examples set forth herein; rather, these illustrative examples of em-bodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete.
    Still other objects and features may become apparent from the following detailed description,considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. lt is to be understood, however,that the drawings are designed solely for purposes of illustration and not as a definition ofthe limits of the herein disclosed embodiments, for which reference is to be made to theappended claims. Further, the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale and, unless oth-en/vise indicated, they are merely intended to conceptually illustrate the structures and pro-cedures described herein.
    Figure 1 illustrates a scenario with a vehicle 100, driving in a driving direction 105 on a road110.
    The vehicle 100 is planned to participate in a platoon at a merging point, situated furtherdown the road 110.
    The vehicle 100 may comprise e.g. a truck, a trailer, a bus, a car, a motorcycle or any similarvehicle or other means of conveyance. The vehicle 100 may be intended to form a platoonwith other vehicles of the same, or different types.
    The vehicle 100 may be driver controlled or driverless autonomously controlled vehicles indifferent embodiments. However, for enhanced clarity, the vehicle 100 is subsequently de-scribed as having a driver.
    Figure 2 illustrates an example of a scenario where a first vehicle 100-1 and a second vehicle100-2 are driving in the same driving direction 105. The vehicles 100-1, 100-2 are approach-ing a merging point 200 on different roads leading to the common merging point 200, whereinthe first vehicle 100-1 has a first distance d1 to the merging point 200 and the second vehicle100-2 has a second distance d2 to the merging point 200. The merging point 200 may e.g.be a cross road, an accession to a highway, etc.
    To be able to merge the vehicles 100-1, 100-2 at the merging point 200, a respective arrivaltime of the vehicles 100-1, 100-2 to the merging point 200 is estimated, based on e.g. thedistances d1, d2, speed of the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, slope of the road, speed/ capacitylimitations of the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, speed limitations of the respective roads, etc. Basedthereupon, a simulation may be performed for each of the vehicles 100-1, 100-2. Also otherinformation may be used for estimating the arrival time such as information relating to trafficcongestion on the respective routes to the merging point 200, roadworks, temperature and/or weather conditions in the area, traffic accidents, etc., in some embodiments. Thereby fur-ther precision in the estimation may be provided.
    A respective speed resulting in a common arrival time to the merging point 200 may then beestimated for at least one of the vehicles 100-1, 100-2.
    An entity which may be referred to as a platooning orchestrator may perform these compu-tations and be used to control the velocity of the vehicles 100-1, 100-2 when a merge isupcoming, either by sending speed recommendations to the respective drivers, or by con-trolling the speed of the respective vehicles 100-1, 100-2. The platooning orchestrator maybe activated when the first vehicle of the vehicles 100-1, 100-2 intended to form the platoonis arriving at a starting point of the platooning orchestrator. The starting point is a geograph-ical point at some predetermined distance (in length or driving time) to the merging point 200for at least one of the vehicles 100-1, 100-2. ln some embodiments, each vehicle 100-1, 100-2 intended to form the platoon may be associated with a particular respective starting pointand the platooning orchestrator may be activated when any of the vehicles 100-1, 100-2reaches the associated starting point.
    The platooning orchestrator, when activated, then has the ability to change the velocity ofthe vehicles 100-1, 100-2, by direct interaction with the vehicle velocity regulation of therespective vehicle 100-1, 100-2, or by sending a velocity recommendation to the driver ofeach vehicle 100-1, 100-2, in order to be able to form the platoon at the merging point 200.
    The vehicle velocities that can be set or recommended by the platooning orchestrator mayhave a maximum in order to not exceed the speed limits of the respective road, or speedlimits of the respective vehicle 100-1, 100-2; and a minimum value in order to not make thevehicle stop or block the traffic, or to be too late for the next merge or other future target ofthe respective vehicles 100-1, 100-2.
    The platooning orchestrator may in some embodiments operate according to at least somesteps of the following algorithm.
    Firstly, the platooning orchestrator may start to activate when the first of the vehicles 100-1,100-2 reaches its associated starting point. The platooning orchestrator may then start toreceive various data from the vehicles 100-1, 100-2 intended to form the platoon, such aslocation, speed, the existence of vehicles ahead, etc. Further, the arrival time of each of thevehicles 100-1, 100-2 to the merging point 200 given this data may be simulated. Simulationswith different speeds of the vehicles 100-1, 100-2 may then be performed, in order to findthe respective speed, or combination of vehicle speeds, that results in a simultaneous arrival,i.e. arrival within a predetermined or configurable time window, to the merging point 200. lnsome embodiments it may be possible to adjust the speed of at least one of the vehicles100-1, 100-2, in order to reach a simultaneous arrival at the merging point 200. Othen/vise,in case one or several of the vehicles 100-1, 100-2 is/ are estimated, based on the simulation,not to be able to reach the merging point 200 within the time window simultaneous with theother vehicles 100-1, 100-2 of the platoon to be formed, an exception may be sent to thevehicle 100-1, 100-2, which may result in an abortion of the merge for this (or these) vehicle/-s100-1,100-2.lf the merge is not executed within a time limit, or aborted in case no vehicles 100-1, 100-2are able to reach the merging point 200 within the time window, the platooning orchestratormay continue iterating the above described algorithm according to at least some of the stepsafter a predetermined or configurable time period.
    Figure 3 illustrates an example of how the previously scenario illustrated in Figure 1 and/ orFigure 2 may be perceived by the driver of a vehicle 100-1, which is approaching the mergingpoint 200 in order to form a platoon with at least one other vehicle 100-2. Although one ofthe vehicles 100-1 is illustrated, this is merely a non-limiting example. Any other vehicle 100-1, 100-2 which is to participate the platoon, or some or all of them may be equally or similarlyequipped.
    The vehicle 100-1 thus drives on the road at a distance d1 from the merging point 200. Thevehicle 100-1 is enabled to communicate with a platooning orchestrator 300, situated outsidethe vehicle 100-1, over a wireless communication interface.
    The wireless communication may be e.g. a Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, orany other wireless signal based on, or at least inspired by wireless communication technol-ogy such as Wi-Fi, Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB),Bluetooth (BT), the communication protocol IEEE 802.11p, Wireless Access in VehicularEnvironments (WAVE) or infrared transmission to name but a few possible examples of wire-less communications.
    The communication may alternatively be made over a wireless interface comprising, or atleast being inspired by radio access technologies such as e.g. 3GPP LTE, LTE-Advanced,E-UTRAN, UMTS, GSM, GSM/ EDGE, WCDMA, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) net-works, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) networks, Orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA)networks, Single-Carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) networks, Worldwide lnteroperability for Micro-wave Access (WiMax), or Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), High Speed Packet Access(HSPA) Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA), Universal Terrestrial RadioAccess (UTRA), GSM EDGE Radio Access Network (GERAN), 3GPP2 CDMA technologies,e.g., CDMA2000 1x RTT and High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), Wi-Fi, Wireless Local AreaNetwork (WLAN), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), Bluetooth (BT), or similar, just to mentionsome few options, via a wireless communication network.
    The platooning orchestrator 300 may comprise or be connected to a database 310. Thedatabase 310 may comprise information concerning e.g. the vehicles 100-1, 100-2 which areto form a common platoon, the merging point 200 of the platoon, the respective starting pointfor each vehicle to trigger the platooning orchestrator 300, road map data, information con-cerning speed Iimitations, curvature, etc. on the road between the respective starting pointsand the merging point 200 and/ or possibly also other information which may affect the speedof the vehicles 100-1, 100-2.
    The vehicle 100-1 may communicate with the platooning orchestrator 300 over a transceiver370.
    Further, the vehicle 100-1 may comprise a positioning unit 330. The positioning unit 330 maybe based on a satellite navigation system such as the Navigation Signal Timing and Ranging(Navstar) Global Positioning System (GPS), Differential GPS (DGPS), Galileo, GLONASS,or the like. Thus the positioning unit 330 may comprise a GPS receiver.
    The geographical position of the vehicle 100-1 may be determined continuously or at certainpredetermined or configurable time intervals according to various embodiments.
    Positioning by satellite navigation is based on distance measurement using triangulationfrom a number of satellites 340-1, 340-2, 340-3, 340-4. The satellites 340-1, 340-2, 340-3,340-4 continuously transmit information about time and date (for example, in coded form),identity (which satellite 340-1, 340-2, 340-3, 340-4 which broadcasts), status, and where thesatellite 340-1, 340-2, 340-3, 340-4 are situated at any given time. GPS satellites 340-1, 340-2, 340-3, 340-4 sends information encoded with different codes, for example, but not neces-sarily based on Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA). This allows information from an in-dividual satellite 340-1, 340-2, 340-3, 340-4 distinguished from the others' information, basedon a unique code for each respective satellite 340-1, 340-2, 340-3, 340-4. This informationcan then be transmitted to be received by the appropriately adapted positioning unit 330 inthe vehicle 100-1.
    Distance measurement can according to some embodiments comprise measuring the differ-ence in the time it takes for each respective satellite signal transmitted by the respectivesatellites 340-1, 340-2, 340-3, 340-4, to reach the positioning unit 330. As the radio signalstravel at the speed of light, the distance to the respective satellite 340-1, 340-2, 340-3, 340-4 may be computed by measuring the signal propagation time.
    The positions of the satellites 340-1, 340-2, 340-3, 340-4 are known, as they continuouslyare monitored by approximately 15-30 ground stations located mainly along and near theearth's equator. Thereby the geographical position, i.e. latitude and longitude, of the vehicle100-1 may be calculated by determining the distance to at least three satellites 340-1, 340-2, 340-3, 340-4 through triangulation. For determination of altitude, signals from four satel-lites 340-1, 340-2, 340-3, 340-4 may be used according to some embodiments.
    The geographical position of the positioning device 230, (and thereby also of the vehicle100), as well as time, vehicle speed, heading, etc., may be determined continuously, or at acertain predetermined or configurable time interval according to various embodiments.
    The geographical position of the vehicle 100-1 may alternatively be determined, e.g. by hav-ing transponders positioned at known positions around the road 110 and a dedicated sensorin the vehicle 100-1, for recognising the transponders and thereby determining the positionof the vehicle 100-1; by detecting and recognising WiFi networks (WiFi networks along theroute may be mapped with certain respective geographical positions in the database 310);by receiving a Bluetooth beaconing signal, associated with a geographical position, or othersignal signatures of wireless signals such as e.g. by triangulation of signals emitted by aplurality of fixed base stations with known geographical positions. The position may alterna-tively be entered by the driver.
    Having determined the geographical position of the vehicle 100-1, and also determined thedriving direction 105 of the vehicle 100-1 when approaching the merging point 200, this in-formation may be provided to the platooning orchestrator 300 via the wireless communicationinterface.
    The platooning orchestrator 300 may receive the geographical position also of other vehicles100-2 that are to form the platoon and calculate which speed the vehicle 100-1 is to keep inorder to arrive simultaneously at the merging point 200, e.g. based on simulations as previ-ously discussed.
    The calculated speed the vehicle 100-1 has to keep may then be provided to the vehicle100-1, e.g. via the wireless communication interface to the transceiver 370. This informationmay then be outputted to the driver, in case the vehicle 100-1 has a driver, possibly via alocal control unit 350, on an output unit 360. The output unit 360 may comprise a display, aloudspeaker, a projector, a head-up display, a display integrated in the windshield of the11vehicle 100-1, a display integrated in the dashboard of the vehicle 100, a tactile device, aportable device of the vehicle driver/ owner such as a cellular mobile telephone, intelligentglasses of the vehicle driver/ owner, a smart contact lens, an augmented reality device, asmart watch etc., or similar device having a user interface and wireless communication abil-ity; or a combination thereof.
    Alternatively, the platooning orchestrator 300 may generate a command signal for adjustingthe speed of the vehicle 100-1 and transmit the generated speed control signal to the vehicle100-1 via the wireless communication interface.
    The vehicle 100-1 may also in some embodiments comprise one or several sensors for de-termining various environmental values such as e.g. the presence and/ or distance to anyahead vehicle, presence and/ or distance to any following vehicle; environmental tempera-ture (freezing degrees may cause the vehicle 100-1 to slow down); detection of road works,etc. Such vehicle mounted sensor may comprise e.g. radar unit, a rangefinder sensor, astereo camera, an ultrasonic sensor emitting an ultrasonic wave and detecting and analysingthe reflections or similar device based on radar, infra-red light or micro waves for detectingany vehicle in front/ behind, and determine the distance.
    Also other factors or properties of the vehicles 100-1, 100-2 and/ or the road 110 may influ-ence the speed that is possible for the respective vehicle 100-1, 100-2 to keep, such as e.g.altitude difference and load/ engine capacity of the respective vehicle 100-1, 100-2.
    The different vehicles 100-1, 100-2 driving towards the merging point 200 may have differentweight and/ or different weight/ power ratio. Thereby, different vehicles 100-1, 100-2 may beaffected differently both in downhill and uphill.ln hilly terrain, perhaps in particular for heavy vehicles such as e.g. trucks when travellingalong an incline, the gravitational force has a strong influence. ln contrast with a passengervehicle, heavy vehicles are typically not able to produce a sufficient driving torque to maintainthe velocity when travelling along an uphill with a slope greater than approximately 3.5% at90 km/h, mentioned merely as a non-limiting example. Similarly, when facing a downhillheavy vehicles will typically experience a speed increase if the slope is less than approxi-mately -1.4% in another non-limiting example. These values may vary considerably betweendifferent vehicles 100-1, 100-2 depending on vehicle configuration, engine, vehicle weight,air resistance, roll resistance etc. Hence, the induced gravitational force can act as a positiveor negative longitudinal force depending on the incline of the road 110. Further, the road12ahead of the respective vehicle 100-1, 100-2 towards the merging point 200 may have dif-ferent inclination.
    Figure 4 illustrates an example of a method 400 in a platooning orchestrator 300, for coor-dinating arrival of a set of vehicles 100-1, 100-2 to a merging point 200 at a predeterminedor configurable time period, such as a time interval, where the set of vehicles 100-1, 100-2is planned to form a platoon.
    The vehicles 100-1, 100-2 may be any arbitrary kind of means for conveyance, such as atruck, a trailer, a bus, a car, etc. The number of vehicles 100-1, 100-2 in the set of vehicles100-1, 100-2 may be any number exceeding one, such as e.g. 2, 3, °<>. The vehicles 100-1, 100-2 may have been predetermined to form a platoon in some embodiments. However,a platoon may also be formed ad hoc based on positions and destinations of vehicles 100-1, 100-2.
    The vehicles 100-1, 100-2 may communicate with the platooning orchestrator 300, and pos-sibly also with other vehicles or entities, via wireless communication signalling, based on e.g.V2X communication or any other wireless communication technology such as Wi-Fi, Wire-less Local Area Network (WLAN), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), Bluetooth (BT), or infraredtransmission to name but a few possible examples of wireless communications.ln order to correctly be able to coordinate arrival of the vehicles 100-1, 100-2 to the mergingpoint 200, the method 400 may comprise a number of steps 401-406. However, some ofthese steps 401-406 may be performed solely in some alternative embodiments, like e.g.step 406. Further, the described steps 401-406 may be performed in a somewhat differentchronological order than the numbering suggests. ln some embodiments, steps 401-405 maybe iterated in some embodiments, until an interruption condition for interrupting the iterationis fulfilled. The method 400 may comprise the subsequent steps:Step 401 comprises detecting a first vehicle 100-1 comprised in the set of vehicles 100-1,100-2 at a distance d1, d2 from the merging point 200.
    The position at the distance d1, d2 from the merging point 200 may be referred to as astarting point of the platooning orchestrator 300, and may trigger the performance of thesubsequent steps 402-406 by the platooning orchestrator 300.13Thus the platooning orchestrator 300 either keeps track of the geographical positions of therespective vehicles 100-1, 100-2 and trigger the method performance of steps 402-406 whenany of the vehicles 100-1, 100-2 are situated at the distance d1, d2 from the merging point200, or receives a signal from the respective vehicle 100-1, 100-2 when reaching the dis-tance d1, d2 from the merging point 200, in different embodiments.
    The distances d1, d2 from the merging point 200 may be set or predetermined for the vehi-cles 100-1, 100-2 in order to arrive at the merging point at the same time, or within a timewindow. Thus the respective distances d1, d2 may be different in length units for the differentroads, depending on velocity limitations of the respective roads, etc.
    Step 402 comprises collecting data from each of the vehicles 100-1, 100-2.
    The data collected from the vehicles 100-1, 100-2 may comprise at least geographical posi-tion of the respective vehicle 100-1, 100-2. Further the collected data may comprise currentspeed of the respective vehicle 100-1, 100-2 in some embodiments.
    The collected data may in some embodiments comprise information concerning vehicle load,vehicle weight, engine capacity of the respective vehicle 100-1, 100-2, environmental trafficsituation e.g. by measuring distance to an ahead/ behind vehicle, etc.
    Thereby, by collecting further data that may influence the arrival time of the respective vehi-cle 100-1, 100-2 to the merging point 200, the estimation of the arrival time may thus bemade with higher precision.
    Further, in some embodiments, other information that may influence the respective arrivaltime of the vehicles 100-1, 100-2 may be collected, such as e.g. traffic congestion on therespective routes to the merging point 200, roadworks, temperature and/ or weather condi-tions in the area, traffic accidents, etc., in some embodiments. Thereby further precision inthe estimation may be provided.
    Step 403 comprises simulating arrival time of each of the respective vehicles 100-1, 100-2,based on the collected 402 data.
    The simulation of the arrival time of each of the respective vehicles 100-1, 100-2 may com-prise extracting map data of a region between the current geographical position of the re-spective vehicle 100-1, 100-2 and the merging point 200, in some embodiments.14ln some embodiments, the simulation of the arrival time of each of the respective vehicles100-1, 100-2 further comprises extracting data associated with a road between the currentgeographical position of the respective vehicle 100-1, 100-2 and the merging point 200.
    The simulation may be based on the topography or road inclination of the upcoming roadsections for each respective vehicles 100-1, 100-2. The road inclination will typically varywith the geographical position when driving through the upcoming road section, e.g. whendriving in a hilly region. The road inclination of the upcoming road section may be extractedfrom a database. Alternatively, road inclination data may be provided by the respective ve-hicle 100-1, 100-2, based on e.g. inclinometer measurements in the respective vehicle 100-1, 100-2.
    The different road inclination at different geographical positions may influence different vehi-cles 100-1, 100-2 differently, e.g. depending on different weight, weight/ power ratio andother parameters that may be different and unique to each vehicle 100-1, 100-2.
    Step 404 comprises calculating an appropriate speed for each of the respective vehicles100-1, 100-2 to keep in order to arrive at the merging point 200 simultaneously at the prede-termined time period.
    Simultaneously may here mean within a time window, wherein it is possible to form the pla-toon with different vehicles 100-1, 100-2 at different positions in the platoon, or possiblywherein the platoon may be formed a bit further down the road 110, in relation to the mergingpoint 200 by further speed adjustments.
    The appropriate speed to keep may be limited e.g. by speed limitations of the respectiveroads leading to the merging point 200, capacity limitations of the respective vehicles 100-1,100-2 due to engine capacities, loads, etc. The appropriate speed may also be limited byother time goals of the vehicles 100-1, 100-2 such as destination arrival time, arrival time toa ferry or similar, arrival time to another platoon merging point, etc.
    Step 405 comprises transmitting the calculated 404 respective speed to keep to each of thevehicles 100-1, 100-2, in case it is possible for the vehicles 100-1, 100-2 to arrive at themerging point 200 simultaneously at the predetermined time period without exceeding speedlimits; or othen/vise transmitting information to the vehicles 100-1, 100-2 that the platoonmerge is cancelled.
    Step 406 which may be performed only in some embodiments, may comprise iterating themethod 400 according to the above described steps 402-405 until either the platoon hasbeen formed, or all of the vehicles 100-1, 100-2 has passed the merging point 200.
    By iterating the method steps 402-405 after a predetermined or configurable time period,further adjustment of the respective vehicle speed may be made and provided to the vehicles100-1, 100-2. Thereby further precision in the synchronisation of the arrival of the vehicles100-1, 100-2 to the merging point 200 may be achieved. Also, adjustment may be madetaking recent information into account, such as achieved information concerning traffic jam,an occurred accident etc., which may make it impossible for at least one of the vehicles 100-1, 100-2 to reach the merging point 200 within the determined time window, which may causeabortion of the platoon merge operation.
    Further, by iterating the method steps 402-405 for cases where the vehicles 100-1, 100-2previously has been determined to not be able to arrive at the merging point 200 simultane-ously within the predetermined time period, i.e. no merge is scheduled, it may be possible tolater form the platoon as a hindrance for at least one of the vehicles 100-1, 100-2 to arriveat the merging point 200 may have been omitted. Thereby, the platoon merge may be per-formed, based on recent information concerning the vehicles 100-1, 100-2 / road.
    Figure 5 illustrates an embodiment of a system 500, comprising a platooning orchestrator300 for coordinating arrival of a set of vehicles 100-1, 100-2 to a merging point 200 at a pre-determined time period, where the set of vehicles 100-1, 100-2 is planned to form a platoon.The platooning orchestrator 300 of the system 500 is configured to perform at least some ofthe previously described method steps 401-406 according to the method 400, describedabove and illustrated in Figure 4.
    The platooning orchestrator 300 is configured to detect a first vehicle 100-1 comprised in theset of vehicles 100-1, 100-2 at a distance d1, d2 from the merging point 200. Further, theplatooning orchestrator 300 is configured to collect data from each of the vehicles 100-1,100-2. ln addition, the platooning orchestrator 300 is also configured to simulate arrival timeof each of the respective vehicles 100-1, 100-2, based on the collected data. The platooningorchestrator 300 is furthermore configured to calculate an appropriate speed for each of the16respective vehicles 100-1, 100-2 to keep in order to arrive at the merging point 200 simulta-neously at the predetermined time period. Also, the platooning orchestrator 300 is configuredto transmit the calculated respective speed to keep to each of the vehicles 100-1, 100-2, incase it is possible for the vehicles 100-1, 100-2 to arrive at the merging point 200 simultane-ously at the predetermined time period without exceeding speed limits; or otherwise trans-mitting information to the vehicles 100-1, 100-2 that the platoon merge is cancelled.ln some alternative embodiments, the platooning orchestrator 300 may be further configuredto iterate the method 400 according to method steps 402-405 of the method 400 until eitherthe platoon has been formed, or all of the vehicles 100-1, 100-2 has passed the mergingpoint 200.
    The platooning orchestrator 300 may be further configured to collect geographical positionand current speed of the respective vehicle 100-1, 100-2, in some embodiments.
    Further, the platooning orchestrator 300 may also be configured to simulate the arrival timeof each of the respective vehicles 100-1, 100-2 based on extracted map data from a regionbetween the current geographical position of the respective vehicle 100-1, 100-2 and themerging point 200.
    The platooning orchestrator 300 may be further configured to simulate the arrival time ofeach of the respective vehicles 100-1, 100-2 further based on extracted data associated witha road between the current geographical position of the respective vehicle 100-1, 100-2 andthe merging point 200.
    The platooning orchestrator 300 may comprise a receiving circuit 510 configured for receiv-ing wireless and/ or Wired signals from e.g. vehicles 100-1, 100-2 which are planned to forma platoon and from a database 310. The receiving circuit 510 may also receive informationfrom e.g. a traffic congestion surveillance service, a roadwork surveillance service, a tem-perature and/ or weather reporting service, a traffic accident reporting service, etc., in someembodiments.
    The platooning orchestrator 300 may also comprise a processor 520 configured for perform-ing at least some of the calculating or computing of the platooning orchestrator 300. Thusthe processor 520 may be configured to perform at least some of the method steps 401-406of the above described method 400.17Such processor 520 may comprise one or more instances of a processing circuit, i.e. a Cen-tral Processing Unit (CPU), a processing unit, a processing circuit, a processor, an Applica-tion Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a microprocessor, or other processing logic that mayinterpret and execute instructions. The herein utilised expression “processor” may thus rep-resent a processing circuitry comprising a p|ura|ity of processing circuits, such as, e.g., any,some or all of the ones enumerated above.
    Furthermore, the platooning orchestrator 300 may comprise a memory 525 in some embod-iments. The optional memory 525 may comprise a physical device utilised to store data orprograms, i.e., sequences of instructions, on a temporary or permanent basis. According tosome embodiments, the memory 525 may comprise integrated circuits comprising silicon-based transistors. The memory 525 may comprise e.g. a memory card, a flash memory, aUSB memory, a hard disc, or another similar volatile or non-volatile storage unit for storingdata such as e.g. ROIVI (Read-Only l/|emory), PROIVI (Programmable Read-Only Memory),EPROIVI (Erasable PROIVI), EEPROIVI (Electrically Erasable PROIVI), etc. in different embod-iments.
    Further, the platooning orchestrator 300 may comprise a signal transmitter 530. The signaltransmitter 530 may be configured for transmitting a signal or broadcast wireless signals tothe vehicles 100-1, 100-2.
    The previously described steps 401 -406 to be performed in the platooning orchestrator 300may be implemented through the one or more processors 520 within the platooning orches-trator 300, together with computer program product for performing at least some of the func-tions of the steps 401-406. Thus a computer program product, comprising instructions forperforming the steps 401-406 in the platooning orchestrator 300 may perform the method400 comprising at least some of the steps 401-406 for coordinating arrival of a set of vehicles100-1, 100-2 to a merging point 200 at a predetermined time period.
    The computer program mentioned above may be provided for instance in the form of a datacarrier carrying computer program code for performing at least some of the step 401-406according to some embodiments when being loaded into the one or more processors 520 ofthe platooning orchestrator 300. The data carrier may be, e.g., a hard disk, a CD ROIVI disc,a memory stick, an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device or any other appropri-ate medium such as a disk or tape that may hold machine readable data in a non-transitorymanner. The computer program may furthermore be provided as computer program code on18a server and downloaded to the platooning orchestrator 300 remotely, e.g., over an Internetor an intranet connection.
    Additionally, some embodiments may comprise a stationary central node comprising the pla-tooning orchestrator 300 as described above. The stationary central node may comprise e.g.a server, or a cloud service in some embodiments.
    The terminology used in the description of the embodiments as illustrated in the accompa-nying drawings is not intended to be limiting of the described methods 400; the platooningorchestrator 300; the system 500; the computer programs; or the vehicles 100-1, 100-2.Various changes, substitutions or alterations may be made, without departing from inventionembodiments as defined by the appended claims.
    As used herein, the term "and/ or" comprises any and all combinations of one or more of theassociated listed items. The term “or” as used herein, is to be interpreted as a mathematicalOR, i.e., as an inclusive disjunction; not as a mathematical exclusive OR (XOR), unless ex-pressly stated otherwise. ln addition, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are to be inter-preted as “at least one", thus also possibly comprising a plurality of entities of the same kind,unless expressly stated othen/vise. lt will be further understood that the terms "includes","comprises", "including" or "comprising", specifies the presence of stated features, actions,integers, steps, operations, elements, or components, but do not preclude the presence oraddition of one or more other features, actions, integers, steps, operations, elements, com-ponents, or groups thereof. A single unit such as e.g. a processor may fulfil the functions ofseveral items recited in the claims. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutu-ally different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures can-not be used to advantage. A computer program may be stored/ distributed on a suitablemedium, such as an optical storage medium or a solid-state medium supplied together withor as part of other hardware, but may also be distributed in other forms such as via Internetor other Wired or wireless communication system.
    权利要求:
    Claims (11)
    [1] 1. A method (400) in a platooning orchestrator (300), for coordinating arrival of a setof vehicles (100-1, 100-2) to a merging point (200) at a predetermined time period, wherethe set of vehicles (100-1, 100-2) is planned to form a platoon, wherein the method (400)comprises:detecting (401) a first vehicle (100-1) comprised in the set of vehicles (100-1, 100-2) at a distance (d1, d2) from the merging point (200);collecting (402) data from each of the vehicles (100-1, 100-2);simulating (403) arrival time of each of the respective vehicles (100-1, 100-2), basedon the collected (402) data;calculating (404) an appropriate speed for each of the respective vehicles (100-1,100-2) to keep in order to arrive at the merging point (200) simultaneously at the predeter-mined time period; andtransmitting (405) the calculated (404) respective speed to keep to each of the vehi-cles (100-1, 100-2), in case it is possible for the vehicles (100-1, 100-2) to arrive at the merg-ing point (200) simultaneously at the predetermined time period without exceeding speedlimits; or othenivise transmitting (405) information to the vehicles (100-1, 100-2) that the pla-toon merge is cancelled.
    [2] 2. The method (400) according to claim 1, further comprising:iterating (406) the method (400) according to steps 402-405 until either the platoonhas been formed, or all of the vehicles (100-1, 100-2) has passed the merging point (200).
    [3] 3. The method (400) according to any of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the data collected(402) from the vehicles (100-1, 100-2) comprises at least geographical position and currentspeed of the respective vehicle (100-1, 100-2).
    [4] 4. The method (400) according to any of claims 1-3, wherein the simulation (403) ofthe arrival time of each of the respective vehicles (100-1, 100-2) comprises extracting mapdata of a region between the current geographical position of the respective vehicle (100-1,100-2) and the merging point (200).
    [5] 5. The method (400) according to claim 4, wherein the simulation (403) of the arrivaltime of each of the respective vehicles (100-1, 100-2) further comprises extracting data as-sociated with a road betvveen the current geographical position of the respective vehicle(100-1, 100-2) and the merging point (200).
    [6] 6. A platooning orchestrator (300), for coordinating arrival of a set of vehicles (100-1,100-2) to a merging point (200) at a predetermined time period, where the set of vehicles(100-1, 100-2) is planned to form a platoon, wherein the platooning orchestrator (300) isconfigured to:detect a first vehicle (100-1) comprised in the set of vehicles (100-1, 100-2) at adistance (d1, d2) from the merging point (200);collect data from each of the vehicles (100-1, 100-2);simulate arrival time of each of the respective vehicles (100-1, 100-2), based on thecollected data;calculate an appropriate speed for each of the respective vehicles (100-1, 100-2) tokeep in order to arrive at the merging point (200) simultaneously at the predetermined timepenod;transmit the calculated respective speed to keep to each of the vehicles (100-1, 100-2), in case it is possible for the vehicles (100-1, 100-2) to arrive at the merging point (200)simultaneously at the predetermined time period without exceeding speed limits; or other-wise transmitting information to the vehicles (100-1, 100-2) that the platoon merge is can-ce|ed.
    [7] 7. The platooning orchestrator (300) according to claim 6, further configured to:iterate the method (400) according to steps 402-405 until either the platoon hasbeen formed, or all of the vehicles (100-1, 100-2) has passed the merging point (200).
    [8] 8. The platooning orchestrator (300) according to any of claim 6 or claim 7, furtherconfigured to: collect geographical position and current speed of the respective vehicle (100-1,100-2).
    [9] 9. The platooning orchestrator (300) according to any of claims 6-8, further configuredto: simulate the arrival time of each of the respective vehicles (100-1, 100-2) based onextracted map data from a region between the current geographical position of the respectivevehicle (100-1, 100-2) and the merging point (200).
    [10] 10. The platooning orchestrator (300) according to claim 9, further configured to:simulate the arrival time of each of the respective vehicles (100-1, 100-2) furtherbased on extracted data associated with a road between the current geographical positionof the respective vehicle (100-1, 100-2) and the merging point (200). 21
    [11] 11. A computer program comprising program code for performing a method (400) ac-cording to any of claims 1-5 when the computer program is executed in the platooning or-chestrator (300) according to any of claims 6-10.
    类似技术:
    公开号 | 公开日 | 专利标题
    CA3052952C|2021-06-01|Autonomous vehicle operational management control
    US10783789B2|2020-09-22|Lane change estimation device, lane change estimation method, and storage medium
    EP3052356B1|2021-02-24|System and method for controlling a vehicle platoon with a common position-based driving strategy
    RU2762786C1|2021-12-22|Trajectory planning
    US20190001986A1|2019-01-03|Surrounding environment recognition device and computer program product
    WO2015047181A1|2015-04-02|System and method to control a vehicle platoon with two different driving strategies
    EP3555875A1|2019-10-23|Method and control unit for adjusting an inter vehicular distance between vehicles in a vehicle platoon
    US20160163200A1|2016-06-09|Managing and controlling travel for a convoy of vehicles
    TW202106545A|2021-02-16|Method and apparatus for vehicle maneuver planning and messaging
    SE1651160A1|2018-03-01|Platooning orchestrator
    CA3052951A1|2018-08-16|Autonomous vehicle operational management
    US20200377090A1|2020-12-03|Estimating speed profiles
    US20210284161A1|2021-09-16|Traffic light estimation
    CN112203918A|2021-01-08|Trajectory planning
    SE539521C2|2017-10-03|Method and control unit for adjusting a gap between vehicles
    GB2590104A|2021-06-23|Localization based on predefined features of the environment
    EP3702983A1|2020-09-02|Transportation system and method
    WO2013069131A1|2013-05-16|Center-side system and vehicle-side system
    WO2020131372A1|2020-06-25|Operation of a vehicle using multiple motion constraints
    JP2021068315A|2021-04-30|Estimation method and estimation system of lane condition
    US20210078580A1|2021-03-18|Vehicle route modification to improve vehicle location information
    US20210053569A1|2021-02-25|Data Driven Rule Books
    KR102358923B1|2022-02-08|Estimating speed profiles
    US20210366281A1|2021-11-25|Information processing device, information processing method, and information processing program
    KR20220029267A|2022-03-08|Trajectory planning of vehicles using route information
    同族专利:
    公开号 | 公开日
    DE102017007814A1|2018-03-01|
    SE542694C2|2020-06-30|
    引用文献:
    公开号 | 申请日 | 公开日 | 申请人 | 专利标题
    EP3825978A1|2019-11-20|2021-05-26|HERE Global B.V.|Method, apparatus and computer program product for vehicle platooning|US8577586B2|2006-08-07|2013-11-05|Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha|Travel control device|
    SE1150075A1|2011-02-03|2012-08-04|Scania Cv Ab|Method and management unit in connection with vehicle trains|
    US9582006B2|2011-07-06|2017-02-28|Peloton Technology, Inc.|Systems and methods for semi-autonomous convoying of vehicles|
    SE1251407A1|2012-12-12|2014-06-13|Scania Cv Ab|Device and method for evaluation of forward speed including vehicle train formation|
    JP5817777B2|2013-04-17|2015-11-18|株式会社デンソー|Convoy travel system|DE102018206736A1|2018-05-02|2019-11-07|Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft|Method, system and corresponding computer program for operating an at least partially remotely controllable and / or driverless driving functionality of a vehicle|
    GB2594089A|2020-04-17|2021-10-20|Dromos Tech Ag|Autonomous transportation network and method for operating the same|
    法律状态:
    优先权:
    申请号 | 申请日 | 专利标题
    SE1651160A|SE542694C2|2016-08-30|2016-08-30|Platooning orchestrator|SE1651160A| SE542694C2|2016-08-30|2016-08-30|Platooning orchestrator|
    DE102017007814.9A| DE102017007814A1|2016-08-30|2017-08-18|KOLONNENBILDUNGSORCHESTRATOR|
    [返回顶部]