Abstract:
A system of one or more computers can be configured to perform particular operations or actions by virtue of having software, firmware, hardware, or a combination of them installed on the system that in operation causes or cause the system to perform the actions. One general aspect includes a system, including a server computer having a processor and a memory, the memory storing instructions executable by the processor such that the computer is programmed to detect a first vehicle in a first lane adjacent to a second lane and plan a first vehicle trajectory for the first vehicle to be placed in a queue in the first lane and, from the queue, transition from the first lane to the second lane based upon at least one determined characteristic of the first vehicle and a second vehicle trajectory and control the first vehicle based upon the first vehicle trajectory.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     Autonomous or partially autonomous vehicles relieve drivers of various driving-related tasks. When operating in autonomous mode, a vehicle can, using on-board sensors, navigate to various locations, allowing the vehicle to travel with minimal, if any, human interaction or even, in some cases, without any passengers. However, vehicles without autonomous capability can pose dangers to, and/or interfere with, vehicles that are fully or partially autonomous. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram of an exemplary autonomous vehicle lane access control system. 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram illustrating autonomous vehicles ingressing and egressing a dedicated autonomous vehicle lane. 
         FIG. 3  is a flowchart of an exemplary process that may be implemented by the autonomous vehicle lane access control system of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 4  is a flowchart of another exemplary process that may be implemented by the autonomous vehicle lane access control system of  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , illustrated is an exemplary autonomous vehicle lane access control system  5  for regulating autonomous vehicle (AV)  10  lane  40  ingress and egress. Using vehicle-to-infrastructure communications such as are known, the vehicle  10  communicates with a central server  18 . For example, now referring to  FIG. 2 , an autonomous vehicle lane  40  may be entered (ingressed) from an adjacent buffer lane  42  or may exit (egress) the AV lane  40  to the buffer lane  42 . The central server  18  may provide instructions to a vehicle  10  for lane  40  ingress and egress. Note that various vehicles  10  in  FIG. 2 , and the below discussion, are accordingly labeled  10   a ,  10   b , etc., to distinguish between vehicles  10  in various locations, e.g., vehicles  10   a  in the AV lane  40 , vehicles  10   b  in the adjacent buffer lane  42  vehicle  10   c  egressing the AV lane  40  and vehicles  10   d  traveling in a lane  44 . Further, in the context of the present disclosure, “adjacent” lanes  40 ,  42  are immediately next to each other, i.e., have a common border often indicated by shared lane markings (e.g., painted lines, embedded markers, etc.), e.g., a left border of a lane  42  could be a right border of a lane  40 . 
     The system  5  may take many different forms and include multiple and/or alternate components and facilities. While an exemplary system is shown, the exemplary components illustrated are not intended to be limiting. Indeed, additional or alternative components and/or implementations may be used. 
     Continuing with  FIGS. 1 and 2 , an AV lane  40  is a dedicated travel lane populated with vehicles  10   a  in an autonomous, i.e., self-driving, mode, i.e., where each of steering, propulsion (e.g., throttle in an internal combustion engine), and braking are controlled without human intervention. Alternatively, the vehicle  10   a  can also be a semiautonomous vehicle (SV) operated in an autonomous mode of operation, i.e., a semiautonomous vehicle is one that may operate with some or all of propulsion, steering, and braking under human control, but can be switched to a fully autonomous mode in which each of these are performed without human intervention. In a semiautonomous vehicle as that term is used herein, for example, when an operator of the vehicle  10   a  wishes to travel in the AV lane  40 , the human operator can switch the mode of the semiautonomous vehicle into an autonomous mode, thus permitting the vehicle to operate in the AV lane  40 . 
     The AV lane  40  has a collection of vehicle detection sensors (e.g., radar or lidar sensors), lane proximity sensors, cameras and communication devices (not shown), each communicatively coupled to an AV roadway infrastructure server  18 . The lane proximity sensor is used for vehicle detection and surveillance. The lane proximity sensor may include three components: a transducer, a signal processing device, and a data processing device. The transducer detects the passage or presence of a vehicle or its axles. For example, a pneumatic road tube sensor can send a burst of air pressure along a rubber tube when the vehicle&#39;s tires pass over the tube. The pressure pulse closes an air switch, producing an electrical signal that is transmitted to a signal-processing device that typically converts the transducer output into an electrical signal. The data-processing device usually includes computer hardware and firmware that converts the electrical signal into traffic parameters. 
     Another type of lane proximity sensor is an inductive loop detector. A wire loop embedded in the roadway is excited with signals whose frequencies range from 10 KHz to 50 KHz. The loop operates as an inductive element in conjunction with the signal processing device. When a vehicle stops on or passes over the loop, the inductance of the loop is decreased. The decreased inductance increases the oscillation frequency and causes the electronics unit to send a pulse to the data processing device, indicating the presence or passage of a vehicle. The data supplied by conventional inductive loop detectors are vehicle passage, presence, count, and occupancy. Although loops cannot directly measure speed, speed can be determined, as will be understood, using a two-loop speed trap or a single loop detector to provide inputs including loop length, average vehicle length, time over the detector, and number of vehicles counted. 
     A third type of lane proximity sensor is a laser measurement device which projects a beam of visible laser light that creates a spot on a vehicle surface. Reflected light from the surface is viewed from an angle by a camera inside the laser measurement device. The vehicle&#39;s distance from a lane boundary is computed from the image pixel data using a signal processing device and the measurement principle is called triangulation. 
     Detection sensors report to the server  18  the presence and a vehicle velocity of any vehicle  10   a  traversing the AV lane  40 . Cameras can also provide data that can be used, e.g., according to known image processing techniques, to detect and report the presence and velocity of any vehicle  10   a  in the AV lane  40 . Infrastructure vehicle communications devices permit the vehicle  10   a  to communicate with the AV roadway infrastructure server  18 ; for example, the vehicle  10   a  can report its trajectory, which can include a geolocation and a velocity along with an identification of the vehicle  10   a  to the server  18 . The collected information can be stored on the server  18  as a roadway infrastructure network data. 
     A vehicle  10  can communicate with the server  18  via one or more known mechanisms such as one or more of a radio frequency communications link, a fiber optic link, a dedicated network link, the Internet, etc. One possible manner of communications is via dedicated short range communications (DSRC), devices for such communications being known. DSRC devices are one-way or two-way short-range to medium-range wireless communication radios specifically designed for automotive use. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has developed a corresponding set of protocols and standards for DSRC devices, for example, the IEEE 802.11p DSRC networking layer standard is an enhancement of the IEEE 802.11 standard. Another IEEE DSRC standard is the IEEE 1609 standard which comprises a family of standards for wireless access in vehicular environments (WAVE). The IEEE 1609 standard focuses on resource management, security and multichannel operations. 
     The buffer lane  42  also has its own local collection of vehicle detection sensors, cameras and/or infrastructure vehicle communication devices (not shown) connectively coupled to a server  18  on the lane  42  can include one or more waiting zones  46  and/or a semiautonomous merge zones  47 . The detection sensors, much like the sensors and cameras in the AV lane  40 , report the presence and velocity of any AV  10   b  in the buffer lane  42 . As mentioned above, the infrastructure vehicle communications devices permit AVs  10 , such as an AV  10   b  in a buffer lane  42 , to communicate with the server  18 . For example, the AV  10  can report an identifier for the AV  10  that the server  18  can use to determine vehicle  10  capabilities, e.g., with respect to steering, acceleration, etc., and/or the AV  10  can report its acceleration capabilities, velocity capabilities, destination, and/or other information relevant to determining a lane of travel for the AV  10  to the to the server  18 . 
     The waiting zone  46  of the buffer lane  40  is an area where an AV  10   b  can be held in a queue until the processing device  12  determines an appropriate merge spot and a release time for the AV  10  to ingress the AV lane  40 . The semiautonomous merge zone  47  is an area monitored for obstructing vehicles which may impede the egress of an egressing vehicle  10   a  from the AV lane  40  into the buffer lane  42 . For example, the egressing vehicle  10   b  can be traveling at 70 m.p.h. when leaving the AV lane  40 , the server  18  can detect the presence of a vehicle or obstruction in the semiautonomous merge zone  47  and either can inform the egressing vehicle  10   b , which in turn will calculate an appropriate deceleration, or can prevent the egressing vehicle  10   a  from departing the AV lane  40 , i.e., by providing a message to the vehicle  10   a.    
     The server  18  typically contains a processor and a memory, the memory storing instructions executable by the processor. The server  18  memory may also store various data, e.g., data collected from the buffer lane  42  infrastructure server  18 , the AV roadway infrastructure server  18  and the AV  10 , weather data, traffic data and any other pertinent infrastructure information. The serve  18  can include one or more physical devices at one or more physical locations. Further, the server  18  can be communicatively coupled to or could include other known infrastructure servers, such a traffic server, a weather server  18  for a traffic report and a weather report. The traffic report, for example, can contain information regarding the traffic flow (e.g., a traffic density measured by a number of vehicles passing a point within a specified time) in the AV lane  40 , or an incident such as a collision, stalled vehicle, etc., at or within a predetermined distance of an AV lane  40  egress point. Likewise, a weather report, for example can contain the weather conditions along the AV lane  40  or the weather conditions at the egress points. 
     The server  18 , using the above information and data, can plan an AV vehicle  10  trajectory. The AV vehicle trajectory includes a strategy (e.g., planned path, acceleration, velocity, etc.) and a release time to begin the ingress of the AV  10  into the AV lane  40 . As discussed above, the AV  10  is typically an autonomous vehicle or a semiautonomous vehicle in autonomous mode. An autonomous vehicle  10  can typically navigate and traverse roadways without input from a human driver. For example, as mentioned above, each of propulsion (e.g., an electric motor and/or internal combustion engine), braking, and steering could be controlled by a vehicle  10  computer or, in a semi-autonomous mode, one or two of these three subsystems could be so controlled. 
     The AV  10  can send a vehicle status to the server  18  for use in determining the AV vehicle trajectory. The vehicle status can include one or more of an acceleration capability, a hybrid battery state of charge, a destination of the vehicle  10 , an onboard fuel value, etc. The acceleration capability of the AV  10  is based upon the vehicle&#39;s engine, motors and drivetrain characteristics. For example, AV  10  gasoline engine can produce 208 kilowatts (kWs) and AV  10  two motors can each produce an additional 45 kW for a total of 298 kWs. Taking in the characteristics of the drivetrain and the total weight of the vehicle and occupants, AV  10  acceleration capability is that AV  10  can accelerate from zero to 70 m.p.h or 108 k.p.h. in 5.5 seconds when the hybrid battery is sufficiently charged. 
     While the AV  10   a  is waiting for a message providing AV trajectory information and an ingress start time, the AV  10   a  is positioned in a queue of zero or more other AVs  10   b  in a waiting zone  46  of the buffer lane  42 . The waiting zone  46 , using a lane proximity sensors, a lane speed measuring device and cameras as discussed above, can report a waiting zone status to the server  18 . The waiting zone status is obtained from the AV  10   a  via a communications link from the AV  10   a  to the server  18 , for example, using the DSRC as discussed above. The waiting zone status can include a number of AVs  10  in the queue and an AV identification, an AV acceleration capability, an AV destination, etc. 
     To determine the AV trajectory, the server  18  uses the AV identification, the AV acceleration capability and the AV destination of the AV  10  along with a trajectory of a vehicle  10   a  in the AV lane  40 . Vehicle  10   a  information used to determine a current and/or plan a future trajectory can include, for example, a vehicle  10   a  identifier (which allows the server  18  to obtain information applicable to the vehicle  10   a ), a velocity of the vehicle  10   a , a geolocation of the vehicle  10   a , etc. 
     When an egressing vehicle  10   c  is leaving the AV lane  40 , if the vehicle  10   c  is capable of semiautonomous operation, i.e., receiving at least some inputs for control from a human driver, then the vehicle  10   c  can return from a fully autonomous mode to the semiautonomous mode. The server  18  can use data provided by the server  18  to determine that the semiautonomous merge zone  47  is capable of receiving the egressing vehicle  10   c . If, for example, the semiautonomous merge zone  47  is congested or if the velocity of vehicles in the semiautonomous merge zone  47  is slower that the AV lane  40 , the server  18  will adjust the vehicle trajectory accordingly. For example, the adjusted trajectory can involve a rapid deceleration to successfully complete the egress maneuver. 
     Additionally, the AV roadway infrastructure server  18  can also provide information regarding the flow of traffic in the AV lane  40 , for example, the server  18  can send a velocity plot of the AV lane  40  to the server  18 . The velocity plot can be, for example, a representation of suggested AV velocities for the vehicle  10   a  and the AV  10   c . The velocity plot can include a maximum velocity and the minimum velocities for certain areas, for example, the velocities between the ingress point and the proceeding five miles can have a maximum velocity of 70 m.p.h. and minimum velocity of 55 m.p.h. 
     The AV roadway infrastructure server  18  can also monitor the AV lane  40  for potential problems or alerts and can signal the server  18  and the AV  10   a  with problems or alerts, for example, warnings of a collision ahead, sudden vehicular braking ahead, approaching emergency vehicle warning, vehicle safety inspection ahead, commercial vehicle clearance and safety inspections ahead and potential rollover warnings. 
     If the AV lane  40  is part of a toll road, the AV roadway infrastructure server  18  can determine a toll based on the vehicle identity and the vehicle destination. For example, AV  10  is a passenger car and ingresses at a first merge point. The AV  10  sends its vehicle identity indicating that the AV  10  is a passenger vehicle and leave the AV lane in  10   a  miles to the server  18 . The server  18  can then calculate the per mile charge for a passenger vehicle and debit an appropriate toll account of the vehicle  54 . 
     Process Flow 
       FIG. 3  is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary process  100  of the system  5  to control autonomous vehicle lane access. 
     The process  100  begins in a block  110 , which can also follow a block  150 . In the block  110 , a vehicle status of the AV  10   b  is sent to the server  18 . The AV  10   b  determines its vehicle status from, for example, data provided by one or more onboard electronic control units (ECUs) such as are known. The vehicle status can include one or more quantities related to AV  10  operation, e.g., a current vehicle speed, a vehicle identify, a vehicle acceleration capability, a vehicle destination, a current battery state of charge, an acceleration profile and/or other similar information related to determining the vehicle trajectory. 
     Next, in a block  120 , the server  18  receives a waiting zone status from the server  18 . The waiting zone status can include a number of AVs  10   b  in the queue, an AV  10  identifier, an AV  10   b  acceleration capability, an AV  10   b  destination and/or an exception status, etc. The exception status, for example, can be an indication that an incident occurred on the AV lane  40  and that there is a temporary ban on AVs  10   b  entering the AV lane  40 . 
     Next, in a block  130 , the server  18  receives an autonomous vehicle information regarding the trajectory of the vehicle  10   a  in the AV lane  40  from the AV roadway infrastructure server  18 . As discussed above, the AV roadway infrastructure server  18  can send the trajectory or the components required for the server  18  to calculate the TAV trajectory. The AV server  18  can additionally send to the server  18  an AV lane status, which can include, for example and without limitation, a traffic lane vehicle spacing, an AV lane accident status, i.e., whether there are any accidents blocking or affecting the lane, whether there are any sudden vehicles braking ahead, an approaching emergency vehicle warning, vehicle safety inspection ahead, commercial vehicle clearance and safety inspections ahead and potential rollover warnings. 
     Next, in a block  140 , the system  100  determines the AV  10   b  trajectory. The AV  10   b  trajectory, for example, is based upon such factors as the AV acceleration capability, meteorological conditions, the velocity of the vehicle  10   b  in the AV lane  40  and the spacing between the AV vehicles  10   a . For example, AV  10  acceleration capability on dry pavement could be 35 m.p.h. per second or 15.8 m/s^2. Therefore, it will take approximately seven seconds for AV  10  to achieve an AV lane velocity of 70 m.p.h. or 112 km/s, and the distance traveled will be approximately a quarter mile or 398 meters. In order for the AV  10  to successfully and safely merge in front of AV  10   a  with a safe buffer distance of approximately 50 yards or 46 meters, the AV  10   a  should be 490 yards from AV  10  ingress point on to the AV lane  40  when the AV  10  is released from the waiting zone  46 . 
     If the AV lane  40  and/or the buffer lane  42  is wet or slippery, the acceleration capability of the AV  10  diminishes due to the loss of traction. For example, when a roadway is wet, AV acceleration capability can drop to 25 m.p.h./s or 11.2 m/s^2. It will now take ten seconds to get up to the AV lane velocity of 70 m.p.h. or 112 km/s and will require 612 yards or 560 meters. Therefore, AV  10  should be released from the waiting zone  46  when the AV  10   a  is at least 662 yards or 600 meters from the ingress point. 
     Next, in the block  150 , the server  18 , using the determinations described above concerning the block  140 , determines if the AV  10  can leave the waiting zone  46  and safely merge into the AV lane  40 . If the server  18  determines that a safe ingress is not possible, that is, the AV  10   a  is too close to the ingress point, the process  100  returns to in the block  110 , else the process  100  continues to in a block  160 . 
     Next, in a block  160 , the server  18  sends a release message to AV  10  to release any braking forces applied to AV  10  brakes and actuate propulsion (e.g., an electric motor and/or internal combustion engine) and steering and proceed with the AV  10  ingress maneuver. Following the block  180 , the process  100  ends. 
       FIG. 4  is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary process  200  of the system  5  for autonomous vehicle lane access control. 
     The process  200  begins in a block  210 , which can also follow a block  250 . In the block  210 , a vehicle  10   c  status of the egress vehicle  10   c  is sent to the server  18 . The vehicle  10   c  determines the vehicle status from onboard electronic control unit (ECUs) data. The vehicle status can include one or more quantities related to vehicle  10   c  operation, e.g., a current vehicle speed, a vehicle identify, a vehicle acceleration capability, a vehicle deceleration capability, a vehicle destination, a current battery state of charge, an acceleration profile and/or other similar information related to determining the vehicle transition profile. It should be noted that braking or slowing a vehicle is considered a negative acceleration. 
     Next, in a block  220 , the server  18  receives an egress buffer lane status of the semiautonomous merge zone  47  from the server  18 . The egress buffer lane status can include the number of vehicles in the semiautonomous merge zone  47  and their trajectories and the environmental status. 
     Next, in a block  230 , the server  18  receives the AV lane status of the AV lane  40  from the AV roadway infrastructure server  18 . The AV lane status can include, for example, the trajectories of any AV proximate to (e.g., within a predetermined distance of) the egressing vehicle  10   c.    
     Next, in a block  240 , the system  200  determines an update AV trajectory for the vehicle  10   c , which can include the deceleration capability of the vehicle  10   c , the meteorological conditions and possible vehicles in the semiautonomous merge zone  47 . 
     Next, profile in the block  210 , the server  18  determines if the egress vehicle  10   c  can leave the AV lane  40  and merge into the buffer lane  42 . For example, the vehicle  10   c  is traveling at 70 m.p.h. or 112 km/s and the maximum velocity of the semiautonomous merge zone  47  is 35 m.p.h. or 56 km/s. The vehicle  10   c  will have to decrease velocity by 35 m.p.h. or 56 km/s. The vehicle  10   c  can comfortably decelerate at a negative 8 m.p.h./s or 3.5 m/s^2. In order for the vehicle  10   c  to reach 35 m.p.h. or 56 km/s, the server  18  would have to have the vehicle  10   c  begin it deceleration 1033 yards or 945 meters before egressing the AV lane  40  and enter the semiautonomous merge zone  47 . 
     If the server  18  determines that a safe egress is not possible, for example, due to an accident in the semiautonomous merge zone  47 , the process  200  returns to in the block  210 , else the process  200  continues to in a block  260 . 
     Next, in a block  260 , the processing unit sends a message to the egress vehicle  10   c  to apply braking forces, reduce the means of propulsion and effectuate the steering to perform the egress maneuver. Following the block  260 , the process  200  ends. 
     CONCLUSION 
     As used herein, the adverb “substantially” modifying an adjective means that a shape, structure, measurement, value, calculation, etc. may deviate from an exact described geometry, distance, measurement, value, calculation, etc., because of imperfections in the materials, machining, manufacturing, sensor measurements, computations, processing time, communications time, etc. 
     Computing devices such as those discussed herein generally each include instructions executable by one or more computing devices such as those identified above, and for carrying out blocks or steps of processes described above. Computer executable instructions may be compiled or interpreted from computer programs created using a variety of programming languages and/or technologies, including, without limitation, and either alone or in combination, Java™, C, C++, C#, Visual Basic, Python, Java Script, Perl, HTML, PHP, etc. In general, a processor (e.g., a microprocessor) receives instructions, e.g., from a memory, a computer readable medium, etc., and executes these instructions, thereby performing one or more processes, including one or more of the processes described herein. Such instructions and other data may be stored and transmitted using a variety of computer readable media. A file in a computing device is generally a collection of data stored on a computer readable medium, such as a storage medium, a random access memory, etc. 
     A computer readable medium includes any medium that participates in providing data (e.g., instructions), which may be read by a computer. Such a medium may take many forms, including, but not limited to, non-volatile media, volatile media, etc. Non-volatile media include, for example, optical or magnetic disks and other persistent memory. Volatile media include dynamic random access memory (DRAM), which typically constitutes a main memory. Common forms of computer readable media include, for example, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, any other magnetic medium, a CD ROM, DVD, any other optical medium, punch cards, paper tape, any other physical medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, a PROM, an EPROM, a FLASH EEPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, or any other medium from which a computer can read. 
     With regard to the media, processes, systems, methods, etc. described herein, it should be understood that, although the steps of such processes, etc. have been described as occurring according to a certain ordered sequence, such processes could be practiced with the described steps performed in an order other than the order described herein. It further should be understood that certain steps could be performed simultaneously, that other steps could be added, or that certain steps described herein could be omitted. In other words, the descriptions of systems and/or processes herein are provided for the purpose of illustrating certain embodiments, and should in no way be construed so as to limit the disclosed subject matter. 
     Accordingly, it is to be understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative and not restrictive. Many embodiments and applications other than the examples provided would be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reading the above description. The scope of the invention should be determined, not with reference to the above description, but should instead be determined with reference to claims appended hereto and/or included in a non-provisional patent application based hereon, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. It is anticipated and intended that future developments will occur in the arts discussed herein, and that the disclosed systems and methods will be incorporated into such future embodiments. In sum, it should be understood that the disclosed subject matter is capable of modification and variation.