Obstacle advisory system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9779629-B2
Application number	US-201514928679-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 30, 2015
Priority date	Oct 30, 2015
Publication date	Oct 3, 2017
Grant date	Oct 3, 2017

Abstract

An obstacle advisory system for a vehicle and a method for operating the same are provided. The system, for example, may include, but is not limited to a display, and a processor communicatively coupled to the display, the processor configured to receive sensor data from at least one sensor configured to sense obstacles around a vehicle, generate obstacle display data based upon the sensor data, the obstacle display data comprising display data for each of a plurality of sectors and for each of a plurality of blocks within each of the plurality of sectors forming a grid surrounding the vehicle, and display the generated obstacle display data on the display.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An obstacle advisory system, comprising:
a display; and
a processor communicatively coupled to the display, the processor configured to:
receive sensor data from at least one sensor configured to sense obstacles around a vehicle;
determine when a single obstacle detected in the sensor data includes a border longer than a predetermined length;
generate obstacle display data based upon the sensor data, the obstacle display data comprising display data for each of a plurality of sectors and for each of a plurality of blocks within each of the plurality of sectors forming a grid surrounding the vehicle, wherein when generating the obstacle display data, the processor is further configured to generate obstacle display data indicating the border of the single obstacle in one or more of the sectors; and
display the generated obstacle display data on the display.

2. The obstacle advisory system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
determine, for each sector of the grid that includes indications of an obstacle in the sensor data, a closest block of the plurality of blocks of the respective sector closest to a center of the grid that includes the indications of the obstacle,
wherein the processor, when generating the obstacle display data, is further configured to generate identical obstacle display data for the closest block of the plurality of blocks and each of the plurality of blocks in the respective sector of the grid further from the center of the grid than the closest block.

3. The obstacle advisory system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
determine when a plurality of obstacles detected in the sensor data are within a predetermined distance of each other; and
determine, when the plurality of obstacles detected in the sensor data are within the predetermined distance, when a border length of the plurality of obstacles is greater than a predetermined length based upon the sensor data,
wherein the processor, when generating the obstacle display data, is further configured to generate obstacle display data indicating a border of the plurality of obstacles in one or more of the sectors when the border length of the plurality of obstacles is greater than the predetermined length.

4. The obstacle advisory system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
determine for each sector of the grid that includes indications of an obstacle in the sensor data, a closest edge of each obstacle in a closest block within the sector to the vehicle within the plurality of blocks of the respective sector,
wherein the processor, when generating the obstacle display data, is further configured to generate obstacle display data indicating the closest edge of each obstacle in the closest block within the sector.

5. The obstacle advisory system of claim 1 , wherein the grid comprises a plurality of circles and a plurality of radial lines extending from a center of the plurality of circles.

6. The obstacle advisory system of claim 5 , wherein each sector includes the plurality of blocks between any two adjacent radial lines of the plurality of radial lines.

7. The obstacle advisory system of claim 1 , wherein the display is integrated in the vehicle.

8. A method of operating an obstacle advisory system, comprising:
receiving, by a processor, sensor data from at least one sensor configured to sense obstacles around a vehicle;
determining, by the processor, when a single obstacle detected in the sensor data includes a border longer than a predetermined length;
generating, by the processor, obstacle display data based upon the sensor data, the obstacle display data comprising display data for each of a plurality of sectors and for each of a plurality of blocks within each of the plurality of sectors forming a grid surrounding the vehicle, the obstacle display data further indicating the border of the single obstacle in one or more of the sectors; and
displaying the generated obstacle display data on a display.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the generating further comprises further comprises:
determining, by the processor, for each sector of the grid that includes indications of an obstacle in the sensor data, a closest block of the plurality of blocks of the respective sector closest to a center of the grid that includes the indications of the obstacle; and
generating, by the processor, identical obstacle display data for the closest block of the plurality of blocks and each of the plurality of blocks in the respective sector of the grid further from the center of the grid than the closest block.

10. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:
determining, by the processor, when a plurality of obstacles detected in the sensor data are within a predetermined distance of each other;
determining, by the processor, when the plurality of obstacles detected in the sensor data are within the predetermined distance, when a border length of the plurality of obstacles is greater than a predetermined length based upon the sensor data; and
generating, by the processor, obstacle display data indicating a border of the plurality of obstacle in one or more of the sectors when the border length of the plurality of obstacles is greater than the predetermined length.

11. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:
determining, by the processor, for each sector of the grid that includes indications of an obstacle in the sensor data, a closest edge of each obstacle in a closest block within the sector to the vehicle within the plurality of blocks of the respective sector; and
generating, by the processor, obstacle display data indicating the closest edge of each obstacle in the closest block within the sector.

12. The method of claim 8 , wherein the grid comprises a plurality of circles and a plurality of radial lines extending from a center of the plurality of circles.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein each sector includes the plurality of blocks between any two adjacent radial lines of the plurality of radial lines.

14. A vehicle, comprising:
a plurality of sensors configured to collect sensor data indicating when an obstacle is within a range of the vehicle, each of the plurality of sensors arranged to collect the sensor data in a different direction around the vehicle;
a display; and
a processor communicatively coupled to the plurality of sensors and the display, the processor configured to:
receive sensor data from the plurality of sensors;
determine when a single obstacle detected in the sensor data includes a border longer than a predetermined length;
generate obstacle display data based upon the sensor data, the obstacle display data comprising display data for each of a plurality of sectors and for each of a plurality of blocks within each of the plurality of sectors forming a grid surrounding the vehicle, the obstacle display data further indicating the border of the single obstacle in one or more of the sectors; and
display the generated obstacle display data on the display.

15. The vehicle of claim 14 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
determine, for each sector of the grid that includes indications of an obstacle in the sensor data, a closest block of the plurality of blocks of the respective sector closest to a center of the grid that includes the indications of the obstacle,
wherein the processor, when generating the obstacle display data, is further configured to generate identical obstacle display data for the closest block of the plurality of blocks and each of the plurality of blocks in the resp

Assignees

• Honeywell Int Inc

Inventors

• Hornych Petr
• Kabrt Tomas
• Ververs Patricia May

Classifications

• G01S7/51

  Display arrangements · CPC title

• G01S13/935

  for terrain-avoidance · CPC title

• G01S17/86

  Combinations of lidar systems with systems other than lidar, radar or sonar, e.g. with direction finders · CPC title

• G01S13/865

  Combination of radar systems with lidar systems · CPC title

• G01S13/862

  Combination of radar systems with sonar systems · CPC title