Method for operating an automatically driven, driverless motor vehicle and monitoring system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10338598-B2
Application number	US-201515518447-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 7, 2015
Priority date	Oct 11, 2014
Publication date	Jul 2, 2019
Grant date	Jul 2, 2019

Abstract

A method for operating an automatically guided, driverless motor vehicle is provided. Sensor data detected by environmental sensors of the motor vehicle is evaluated with respect to objects to be taken into account in trajectory planning. The objects can be classified as an obstacle or not an obstacle using at least one classifier. If an object that cannot be classified or cannot be classified with sufficient certainty as an obstacle or not an obstacle, at least one camera image of the respective object is taken, transmitted to a portable mobile communication device carried along by a user of the motor vehicle, and displayed there. An input, classifying the object as an obstacle or not an obstacle, of a user is accepted as classification information.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method, comprising:
operating an automatically guided, driverless motor vehicle, wherein sensor data detected by environmental sensors, including at least one camera, of the motor vehicle are evaluated with respect to objects to be taken into account in trajectory planning, which objects can be classified as an obstacle or not an obstacle using at least one classifier evaluating the detected sensor data;
in response to an object that cannot be classified at all or cannot be classified with sufficient certainty as an obstacle or not an obstacle and/or in response to at least one object preventing further automatic guidance of the motor vehicle to a current destination, taking at least one camera image of the object using the at least one camera;
transmitting the at least one camera image to a portable mobile communication device carried along by a user of the motor vehicle, wherein the at least one camera image is displayed on the portable mobile communication device and wherein an input of the user classifying the object as an obstacle or not an obstacle is accepted as classification information;
receiving, at the motor vehicle, the classification information; and
taking into account the classification information in the further automatic guidance of the motor vehicle.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the portable mobile communication device comprises a cellular telephone.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the transmitting the at least one camera image comprises transmitting the at least one camera image using a stationary server device outside the motor vehicle, at least partially using a mobile radio network, or using a wireless local area network (WLAN).

4. The method according to claim 3 , wherein digital map data describing an area, in which the motor vehicle is moved, is stored on the stationary server device and wherein the object classified by the user is stored in the digital map data with the classification information.

5. The method according to claim 4 , wherein classification information of several users for the object is evaluated statistically to an overall classification information.

6. The method according to claim 4 , further comprising:
receiving, at the motor vehicle, the digital map data from the server device; and
wherein taking into account the classification information includes taking into account the digital map data in the further automatic guidance of the motor vehicle.

7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one camera image is post-processed prior to being displayed.

8. The method according to claim 1 , wherein a software application is used to execute steps to be performed by the portable mobile communication device.

9. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the environmental sensors comprise at least four cameras provided with a wide-angle lens.

10. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
displaying on the portable mobile communication device a piece of additional information transmitted with the at least one camera image, regarding the object to be classified.

11. The method according to claim 10 , wherein the additional information comprises a map of current environment of the motor vehicle, in which a location of the object to be classified, locations of already classified objects, or a location of the motor vehicle is shown.

12. The method according to claim 10 , wherein the additional information comprises dimensions of the object determined by environmental sensors.

13. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the portable mobile communication device comprises a smartphone.

14. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the receiving the classification information comprises receiving the classification information using a stationary server device outside the motor vehicle, at least partially using a mobile radio network, or using a wireless local area network (WLAN).

15. A monitoring system, comprising:
an automatically guidable motor vehicle comprising:
environmental sensors, including at least one camera; and
a control device configured to:
evaluate detected sensor data with respect to objects to be taken into account in trajectory planning, which objects can be classified as an obstacle or not an obstacle using at least one classifier evaluating the detected sensor data in response to an object that cannot be classified at all or cannot be classified with sufficient certainty as an obstacle or not an obstacle and/or in response to at least one object preventing further automatic guidance of the motor vehicle to a current destination, take at least one camera image of the object using the at least one camera;
transmit the at least one camera image to a portable mobile communication device carried along by a user of the motor vehicle, wherein the at least one camera image is displayed on the portable mobile communication device and wherein an input of the user classifying the object as an obstacle or not an obstacle is accepted as classification information;
receive the classification information; and
take into account the classification information in the further automatic guidance of the motor vehicle.

Assignees

• Audi Ag

Inventors

• Altinger Harald
• Schuller Florian

Classifications

• G05D1/0246 Primary

  using a video camera in combination with image processing means · CPC title

• B62D15/0285 Primary

  Parking performed automatically · CPC title

• G06F18/24

  Classification techniques · CPC title

• B60W30/06

  Automatic manoeuvring for parking · CPC title

• G05D1/0285

  using signals transmitted via a public communication network, e.g. GSM network · CPC title