Patent ID: 11964675
Assignee: ZF FRIEDRICHSHAFEN AG
Field: Transport (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC B  G | IPC B  G

Claim 0:
1. A system for safely operating an automated vehicle, comprising:
a first network comprising
a sensor set comprising a plurality of sensors configured to detect the surroundings of the vehicle, wherein the sensor set is coupled to a high-performance electronic control unit (ECU) configured to process signals of the sensors for orientation, control, and collision avoidance; and
a secure motion-control ECU redundantly coupled to at least one drive element via at least two control signals for controlling the vehicle,
wherein the high-performance ECU is configured to output an object recognition indicator signal for orientation, control, and collision avoidance to the secure motion-control ECU;
a second, hierarchical, redundant network for safely operating the vehicle, comprising:
a human machine interface (HMI) and/or a remote machine interface (RMI) comprising at least one emergency shut-off switching device;
a ground truth sensing device configured to determine the position of objects relative to the vehicle; and
a perception-safety ECU coupled via a plurality of secure connections to the HMI and/or the RMI, the ground truth sensing device, and at least one radar sensor in order to derive from transmitted signals a secure collision notification signal, which is supplied to the secure motion-control ECU via a first further secure connection; and
wherein the secure motion-control ECU is designed to securely evaluate signals of the HMI and/or the RMI, the ground truth sensing device, and the perception-safety ECU for recognition of an emergency state in order to control the vehicle redundantly into a safe state via at least two control signals in an event of the recognition of the emergency state; and
a human control branch, a level 2 driver assistance perception branch, and a level 4 autonomous driving perception branch,
wherein the human control branch has the HMI and/or the RMI, which is coupled to the perception-safety ECU and the secure motion-control ECU via one of the plurality of secure connections,
wherein the level 2 driver assistance perception branch has the perception-safety ECU and at least one radar sensor and at least one camera, wherein a signal of the radar sensor and a signal of the camera are supplied via a second further secure connection to a secure fusion unit, which outputs a secure fused signal, which is supplied to the perception-safety ECU via one of the plurality of secure connections in order to derive therefrom in the perception-safety ECU a secure collision notification signal, which is supplied to the secure motion-control ECU via the first further secure connection,
wherein the level 4 autonomous driving perception branch has the high-performance ECU, which is coupled to the sensor set and is designed to derive from the signals of the sensors an object recognition indicator signal, which is supplied to the secure motion-control ECU, and
wherein the level 2 driver assistance perception branch is designed to control the vehicle via the secure motion-control ECU into a safe state by means of the secure fused signal in an event of the recognition of the emergency state or of a failure of the level 4 autonomous driving perception branch.