METHOD FOR OPERATING A MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

Abstract

A method for operating a management program that is provided to manage at least one intervention from at least one application program in a motor vehicle into at least one component of the motor vehicle. When establishing the extent of the at least one intervention, information being made available from outside of the vehicle is taken into account.

Claims

1-11. (canceled)

12. A method for operating a management program that is provided to manage at least one intervention from at least one application program in a motor vehicle into at least one component of the motor vehicle, the method comprising: taking into account information provided from outside of the vehicle when establishing an extent of the at least one intervention.

13. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein the at least one intervention takes place internally.

14. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein the at least one intervention takes place externally.

15. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein the at least one application program is configured to implement a driver assistance system.

16. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein the extent of the at least one intervention is limited.

17. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein the extent of the intervention is expanded.

18. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein characteristic curves, which are assigned to different driving modes, are accessed.

19. The method as recited in claim 18, wherein a transition is carried out between different characteristic curves.

20. The method as recited in claim 19, wherein during the transition between different characteristic curves, a run-up phase and a drop phase are taken into account.

21. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein at least one criticality parameter is taken into account.

22. A system for operating an application program that is provided to manage at least one intervention from at least one application program in a motor vehicle into at least one component of the motor vehicle, the system configured to: take into account information provided from outside of the vehicle when establishing an extent of the at least one intervention.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] FIG. 1 shows a flowchart of one specific embodiment of a method according to the present invention.

[0021] FIG. 2 shows in a schematic illustration a motor vehicle including a system for carrying out the method, according to an example embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

[0022] The present invention is illustrated schematically in the figures on the basis of specific embodiments and is described in greater detail in the following with reference to the figures.

[0023] FIG. 1 describes a possible sequence of the method presented above. The illustration shows a first application program App_1 10, a second application program App_2 12, and an nth application program App_n 14. These application programs 10, 12, 14 provide input signals for a management program 16, which receives same via an application interface App API 15. Further input signals are provided by a limitation inquiry 18, in which, in turn, a piece of information from an external unit, such as for example a cloud or a web browser, is input, and furthermore by a human machine interface 20, in which an entry is input by a driver and in which a piece of information with regard to a selection of an AD module (CCU) is input. CCU is the so-called connectivity control unit, i.e., the communication module of the vehicle for external communication, for example LTE, 5G, Wi-Fi, etc.

[0024] Management program 16 takes into account the characteristic curves from a safety features map, on which abscissa 24 p2 and its ordinate 26 p1 are plotted. p1 and p2 are parameters, for example velocity and the maximally permitted brake intervention or steering intervention. In this map 22, a first characteristic curve 30 is plotted for L4, a second characteristic curve 32 is plotted for L3.1, a third characteristic curve 34 is plotted for L3.2, and a fourth characteristic 36 is plotted for L3.3. L1 through L4 indicate different driving modes that are elucidated in greater detail in the following.

[0025] Management program 16 provides output signals for L1 SW (software) 40, L2 SW 42, L3 SW 44, and L4 SW 46. L1 SW 40 together with an output signal from human machine interface 20 provides a piece of information to a movement control 48. Management program 16 manages in this way the interventions by apps 10, 12, 14 into the components of a vehicle.

[0026] Modules 40, 42, 44, and 46 are functions for automated driving, for example automated emergency braking (AEB) including in particular radar-based object recognition and brake intervention (L2) or the various system elements for fully automated driving (L4), such as perception, surroundings model generation, behavior and trajectory planning.

[0027] Depending on the driving mode and external information, a different characteristic curve is selected for the intervention, here for example L3.x for L3, whose compliance is ensured by application interface App_API 16. The app interventions (“App_x”) may take place from within the vehicle system, for example a control unit or a software, or from outside, for example a cloud, a web browser, a smartphone, etc.

[0028] With regard to the individual driving modes, the following is carried out:

[0029] The driver controls the vehicle using driver assistance either in the longitudinal direction or in the transversal direction (L1), as is also described in German Patent Application No. DE 10 2014 209 489 A1.

[0030] The ADS controls, the driver observes the vehicle with hands on the steering wheel (L2).

[0031] The ADS controls, the driver observes the vehicle without hands on the steering wheel (L2 hands-free).

[0032] The ADS controls, the driver does not observe the vehicle, but must be able to take control within a certain period of time (L3).

[0033] The ADS controls, the driver does not have to observe nor be able to intervene (L4).

[0034] Possible external systems that are capable of evaluating the meaning or the criticality of the instantaneous situation are: [0035] cloud backend, [0036] local web browser systems, for example an infrastructure system, [0037] local spatial computer platform, [0038] network of linked road users (V2X), [0039] dynamic map.

[0040] To determine the external complexity of the situation, the following is carried out:

[0041] The external system determines the complexity of the situation based on, for example, [0042] weather conditions, [0043] traffic density, [0044] evaluation of the risk or the meaning of the traffic situation, for example high versus low velocities of the other road users, small versus great distances, short versus long average TTC (time-to-collision), whether it is necessary or possible to drive past cyclists, for example, at a close versus at a great distance, bad versus good overview or visibility of the traffic situation, no versus many pedestrians, road users moving erratically versus normally, etc., [0045] risk or meaning or criticality metrics reported from vehicles and aggregated for the traffic situation.

[0046] The complexity may in this case be indicated as a continuous, for example within a range [0, 1], or a discrete parameter, for example low, medium, high.

[0047] The limitations for ensuring the controllability on the system level, i.e., ADS, or on the vehicle level, namely the driver, may refer to the following interventions: [0048] actuator-specific interventions, for example engine, brakes, steering, but also lights, seat adjustment, active suspension, etc., [0049] movement-specific interventions, for example longitudinal, lateral, vertical.

[0050] The external intervention via the criticality parameter may take place either [0051] directly, i.e., in an externally controlled manner, and cannot be internally overridden in the implementation, or [0052] indirectly, i.e., as a recommendation that may also be dismissed or compared to one's own criticality evaluation.

[0053] For the adjustment of the limitations, the following is carried out: [0054] switching over the limitation characteristic curves depending on the driving mode and externally determined criticality of the instantaneous situation, [0055] run-up phase/drop phase during the transition between the modes or characteristic curves to avoid abrupt changes in control, error messages and/or a termination of the external intervention due to error detection, controlled by application interface App API 16 and/or supported by apps 10, 12, 14 by providing appropriate transition characteristic curves, [0056] optional warning of the driver, for example acoustically, visually and/or haptically with the aid of a human machine interface, when adjusting the limitations.

[0057] The management of the limitations takes place in management program 16.

[0058] Management program 16, which may be regarded as a part of API 15, of the app interventions should report back the instantaneously pertinent limitations or also, prognostically, future limitations to apps 10, 12, 14, so that same are able to respond to them accordingly in terms of regulation.

[0059] The description of application interface App API 16 should include these different areas of intervention, which depend on the degree of automation, so that app developers may take this into account when developing new functions.

[0060] FIG. 2 shows in a schematic illustration and heavily simplified form a motor vehicle that is denoted overall by reference numeral 50. A system for carrying out the method presented here is provided in this motor vehicle 50. This system 52 manages a series of apps 54 that in turn have access to components 56 of motor vehicle 50 or manage accesses to these components 56 and are stored in a mobile unit 55. Information from an external unit 58, for example a cloud, is taken into account to establish the extent of the accesses of individual apps 54 to individual components 56. It is to be noted that apps 54 may also be regarded as components 56 of motor vehicle 50, which may be accessed.