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

Claim 10:
11. A method for safely operating an automated vehicle, in which
processing signals of a sensor set, in a first network, comprising a plurality of sensors configured to detect surroundings of the vehicle for orientation, control, and collision avoidance in order to generate an object recognition indicator signal for orientation, control, and collision avoidance, wherein the sensor set is coupled to a high-performance electronic control unit (ECU);
transmitting the object recognition indicator signal to a secure motion-control ECU, which redundantly safely controls via at least two control signals at least one actuator for controlling the vehicle;
coupling, in a second, hierarchical, redundant network for safely operating the vehicle, a human machine interface (HMI) and/or a remote-machine interface (RMI) comprising at least one emergency shut-off switching device and a ground truth sensing device for determining a position of objects relative to the vehicle via a plurality of secure connections to a perception-safety ECU in the form of a control device,
supplying the perception-safety ECU with a signal of at least one radar sensor in order to derive from the transmitted signals a secure collision notification signal, which is supplied to the secure motion-control ECU via a first further secure connection;
respectively coupling the secure motion-control ECU, via one or more of the plurality of secure connections to the HMI and/or the RMI and to the ground truth sensing device;
evaluating, by the secure motion-control ECU, the signals of the HMI and/or the RMI, of the ground truth sensing device, and of the perception-safety ECU in order to safely recognize an emergency state in which the vehicle is redundantly controlled into a safe state via at least two control signals;

coupling a human control branch having the HMI and/or the RMI to the perception-safety ECU and the secure motion-control ECU via one of the plurality of secure connections;
supplying a signal of at least one radar sensor and at least one camera via a second further secure connection to a secure fusion unit,
wherein a level 2 driver assistance perception branch has the perception-safety ECU and the at least one radar sensor and the at least one camera, and
wherein the secure fusion unit outputs a secure fused signal, which his 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 his supplied to the secure motion-control ECU via the first further secure connection;

deriving from signals of the sensors an object recognition indicator signal, which is supplied to the secure motion-control ECU,
wherein a level 4 autonomous driving perception branch has the high-performance ECU, which his coupled to the sensor set and

controlling the vehicle via the secure motion-control ECU uinto a safe state by the secure fused signal in an event of the recognition of an emergency state or of a failure of the level 4 autonomous driving percepton branch.