Patent Description:
A lateral control algorithm in an autonomous vehicle is intended to perform lane centering and merge to the center of the lane safely and comfortably.

Accordingly, there is a need for efficient and reliable lateral control.

<CIT> discloses generating a control command with an MPC controller, the MPC controller including a cost function with weights associated with cost terms of the cost function. The control command is applied to a dynamic model of an autonomous driving vehicle (ADV) to simulate behavior of the ADV. One or more of the weights are based on evaluation of the dynamic model in response to the control command, resulting in an adjusted cost function of the MPC controller. Another control command is generated with the MPC controller having the adjusted cost function. This second control command can be used to effect movement of the ADV.

<NPL>, discloses combining a classical approach and an optimization method for lateral trajectory stabilization. A method is disclosed to provide the control input calculated using a classical control approach i.e. pure pursuit based on a performance criteria. The performance criteria weighs the precision and comfort requirements. A non- linear optimization based on Differential Dynamic Programming (DDP) is used to solve the optimization problem.

<NPL> discloses path tracking based on model predictive control (MPC) for the intelligent agricultural vehicle. The motion of the vehicle was simulated based on the path tracking error dynamics and vehicle lateral dynamics. Simulink-CarSim joint simulation platform was used to validate the proposed path tracking controller.

The present invention provides a computer implemented method, a computer system and a non-transitory computer readable medium according to the independent claims. Embodiments are given in the subclaims, the description and the drawings.

In one aspect, the present invention is directed at a computer implemented method for lateral control of a vehicle, the method comprising the following steps performed (in other words: carried out) by computer hardware components: determining a location error of the vehicle; determining an orientation error of the vehicle; determining a cost function based on the location error and the orientation error using a circular transformation; and processing the cost function in a model predictive controller to control the vehicle laterally.

In other words, a lateral control method in an autonomous vehicle is provided to perform lane centering and merge to the center of the lane safely and comfortably. According to an embodiment, the cost function comprises a non-holonomic ellipsoid cost function.

According to the invention the cost function comprises an integral over an error term, wherein the error term involves both the location error and the orientation error.

According to the invention the error term comprises a product based on the location error and the orientation error.

According to an embodiment, the cost function is based on a cosine function.

According to an embodiment, the cost function is based on a sine function.

According to an embodiment, the cost function is based on a tangent function.

According to an embodiment, the cost function is determined according to equations (<NUM>) and (<NUM>).

According to an embodiment, controlling the vehicle laterally comprises determining a lateral offset of the vehicle.

According to an embodiment, controlling the vehicle laterally comprises determining an orientation error of the vehicle.

According to an embodiments, controlling the vehicle laterally comprises determining an optimal steering angle value.

Obtaining a cost function for the model predictive control in order to calculate the steering wheel angle comprises determining a lateral offset and an orientation error of the vehicle w. t the lane center. The result of this compensation is a more human like steering and harmonized cost function within the controller.

In another aspect, the present invention is directed at a computer system, said computer system comprising a plurality of computer hardware components configured to carry out several or all steps of the computer implemented method described herein. The computer system can be part of a vehicle.

In another aspect, the present invention is directed at a vehicle comprising the computer system as described herein and a sensor configured to determine the location error and/or the orientation error.

According to an embodiment, the sensor comprises at least one of a radar sensor, a lidar sensor, an ultrasound sensor, a camera, or a global navigation satellite system sensor.

The computer system may comprise a plurality of computer hardware components (for example a processor, for example processing unit or processing network, at least one memory, for example memory unit or memory network, and at least one non-transitory data storage). It will be understood that further computer hardware components may be provided and used for carrying out steps of the computer implemented method in the computer system. The non-transitory data storage and/or the memory unit may comprise a computer program for instructing the computer to perform several or all steps or aspects of the computer implemented method described herein, for example using the processing unit and the at least one memory unit.

In another aspect, the present invention is directed at a non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions for carrying out several or all steps or aspects of the computer implemented method described herein.

The present invention is also directed at a computer program for instructing a computer to perform several or all steps or aspects of the computer implemented method described herein.

The methods, devices and systems as described herein may be used for advanced driver assistance system (ADAS).

Exemplary embodiments and functions of the present invention are described herein in conjunction with the following drawings, showing schematically:.

Autonomously driving vehicles do not only have to observe a safe distant to vehicles and other objects in front of and behind the vehicle, but also to the side. This may be done by determining the lateral distance between the center of the lane and the host vehicle.

According to various embodiments, a mathematical cost function is provided in order for a model predictive controller to minimize the lateral distance and provide an optimal solution. With regard to this, the cost function may include an ellipsoid function which includes the lateral offset and orientation error of the vehicle w. the lane center. Based on this cost function, the system dynamics and the constraints imposed, the model predictive controller may provide an optimum steering wheel angle for the lateral control of the vehicle. The result of this compensation may resemble human like steering and harmonized cost function within the controller.

According to various embodiments, devices and methods for lateral control of a vehicle utilizing a specific cost function approach to the model predictive controller may be provided.

<FIG> shows an illustration <NUM> of a model predictive controller.

Model predictive controller may be a powerful controller. As the name indicates, the controller may predict the state of the vehicle, for example the lateral offset from reference and orientation error w. t reference of vehicle for a finite Horizon time (T). The reference value for the vehicle may be calculated by a planning block, and then introduce this value to a Model Predictive Control (MPC), such that it compensates the error by generating a control signal at the current time instance.

In <FIG>, a time axis <NUM> (with past time <NUM> and future time <NUM>), the desired set-point <NUM>, measured states <NUM>, closed-loop input <NUM>, re-measured state <NUM>, predicted states <NUM>, optimal input trajectory <NUM>, re-predicted state <NUM>, and re-optimal input trajectory <NUM> are illustrated. A receding horizon (tk) <NUM> and a corresponding prediction horizon (T) <NUM> are shown. A receding horizon (tk+<NUM>) <NUM> and a corresponding prediction horizon (T) <NUM> are shown.

The cost function according to various embodiments may be used by the optimizer in the model predictive controller to provide the optimal control value at the current time step. In this case, the steering angle may be the optimal control signal sequence(u*) that is used to actuate the vehicle in order to minimize error of orientation and lateral offset (states of the system). Based on the system dynamics and the cost functions designed, the predictions of trajectory may also be calculated. The obtained control sequence may be the motion control sequence that can be applied to the vehicle.

One approach for minimizing the cross tracking error and orientation w. t the reference may be introducing these terms in the cost function as shown below: <MAT>.

A drawback of such a cost is that the cross tracking error and the orientation error cannot be compensated at the same time. This may cause contradicting behavior in the evaluation of the cost and therefore the steering command generated from the MPC is suboptimum set leading to poor steering performance.

According to various embodiments, a different approach to the cost function of equation (<NUM>) may be provided. According to various embodiments, the orientation and cross tracking error may be mapped into a single tracking error signal by using a circular transformation. Therefore, this tracking signal may be used in the cost as a conventional quadratic term. The axes of the circle may be scaled by the orientation and the cross tracking error and therefore unified based on orientation error units (radian).

The equations (<NUM>) and (<NUM>) below shows the modified cost function according to various embodiments: <MAT> <MAT>.

The various variables in equation (<NUM>) are identical to the variables described with reference to equation (<NUM>) above.

Equations (<NUM>) and (<NUM>) provide a non-holonomic ellipsoid cost function for model predictive control according to various embodiments.

In the following, graphs and plots showing the comparison between the steering performance of the cost function according to equation (<NUM>) and the cost function according to equation (<NUM>) and (<NUM>) are shown. The use case for the plots below is to have a lane change like behavior where the required lateral offset from an initial offset is approximately the lane width (<NUM> in this case). The set speed for the vehicle may be <NUM>/s.

<FIG> shows an illustration <NUM> of how the steering response has a much smoother rise and also significantly lower amplitude for the same maneuver. This in practical test would result in a comfortable lane change for the passenger. A horizontal axis <NUM> indicates time, and a vertical axis <NUM> indicates the steering angle. Curve <NUM> results from using the cost function of equation (<NUM>), and curve <NUM> results from using the cost function of equations (<NUM>) and (<NUM>).

<FIG> shows an illustration <NUM> of the comparison between the lateral offset for both cases and how the cost (function) according to equations (<NUM>) and (<NUM>) makes the rate of lateral offset smaller than the conventional, again resulting in a smoother maneuver. Also, a difference could be noted in the overshoots between the plots suggesting that the cost according to equations (<NUM>) and (<NUM>) has a smaller overshoot for the same maneuver as compared to the cost function according to equation (<NUM>). A horizontal axis <NUM> indicates time, and a vertical axis <NUM> indicates the cross tracking error. Curve <NUM> results from using the cost function of equation (<NUM>), and curve <NUM> results from using the cost function of equations (<NUM>) and (<NUM>).

<FIG> shows an illustration <NUM> of the difference in orientation errors. This may have a significant difference where the compensation of the error with the modified cost is far better than the conventional. A horizontal axis <NUM> indicates time, and a vertical axis <NUM> indicates the orientation error. Curve <NUM> results from using the cost function of equation (<NUM>), and curve <NUM> results from using the cost function of equations (<NUM>) and (<NUM>).

<FIG> shows a flow diagram <NUM> illustrating a flow diagram illustrating a method for lateral control of a vehicle according to various embodiments. At <NUM>, a location error of the vehicle may be determined. At <NUM>, an orientation error of the vehicle may be determined. At <NUM>, a cost function based on the location error and the orientation error using a circular transformation may be determined. At <NUM>, the cost function may be processed in a model predictive controller to control the vehicle laterally.

The errors may be measured w. (with respect to; or relative to) the lane center.

The cost function (which may be a non-holonomic cost function) may be used in the model predictive controller to calculate the optimal steering angle. This steering angle may be used for the lateral control of the vehicle.

According to various embodiments, the cost function may include or may be a non-holonomic ellipsoid cost function.

According to the invention, the cost function includes an integral over an error term, wherein the error term involves both the location error and the orientation error. The integral may be an integral according to equation (<NUM>).

According to the invention, the error term includes or is a product based on the location error and the orientation error.

According to various embodiments, the cost function (or the error term) may be based on a cosine function.

According to various embodiments, the cost function (or the error term) may be based on a sine function.

According to various embodiments, the cost function (or the error term) may be based on a tangent function.

According to various embodiments, the cost function may be determined according to equations (<NUM>) and (<NUM>). According to various embodiments, the error term may be determined according to equation (<NUM>).

According to various embodiments, controlling the vehicle laterally may include or may be determining a lateral offset of the vehicle.

According to various embodiments, controlling the vehicle laterally may include or may be determining an orientation error of the vehicle.

According to various embodiments, wherein controlling the vehicle laterally may include or may be determining an optimal steering angle value.

According to various embodiments, the cost for MPC may be obtained from the mentioned errors to calculate the optimal steering angle value for lateral control.

Each of the steps <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and the further steps described above may be performed by computer hardware components.

<FIG> shows a computer system <NUM> with a plurality of computer hardware components configured to carry out steps of a computer implemented method for lateral control of a vehicle according to various embodiments. The computer system <NUM> may include a processor <NUM>, a memory <NUM>, and a non-transitory data storage <NUM>. A sensor <NUM> may be provided as part of the computer system <NUM> (like illustrated in <FIG>), or may be provided external to the computer system <NUM>.

The processor <NUM> may carry out instructions provided in the memory <NUM>. The non-transitory data storage <NUM> may store a computer program, including the instructions that may be transferred to the memory <NUM> and then executed by the processor <NUM>. The sensor <NUM> may be used for determining the location error and/or the orientation error.

The processor <NUM>, the memory <NUM>, and the non-transitory data storage <NUM> may be coupled with each other, e.g. via an electrical connection <NUM>, such as e.g. a cable or a computer bus or via any other suitable electrical connection to exchange electrical signals. The sensor <NUM> may be coupled to the computer system <NUM>, for example via an external interface, or may be provided as parts of the computer system (in other words: internal to the computer system, for example coupled via the electrical connection <NUM>).

The terms "coupling" or "connection" are intended to include a direct "coupling" (for example via a physical link) or direct "connection" as well as an indirect "coupling" or indirect "connection" (for example via a logical link), respectively.

Claim 1:
Computer implemented method for lateral control of a vehicle,
the method comprising the following steps carried out by computer hardware components:
- determining (<NUM>) a location error of the vehicle;
- determining (<NUM>) an orientation error of the vehicle;
- determining (<NUM>) a cost function based on the location error and the orientation error using a circular transformation; and
- processing (<NUM>) the cost function in a model predictive controller to control the vehicle laterally;
wherein the cost function comprises an integral over an error term, wherein the error term involves both the location error and the orientation error, the method being characterized in that the error term comprises a product based on the location error and the orientation error.