METHOD FOR DETERMINING A RELATIVE POSITION OF A FIRST PART OF A MOBILE PLATFORM WITH RESPECT TO A SECOND PART OF THE MOBILE PLATFORM

Abstract

A method for determining a relative position of a first part of a mobile platform with respect to a second part of the mobile platform. The method includes the following steps: providing at least one first position point of an object in an environment of the mobile platform relative to the first part of the mobile platform; providing at least one second position point of the object in the environment of the mobile platform relative to the second part of the mobile platform; determining the relative position of the first part of the mobile platform with respect to the second part of the mobile platform by comparing the relative position of the at least one first position point with the relative position of the at least one second position point.

Claims

1-15. (canceled)

16. A method for determining a relative position of a first part of a mobile platform with respect to a second part of the mobile platform, comprising the following steps: providing at least one first position point of an object in an environment of the mobile platform relative to the first part of the mobile platform; providing at least one second position point of the object in the environment of the mobile platform relative to the second part of the mobile platform; and determining the relative position of the first part of the mobile platform with respect to the second part of the mobile platform by comparing the relative position of the at least one first position point with the relative position of the at least one second position point.

17. The method as recited in claim 16, wherein the object is a ground surface in the environment of the mobile platform, and the at least one first position point on the ground surface is determined by a first sensor system, and the first sensor system is directly coupled to the first part of the mobile platform, and the at least one second position point of the object is a stored reference value.

18. The method as recited in claim 17, wherein the at least one second position point on the ground surface in the environment of the mobile platform is determined by a second sensor system, and the second sensor system is directly coupled to the second part of the mobile platform.

19. The method as recited in claim 18, wherein the first and second sensor systems are respective LiDAR systems; and each of the respective LiDAR systems determines two position points on the ground, and a distance of the two position points in each case is determined by determining a distance of at least two ground reflections on the ground which are each generated by two LiDAR beams emitted at different angles by the respective LiDAR system.

20. The method as recited in claim 18, wherein the first and second sensor systems are respective LiDAR systems, and each of the respective LiDAR systems determines a plurality of position points on the ground by determining a respective distance of two ground reflections on the ground, wherein the ground reflections are generated by a number of LiDAR beams emitted at different angles by the respective LiDAR systems.

21. The method as recited in claim 20, wherein the ground reflections are at an angle of 180 with respect to the respective LiDAR systems in respective pairs.

22. The method as recited in claim 16, wherein: the at least one first position point of the object in the environment of the mobile platform is provided by a first sensor system, and the first sensor system is directly coupled to the first part of the mobile platform; and the at least one second position point of the object in the environment of the mobile platform is provided by a second sensor system, and the second sensor system is directly coupled the second part of the mobile platform.

23. The method as recited in claim 22, wherein the object is a raised object above a ground surface in the environment and the relative position of the first part of the mobile platform with respect to the second part of the mobile platform is determined by comparing the at least one first position point of the raised object to the at least one second position point of the raised object.

24. The method as recited in claim 17, wherein each of the first and second sensor systems includes a LiDAR system and/or a camera sensor and/or a radar sensor and/or an ultrasonic system.

25. The method as recited in claim 16, further comprising: determining at least one adjustment value for sensor fusion using the determined relative position of a first part of a mobile platform with respect to a second part of the mobile platform.

26. The method as recited in claim 16, further comprising: determining a calibration of the a first sensor system with a second sensor system using the determined relative position of the first part of the mobile platform with respect to the second part of the mobile platform.

27. An evaluation system for determining a relative position of a first part of a mobile platform with respect to a second part of the mobile platform, the evaluation system being configured to: provide at least one first position point of an object in an environment of the mobile platform relative to the first part of the mobile platform; provide at least one second position point of the object in the environment of the mobile platform relative to the second part of the mobile platform; and determine the relative position of the first part of the mobile platform with respect to the second part of the mobile platform by comparing the relative position of the at least one first position point with the relative position of the at least one second position point.

28. A detection system for determining a relative position of a first part of a mobile platform with respect to a second part of the mobile platform, comprising: a first sensor system; a second sensor system; and an evaluation system configured to: provide at least one first position point of an object in an environment of the mobile platform relative to the first part of the mobile platform, provide at least one second position point of the object in the environment of the mobile platform relative to the second part of the mobile platform, and determine the relative position of the first part of the mobile platform with respect to the second part of the mobile platform by comparing the relative position of the at least one first position point with the relative position of the at least one second position point.

29. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium, on which is stored a computer program for determining a relative position of a first part of a mobile platform with respect to a second part of the mobile platform, the computer program, when executed by a computer, causing the computer to perform the following steps: providing at least one first position point of an object in an environment of the mobile platform relative to the first part of the mobile platform; providing at least one second position point of the object in the environment of the mobile platform relative to the second part of the mobile platform; and determining the relative position of the first part of the mobile platform with respect to the second part of the mobile platform by comparing the relative position of the at least one first position point with the relative position of the at least one second position point.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0056] Exemplary embodiments of the present invention are illustrated with reference to FIGS. 1A to 3 and explained in more detail below.

[0057] FIG. 1A shows a front view of a truck having a cab and chassis with exemplary positions of two LiDAR systems.

[0058] FIG. 1B shows a side view of a truck having a cab and chassis with exemplary positions of two LiDAR systems.

[0059] FIG. 2 shows a plan view of a truck with reflection points of a LiDAR system which are arranged in a ring formation on a ground surface.

[0060] FIG. 3 shows a plan view of a truck with reflection points of two LiDAR systems which are arranged in a ring formation on a ground surface.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

[0061] FIG. 1A shows a schematic sketch of a front view of a truck 100 having a chassis 130 and a cab 140, a first LiDAR system 110 being mechanically coupled to the cab 140 and a second LiDAR system 120 being mechanically coupled to the chassis 130.

[0062] FIG. 1B shows a schematic side view of a truck 100 having the chassis 130 and the cab 140, the first LiDAR system 110 being mechanically coupled to the cab 140 and the second LiDAR system 120 being mechanically coupled to the chassis 130.

[0063] FIG. 2 shows a plan view of the truck 100, schematically depicting reflection points 200 arranged in a ring formation, which are produced by the first LiDAR system 110 by directing the laser beams of the LiDAR system 110 at a ground surface in the environment of the truck 100. The distance arrows 210a to f show possible distances of the reflection points 200 arranged in a ring formation depending on a relative position of the cab 140 with respect to level ground, the cab being coupled to the first LiDAR system 110. If the cab 140 is tilted with respect to the ground, for example, there is a change in the distances 210a to f between the different reflection points of the laser beams of the LiDAR system 110 which are emitted at different angles, which distances are determined by the LiDAR system 110. Therefore, by comparing the positionsprovided by the LiDAR system 110of a first and second position point (whereof the relative positions are denoted by the distance arrows 210a to 210f, for example), the relative position of the first part of the mobile platform with respect to the second part of the mobile platform may be determined, for example, if the second platform 130 may be assumed to be sufficiently parallel to the ground surface and/or the relative position of the position points is determined using a reference measurement and/or the at least second position point of the object is a stored reference value.

[0064] FIG. 3 shows a plan view of the truck 100, schematically depicting reflection points 200 arranged in a ring formation, which are produced on a ground surface in the environment of the truck 100 by the first LiDAR system 110, and reflection points 300 arranged in a ring formation, which are produced on the ground surface in the environment of the truck 100 by the second LiDAR system 120.

[0065] The relative position of the first part of the mobile platform with respect to the second part of the mobile platform here may be determined in that, via the first LiDAR system 110, which is mechanically coupled to the cab 140 of the truck 100, an object 310, 320 is identified, a first position point of the object 310, 320 is spatially determined and this is compared to a second position point of the object 310, 320the position point of the object 310, 320 identified by the second LiDAR system 120 which is provided by the second LiDAR system. The object 310 here is the same object as the object 320, although they are detected in virtually different locations by different sensor systems. Since, for the two LiDAR systems 110, 120, the object has a different position in space as seen relatively from the respective LiDAR system, for example due to a relative position change of the first part of the mobile platform with respect to the second part of the mobile platform, it is possible, from the comparison, to determine the relative position of the first part of the mobile platform with respect to the second part of the mobile platform from a difference 330 in the position of the respective position points.