Patent Description:
Advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) in vehicles range from cruise control and adaptive lighting to more advanced systems such as automatic emergency braking, automatic emergency steering, lane keeping systems, and warning systems to alert the driver of the presence of other cars, etc. Generally, ADAS retrieve input data from multiple sources such as image processing from cameras, ultra sonic sensors, radar, or LiDAR. More recently, vehicle-to-vehicle connectivity, vehicle-to-infrastructure, and cloud based connectivity are arising as a promising addition to present ADAS.

When more decisions and control are handed over to the vehicle, it becomes capable of driving itself continuously, which is referred to as automated driving (AD). In the following, we include AD and ADAS systems in Active Safety.

Collision avoidance systems use braking or steering, or a combination of both to avoid a collision when the driver of the vehicle fails to observe a critical situation. Collision avoidance system must intervene sufficiently early to avoid the collision.

However, an intervention should not be triggered so early that it interferes with normal driving behavior when the situation would have been resolved naturally without interference. The difficulty of distinguishing between critical and typical situations depends on the scenario and the fidelity of the available sensor information. In low-speed rear-end scenarios it is easier to make this distinction than in intersections with turning oncoming vehicles. The primary reason why it is more difficult to distinguish critical situations from typical situations in certain scenarios is that it in these scenarios it is harder to predict the intentions and likely trajectories of all road users.

For this reason, collision avoidance algorithms will typically evaluate all possible maneuvers which other road users can perform and assume that the safest of these maneuvers is the most likely. This way a collision avoidance system will not cause unnecessary interventions which interfere in non-critical scenarios. However, a collision avoidance system will perform poorly if it limits the possible maneuvers of other road users excessively.

Thus, a problem in constructing a collision avoidance system is therefore to limit the possible maneuvers of other road users to only those maneuvers which can reasonably be expected.

In prior art, <CIT> discloses a method and system for predicting collisions between vehicles of different classes in intersections. <CIT> discloses a method and system for predicting movement behavior of a target traffic object. <CIT> discloses a method and device for warning the driver of a motor vehicle. <CIT> discloses a method and system for predictive driver assistance using communication and vehicle equipped with such system.

In view of above, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved method for predicting a trajectory of at least one secondary road user for avoiding a collision course with the secondary road user for a host vehicle.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a method for predicting a trajectory of at least one secondary road user for avoiding a collision course with the secondary road user for a host vehicle according to claim <NUM>. The method comprising: determining the present location for the host vehicle using a positioning system of the host vehicle; retrieving a plurality of modelled clusters of trajectories for a present traffic situation in the vicinity of the present location; detecting, using a detection unit in the host vehicle, the position and speed of the at least one secondary road user in the vicinity of the present traffic situation; predicting more than one feasible trajectory for the at least one secondary road user based on the position and the speed of the at least one secondary road user and the plurality of modelled clusters of trajectories for the present traffic situation; selecting more than one feasible trajectory of the feasible trajectories for each secondary road user based on a selection criterion for the secondary road user indicating more than one feasible trajectory that is safe for the secondary road user, and based on a selection criterion for the host vehicle related to the host vehicle drive preferences,, and performing by the host vehicle, at least one action based on the selected at least one feasible trajectory for the at least one secondary road user.

The present invention is based on the realization that feasible trajectories for a secondary road user in a present traffic situation can be predicted based on previously modelled trajectories for that present traffic situation. The host vehicle may subsequently base its decision making for performing the at least one action on the feasible trajectories of the secondary vehicle and a selection criterion. The selection criterion provides for selecting at least one of the feasible trajectories which the host vehicle bases its decision making on.

Accordingly, modelled clusters of trajectories for traffic situations may be established based on historical trajectories for the traffic situations and used for learning how a vehicle may drive through a traffic situation. Based on a present position of a secondary road user and the modeled trajectories it is possible to determine at least one of the modelled trajectories as a feasible trajectory. The feasible trajectories may for example be those that lie nearby the secondary vehicle's present position. Based on the feasible trajectory(ies) and a selection criterion at least one of the feasible trajectories may be selected as an e.g. most likely or a preferred trajectory for the secondary vehicle, and the appropriate action can be taken by the host vehicle.

Thus, the invention provides at least the advantage to be able to determine which maneuver can most reasonably be expected from the secondary road user at the present traffic situation.

The position of a secondary road user may be an absolute position, or it may be a relative position with respect to the host vehicle. The speed of a secondary road user may be an absolute speed or a relative speed with respect to the host vehicle.

The host vehicle may often be referred to as the "ego-vehicle".

A traffic situation may for example be a roundabout, an intersection, a pedestrian crossing, a road section, etc. A traffic situation may also include objects in the vicinity of the round about, an intersection, a pedestrian crossing, a road section, etc. These objects may include other traffic participants such as vehicles, pedestrians etc., but also characteristics of the traffic scene e.g. poles, traffic signs and more.

A secondary road user may for instance be a vehicle such as a car, truck, bus, bicycle, etc., or a pedestrian.

Vehicles applicable for the present inventive concept includes self-driving vehicles, semi-self-driving vehicles, and manually driven vehicles.

A trajectory generally comprise a travel path and heading along the path.

A selection criterion may be to select a feasible trajectory that does not cross-over to the same side of the road as the host vehicle, or to select a feasible trajectory that is safe for the secondary road user.

Moreover, a selection criterion may be related to decreasing fuel consumption, provide a comfortable ride, promote careful driving etc., for anyone of the secondary road users or the host vehicle. For example, the host vehicle may drive along a certain trajectory in order to save fuel (or e.g. provide a comfortable ride), and based on the selection criterion to prioritize fuel savings (or e.g. a comfortable ride) for the host vehicle, a feasible trajectory for the secondary vehicle may be selected accordingly. Thus, selection of a feasible trajectory may be affected by selection criterion related to the host vehicle and/or the secondary road user.

More than one feasible trajectory is selected based on the selection criterion. In case more than one feasible trajectory is selected it is assumed that any of the selected feasible trajectories occur when deciding on performing the at least one action.

In embodiments, the modelled clusters of trajectories may further comprise a speed profile for each of the trajectories, the method may comprise: predicting a speed profile for each of the plurality of trajectories for the at least one secondary road user based on comparing the position and the speed of the at least one secondary road user to the modelled clusters of trajectories including modelled speed profiles for the present traffic situation; selecting at least one feasible trajectory of the feasible trajectories including a speed profile for each secondary road user based on the selection criterion, and performing at least one action based on the selected at least one feasible trajectory.

Accordingly, in order to further improve the prediction of the feasible trajectory of the secondary vehicle, the modeled speed profiles for the present traffic situation may be used in the prediction as part of the modelled clusters of trajectories. Moreover, with the inclusion of speed profiles in the trajectories a more accurate selection of the feasible trajectory according to the selection criterion may be made.

Accordingly, the model trajectories and the feasible trajectories may include a speed profile. In some possible implementations the model trajectories and the feasible trajectories may also include an acceleration profile.

According to embodiments, the at least one action may comprise providing a warning signal indicative of that the host vehicle is on collision course with at least one secondary road user. Thereby the driver of the host vehicle is advantageously notified about the collision course.

In embodiments, it may be included to trigger an intervention action when a warning signal is provided. The intervention action may be to brake or change the present trajectory for the host vehicle.

The at least one action may comprise selecting a path for the host vehicle to avoid a collision course with the at least one secondary road user.

According to embodiments, generating modelled clusters of trajectories, including the plurality of modelled clusters of trajectories, for a plurality of traffic situations for which scene data is available based on a supervised learning algorithm applied to received trajectory data for a plurality of traffic situations and the geometry of the traffic situations.

Generally, the scene data may be determined from at least one of photos or map data of the traffic situations. The scene data includes the geometry of the traffic situations or any other contextual information available from photos or map data.

Scene data may for example be provided from satellite images of traffic situations. The satellite images provide valuable context information about traffic situations such as roundabouts and intersections. The modelled clusters of trajectories may be generated from satellite images.

Moreover, the scene data may for instance include speed limit data for the traffic situations to further improve the accuracy of the modelled trajectories.

Additionally, the scene data may include indication whether a road is a one-way or two-way road, or the presence of track-bounded traffic such as trains and trams, and any other data that may be found in the photos or map data. The photos may be satellite or other aerial photos and the map data may be high-definition (HD) map data.

In embodiments, the generation of the modelled clusters of trajectories may be performed in a deep neural network.

According to embodiments, there may be included to select the retrieved plurality of modelled clusters of trajectories for the present traffic situation based on a match between the location of the host vehicle and one of the plurality of traffic situations. Accordingly, as the host vehicle is approaching a traffic situation, the location of the host vehicle may be used for selecting the correct plurality of modelled clusters of trajectories relevant for the traffic situation at hand.

The plurality of modelled clusters of trajectories may advantageously depend on time of day, date, or weather, or other measurable environmental conditions. Thus since parameters such as the time of day, the season (date), weather, and other conditions affect the driving style, such parameters may be taken into account in the modelled clusters of trajectories. These parameters may subsequently improve the predicting of at least one feasible trajectory by using the present time of day, date, or weather, or other measurable environmental conditions as input to the prediction step.

In embodiments, the predicting of the more than one feasible trajectory for the at least one secondary road user may be based on the position and the speed of the at least one secondary road user and a sub-class of the plurality of modelled clusters of trajectories for the present traffic situation, the sub-class is determined based on traffic object data indicative of traffic characteristics of the present traffic situation. In this way the prediction of the feasible trajectories may be performed with higher accuracy and less computational power since fewer modelled clusters of trajectories are used as input to the prediction.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved active safety system for avoiding a collision course for a host vehicle with a secondary vehicle.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided an active safety system for a host vehicle according to claim <NUM>. The system comprising: at least one detection unit for detecting the position and the speed of a secondary road user; a positioning system for determining the present location of the host vehicle, and a vehicle control unit configured to: retrieve a plurality of modelled clusters of trajectories for a present traffic situation, the present traffic situation is based on the present location of the host vehicle; predict more than one feasible trajectory for the at least one secondary road user based on the position and the speed of the at least one secondary road user and the plurality of modelled clusters of trajectories for the present traffic situation; select more than one feasible trajectory of the feasible trajectories for each secondary road user based on a selection criterion for the secondary road user indicating more than one feasible trajectory that is safe for the secondary road user, and based on a selection criterion for the host vehicle related to the host vehicle drive preferences, and control the host vehicle to perform at least one action based on the selected more than one feasible trajectory.

The detection unit may comprise at least one of LIDAR, cameras, ultra sound sensors, radars, etc. capable of detecting nearby objects of the host vehicle.

The at least one action may comprise to provide a warning signal indicative of that the host vehicle is on collision course with at least one secondary road user.

The control unit may be configured to trigger an intervention action when it is determined that the host vehicle is on collision course with at least one secondary road user.

An intervention action may be either a discrete intervention such as to interfere the driving and for example brake or steer away from a threat that otherwise lead to a collision. Furthermore, an intervention action may be part of a continuous driving adaptation such as for adaptive cruise control or autonomous driving where constant adaptation of driving action is needed.

The at least one action may comprise to select a path for the host vehicle to avoid a collision course with the at least one secondary road user.

In embodiment, the active safety system may comprise wireless communication circuitry for receiving the plurality of modelled clusters of trajectories from a server.

Further, in yet another embodiment the detection unit may comprise a receiver for receiving signals from secondary road user's indicative of their intended driving path and speed, and/or present position. Thereby the prediction of feasible trajectories may be more accurate. The communication between the host vehicle and secondary road user's may be achieved via communication systems selected from any one of V2x ("vehicle-to-everything") communication using wireless communication. V2x includes for instance vehicle-to-vehicle communication, vehicle-to-infrastructure communication, vehicle-to-pedestrian communication, vehicle-to-grid communication, and vehicle-to-device communication.

This second aspect of the invention provides similar advantages as discussed above in relation to the previous aspect of the invention.

There is further provided a vehicle comprising an active safety system according to any one of the embodiments of the second aspect.

The vehicle may be an autonomous vehicle.

A server may be configured to receive the present location coordinate of the host vehicle, and to return a model cluster of trajectories to the host vehicle for a traffic situation associated with the traffic situation.

In the present detailed description, various embodiments of the system and method according to the present invention are mainly described with reference to secondary road users in the form of cars. However, the present invention is equally well applicable to other road users such as trucks, busses, motorbikes, bicycles, pedestrians etc. Furthermore, the present invention is applicable to any type of traffic situation and not only to the exemplified traffic situations illustrated herein as roundabouts or intersections. Thus, this invention may generally be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided for thoroughness and completeness, and to fully convey the scope of the invention to the skilled person.

<FIG> conceptually illustrates a host vehicle <NUM> approaching a traffic situation <NUM>, in this example case the traffic situation is a roundabout <NUM> comprising three entries/exits. The host vehicle <NUM> approaches the roundabout <NUM> on road <NUM>. On another road <NUM> leading to the round about <NUM> a secondary road user in the form of a secondary vehicle <NUM> approaches the roundabout <NUM>. Based on a present location of the host vehicle <NUM>, determined with e.g. a global positioning system or high definition (HD) maps, a plurality of modelled clusters of trajectories <NUM> for the roundabout <NUM> may be retrieved by the host vehicle <NUM>. The modelled clusters of trajectories <NUM> may be constructed in ways that is described with reference to subsequent drawings. The modelled clusters of trajectories may be retrieved from a server <NUM>, i.e. from the "Cloud".

The host vehicle <NUM> further comprises on-board sensors such as LIDAR, cameras, ultra sound sensors, radars, etc. capable of detecting nearby objects of the host vehicle <NUM> such as the secondary vehicle <NUM>. The host vehicle <NUM> may detect the position and speed of the secondary vehicle <NUM> as the secondary vehicle <NUM> approaches the round about <NUM>. In addition, the host vehicle <NUM> may comprise inertial measurement units comprising accelerometers, gyroscopes for measuring the yaw rate and the acceleration of the host vehicle <NUM>. Furthermore, the host vehicle may comprise a receiver for receiving signals from secondary road user's indicative of their intended driving path and speed, and/or present position. The host vehicle <NUM> may in this way detect the position and speed of the secondary road user <NUM> via direct communication between the host vehicle <NUM> and the secondary road user <NUM>, or for instance communication via the cloud.

The position and speed of the secondary vehicle <NUM> is used together with the plurality of modelled clusters of trajectories <NUM> for the roundabout <NUM> for predicting at least one feasible trajectory <NUM>, 109a, 109b, 109c which the secondary vehicle <NUM> may pursue in the round about <NUM>. Accordingly, first a large set of possible model clusters of trajectories <NUM> is received, and based on the position and speed of the secondary vehicle, at least one possible trajectory <NUM>, 109a, 109b, 109c is/are predicted for the secondary vehicle <NUM>.

One feasible trajectory among the predicted at least one feasible trajectories <NUM>, 109a, 109b, 109c is determined based on a selection criterion, for example, the most probable trajectory may be one that does not cross-over to the same side of the road as the host vehicle <NUM>. Thus, the feasible trajectory 109a that crosses over to the road <NUM> is here considered to violate the selection criterion. Furthermore, it would be unsafe for the secondary vehicle <NUM> to travel along trajectory 109b since it would lead to a collision with the center part <NUM> of the roundabout <NUM>. Moreover, in the present traffic situation based on right hand traffic, it would be unsafe for the secondary vehicle <NUM> to travel along the path 109c since it leads to wrong way travelling through the roundabout <NUM>.

Other possible selection criterion may be related to decreasing fuel consumption, drive convenience, provide a comfortable ride, to mention a few exemplary selection criteria that may also relate to the host vehicle drive preferences. For example, the host vehicle may prioritize to reduce fuel consumption, whereby this is sued as a selection criterion when selecting a feasible trajectory. The host vehicle <NUM> may proceed though the roundabout <NUM> as planned if the selected feasible trajectory <NUM> for the secondary vehicle is a safe trajectory for the perspective of the host vehicle <NUM>.

In some embodiments the model trajectories <NUM> also comprise model speed profiles for the model trajectories. Thus, a speed profile for the secondary road user <NUM> may also be predicted based on the position and the speed of the secondary road user <NUM> and the modelled clusters of trajectories <NUM>.

Furthermore, in some embodiments the model trajectories <NUM> also include yaw rate data and acceleration data for each of the plurality of trajectories <NUM>. Thus, the host vehicle <NUM> may retrieve a plurality of model clusters of trajectories <NUM> comprising trajectories data, speed profiles, and yaw rate data and acceleration data for positions along the model clusters of trajectories <NUM>.

In case it is determined that the host vehicle <NUM> is on collision course with the secondary road user <NUM>, an intervention action may be triggered in the host vehicle <NUM>. The intervention action may for example comprise changing the present course of the host vehicle <NUM> or reducing or increasing the speed of the host vehicle <NUM>. In addition, in some embodiments a warning signal may be provided in the host vehicle <NUM> to notify at least the driver of the host vehicle <NUM> about the collision course.

<FIG> illustrates a simplified scenario of predicting at least one feasible trajectory for the secondary road user <NUM>. <FIG> illustrates four clusters of model trajectories, a first cluster <NUM>, a second cluster <NUM>, a third cluster <NUM>, and a fourth cluster <NUM>. In accordance with embodiments, the position of the secondary road <NUM> user is detected by the host vehicle and is matched with a set of positions along each of the clusters <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM>. Using a distance metric it may be possible to determine that the vehicle is closest to the cluster <NUM>. For the present scenario it may be assumed that the vehicle <NUM> has just started travelling along the model trajectory <NUM>.

However, if the vehicle <NUM> was in the middle of the two clusters <NUM> and <NUM> it may not be possible to select which of the clusters the vehicle <NUM> is driving along. In that case both clusters <NUM> and <NUM> of trajectories are considered feasible trajectories.

<FIG> conceptually illustrates exemplary data collection for a supervised learning algorithm subsequently used for reproducing trajectories for a plurality of traffic situations. In <FIG> a conceptual satellite image <NUM> or HD map <NUM> of a traffic situation <NUM> is shown. Trajectory data for a traffic situation is received by a control unit, i.e. located on a server <NUM> as illustrated in <FIG>. The trajectory data is received from a plurality of road user travelling through the same traffic situation. For example, the road users may transmit their GPS coordinates and other information such as vehicle speed, yaw rate, acceleration, detected traffic signs, detected position and speed of nearby objects, weather data, time of day, date, friction measurements, road condition data as they travel through the traffic situation <NUM>. This results in a large set of trajectories <NUM> for the traffic situation <NUM> as conceptually illustrated in <FIG>. This data collection is performed for a large set of traffic situations. Further, the trajectories <NUM> may be clustered into classes of trajectories such as turning left, stopping at stop line, driving straight, etc..

In addition, as conceptually illustrated in <FIG> the clustered trajectories may be parameterized providing a density contour <NUM> of trajectories through the intersection with an average trajectory set <NUM> being represented.

The control unit on the server <NUM> uses a supervised learning algorithm taught on the training data provided by the trajectories <NUM> and/or the parameterized clustered trajectories <NUM> in order to be able to reproduce trajectories using satellite images of traffic situations as input. Accordingly, and with reference to <FIG>, a deep neural network may be trained on the training data, and may subsequently, in an offline processing step, be provided with a satellite image <NUM> of a traffic situation <NUM>, and based on the supervised learning algorithm the deep neural network is configured to create model clusters of trajectories <NUM> including speed profiles for the traffic situation <NUM> in the satellite image <NUM>. The deep neural network may create model clusters of trajectories for any traffic situation for which there are satellite images or HD map data available. Accordingly, the present invention may advantageously provide predictions of secondary road user trajectories for a vast number of traffic situations.

In addition, the plurality of modelled clusters of trajectories depends on time of day, date, or weather and or other measurable environmental conditions that may be used as input to the deep learning network. Accordingly, the finally predicted trajectory and speed profile for the secondary vehicle is also based on the present weather, time of day, the season of the year, etc..

In one possible implementation the training data includes traffic object data indicative of a detected position and speed of objects nearby the traffic situation or in the traffic situation. It then becomes possible for a deep neural network to classify the modelled clusters of trajectories depending on the traffic object data. Thus, firstly the deep neural network constructs the modelled clusters of trajectories, subsequently, a separate deep neural network taught on historical traffic object data uses present traffic object data to filter out only a sub-class of model clusters of trajectories. Accordingly, the host vehicle may transmit present traffic object data to the server or central control unit which then only returns sub-classes of model trajectories that are relevant based on the present traffic object data for the present traffic situation.

Alternatively and as is illustrated in <FIG> , the host vehicle <NUM> receives the model clusters of trajectories <NUM> as described with reference to e.g. <FIG>, and the filtering step for providing only a sub-class <NUM> of model clusters of trajectories is performed in the host vehicle <NUM>. More specifically, as the host vehicle <NUM> approaches the traffic situation <NUM> and has provided its location to the central control unit on the server <NUM>, the central control unit returns the model clusters of trajectories <NUM>. The host vehicle <NUM> then provides its traffic object data and the model clusters of trajectories <NUM> to an algorithm such as provided by a deep neural network operative on a vehicle control unit in order to filter out the sub-class <NUM> of model clusters of trajectories.

The traffic object data may for example include information that there is a traffic jam <NUM> in the path <NUM>. It can be concluded by the deep neural network that the secondary vehicle <NUM> is not able to drive on model clusters of trajectories on the road path <NUM> since it is jammed with vehicles. The deep neural network operative on the vehicle may the filter out a sub-class <NUM> of model trajectories which excludes trajectories that interfere with the detected traffic jam <NUM>. The prediction of at least one feasible trajectory <NUM> may subsequently be performed based on the sub-class <NUM> of trajectories. By performing the filtering in the host vehicle <NUM> less data has to be transferred to the server, i.e. the traffic object data used for filtering out the sub-class of trajectories does not have to be transferred to the server since that traffic object data may be processed in the host vehicle.

In other possible implementations, only a single deep neural network is used. In this case, the deep neural network is trained on training data including satellite images <NUM> and/or HD maps <NUM>, and traffic object data. The deep neural network may in this case receive a satellite image and/or an HD map of the present traffic situation, and present traffic object data from a host vehicle, whereby the deep neural network only returns sub-classes of model trajectories that are relevant based on the present traffic object data for the present traffic situation.

<FIG> illustrates a box diagram of an example active safety system <NUM> for a host vehicle. The system <NUM> comprises at least one detection unit <NUM> for detecting the position and speed of a secondary road user. The detection unit(s) <NUM> may for example be on-board sensors such as at least one of a LIDAR device, a Radar device, an image capturing device, an ultrasound sensor, or any type of proximity sensor suitable for detecting secondary road user's present in the vicinity of the host vehicle. In addition, the system <NUM> may also comprise an inertial measurement unit (not shown) for measuring the host vehicle's yaw rate and acceleration. Moreover, the detection unit <NUM> may comprise a receiver for receiving signals from secondary road user's indicative of their intended driving path and speed, and/or present position. The communication between the host vehicle and secondary road user's may be achieved via communication systems selected from any one of V2x ("vehicle-to-everything") communication using wireless communication. V2x includes for instance vehicle-to-vehicle communication, vehicle-to-infrastructure communication, vehicle-to-pedestrian communication, vehicle-to-grid communication, and vehicle-to-device communication.

The active safety system <NUM> further comprises a positioning system <NUM> for determining a present position of the host vehicle. The positioning system <NUM> may for example comprise a global positing system (GPS) and/or a high definition (HD) map based positioning system.

A vehicle control unit <NUM> is configured to retrieve a plurality of modelled clusters of trajectories for a present traffic situation from a server <NUM> or central control unit. The host vehicle <NUM> may therefore comprise wireless communication circuitry (not shown) for receiving the plurality of modelled clusters of trajectories from the server <NUM>. The present traffic situation is selected based on a present location of the host vehicle determined based on position data from the positioning system <NUM>. Thus, the vehicle control unit <NUM> processes the position data in order to determine the present location of the host vehicle. Information about the present location of the host vehicle is received by the server <NUM> so that the correct modelled clusters of trajectories may be provided to the host vehicle. For example, it may be concluded which roundabout or intersection is located at the present location of the host vehicle <NUM>.

The vehicle control unit <NUM> is configured to predict at least one feasible trajectory for a detected secondary road user at the present traffic situation. The at least one feasible trajectory is predicted based on the position and the speed of the at least one secondary road user and the plurality of modelled clusters of trajectories for the present traffic situation. Next, the vehicle control unit <NUM> selects at least one of the feasible trajectories for each secondary road user based on a selection criterion. If necessary from a safety perspective, the control unit <NUM> subsequently controls the host vehicle to perform at least one action based on the most probable trajectories.

<FIG> is a flow chart of method steps according to examples not covered by the claims. In a first step S102 the present location for a host vehicle is determined. In step S104 a plurality of modelled clusters of trajectories is retrieved for a present traffic situation in the vicinity of the present location. A position and speed of the at least one secondary road user in the vicinity of the present traffic situation is determined in step S106. In a subsequent step S108, predicting at least one feasible trajectory for the at least one secondary road user based on the position and the speed of the at least one secondary road user and the plurality of modelled clusters of trajectories for the present traffic situation. At least one feasible trajectory of the feasible trajectories is selected S110 for each secondary road user based on a selection criterion. At least one action is performed S112 based on the selected at least one feasible trajectory.

<FIG> illustrates a possible approach of implementing a deep neural network for generating modelled clusters of trajectories. <FIG> specifically illustrates a block diagram of a feed forward deep neural network <NUM>.

The block diagram comprises an input layer <NUM>, configured to receive input data to the deep neural network. The input data includes scene data <NUM> such as satellite images, HD map data, speed limits, etc., of a traffic situation. The input layer includes nodes <NUM> associated with each of the inputs.

The deep neural network <NUM> also includes one or more convolutional layers, and optional recurrent or recursive layers in block <NUM>. A deep neural network based on recurrent layers take current data from the input layer <NUM> as an input in addition to previously processed data. In other words, recurrent layers are advantageously used for capturing the history of the input data.

Nodes <NUM> of the input layer <NUM> communicate with the nodes <NUM> of the layers <NUM> via connections <NUM>. The connections <NUM> and weights of the connections are determined during training sessions such as supervised training.

A modelled cluster of trajectories is output in the output layer <NUM>. The output modelled clusters of trajectories may be provided in the form of polynomial coefficients of a curve fitted to a predicted trajectory or just a down-sampled version of the predicted modelled trajectory.

It should be noted that the number of connections and nodes for each layer may vary, <FIG> is only provided as an example. Accordingly, in some deep neural network designs more than the indicated layers in <FIG> may be used.

<FIG> conceptually illustrates a convolutional neural network in line for possible use with the inventive concept, for example combined with the illustrated neural network in <FIG>. In a convolutional neural network, as is known to the skilled person, convolutions of the input layer are used to compute the output. Local connections are formed such that each part of the input layer is connected to a node in the output. Each layer applies filters whereby the parameters of the filters are learned during training phases for the neural network.

The control functionality of the present disclosure may be implemented using existing computer processors, or by a special purpose computer processor for an appropriate system, incorporated for this or another purpose, or by a hardwire system. Embodiments within the scope of the present disclosure include program products comprising machine-readable medium for carrying or having machine-executable instructions or data structures stored thereon. Such machine-readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer or other machine with a processor. By way of example, such machine-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of machine-executable instructions or data structures and which can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer or other machine with a processor. When information is transferred or provided over a network or another communications connection (either hardwired, wireless, or a combination of hardwired or wireless) to a machine, the machine properly views the connection as a machine-readable medium. Thus, any such connection is properly termed a machine-readable medium. Combinations of the above are also included within the scope of machine-readable media. Machine-executable instructions include, for example, instructions and data which cause a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or special purpose processing machines to perform a certain function or group of functions.

Although the figures may show a sequence the order of the steps may differ from what is depicted. Also two or more steps may be performed concurrently or with partial concurrence. Such variation will depend on the software and hardware systems chosen and on designer choice. All such variations are within the scope of the disclosure. Likewise, software implementations could be accomplished with standard programming techniques with rule based logic and other logic to accomplish the various connection steps, processing steps, comparison steps and decision steps.

Claim 1:
A method, performed by a host vehicle, for predicting more than one trajectory of at least one secondary road user (<NUM>) for avoiding a collision course with the secondary road user (<NUM>) for a host vehicle (<NUM>), the method comprising:
- determining (S102) the present location for the host vehicle using a positioning system of the host vehicle;
- retrieving (S104) a plurality of modelled clusters of trajectories (<NUM>) for a present traffic situation (<NUM>) in the vicinity of the present location;
- detecting (S106), using a detection unit in the host vehicle, the position and speed of the at least one secondary road user in the vicinity of the present traffic situation;
- predicting (S108) more than one feasible trajectory (<NUM>) for the at least one secondary road user based on the position and the speed of the at least one secondary road user and the plurality of modelled clusters of trajectories for the present traffic situation;
- selecting (S110) more than one feasible trajectory (<NUM>) of the predicted feasible trajectories for each secondary road user based on a selection criterion for the secondary road user indicating more than one feasible trajectory that is safe for the secondary road user, and based on a selection criterion for the host vehicle related to the host vehicle drive preferences, and
- performing (S112), by the host vehicle, at least one action based on the selected more than one feasible trajectory for the at least one secondary road user.