Patent Description:
Within the concept of Agile Quality of Service Adaptation (AQoSA), an application supported by a communication system adapts its settings to the foreseen quality of service (QoS). It is especially important when the application in question is a safety-related time-critical application such as High-Density Platooning (HDPL), where inter-vehicle distances (IVDs) are below <NUM>. At this IVD, due to very low detection and reaction available time, sensor systems need to be supported by information transmitted by other vehicles. The quality of the communication link is therefore critical as the performance of the application is strongly dependent on it. To cope with variation on the quality of service, AQoSA provides information on the future quality of the link.

Document <CIT> provides a separation module for calculating a minimum spacing for several objects, such as between two vehicles. Document <CIT> describes a group of motor vehicles being formed. Once the group has been formed, a central coordinator is selected from the group who sets a group speed for the group. Based on the group speed, an upper and a lower speed threshold are set for the group. Speeds of the vehicles of the group members are synchronized by car-<NUM>-car communication so that the vehicles of the group members accelerate and simultaneously reach the upper speed threshold within a predetermined period of time. The lower and upper speed thresholds are communicated to the group members.

Document <CIT> relates to a method for determining a dynamic vehicle distance between a following vehicle and a preceding vehicle of a platoon, wherein a vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) signal can be wirelessly transferred between the following vehicle and the preceding vehicle. A current maximum following-vehicle deceleration of the following vehicle is determined and a current transfer time for transferring to the following vehicle the information that the preceding vehicle has initiated an emergency braking operation. A current maximum preceding-vehicle deceleration of the preceding vehicle is determined. The dynamic vehicle distance is determined from a transfer distance and from a braking distance difference, wherein the transfer distance indicates the distance traveled by the following vehicle between the initiation of an emergency braking operation by the preceding vehicle and the initiation
of an emergency braking operation by the following vehicle. The transfer distance(s) depends on the current transfer time. The braking distance indicates a difference between a preceding-vehicle braking distance defined by the maximum preceding-vehicle deceleration and following-vehicle braking distance defined by the maximum following-vehicle deceleration.

Document <CIT> describes a convoy management system and method determining an inter-vehicle spacing in a convoy formed from two or more vehicles traveling together along one or more routes. Controllers onboard the two or more vehicles are instructed to automatically change movement of at least one of the vehicles in the convoy to maintain the inter-vehicle spacing. The inter-vehicle spacing is dynamically changed during movement of the convoy along the one or more routes.

There is a demand for an improved concept for controling vehicles in a platoon. The invention is directed to a method for adapting a speed of vehicles in a platoon per claim <NUM> and corresponding apparatus claim <NUM> as well as related vehicle claim <NUM>, traffic control entity claim <NUM> and computer program product claim <NUM>. Dependent claims describe further embodiments of the invention.

Embodiments are based on the finding that in the scope of adaptation to predictive quality of service applied to platooning, the minimum inter-vehicle distance (IVD) that the provided quality of service allows can be targeted. Targeting small IVD aims for reduced fuel consumption due to reduced air drag at such small IVDs. It is a finding that this adaptation requires to take into account the cost of reducing the IVD and the cost of increasing the IVD when the quality of service is not favorable anymore. In other words, it is a finding that the cost of the maneuvers of a platoon in terms of fuel consumption need to be considered together with estimated short-IVD-durations and their benefits. The cost of a maneuver may be considered a major limitation for platooning.

A predicted QoS (pQoS) may generally be used to plan a specific maneuver. A decision may be made regarding the feasibility of such maneuver and its cost or benefit. For instance, the benefit of driving <NUM> IVD in terms of fuel spared per second for the whole platoon can be determined.

An optimal time to operate a closing maneuver from an original IVD (e.g. <NUM>) to the target IVD (<NUM>) can also be determined. Moreover, an opening maneuver, which is the maneuver to go back to the original IVD, can be computed and evaluated. Times and costs/benefits can be compared to the available pQoS. It is a further finding that a drawback of such an approach is that there is no "in-between". If the QoS does not meet the requirements long enough, the application will not perform HDPL. Embodiments may derive a dynamic plan to adapt to a pQoS timeseries, so that an improved or even optimal target distance planning can be achieved to get the most out of the predicted QoS.

Embodiments provide a method for adapting a speed of vehicles in a platoon. The method comprises obtaining information related to a future course of required minimum inter-vehicular distances of the vehicles of the platoon. The method further comprises adapting a speed of the vehicles of the platoon based on the information related to the future course of the required minimum inter-vehicular distances, and a fuel consumption of the vehicles of the platoon. By taking the fuel consumption into account a higher overall fuel efficiency of the platoon and the respective maneuvers can be achieved.

The information related to the future course of required minimum inter-vehicular distances of the vehicles of the platoon may be based on a predicted quality of service, pQoS, of a communication link between the vehicles of the platoon. Embodiments may provide fuel efficient maneuvering of a platoon taking into account pQoS.

For example, the adapting of the speed of the vehicles may comprise keeping at least the required minimum inter-vehicular distances of the vehicles of the platoon, such that reliable safety requirements are maintained.

Moreover, during the adapting, an actual inter-vehicular distance may always be greater than the required minimum inter-vehicular distances of the vehicles of the platoon. Therewith a further safety margin may be available, e.g. for the case of a sudden QoS drop in on communication links.

At least in some embodiments the obtaining of the information may comprises obtaining a pQoS timeseries with a confidence interval from a communications system used for inter-vehicular communication by the vehicles of the platoon. The confidence interval may enable a more reliable maneuver planning for the platoon.

Furthermore, the method may comprise determining, from a bound of the pQoS timeseries, a minimum drivable inter-vehicle distance timeseries. Such a bound may, for example, correspond to an upper bound (e.g. latency, packet inter-reception time, round trip delay) or a lower bound (e.g. data rate). Embodiments may enable IVD-adaptation based on pQoS of the communication links between the vehicles.

The method may further comprise determining the minimum drivable inter-vehicle distance timeseries for equal-length time intervals. An inter-vehicle distance timeseries for equal-length time intervals may enable a continuous IVD and vehicle speed adaptation during operation of the platoon.

For example, a target distance for a time interval may be iteratively computed based on the minimum drivable inter-vehicle distance timeseries for the equal-length time intervals and a fuel consumption of the vehicles of the platoon. Embodiments may enable continuous and smooth adaptation of the target distances between the vehicles of the platoon.

In further embodiments an air drag of the vehicles of the platoon may be considered and further improvement of the resulting maneuvers with respect to fuel consumption may be achieved.

Embodiments provide an apparatus for adapting a speed of vehicles of a platoon. The apparatus comprises one or more interfaces for communicating with one or more vehicles of the platoon and a mobile communication system. The apparatus further comprises a control module configured to carry out or to perform one of the methods described herein.

A vehicle comprising an embodiment of the apparatus is another embodiment. In a further embodiment the vehicle can be configured to assume the role of a platoon member or leader in the platoon. Embodiments may provide a flexible implementation for speed adaptation processing in a platoon. For example, a traffic control entity may comprise an embodiment of the apparatus, e.g. implemented in a control center or a smart traffic component such as a traffic light.

Embodiments further provide a computer program having a program code for performing one or more of the described methods, when the computer program is executed on a computer, processor, or programmable hardware component. A further embodiment is a computer readable storage medium storing instructions which, when executed by a computer, processor, or programmable hardware component, cause the computer to implement one of the methods described herein.

It will be further understood that the terms "comprises", "comprising", "includes" or "including", when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components or groups thereof.

<FIG> illustrates a block diagram of an embodiment of a method <NUM> for adapting a speed of vehicles in a platoon. The method <NUM> comprises obtaining <NUM> information related to a future course of required minimum inter-vehicular distances of the vehicles of the platoon. The method further comprises adapting <NUM> a speed of the vehicles of the platoon based on the information related to the future course of the required minimum inter-vehicular distances, and a fuel consumption of the vehicles of the platoon.

A platoon of vehicles comprises two or more vehicles. A vehicle may correspond to any conceivable means for transportation, e.g. a car, a bike, a motorbike, a van, a truck, a bus, a ship, a boat, a plane, a train, a tram, etc. In order to enable save operation of the platoon the vehicles need to keep a minimum IVD. For example, considering an emergency brake situation all vehicles of the platoon should be able to reach a stand-still without any collision and with keeping a minimum distance to the vehicle in front at stillstand. In order to achieve this, multiple factors come into play, the deceleration capabilities of the vehicles, the speed of the vehicles and also any communication quality and delay of the communication links between the vehicles.

Moreover, although a minimum IVD may be available, fuel consumption of the vehicles and hence an efficiency of their driving states and maneuvers are critical for the overall efficiency of the platoon. Aggressive acceleration and braking maneuvers may keep the vehicles as close to the minimum IVD as possible, however, such maneuvers are fuel and resource consuming and may negatively influence an overall efficiency. The embodiments detailed in the following describe methods on how to determine speed adaptations within a platoon considering the fuel consumption of the vehicles and the overall platoon efficiency.

<FIG> illustrates a block diagram of an apparatus <NUM> for adapting a speed of vehicles in a platoon. The apparatus <NUM> comprises one or more interfaces <NUM> for communicating with one or more vehicles of the platoon and a mobile communication system. The apparatus <NUM> further comprises a control module <NUM>, which is coupled to the one or more interfaces <NUM>, and which is configured to perform one of the methods <NUM> described herein.

<FIG> further depicts as optional components further embodiments of an entity <NUM> which comprises an embodiment of the apparatus <NUM>. Such an entity <NUM> could, for example, be a vehicle or a traffic control entity (e.g. a (smart) traffic light or a platoon control center). For example, the vehicle could be part of the platoon, e.g. assuming the role of a platoon member in the platoon or assuming the role of a platoon leader in the platoon.

The apparatus <NUM> and the entity <NUM> (e.g. the vehicles of the platoon) may communicate through a mobile communication system. The mobile communication system may, for example, correspond to one of the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP)-standardized mobile communication networks, where the term mobile communication system is used synonymously to mobile communication network. The messages (input data, measured data, control information) may hence be communicated through multiple network nodes (e.g. internet, router, switches, etc.) and the mobile communication system, which generates delay or latencies considered in embodiments.

The mobile or wireless communication system may correspond to a mobile communication system of the 5th Generation (<NUM>, or New Radio) and may use mm-Wave technology. The mobile communication system may correspond to or comprise, for example, a Long-Term Evolution (LTE), an LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), High Speed Packet Access (HSPA), a Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS) or a UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN), an evolved-UTRAN (e-UTRAN), a Global System for Mobile communication (GSM) or Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) network, a GSM/EDGE Radio Access Network (GERAN), or mobile communication networks with different standards, for example, a Worldwide Inter-operability for Microwave Access (WIMAX) network IEEE <NUM> or Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) IEEE <NUM>, generally an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) network, a Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) network, a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) network, a Wideband-CDMA (WCDMA) network, a Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) network, a Spatial Division Multiple Access (SDMA) network, etc..

Service provision may be carried out by a network component, such as a base station transceiver, a relay station or a UE, e.g. coordinating service provision in a cluster or group of multiple UEs/vehicles. A base station transceiver can be operable or configured to communicate with one or more active mobile transceivers/vehicles and a base station transceiver can be located in or adjacent to a coverage area of another base station transceiver, e.g. a macro cell base station transceiver or small cell base station transceiver. Hence, embodiments may provide a mobile communication system comprising two or more mobile transceivers/vehicles <NUM> and one or more base station transceivers, wherein the base station transceivers may establish macro cells or small cells, as e.g. pico-, metro-, or femto cells. A mobile transceiver or UE may correspond to a smartphone, a cell phone, a laptop, a notebook, a personal computer, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a Universal Serial Bus (USB) -stick, a car, a vehicle, a road participant, a traffic entity, traffic infrastructure etc. A mobile transceiver may also be referred to as User Equipment (UE) or mobile in line with the 3GPP terminology.

A base station transceiver can be located in the fixed or stationary part of the network or system. A base station transceiver may be or correspond to a remote radio head, a transmission point, an access point, a macro cell, a small cell, a micro cell, a femto cell, a metro cell etc. A base station transceiver can be a wireless interface of a wired network, which enables transmission of radio signals to a UE or mobile transceiver. Such a radio signal may comply with radio signals as, for example, standardized by 3GPP or, generally, in line with one or more of the above listed systems. Thus, a base station transceiver may correspond to a NodeB, an eNodeB, a gNodeB, a Base Transceiver Station (BTS), an access point, a remote radio head, a relay station, a transmission point, etc., which may be further subdivided in a remote unit and a central unit.

A mobile transceiver or vehicle <NUM> can be associated with a base station transceiver or cell. The term cell refers to a coverage area of radio services provided by a base station transceiver, e.g. a NodeB (NB), an eNodeB (eNB), a gNodeB, a remote radio head, a transmission point, etc. A base station transceiver may operate one or more cells on one or more frequency layers, in some embodiments a cell may correspond to a sector. For example, sectors can be achieved using sector antennas, which provide a characteristic for covering an angular section around a remote unit or base station transceiver. In some embodiments, a base station transceiver may, for example, operate three or six cells covering sectors of <NUM>° (in case of three cells), <NUM>° (in case of six cells) respectively. A base station transceiver may operate multiple sectorized antennas. In the following a cell may represent an according base station transceiver generating the cell or, likewise, a base station transceiver may represent a cell the base station transceiver generates.

The apparatus <NUM> may be comprised in a server, a base station, a NodeB, a UE, a relay station, or any service coordinating network entity in embodiments. It is to be noted that the term network component may comprise multiple sub-components, such as a base station, a server, etc..

In embodiments the one or more interfaces <NUM> may correspond to any means for obtaining, receiving, transmitting or providing analog or digital signals or information, e.g. any connector, contact, pin, register, input port, output port, conductor, lane, etc. which allows providing or obtaining a signal or information. An interface may be wireless or wireline and it may be configured to communicate, i.e. transmit or receive signals, information with further internal or external components. The one or more interfaces <NUM> may comprise further components to enable according communication in the mobile communication system, such components may include transceiver (transmitter and/or receiver) components, such as one or more Low-Noise Amplifiers (LNAs), one or more Power-Amplifiers (PAs), one or more duplexers, one or more diplexers, one or more filters or filter circuitry, one or more converters, one or more mixers, accordingly adapted radio frequency components, etc. The one or more interfaces <NUM> may be coupled to one or more antennas, which may correspond to any transmit and/or receive antennas, such as horn antennas, dipole antennas, patch antennas, sector antennas etc. The antennas may be arranged in a defined geometrical setting, such as a uniform array, a linear array, a circular array, a triangular array, a uniform field antenna, a field array, combinations thereof, etc. In some examples the one or more interfaces <NUM> may serve the purpose of transmitting or receiving or both, transmitting and receiving, information, such as information, input data, control information, further information messages, etc..

As shown in <FIG> the respective one or more interfaces <NUM> is coupled to the respective control module <NUM> at the apparatus <NUM>. In embodiments the control module <NUM> may be implemented using one or more processing units, one or more processing devices, any means for processing, such as a processor, a computer or a programmable hardware component being operable with accordingly adapted software. In other words, the described functions of the control module <NUM> may as well be implemented in software, which is then executed on one or more programmable hardware components. Such hardware components may comprise a general-purpose processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), a micro-controller, etc..

In embodiments, communication, i.e. transmission, reception or both, may take place among mobile transceivers/vehicles <NUM> directly, e.g. forwarding input data or control information to/from a control center. Such communication may make use of a mobile communication system. Such communication may be carried out directly, e.g. by means of Device-to-Device (D2D) communication. Such communication may be carried out using the specifications of a mobile communication system. An example of D2D is direct communication between vehicles, also referred to as Vehicle-to-Vehicle communication (V2V), car-to-car, Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC), respectively. Technologies enabling such D2D-communication include <NUM>. 11p, 3GPP systems (<NUM>, <NUM>, NR and beyond), etc..

In embodiments, the one or more interfaces <NUM> can be configured to wirelessly communicate in the mobile communication system. In order to do so radio resources are used, e.g. frequency, time, code, and/or spatial resources, which may be used for wireless communication with a base station transceiver as well as for direct communication. The assignment of the radio resources may be controlled by a base station transceiver, i.e. the determination which resources are used for D2D and which are not. Here and in the following radio resources of the respective components may correspond to any radio resources conceivable on radio carriers and they may use the same or different granularities on the respective carriers. The radio resources may correspond to a Resource Block (RB as in LTE/LTE-A/LTE-unlicensed (LTE-U)), one or more carriers, sub-carriers, one or more radio frames, radio sub-frames, radio slots, one or more code sequences potentially with a respective spreading factor, one or more spatial resources, such as spatial sub-channels, spatial precoding vectors, any combination thereof, etc. For example, in direct Cellular Vehicle-to-Anything (C-V2X), where V2X includes at least V2V, V2-Infrastructure (V2I), etc., transmission according to 3GPP Release <NUM> onward can be managed by infrastructure (so-called mode <NUM>) or run in a UE.

An application for the adaptation of IVD or the speed of the vehicles to pQoS in embodiments is High-Density Platooning (HDPL), where inter-vehicle distances (IVDs) are below <NUM>. At this IVD, due to very low detection and reaction times available, sensor systems need to be supported by the reliable exchange of information with other vehicles. The quality of the communication link is therefore critical as the performance of the application is strongly dependent on it. To allow the application to cope with variations on the quality of service, pQoS may provide information on a future quality of the link. This information may come with a prediction horizon, that is the delta time in the future for which the predicted value is applicable. The predicted QoS parameter for HDPL can be the packet inter-reception ratio or time (PIR), which is basically the expected time between two valid communication messages within a pair of communication partners. In some embodiments the pQoS comprises the packet inter-reception time or PIR. For example, the PIR may indicate a round trip time of a data packet such as the time between transmitting a data packet by a transceiver and reception of a response to the data packet at the transceiver. The information related to the future course of required minimum inter-vehicular distances of the vehicles of the platoon may be based on a predicted quality of service, pQoS, of a communication link between the vehicles of the platoon. The obtaining <NUM> may comprise obtaining a pQoS timeseries with a confidence interval from a communications system used for inter-vehicular communication by the vehicles of the platoon.

<FIG> illustrates a view chart of a time series of a predicted packet inter-reception time with a confidence interval in an embodiment. <FIG> depicts an example of a PIR, γ, time series. The PIR is given in seconds over a time interval of about <NUM> with the displayed confidence interval.

In embodiments the adaptation of the distance may be carried out by obtaining iteratively the target distance as a function of the pQoS timeseries. The first step may be to translate the pQoS timeseries into the minimum drivable distance, in a functional safety point of view. For example, a functional relationship between the pQoS and an IVD may be determined by simulation or measurements. Once enough data relating pQoS, minimum IVD and potential parameters of the vehicles (maximum deceleration and speed) is available regression methods can be used to determine a functional relationship. The functional relationship may hence be based on simulations, measurements, and/or historical data.

The adapting may comprise keeping at least the required minimum inter-vehicular distances of the vehicles of the platoon. The adapting may be carried out conservatively in embodiments, i.e. in a way to rather have a larger IVD than an IVD below minimum. During the adapting, an actual inter-vehicular distance may always be greater than the required minimum inter-vehicular distances of the vehicles of the platoon.

<FIG> illustrates a relationship between packet inter-reception time and minimum inter-vehicle distance in an embodiment. The PIR is given in s and the minimum IVD, dt, is shown in m. <FIG> illustrates the minimum IVD time series resulting in this embodiment, i.e. using the functional relationship of <FIG> to translate the PIR of <FIG> into a minimum IVD for the same time interval. The minimum drivable IVD distance timeseries is determined from a bound of the pQoS timeseries. Such a bound can be an upper or a lower bound depending on a key performance indicator (KPI) used. For example, latency and PIR may be used to determine an upper bound whereas data rate may be used as a lower bound.

In an embodiment the obtained minimum IVD timeseries is then divided into smaller units of fixed size. <FIG> shows a division into equal length time intervals ΔT of a minimum inter-vehicle distance time series in an embodiment. The ellipses in <FIG> indicate time intervals in which the IVD changes and which are displayed in greater detail in <FIG> and <FIG>. <FIG> shows a first magnified section of <FIG> around <NUM>-<NUM>, and <FIG> shows a second magnified section around <NUM>-<NUM>.

The method then iteratively finds the target distance that minimizes the relative consumption whilst respecting the minimum IVD from the previous step. The method <NUM> comprises iteratively computing a target distance for a time interval based on the minimum drivable inter-vehicle distance timeseries for the equal-length time intervals and a fuel consumption of the vehicles of the platoon. The method may further take into account an air drag of the vehicles of the platoon. In embodiments the IVDs in the platoon might not always correspond to the minimum IVDs but the one with reduced or even minimized fuel consumption. The total relative consumption may then be evaluated for the total provided timeseries, if it is positive, the maneuver is not performed. The whole method <NUM> is performed periodically in some embodiments, adapting the plan to the new received pQoS timeseries.

<FIG> illustrates minimum and planned inter-vehicle distances in an embodiment. It can be seen how the planned IVD is smoothed compared to the minimum IVD.

In some embodiments one target small IVD may be considered. If the prediction horizon of the pQoS or the favorable quality of service is too short, the maneuver might not be performed. Another application where the adaptation to link quality is useful is traffic control in urban platooning. In this case, the ultimate goal may be a vehicle flow efficiency. The IVD may also be dependent on the link quality, and the fuel efficiency may be a secondary objective. Embodiments may consider the relationship between the relative fuel consumption and the maneuvering time for any start and end IVD. Embodiments may provide the minimum drivable IVD as a function of some QoS KPI, such as the packet inter-reception time (PIR).

For another embodiment, the method <NUM> for evaluating an inter-vehicle distance adaptation plan may be summarized as follows:.

The translation from PQoS to mlVD can be done using known functional safety results (<FIG>, <FIG>). The optimization/improvement of the target distance for each timestep can be done using the relationship between fuel consumption and different maneuvers (<FIG>, <FIG>, <FIG>). For example, the process or method <NUM> is repeated at each reception of pQoS timeseries (step <NUM>), so that the planning is updated at each new input.

As already mentioned, in embodiments the respective methods may be implemented as computer programs or codes, which can be executed on a respective hardware. Hence, another embodiment is a computer program having a program code for performing at least one of the above methods, when the computer program is executed on a computer, a processor, or a programmable hardware component. A further embodiment is a computer readable storage medium storing instructions which, when executed by a computer, processor, or programmable hardware component, cause the computer to implement one of the methods described herein.

The description and drawings merely illustrate the principles of the invention. It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise various arrangements that, although not explicitly described or shown herein, embody the principles of the invention and are included within its scope. Furthermore, all examples recited herein are principally intended expressly to be only for pedagogical purposes to aid the reader in understanding the principles of the invention and the concepts contributed by the inventor(s) to furthering the art and are to be construed as being without limitation to such specifically recited examples and conditions. Moreover, all statements herein reciting principles, aspects, and embodiments of the invention, as well as specific examples thereof, are intended to encompass equivalents thereof.

Claim 1:
A method (<NUM>) for adapting a speed of vehicles in a platoon, the method (<NUM>) comprising obtaining (<NUM>) information related to a future course of required minimum inter-vehicular distances of the vehicles of the platoon, wherein the obtaining (<NUM>) comprises obtaining a predicted quality of service, pQoS, timeseries with a confidence interval from a communications system used for inter-vehicular communication by the vehicles of the platoon;
adapting (<NUM>) a speed of the vehicles of the platoon based on
the information related to the future course of the required minimum inter-vehicular distances, and
a fuel consumption of the vehicles of the platoon;
determining, from a bound of the pQoS timeseries, the minimum drivable inter-vehicle distance timeseries;
determining the minimum drivable inter-vehicle distance timeseries for the equal-length time intervals;
iteratively finding a target distance that minimizes a relative fuel consumption based on the minimum inter-vehicular distances of the vehicles of the platoon; and
iteratively computing the target distance for a time interval based on a minimum drivable inter-vehicle distance timeseries for equal-length time intervals and the fuel consumption of the vehicles of the platoon.