Vehicle System and Method for Operating a Functionality, Designed for at Least Partially Automated Driving or Parking, in a Vehicle

Abstract

A vehicle system has a first operating mode and a second operating mode. The first operating mode is configured to execute a functionality of the vehicle system in driving mode based on acquired sensor signals and to operate the vehicle in an at least partially automated manner through interventions in vehicle guidance based on the result of the executed functionality. The second operating mode is configured to change a degree of the effectiveness of the interventions in the driving mode and/or a degree of the effectiveness of an operation decoupled from the vehicle guidance, and, when executing a functionality of the vehicle system with a changed degree of the effectiveness of an intervention in the vehicle guidance and/or a changed degree of the effectiveness of an operation decoupled from the vehicle guidance, to acquire operating data of the vehicle and/or feedback data from the user of the vehicle.

Claims

1.-11. (canceled)

12. A vehicle system for use in a vehicle for at least partially automated driving or parking, the vehicle system comprising: a first operating mode, which is configured to execute a functionality of the vehicle system in driving operation based on acquired sensor signals and to operate the vehicle in an at least partially automated manner by interventions in vehicle guidance based on a result of the executed functionality, and a second operating mode, which is configured: to change a degree of effectiveness of the interventions in the driving operation and/or a degree of effectiveness of an operation decoupled from the vehicle guidance, to execute a functionality of the vehicle system with a changed degree of effectiveness of an intervention in the vehicle guidance and/or a changed degree of effectiveness of the operation decoupled from the vehicle guidance, and upon execution of the functionality of the vehicle system with the changed degree of effectiveness of the intervention in the vehicle guidance and/or the changed degree of effectiveness of the operation decoupled from the vehicle guidance, to acquire operating data of the vehicle and/or feedback data of a user of the vehicle and make the operating data of the vehicle and/or the feedback data of the user of the vehicle available for further use.

13. The vehicle system according to claim 12, wherein the degree of effectiveness of the interventions and/or the degree of effectiveness of the operation decoupled from the vehicle guidance is changeable in multiple steps.

14. The vehicle system according to claim 12, wherein the degree of effectiveness of the interventions and/or the degree of effectiveness of the operation decoupled from the vehicle guidance is changeable at least partially continuously and/or nearly continuously.

15. The vehicle system according to claim 12, wherein: the degree of effectiveness of the interventions and/or the degree of effectiveness of the operation decoupled from the vehicle guidance is changeable in at least two steps, and the at least two steps are assigned to one of the following categories: operating the vehicle system without a directly perceptible effect for a driver or with a hardly perceptible effect for the driver, operating the vehicle system with an output of driver information, or operating the vehicle system with a visualization of an action which would result due to an intervention of the vehicle system in the vehicle guidance.

16. The vehicle system according to claim 12, wherein: the degree of effectiveness of the interventions and/or the degree of effectiveness of the operation decoupled from the vehicle guidance is changeable in at least two steps, and the at least two steps are assigned to one of the following categories: operating the vehicle system without a directly perceptible effect for a driver or with a hardly perceptible effect for the driver, operating the vehicle system with an output of driver information and without an intervention in the vehicle guidance, or operating the vehicle system with a visualization of an action which would result due to an intervention of the vehicle system in the vehicle guidance.

17. The vehicle system according to claim 12, wherein the operating data of the vehicle and/or the feedback data of the user of the vehicle are made available for at least one of the following uses: to test and/or to secure a development stage of the vehicle system, to ascertain at least one performance indicator of the vehicle system, to prove a positive risk balance of the vehicle system, to operate a further vehicle system for at least partially automated driving of a further vehicle, to determine one or more limiting parameters for operating the vehicle system, to train a neural network, to activate and/or block functionalities or limiting parameters of functionalities of the further vehicle, to activate and/or block defined feedback functionalities of the vehicle system, and/or to change data of a digital map and/or data for interpretation of the digital map.

18. The vehicle system according to claim 17, wherein the risk balance is for inferences about an expected performance of the vehicle system on environmental objects of the vehicle.

19. The vehicle system according to claim 17, wherein the one or more limiting parameters depend on further information.

20. The vehicle system according to claim 17, wherein the neutral network is a deep neural network.

21. The vehicle system according to claim 17, wherein to change the data of the digital map and/or the data for interpretation of the digital map is to activate and/or to block specific roadway sections for execution of specific performance functionalities and/or feedback functionalities in specific situations.

22. The vehicle system according to claim 12, wherein the feedback data comprise items of feedback information of the user on an action and/or the executed functionality of the vehicle system in the second operating mode.

23. The vehicle system according to claim 12, wherein the degree of effectiveness of the interventions and/or the degree of effectiveness of the operation decoupled from the vehicle guidance is changeable as a function of one or more of the following parameters: an operating parameter of the vehicle, a situation parameter characterizing a situation in an environment of the vehicle, an attentiveness status of a driver, a viewing direction of the driver, and/or a parameter characterizing a risk for the driver or other road users.

24. The vehicle system according to claim 23, wherein the operating parameter of the vehicle is vehicle velocity.

25. The vehicle system according to claim 12, wherein the degree of effectiveness of the interventions and/or the degree of effectiveness of the operation decoupled from the vehicle guidance is changeable as a function of a parameter or a pattern of a driving situation and/or a roadway arrangement, and/or the operating data of the vehicle and/or the feedback data of the user of the vehicle are ascertained with respect to the pattern of the driving situation and/or the roadway arrangement.

26. The vehicle system according to claim 12, wherein the feedback data comprise items of feedback information of a driver to a proposed action, which is not executed in an automated manner or is only partially executed in the automated manner, and/or the executed functionality of the vehicle system in the second operating mode.

27. The vehicle system according to claim 12, wherein: the vehicle system is configured to acquire data portions, and the data portions comprise data which are based on at least one of: items of information relating to an environment and/or an environmental situation of the vehicle, items of information relating to control data of the vehicle system decoupled from the vehicle control, or information relating to the feedback data which is not executed in an automated manner or is only partially executed in the automated manner, and/or the executed functionality of the vehicle system in the second operating mode.

28. The vehicle system according to claim 27, wherein the feedback data characterize items of feedback information about feedback of a driver to a proposed action.

29. The vehicle system according to claim 27, wherein the vehicle system is further configured to transmit the acquired data portions to a computing unit remote from the vehicle system.

30. The vehicle system according to claim 27, wherein the vehicle system is further configured to transmit the acquired data portions to a computing unit remote from the vehicle.

31. A method for operating a vehicle system configured for use in a vehicle for at least partially automated driving, the method comprising: in a first operating mode, executing a functionality of the vehicle system in driving operation based on acquired sensor signals and operating the vehicle in an at least partially automated manner by interventions in vehicle guidance based on a result of the executed functionality, and in a second operating mode: changing a degree of effectiveness of the interventions in driving operation and/or a degree of effectiveness of an operation decoupled from the vehicle guidance, executing a functionality of the vehicle system with a changed degree of effectiveness of an intervention in the vehicle guidance and/or a changed degree of effectiveness of the operation decoupled from the vehicle guidance, and upon execution of the functionality of the vehicle system with the changed degree of effectiveness of the intervention in the vehicle guidance and/or the changed degree of effectiveness of the operation decoupled from the vehicle guidance, acquiring operating data of the vehicle and/or feedback data of a user of the vehicle and making the operating data of the vehicle and/or the feedback data of the user of the vehicle available for further use.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0131] FIG. 1 shows an example of an embodiment of a vehicle system according to the invention.

[0132] FIG. 2 shows an example of an embodiment of a method according to the invention on the basis of a flow chart.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0133] FIG. 1 shows a vehicle system FAS for use in a vehicle (not shown here) for at least partially automated driving. The vehicle system FAS comprises as a core element a control unit SE, which is configured to be operated in 2 operating types BM1 and BM2. The control unit SE receives, as input signals, signals acquired by way of suitable sensors and/or sensor signals s derived from the acquired signals and a signal fb, which supplies information about the driving operation of the vehicle.

[0134] The first operating mode BM1 is configured to execute a functionality of the vehicle system in driving operation based on acquired sensor signals s and fb and, based on the result of the executed functionality, to operate the vehicle in an at least partially operated manner by interventions in the vehicle guidance. The output signals as can be designed, for example, to initiate an intervention in the vehicle longitudinal guidance, the vehicle lateral guidance, the drive and/or break unit, and/or an activation of a notification signal to the driver.

[0135] The second operating mode BM2 is configured, upon execution of the second operating mode, to execute basically the same functionality as in the operating mode, but with a changed degree of effectiveness of the intervention in the vehicle guidance and/or with a changed degree of the effectiveness of an operation decoupled from the vehicle guidance. In other words, in the second operating mode BM2, which can be activated when the first operating mode BM1 is not active or when, with active first operating mode BM1, an intervention in the vehicle guidance initiated by the first operating mode BM1 is not changed by the operation of the second operating mode BM2, a specific functionality is only executed virtually and/or visually (i.e., the output signal initiated by the functionality does not result in a direct intervention in the vehicle guidance, but only (if at all) in the output of an optical display. The operating data bd of the vehicle acquired upon the execution of the second operating mode BM2 and/or feedback data fd of the user of the vehicle acquired following the execution of the second operating mode are made available by the control unit SE for further use (in the same vehicle system FAS, in other vehicle systems of the vehicle, or in systems outside the vehicle). To enable a use of the data bd and/or fd outside the vehicle, the data bd and fd are transmitted to a vehicle-external computing unit RE (for example, a backend).

[0136] Further possible embodiments of the system according to the invention will be explained on the basis of the following description of FIG. 2.

[0137] FIG. 2 shows a flow chart for a method 100 for operating a vehicle system designed for use in a vehicle for at least partially automated driving. This method 100 can comprise one or more steps or features described hereinafter in any combination or sequence:

[0138] Step 101: Executing a functionality of the vehicle system in driving operation based on acquired sensor signals and at least partially automated operation of the vehicle by interventions in the vehicle guidance based on the result of the executed functionality.

[0139] Step 102: Changing a degree of effectiveness of the interventions in the driving operation and/or a degree of effectiveness of an operation (in a second operating mode) decoupled from the vehicle guidance, wherein the degree of the effectiveness of the interventions and/or the degree of the effectiveness of an operation decoupled from the vehicle guidance can be changeable in multiple steps, in particular at least partially and/or nearly continuously. In particular, the degree of the effectiveness of the interventions and/or the degree of the effectiveness of an operation decoupled from the vehicle guidance can be changeable in at least two steps, wherein the at least two steps are assigned to one of the following categories: [0140] operating the vehicle system without a directly perceptible effect for the driver or with a hardly perceptible effect for the driver, [0141] operating the vehicle system with an output of driver information, in particular with an output of driver information without an intervention in the vehicle guidance, and [0142] operating the vehicle system with a visualization of an action which would result due to an intervention of the vehicle system in the vehicle guidance.

[0143] Furthermore, the degree of the effectiveness of the interventions and/or the degree of the effectiveness of an operation decoupled from the vehicle guidance can be changeable as a function of one or more of the following parameters: [0144] operating parameter of the vehicle, in particular vehicle velocity, [0145] situation parameter characterizing a situation in the environment of the vehicle, [0146] driver status, in particular attentiveness status of the driver, [0147] viewing direction of the driver, and [0148] parameter characterizing the risk for the driver or other road users.

[0149] Step 103: Executing a functionality of the vehicle system with changed degree of the effectiveness of an intervention in the vehicle guidance and/or changed degree of the effectiveness of an operation decoupled from the vehicle guidance (in a second operating mode).

[0150] Step 104: Acquiring operating data of the vehicle and/or feedback data of the user of the vehicle upon the execution of a functionality of the vehicle system with changed degree of the effectiveness of an intervention in the vehicle guidance and/or changed degree of the effectiveness of an operation decoupled from the vehicle guidance and making the data available for a further use. For example, the acquired operating data of the vehicle and/or the acquired feedback data of the user of the vehicle can be made available for at least one of the following uses: [0151] to test and/or to secure a development stage of the vehicle system, [0152] to ascertain at least one performance indicator of the vehicle system, [0153] to prove a positive risk balance of the vehicle system, in particular for inferences about an expected performance of the vehicle system on environmental objects of the vehicle, [0154] to operate a vehicle system for at least partially automated driving of a further vehicle, [0155] to determine one or morein particular dependent on further informationlimiting parameters for operating the vehicle system, [0156] to train a neural network, in particular a DNN (=deep neural network), [0157] to activate and/or block functionalities (also maximum performance) of a vehicle, in particular of vehicles having vehicle systems for at least partially automated driving, [0158] to activate and/or block defined feedback functionalities of the vehicle system, in particular for similar starting situations, and/or [0159] to change data of a digital map and/or data for interpretation of a digital map, in particular to activate and/or to block specific roadway sections for the execution of specific performance functionalities and/or feedback functionalities in specific situations.

[0160] Training of a neural network can be executed in the method 100. The term neural network is to be understood in the scope of the present document in particular as a DNN (deep neural network). Alternatively or additionally, the neural network is to be understood as an arbitrary form or implementation of an artificial intelligence (AI).

[0161] Alternatively or additionally, the method 100 can be executed multiple times, in particular iteratively. Training and/or updating (for example update) of the features, the weight data, a bias term, etc. of the neural network can be executed here, for example (possibly also in the vehicles located in customer operation). For example, the neural network can be updated at regular intervals or upon the occurrence of an insufficiently high level of performance and/or upon the presence of an improved performance.