Login| Sign Up| Help| Contact|

Patent Searching and Data


Title:
METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR FACILITATING FOLLOWING A LEADER VEHICLE ALONG A ROAD
Document Type and Number:
WIPO Patent Application WO/2017/105319
Kind Code:
A1
Abstract:
The present invention relates to a method for facilitating driving of a vehicle along a road. The method comprises the steps of: tracking (S1) at least one vehicle along the road ahead of said vehicle; determining (S2) a historic trail of the vehicle being tracked; and taking (S3) a determined historic trail into consideration during driving of the vehicle. The present invention also relates to a system for facilitating driving of a vehicle along a road. The present invention also relates to a vehicle. The present invention also relates to a computer program and a computer program product.

Inventors:
BEMLER MARIE (SE)
ANDERSSON JONNY (SE)
Application Number:
PCT/SE2016/051214
Publication Date:
June 22, 2017
Filing Date:
December 05, 2016
Export Citation:
Click for automatic bibliography generation   Help
Assignee:
SCANIA CV AB (SE)
International Classes:
B60W30/165; G01S13/72; G05D1/00; G05D1/02
Foreign References:
US20130090802A12013-04-11
US20100191461A12010-07-29
US20020049539A12002-04-25
US20030195703A12003-10-16
US5343206A1994-08-30
US20130030606A12013-01-31
US5331561A1994-07-19
Attorney, Agent or Firm:
FRENDH, Eva (SE)
Download PDF:
Claims:
CLAIMS

1 . A method for facilitating driving of a vehicle (1 ) along a road (R), characterized by the steps of:

- continuously determining (601 ) the trail of the vehicle (1 )

- determining (603) the trail of at least one vehicle (2, 3, 4, 5) along the road (R) ahead of said vehicle (1 );

- selecting (617, 619) the trail of one of said at least one vehicle based on a set of criteria and

- taking (621 , 623) the selected trail into consideration during driving of the vehicle (1 ).

2. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the step of taking a selected trail into consideration comprises controlling driving of the vehicle (1 ) based upon said selected trail.

3. A method according to claim 2, wherein the step of controlling driving of the vehicle (1 ) based upon said selected trail (T1 , T2, T3, T4) comprises adapting the speed of the vehicle based upon the curvature of the selected trail.

4. A method according to any of claims 1 -3, wherein the step of taking a selected trail into consideration comprises providing a warning to the operator of the vehicle of the extension of the road based upon said selected trail.

5. A method according to any of claims 1 -4, wherein the step of selecting a trail (T1 , T2, T3, T4) comprises comparing the determined trail of the vehicle (1 ) with the trail of said at least one vehicle (2, 3, 4, 5).

6. A system (I) for facilitating driving of a vehicle (1 ) along a road (R), characterized by means (1 10) for tracking at least one vehicle (2, 3, 4, 5) along the road (R) ahead of said vehicle (1 ); means (120) for determining a historic trail (T1 , T2, T3, T4) of the at least one vehicle (2, 3, 4, 5) being tracked; means for selecting one of the determined historic trails and means (140) for taking a selected trail into consideration during driving of the vehicle (1 ).

7. A system according to claim 6, wherein the means (140) for taking a determined historic trail into consideration comprises means (142) for controlling driving of the vehicle (1 ) based upon said determined historic trail.

8. A system according to claim 7, wherein the means (142) for controlling driving of the vehicle (1 ) based upon said determined historic trail (T1 , T2, T3, T4) comprises means (142a) for adapting the speed of the vehicle based upon the curvature of the historic trail. 9. A system according to any of claims 6-8, wherein the means (140) for taking a determined historic trail (T1 , T2, T3, T4) into consideration comprises means (144) for providing a warning to the operator of the vehicle of the extension of the road based upon said determined historic trail.

10. A system according to any of claims 6-9, wherein the means for selecting one of the determined historic trails is adapted to comparing the determined trail of the vehicle (1 ) with the trail of said at least one vehicle (2, 3, 4, 5) and select the trail based on said comparison.

1 1 . A vehicle (1 ) comprising a system (I) according to any of claims 6-10.

12. A computer program (P) for facilitating driving of a vehicle along a road, said computer program (P) comprising program code which, when run on an electronic control unit (100) or another computer (500) connected to the electronic control unit (100), causes the electronic control unit to perform the steps according to claim 1 -5.

13. A computer program product comprising a digital storage medium storing the computer program according to claim 12.

Description:
METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR FACILITATING FOLLOWING A

LEADER VEHICLE ALONG A ROAD

TECHNICAL FIELD The invention relates to a method for facilitating driving of a vehicle along a road according to the preamble of claim 1 . The invention also relates to a system for facilitating driving of a vehicle along a road. The invention also relates to a vehicle. The invention in addition relates to a computer program and a computer program product.

BACKGROUND ART

When driving vehicles along a road tipping accidents in curves is an accident type that creates a problem. The main reason for such tipping accidents is that the velocity of the vehicle is too high. In order to control driving of the vehicle the extensions of the road ahead needs to be determined. Thus, by creating driver assistance systems that help the driver choose a more appropriate speed for the situation the vehicle itself needs to know how the road looks ahead. This could be achieved with a global positioning system, GPS, and by providing map data of the extension and curvature of the road along which the vehicle is travelling, which is done for certain systems such that a more appropriate speed is held. Map data is used for functions such as Cruise Control.

A problem with relying on map data is e.g. that there might occur situations where no map data is present, or where map data is out of date due to update frequency. Map data can also have some challenges in finding out which way the vehicle choose to travel, for example a highway exit where it is hard to use GPS to separate the exit lane with a sharp bend from the lane continuing straight ahead. There is thus a need for improving driving of a vehicle along a road.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a method for facilitating driving of a vehicle along a road which improves the basis for adapting the speed of the vehicle to the extension and curvature of the road and thus improves safety.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a system for facilitating driving of a vehicle along a road which improves the basis for adapting the speed of the vehicle to the extension and curvature of the road and thus improves safety.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

These and other objects, apparent from the following description, are achieved by a method, a system, a vehicle, a computer program and a computer program product, as set out in the appended independent claims. Preferred embodiments of the method and the system are defined in appended dependent claims.

Specifically an object of the invention is achieved by a method for facilitating driving of a vehicle along a road. The method comprises the steps of: tracking at least one vehicle along the road ahead of said vehicle; determining a historic trail of the vehicle being tracked; and taking a determined historic trail into consideration during driving of the vehicle.

By thus determining a historic trail of a vehicle being tracked the basis for adapting the speed of the vehicle to the extension and curvature of the road is improved and thus improves safety. The thus determined historic trail may be used as a redundancy to map data and/or trajectory of the road obtained from road marks. The thus determined historic trail may be used where map data has not been updated, for example if the road has been changed by adding/changing lanes, adding a roundabout or the like, it he map data is temporarily wrong due to e.g. construction work or temporary obstacle or the like.

The thus determined historic trail may be used as a basis for controlling the vehicle along the road when the vehicle is driving in the lane corresponding to the historic trail, said control of the vehicle comprising adapting the speed of the vehicle to the curvature of the historic trail. In particular, one vehicle is selected to follow. Hereby a historic trail of a vehicle that best matches the path of the own vehicle can be selected and follows. This allows for a good prediction of the forward path of the own vehicle. The control can also be applied for vehicle driving in platoon formations.

According to an embodiment of the method the step of taking a determined historic trail into consideration comprises controlling driving of the vehicle based upon said determined historic trail. By thus controlling driving based upon the historic trail improves safety and reduces risk of the vehicle tipping over due to too high speed in a curve. The vehicle speed may hereby be handled automatically based upon the historic trail.

According to an embodiment of the method the step of controlling driving of the vehicle based upon said determined historic trail comprises adapting the speed of the vehicle based upon the curvature of the historic trail. Hereby safety of driving the vehicle is improved. According to an embodiment of the method the step of taking a determined historic trail into consideration comprises providing a warning to the operator of the vehicle of the extension of the road based upon said determined historic trail. Hereby the operator of the vehicle is informed of the extension and curvature of the road in advance based upon the thus determined historic trail. This further improves safety in that the operator/driver may take actions based upon the warning such as turning off regular cruise control.

According to an embodiment of the method the step of determining a historic trail comprises detecting the vehicle being tracked so as to obtain waypoints of earlier positions of the tracked vehicle; based upon said waypoints creating the historic trail of said tracked vehicle. Hereby an easy and efficient way of obtaining the historic trail based upon a vehicle ahead is obtained.

According to an embodiment the thus determined historic trail is compared with a trajectory determined by means of extracted map information and vehicle position. If there is a certain difference in said comparison the determined historic trail is according to an embodiment the basis for controlling driving of the vehicle.

Specifically an object of the invention is achieved by a system for facilitating driving of a vehicle along a road. The system comprises means for tracking at least one vehicle along the road ahead of said vehicle; means for determining a historic trail of the vehicle being tracked; and means for taking a determined historic trail into consideration during driving of the vehicle.

According to an embodiment of the system the means for taking a determined historic trail into consideration comprises means for controlling driving of the vehicle based upon said determined historic trail.

According to an embodiment of the system the means for controlling driving of the vehicle based upon said determined historic trail comprises means for adapting the speed of the vehicle based upon the curvature of the historic trail.

According to an embodiment of the system the means for taking a determined historic trail into consideration comprises means for providing a warning to the operator of the vehicle of the extension of the road based upon said determined historic trail. According to an embodiment of the system the means for determining a historic trail comprises means for detecting the vehicle being tracked so as to obtain waypoints of earlier positions of the tracked vehicle; and means for creating the historic trail of said tracked vehicle based upon said waypoints. The system for facilitating driving of a vehicle along a road is adapted to perform the methods as set out herein.

The system according to the invention has the advantages according to the corresponding method claims.

Specifically an object of the invention is achieved by a vehicle comprising a system as set out herein.

Specifically an object of the invention is achieved by a computer program for facilitating driving of a vehicle along a road, said computer program comprising program code which, when run on an electronic control unit or another computer connected to the electronic control unit, causes the electronic control unit to perform methods as set out herein.

Specifically an object of the invention is achieved by a computer program product comprising a digital storage medium storing the computer program.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For a better understanding of the present invention reference is made to the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the several views, and in which:

Fig. 1 schematically illustrates a side view of a vehicle according to the present invention;

Fig. 2a schematically illustrates a road with three lanes with a road exit; Fig. 2b schematically illustrates a road where the lanes have been redirected due to a road construction ahead;

Fig. 3 schematically illustrates a block diagram of a system for facilitating driving of a vehicle along a road according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 4 schematically illustrates a block diagram of a method for facilitating driving of a vehicle along a road according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 5 schematically illustrates a computer according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

Fig. 6 is a flowchart illustrating selection of a vehicle to follow.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter the term "link" refers to a communication link which may be a physical connector, such as an optoelectronic communication wire, or a non- physical connector such as a wireless connection, for example a radio or microwave link.

Hereinafter the term "trajectory of the road" and "trajectory of the lane of the road" comprises the extension of the road/lane, the course of the road/lane and comprises the curvature of the road/lane.

Fig. 1 schematically illustrates a side view of a vehicle 1 according to the present invention. The exemplified vehicle 1 is a heavy vehicle in the shape of a truck. The vehicle according to the present invention could be any suitable vehicle such as a bus or a car. The vehicle comprises a system I for facilitating driving of the vehicle 1 along a road R. Fig. 2a schematically illustrates a road R with three lanes L1 , L2, L3, a first lane L1 in which a vehicle 1 was travelling, a second lane L2 adjacent to the first lane L1 and a third lane L3 adjacent to the second lane L2. From the first lane L1 a road exit of a lane L4 with a certain extension exists. In the road exit a second vehicle 2 ahead of the first vehicle 1 has taken off and is travelling in the lane L4.

In the second lane L2 a vehicle 3 is travelling ahead of the vehicle 1 and in the third lane L3 a vehicle 4 and a vehicle 5 are travelling, the vehicle 5 following the vehicle 4, and both vehicle 4 and vehicle 5 being ahead of the vehicle 1 . The vehicle 1 comprises a system I for facilitating driving of a vehicle along a road. The system I comprises means for tracking at least one vehicle along the road ahead of said vehicle. The system I comprises a detector unit D for detecting vehicles ahead of the vehicle so as to track vehicles ahead of said vehicle 1 . The system I comprises means for determining a historic trail of the vehicle being tracked. The means for determining a historic trail of the vehicle being tracked comprises the detector unit D.

In the example in fig. 2a the vehicle 1 is tracking the vehicle 2 having taken off on the lane L4, the vehicle 3 in the lane L2 and the vehicle 4 in the lane L3. By means of the system I the vehicle 1 is determining a historic trail T1 of the vehicle 2, a historic trail T2 of the vehicle 3 and a historic trail T3 of the vehicle 4.

The vehicle 1 is taking off on the road exit and is driving on the lane L4. For this reason the historic trail T1 of the vehicle 2 is taken into consideration. According to a variant the system I is controlling driving of the vehicle based upon that determined historic trail T1 thus adapting the speed of the vehicle 1 based upon the curvature of the historic trail T1 corresponding to the lane L4 in which the vehicle 2 was driving. Hereby safer drive is facilitated in that a proper trajectory will be provided in advance independent of whether map data exists/is available/if false and/or whether it is possible to detect road marks. By thus determining historic trails T1 , T2, T3 for vehicles 2, 3, 4, in different lanes L4, L1 , L2, L3 it will be possible to have a historic trail based upon which the speed of the vehicle is adapted for different travel options for the vehicle 1 .

According to an embodiment of the system the means for taking a determined historic trail into consideration comprises means for providing a warning to the operator of the vehicle of the extension of the road based upon said determined historic trail.

Fig. 2b schematically illustrates a road with two lanes L1 , L2, a first lane L1 in which a vehicle 1 is travelling and a second lane L2 adjacent to the first lane L1 . The lanes L1 , L2 have been redirected and formed into temporary lanes L1 a, L2a at a certain position due to a road construction C ahead, the temporary lanes L1 a, L2a bypassing the construction work.

A vehicle 2 is travelling in the lane L1 a ahead of the vehicle 1 .

In accordance with the example in fig. 2a the vehicle 1 comprises a system I for facilitating driving of a vehicle along a road. The system I comprises means for tracking at least one vehicle along the road ahead of said vehicle 1 . The system I comprises a detector unit D for detecting vehicles ahead of the vehicle 1 so as to track vehicles ahead of said vehicle 1 . The system I comprises means for determining a historic trail of the vehicle being tracked. The means for determining a historic trail of the vehicle being tracked comprises the detector unit D.

In the example in fig. 2b the vehicle 1 is tracking the vehicle 2 in the lane L1 a bypassing the road construction C. By means of the system I the vehicle 1 is determining a historic trail T4 of the vehicle 2. According to an embodiment of the system I the means for determining a historic trail T4 comprises means for detecting the vehicle being tracked so as to obtain waypoints WP of earlier positions of the tracked vehicle 2. The detector unit D is comprised in the means for detecting the vehicle being tracked so as to obtain said waypoints WP of earlier positions of the tracked vehicle 2. The historic trail T4 of the tracked vehicle 2 is then created by means of the waypoints WP. The waypoints WP according to an embodiment essentially correspond to at least the width of the vehicle 2. Fig. 3 schematically illustrates a system I for facilitating driving of a vehicle along a road according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The system I comprises an electronic control unit 100.

The system I comprises means 1 10 for tracking at least one vehicle along the road ahead of said vehicle. The means 1 10 for tracking at least one vehicle along the road ahead of said vehicle may comprise any suitable detecting means, i.e. any suitable detector unit. The means 1 10 for tracking at least one vehicle along the road ahead of said vehicle comprises according to an embodiment one or more camera units. The one or more camera units comprise according to an embodiment an IR- camera unit. The means 1 10 for tracking at least one vehicle along the road ahead of said vehicle comprises according to an embodiment one or more laser scanner units. The means 1 10 for tracking at least one vehicle along the road ahead of said vehicle comprises according to an embodiment one or more radar units. The system I comprises means 120 for determining a historic trail of the vehicle being tracked. The means 120 for determining a historic trail of the vehicle being tracked comprises according to an embodiment the means 1 10 for tracking at least one vehicle along the road ahead of said vehicle. The means 120 for determining a historic trail of the vehicle being tracked comprises thus one or more camera units and/or one or more laser scanner units and/or one or more radar units.

The means 120 for determining a historic trail comprises means 122 for detecting the vehicle being tracked so as to obtain waypoints of earlier positions of the tracked vehicle. The means 122 for detecting the vehicle being tracked so as to obtain waypoints of earlier positions of the tracked vehicle comprises thus one or more camera units and/or one or more laser scanner units and/or one or more radar units. The means 120 for determining a historic trail comprises means 124 for creating the historic trail of said tracked vehicle based upon said waypoints.

The system I comprises means 130 for determining the speed of the vehicle. The means 130 for determining the speed of the vehicle comprises according to an embodiment the speedometer of the vehicle. The system I comprises means 140 for taking a determined historic trail into consideration during driving of the vehicle.

The means 140 for taking a determined historic trail into consideration comprises means 142 for controlling driving of the vehicle based upon said determined historic trail. The means 142 for controlling driving of the vehicle based upon said determined historic trail comprises means 142a for adapting the speed of the vehicle based upon the curvature of the historic trail. The means 142a for adapting the speed of the vehicle based upon the curvature of the historic trail may comprise utilising a cruise control function of the vehicle. The means 140 for taking a determined historic trail into consideration comprises means 144 for providing a warning to the operator of the vehicle of the extension of the road based upon said determined historic trail. The means 144 for providing a warning to the operator of the vehicle comprises visual means for visually presenting the warning comprising a display unit or the like and/or acoustic means for audibly presenting the warning comprising a voice message, an alarm or the like and/or tactile means for tactile presentation of the warning such as vibrations of steering wheel or the like. According to an embodiment the system I comprises means 150 for determining the trajectory of the road along which the vehicle is travelling based on a determined current position of the vehicle and extracted map information of the extension of the road along which the vehicle is travelling. The means 150 for determining the trajectory of the road along which the vehicle is travelling based on a determined current position of the vehicle and extracted map information of the extension of the road along which the vehicle is travelling comprises according to an embodiment a map information unit 1 52 comprising map data comprising information about the trajectory of the road on which the vehicle is travelling comprising curves, road exits, road entrances and the surroundings of the road.

The means 1 50 for determining the trajectory of the road along which the vehicle is travelling based on a determined current position of the vehicle and extracted map information of the extension of the road along which the vehicle is travelling comprises according to an embodiment means 154 for determining the position of the vehicle. The means 1 54 for determining the position of the vehicle comprises according to an embodiment a global positioning system, GPS, for continuously determining the position of the vehicle along the road on which it is travelling. By means of the map information unit 1 52 and the means 154 for determining the position of the vehicle it is thus facilitated to continuously identifying the position of the vehicle and the trajectory of the road along which the vehicle is travelling including the trajectory of the road along which the vehicle is travelling a certain distance ahead of the vehicle. The system I comprises means 160 for comparing the determined historic trail determined with the means 120 with the trajectory determined with the means 150, i.e. by means of extracted map information and vehicle position. The means 160 for comparing the determined historic trail with the trajectory determined by means of extracted map information and vehicle position comprises according to an embodiment an electronic control unit. The means 160 for comparing the determined historic trail with the trajectory determined by means of extracted map information and vehicle position comprises according to an embodiment the electronic control unit 100. The means 160 for comparing comprises determining if and to what extent the determined historic trail differs from the trajectory determined by means of extracted map information and vehicle position. Here the determined historic trail may function as a backup if the trajectory determined by means of extracted map information and vehicle position is incorrect due to e.g. road construction or a new/updated road extension. Thus, if there is a certain difference in said comparison the determined historic trail is according to an embodiment the basis for controlling driving of the vehicle.

The electronic control unit 100 is operably connected to the means 1 10 for tracking at least one vehicle along the road ahead of said vehicle via a link 10. The electronic control unit 100 is via the link 10 arranged to receive a signal from said means 1 10 representing data for tracked vehicles ahead of said vehicle.

The electronic control unit 100 is operably connected to the means 120 for determining a historic trail of the vehicle being tracked via a link 20a. The electronic control unit 100 is via the link 20a arranged to send a signal to said means 120 representing data for tracked vehicles ahead of said vehicle.

The electronic control unit 100 is operably connected to the means 120 for determining a historic trail of the vehicle being tracked via a link 20b. The electronic control unit 100 is via the link 20b arranged to receive a signal from said means 120 representing data for historic trail of vehicle/vehicles being tracked.

The electronic control unit 100 is operably connected to the means 122 for detecting the vehicle being tracked so as to obtain waypoints of earlier positions of the tracked vehicle via a link 22. The electronic control unit 100 is via the link 22 arranged to receive a signal from said means 122 representing data for waypoints of earlier positions of tracked vehicle/vehicles.

The electronic control unit 100 is operably connected to the means 124 for creating the historic trail of said tracked vehicle based upon said waypoints via a link 24a. The electronic control unit 100 is via the link 24a arranged to send a signal to said means 124 representing data for waypoints of earlier positions of tracked vehicle/vehicles.

The electronic control unit 100 is operably connected to the means 124 for creating the historic trail of said tracked vehicle based upon said waypoints via a link 24b. The electronic control unit 100 is via the link 24b arranged to receive a signal from said means 124 representing data for historic trail of vehicle/vehicles being tracked.

The electronic control unit 100 is operably connected to the means 130 for determining the speed of the vehicle via a link 30. The electronic control unit 100 is via the link 30 arranged to receive a signal from said means 130 representing data for speed of the vehicle.

The electronic control unit 100 is operably connected to the means 140 for taking a determined historic trail into consideration during driving of the vehicle via a link 40. The electronic control unit 100 is via the link 40 arranged to send a signal to said means 140 representing data for determined historic trail.

The electronic control unit 100 is operably connected to the means 142 for controlling driving of the vehicle based upon said determined historic trail via a link 42. The electronic control unit 100 is via the link 42 arranged to receive a signal from said means 142 representing data for control of driving comprising data for adaption of vehicle speed based upon said determined historic trail.

The electronic control unit 100 is operably connected to the means 144 for providing a warning to the operator of the vehicle of the extension of the road based upon said determined historic trail via a link 44. The electronic control unit 100 is via the link 44 arranged to receive a signal from said means 144 representing data for providing a warning to the operator of the vehicle of the extension of the road based upon said determined historic trail. The electronic control unit 100 is operably connected to the means 1 50 for determining the trajectory of the road along which the vehicle is travelling based on a determined current position of the vehicle and extracted map information of the extension of the road along which the vehicle is travelling via a link 50. The electronic control unit 100 is via the link 50 arranged to receive a signal from said means 150 representing data for trajectory determined based on a determined current position of the vehicle and extracted map information.

The electronic control unit 100 is operably connected to the map information unit 1 52 comprising map data comprising information about the trajectory of the road on which the vehicle is travelling via a link 52. The electronic control unit 100 is via the link 52 arranged to receive a signal from said map information unit 152 representing map data comprising information about the trajectory of the road on which the vehicle is travelling.

The electronic control unit 100 is operably connected to the means 154 for determining the position of the vehicle via a link 54. The electronic control unit 100 is via the link 54 arranged to receive a signal from said means 154 representing data for position of the vehicle.

The electronic control unit 100 is operably connected to the means 160 for comparing the determined historic trail with the trajectory determined by means of extracted map information and vehicle position via a link 60a. The electronic control unit 100 is via the link 60a arranged to send a signal to said means 160 representing data for determined historic trail.

The electronic control unit 100 is operably connected to the means 160 for comparing the determined historic trail with the trajectory determined by means of extracted map information and vehicle position via a link 60b. The electronic control unit 100 is via the link 60b arranged to send a signal to said means 160 representing data for extracted map information and vehicle position. The electronic control unit 100 is operably connected to the means 160 for comparing the determined historic trail with the trajectory determined by means of extracted map information and vehicle position via a link 60c. The electronic control unit 100 is via the link 60c arranged to receive a signal from said means 160 representing comparison data for comparison of the determined historic trail with the trajectory determined by means of extracted map information and vehicle position.

Fig. 4 schematically illustrates a block diagram of a method for facilitating driving of a vehicle along a road according to an embodiment of the present invention. According to the embodiment the method for facilitating driving of a vehicle along a road comprises a step S1 . In this step at least one vehicle are tracked along the road ahead of said vehicle.

According to the embodiment the method for facilitating driving of a vehicle along a road comprises a step S2. In this step a historic trail of the vehicle being tracked is determined.

According to the embodiment the method for facilitating driving of a vehicle along a road comprises a step S3. In this step a determined historic trail is taken into consideration during driving of the vehicle.

In Fig. 6 a flow chart illustrating some procedural steps that can be performed when adapting speed of a vehicle in accordance with one exemplary embodiment. Some steps can be omitted and or performed in another order. The steps can be performed using a suitable processor such as the control unit 100 described above. In the procedure of Fig. 6 the steps 603 - 615 are preferably performed for each vehicle being detected. First in a step 601 the trail of the own vehicle is continuously determined. Then, in a step 603 the trail for at least one and preferably each detected vehicle in front of the own vehicle is determined. Next, in a step 605, the historic trail of the own vehicle is compared to the historic trail of the detected vehicle. It can then be checked if the own vehicle is following the detected vehicles trail for some time and/or distance compared to some pre-set threshold value, step 607. If the detected vehicle does not follow the trail of the detected vehicle for a long enough distance or time the detected vehicle can be determined to not be a candidate in a step 613 and is, at least for the time being, discarded from the set of candidate vehicles to follow the historic trail of. In accordance with some embodiments it can be checked if lane information from an imaging device such as a camera is available, step 609. In other words it is detected if the vehicle can obtain information regarding how the lanes are formed based on data from an imaging device (camera, sensor or the like). If it is detected in a step 61 1 that the detected vehicle leaves the lane the detected vehicle is also determined to not be a candidate in step 613. In accordance with some embodiments it can also be checked if the detected vehicle is a member of a platoon in which the own vehicle participates. This can take place in a step 615 for example by a vehicle to vehicle communication (V2V communication). Based on one or more of the above determinations one of the detected vehicles, in particular one of the detected vehicles not being discarded in step 613 is selected as the vehicle, the trail of which is to be followed. In case the own vehicle is a member of a platoon only members of the platoon are eligible to be selected in a step 617, else the detected vehicle that best matches a set of pre-defined criteria is selected as the vehicle to follow in a step 619 . When a vehicle has been selected the curvature of the trail formed by the selected vehicle is determined in a step 621 . Finally in a step 623 the determined curvature in step 621 is used to control the speed and/ or warn the driver to not exceed a speed determined to be acceptable in the determined curvature. In particular the speed can be controlled for an autonomous vehicle or a vehicle driven in a cruise control mode. By thus determining a historic trail of a vehicle being tracked the basis for adapting the speed of the vehicle to the extension and curvature of the road is improved and thus improves safety. The thus determined historic trail may be used as a redundancy to map data and/or trajectory of the road obtained from road marks. The thus determined historic trail may be used where map data has not been updated, for example if the road has been changed by adding/changing lanes, adding a roundabout or the like, it he map data is temporarily wrong due to e.g. construction work or temporary obstacle or the like. The thus determined historic trail may be used as a basis for controlling the vehicle along the road when the vehicle is driving in the lane corresponding to the historic trail, said control of the vehicle comprising adapting the speed of the vehicle to the curvature of the historic trail.

According to an embodiment of the method the step of taking a determined historic trail into consideration comprises controlling driving of the vehicle based upon said determined historic trail. By thus controlling driving based upon the historic trail improves safety and reduces risk of the vehicle tipping over due to too high speed in a curve. The vehicle speed may hereby be handled automatically based upon the historic trail. According to an embodiment of the method the step of controlling driving of the vehicle based upon said determined historic trail comprises adapting the speed of the vehicle based upon the curvature of the historic trail. Hereby safety of driving the vehicle is improved.

According to an embodiment of the method the step of taking a determined historic trail into consideration comprises providing a warning to the operator of the vehicle of the extension of the road based upon said determined historic trail. Hereby the operator of the vehicle is informed of the extension and curvature of the road in advance based upon the thus determined historic trail. This further improves safety in that the operator/driver may take actions based upon the warning.

According to an embodiment of the method the step of determining a historic trail comprises detecting the vehicle being tracked so as to obtain waypoints of earlier positions of the tracked vehicle; based upon said waypoints creating the historic trail of said tracked vehicle. Hereby an easy and efficient way of obtaining the historic trail based upon a vehicle ahead is obtained.

With reference to figure 5, a diagram of an apparatus 500 is shown. The control unit 100 described with reference to fig. 3 may according to an embodiment comprise apparatus 500. Apparatus 500 comprises a non-volatile memory 520, a data processing device 510 and a read/write memory 550. Non-volatile memory 520 has a first memory portion 530 wherein a computer program, such as an operating system, is stored for controlling the function of apparatus 500. Further, apparatus 500 comprises a bus controller, a serial communication port, l/O-means, an A/D-converter, a time date entry and transmission unit, an event counter and an interrupt controller (not shown). Non-volatile memory 520 also has a second memory portion 540.

A computer program P is provided comprising routines for facilitating driving of a vehicle along a road according to an embodiment of the present invention. The program P comprises routines for tracking at least one vehicle along the road ahead of said vehicle. The program P comprises routines for determining a historic trail of the vehicle being tracked. The program P comprises routines for taking a determined historic trail into consideration during driving of the vehicle. The program P comprises routines for controlling driving of the vehicle based upon said determined historic trail. The program P comprises routines for adapting the speed of the vehicle based upon the curvature of the historic trail. The program P comprises routines for providing a warning to the operator of the vehicle of the extension of the road based upon said determined historic trail. The program P comprises routines for detecting the vehicle being tracked so as to obtain waypoints of earlier positions of the tracked vehicle. The program P comprises routines for creating the historic trail of said tracked vehicle based upon said waypoints. The computer program P may be stored in an executable manner or in a compressed condition in a separate memory 560 and/or in read/write memory 550. When it is stated that data processing device 510 performs a certain function it should be understood that data processing device 510 performs a certain part of the program which is stored in separate memory 560, or a certain part of the program which is stored in read/write memory 550.

Data processing device 510 may communicate with a data communications port 599 by means of a data bus 515. Non-volatile memory 520 is adapted for communication with data processing device 510 via a data bus 512. Separate memory 560 is adapted for communication with data processing device 510 via a data bus 51 1 . Read/write memory 550 is adapted for communication with data processing device 510 via a data bus 514. To the data communications port 599 e.g. the links connected to the control units 100 may be connected.

When data is received on data port 599 it is temporarily stored in second memory portion 540. When the received input data has been temporarily stored, data processing device 510 is set up to perform execution of code in a manner described above. The signals received on data port 599 can be used by apparatus 500 for tracking at least one vehicle along the road ahead of said vehicle. The signals received on data port 599 can be used by apparatus 500 for determining a historic trail of the vehicle being tracked. The signals received on data port 599 can be used by apparatus 500 for taking a determined historic trail into consideration during driving of the vehicle. The signals received on data port 599 can be used by apparatus 500 for controlling driving of the vehicle based upon said determined historic trail. The signals received on data port 599 can be used by apparatus 500 for adapting the speed of the vehicle based upon the curvature of the historic trail. The signals received on data port 599 can be used by apparatus 500 for providing a warning to the operator of the vehicle of the extension of the road based upon said determined historic trail. The signals received on data port 599 can be used by apparatus 500 for detecting the vehicle being tracked so as to obtain waypoints of earlier positions of the tracked vehicle. The signals received on data port 599 can be used by apparatus 500 for creating the historic trail of said tracked vehicle based upon said waypoints.

Parts of the methods described herein can be performed by apparatus 500 by means of data processing device 510 running the program stored in separate memory 560 or read/write memory 550. When apparatus 500 runs the program, parts of the methods described herein are executed. The foregoing description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention has been provided for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Obviously, many modifications and variations will be apparent to practitioners skilled in the art. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical applications, thereby enabling others skilled in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments and with the various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.