A CONTROL SYSTEM FOR A VEHICLE

Abstract

A control system for a vehicle comprises one or more controllers (106, 108) and is configured to receive an occupant status signal (103) indicative of an ability of an occupant of the vehicle to take control of the vehicle, receive a communication signal (105) indicative of a status of a communication channel, determine whether the occupant is able to take control of the vehicle in dependence on the received occupant status signal (103), determine the availability of the communication channel in dependence on the communication signal (105), and output a control signal (107, 109) to cause operation of the vehicle to be controlled in dependence on the determination of whether the occupant is able to take control of the vehicle and the determination of the availability of the communication channel.

Claims

1-10. (canceled)

11. A control system for a vehicle, the control system comprising one or more controllers, the control system being configured to: receive an occupant status signal indicative of an ability of an occupant of the vehicle to take control of the vehicle; receive a communication signal indicative of a status of a communication channel; determine whether the occupant is able to take control of the vehicle in dependence on the received occupant status signal; determine an availability of the communication channel in dependence on the received communication signal; and output a control signal to cause operation of the vehicle to be controlled in dependence on whether the occupant is able to take control of the vehicle and the availability of the communication channel, wherein, if the control system determines that the occupant is unable to take control of the vehicle and that the communication channel is unavailable, the control system is configured to output at least one control signal to cause autonomous operation of the vehicle, continue monitoring the availability of the communication channel during autonomous operation of the vehicle, and, if the control system determines that the communication channel subsequently becomes available, output at least one control signal to cause the vehicle to be autonomously driven to a stopping location.

12. The control system of claim 11, wherein the control system is configured to determine a control profile in dependence on the occupant being able to take control of the vehicle and the availability of the communication channel, the control profile comprising one or more instructions for controlling operation of the vehicle.

13. The control system of claim 11, wherein if the control system determines that the occupant is unable to take control of the vehicle and that the communication channel is unavailable, the control system is configured to output at least one control signal to cause at least one from a group consisting of: autonomous driving of the vehicle along a predetermined route; continued autonomous driving of the vehicle along a previously defined route; and a location to be determined and autonomous driving of the vehicle towards the determined location.

14. The control system of claim 11, wherein if it is determined that the communication channel subsequently becomes available, the control system is configured to cause a third party to be contacted via the communication channel.

15. A system for a vehicle, the system comprising: a control system as set forth in claim 11; an occupant condition monitor configured to deliver the occupant status signal to the control system; and a telematics control unit (TCU) configured to deliver the communication signal to the control system.

16. A vehicle comprising the control system of claim 11.

17. A method for controlling operation of a vehicle, the method comprising: receiving an occupant status signal indicative of an ability of an occupant of the vehicle to take control of the vehicle; receiving a communication signal indicative of a status of a communication channel; determining whether the occupant is able to take control of the vehicle in dependence on the received occupant status signal; determining the status of the communication channel in dependence on the received communication signal; and generating an output indicative of whether the occupant is able to take control of the vehicle and the status of the communication channel, wherein if it the occupant is unable to take control of the vehicle and the communication channel is unavailable, the method comprises: outputting at least one control signal to cause autonomous operation of the vehicle, continuing monitoring the availability of the communication channel during autonomous operation of the vehicle; and if it is determined that the communication channel subsequently becomes available, outputting at least one control signal to cause the vehicle to be autonomously driven to a stopping location.

18. A non-transitory, computer-readable medium containing stored instructions that, when executed by one or more electronic processors, causes the one or more electronic processors to carry out the method of claim 17.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0056] One or more embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0057] FIG. 1 is a flow diagram representing a method of controlling a vehicle in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

[0058] FIG. 2 is a flow diagram representing a method of selecting and contacting a third party in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

[0059] FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of an example of a control system suitable for performing the methods shown in FIGS. 1 and 2; and

[0060] FIG. 4 shows a vehicle incorporating the control system of FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0061] The present invention relates to control systems and methods to facilitate contacting a third party from a vehicle when the vehicle has stopped due to an occupant being unresponsive. In general terms, embodiments of the invention are directed to the monitoring of the availability of a communication channel as well as the status of the occupant so that appropriate steps may be taken in dependence on both factors.

[0062] For example, in some embodiments, where the occupant is identified as unresponsive but there is no communication channel available to contact a third party for help, the vehicle is driven autonomously until a communication channel becomes available at which point the vehicle may be stopped and a third party contacted. Alternatively or additionally, a third party may be contacted once the communication channel has become available and the vehicle is in motion and on route to a determined stopping location.

[0063] FIG. 1 shows a method 10 of controlling a vehicle in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

[0064] At step 12, an occupant of a vehicle is being monitored. The occupant may be a driver of the vehicle or, in the case of an autonomous vehicle, may be a passenger in the vehicle. The vehicle is a moving vehicle and it may be being driven by the occupant or may be operating partly or fully autonomously.

[0065] The occupant is monitored to detect a status thereof, the status of the occupant being one of either an ability to take control of the vehicle or an inability to take control of the vehicle. One or more physiological functions of the occupant may be measured and monitored in order to determine the status. For example, the occupant's heart rate and/or the respiratory rate may be monitored. Additionally or alternatively the physiological function monitored may be head position, eye movement, facial movement, heart rate, brain activity or any other function of the occupant that may indicate an ability of the occupant to take control of the vehicle.

[0066] The physiological functions may be used to determine a condition of the occupant indicative of the status. For example, the physiological functions may be indicative of a medical condition of an occupant or may indicate a level of drowsiness or sleep.

[0067] At the next step 14, it is determined whether or not the occupant is able to take control of the vehicle based on the detected status thereof. For example, if the physiological functions are determined to be within a predetermined range of acceptability, then the occupant may be considered responsive and therefore able to take control of the vehicle.

[0068] Alternatively, if the physiological functions monitored are indicative of a medical condition, particularly a medical condition that may incapacitate the occupant, or if the physiological functions are considered indicative of high levels of drowsiness or sleep, then the occupant may be considered unresponsive and therefore unable to take control of the vehicle.

[0069] If it is determined that the occupant is able to take control of the vehicle, the method follows path 16. No changes to vehicle controls are required and the status of the occupant is continued to be monitored.

[0070] If it is determined that the occupant is not able to take control of the vehicle, or their ability to take control of the vehicle is impaired in some way, the occupant is identified as unresponsive at step 20, and the method proceeds to step 22 in which it is determined whether or not a communication channel is available. In the context of the invention, the availability of a communication channel may refer to the ability to establish a communication link via the channel. For example, an available channel may be defined as one via which the vehicle is able to establish a communication link, for example by making a call, and an unavailable channel may be defined as one via which an effective link cannot be made.

[0071] The step 22 of determining whether a communication channel is available may comprise receiving a communication signal indicative of a status of the communication channel, the status being one of available and unavailable as described above. For example, a signal strength of the communication signal may be monitored and it may be determined whether the monitored signal strength is above or below a threshold strength. The threshold signal strength may be defined as a signal strength sufficient to establish a communication link to communicate with the third party, for example.

[0072] In embodiments, the signal strength may correspond to one of strong, weak or non-existent. In such embodiments, a strong signal strength indicates that a communication link can or is likely to be able to be established and/or a call over that communication link can or is likely to be able to be completed. Conversely, a weak signal strength or non-existent signal strength may indicate that a communication link cannot or is unlikely to be able to be established and/or a call over that communication link cannot or is unlikely to be completed.

[0073] Furthermore, in determining whether a communication channel is available, any one or more signal quality metrics may also be used. For example, a Received Signal Code Power (RSCP), a Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI), a Signal-to-noise Ratio (SNR), Received Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), or Received Signal Received Power (RSRP) metric may be used to determine the availability of a communication channel.

[0074] The communication channel may be a wireless communication channel such as a telecommunication network channel for contacting a third party. The third party may be a service provider. For example, the service provider may be an emergency service such as an ambulance. Additionally or alternatively the third party may be a designated contact person such as a relative or friend who has been preselected by the occupant. The third party may also be a call centre or response team. In embodiments the channel could provide a communication link to a remote server connected to an emergency service network or could provide a communication link with another vehicle that is able to make a call or the like on behalf of the vehicle. For example, the communication channel may comprise a telecommunication channel such as a 3G or 4G, LTE or the like connection, a WiFi (RTM) or Bluetooth (RTM) connection or other short range, e.g. Internet of Things (I0T) communication channel. The call may be made by a communication system integral with the vehicle, such as an on board telematics control unit (TCU), or may be made by a mobile device coupled with the vehicle, via the TCU for example.

[0075] A communication channel's availability may be affected by any number of reasons. For example, the vehicle may be a considerable distance from a telecommunications mast, or may be travelling through unfavourable terrain such as large hills or mountains causing an obstruction to the signal. Additionally or alternatively, the vehicle may be travelling through a tunnel, or alongside large buildings having considerable metallic construction and/or trees that may block the signal. Other factors that may also affect a communication signal may include co-channel interference, pilot pollution from adjacent masts and adverse weather conditions.

[0076] The method 10 thus provides an indication of the status of the occupant and the availability of a communication channel, for example to make a call, such as an audio call, or any other type of data connection as required. As such, a control process for the vehicle may be determined in dependence on both of these factors.

[0077] For example, if it is determined that a communication channel is not available then the method proceeds along path 24 to step 28 wherein the vehicle continues to be driven autonomously. The vehicle may be driven autonomously along a predetermined route, continue along a previous route or towards a determined location. For example, the vehicle may be driven towards a communications mast, a nearest town or city or an adjoining road. The route may be determined by a preprogramed module of the vehicle such as an advanced driver-assistance system (ADAS) module in dependence of a variety of factors, for example relating to map data or predetermined algorithms.

[0078] The availability of a communication channel may be continued to be monitored during autonomous driving until it is determined that a communication channel is available. Once it is determined that a communication channel is available the method proceeds along path 26 to step 30 in which the vehicle is stopped or driven to the nearest appropriate stopping location and a third party is contacted via the available communication channel. The nearest appropriate stopping location may also be determined by the ADAS module using techniques known in the art. For example, the nearest stopping location may be determined through reference to a map database or the like to identify one or more locations within the vicinity of the vehicle where the vehicle may stop. The one or more locations may be designated areas such as lay-bys, car parks or on street parking locations, for example.

[0079] In embodiments, the method 10 may optionally comprise step 50 in which an appropriate third party to be contacted may be determined in dependence on measured physiological functions. FIG. 2 shows an example method 50 for selecting a third party in dependence on the physiological condition of a vehicle occupant in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

[0080] In a first step 52 data indicative of one or more physiological functions of a vehicle occupant is measured and/or monitored and/or obtained in any suitable manner. The data may include the heart rate of the occupant, the respiratory rate of the occupant, the blood pressure of the occupant and/or the blood sugar levels of the occupant for example, or any combination thereof or any other physiological measurement and/or observation as may be required. Systems for monitoring the physiological function(s) of vehicle occupants are known in the art and therefore will not be discussed in detail.

[0081] At step 54 the data obtained in step 52 is used to determine if the measured one or more physiological functions are indicative of the vehicle occupant suffering from a medical condition. If it is determined at step 54 that the one or more physiological functions are indicative of the occupant suffering from a medical condition, emergency services are contacted at step 56.

[0082] If it is determined that the one or more physiological functions are not indicative of the occupant suffering from a medical condition, the method progresses to step 58 where it is determined if the one or more physiological functions are indicative of the vehicle occupant experiencing a high level of drowsiness or are indicative of the occupant sleeping. If it is determined that the one or more physiological functions are indicative of the vehicle occupant being drowsy or sleeping, the method proceeds to step 60 where a suitable contact is selected from a predetermined list of contacts according to a predetermined selection criteria. The predetermined list of contacts may have been previously provided by the vehicle occupant. Alternatively or additionally, the predetermined list of contacts may include a call centre. The call centre may attempt to communicate with the occupant in order to determine the appropriate course of action. The call centre may be able to access information relating to the status of the occupant to decide whether to contact an ambulance and/or family member. Where the vehicle is part of a fleet of vehicles, such as a fleet lorry or other commercial vehicle, a fleet control centre may be contacted.

[0083] If it is determined at step 58 that the one or more physiological functions are not indicative of the occupant being drowsy, or sleeping, the control system might optionally be programmed to contact the emergency services. Alternatively, a suitable third party may be contacted regardless of whether it is determined that the one or more physiological functions are indicative of the occupant being drowsy or sleeping.

[0084] At step 62 it is determined if the contact attempt has been successful. If not, the method proceeds to step 64 where an alternative contact is selected in accordance with the predetermined selection criteria. Alternatively, if the initial contact attempt was made to the emergency services, a second or subsequent contact attempt may be made until successful contact is made. One a suitable third party has been selected at step 64 the method returns to step 60 where a new/second/subsequent contact attempt is made.

[0085] Optionally, in embodiments the method 50 may include step 66 at which information concerning the occupant's physiological condition and/or location may be provided to the third party.

[0086] As indicated in FIG. 1, method 50 may occur concurrently with method steps 22 to 28 of method 10. At step 30 of method 10, a third party may be contacted before or after the vehicle has come to a stop. If contact is made before the vehicle has come to a stop, at step 66 of method 50, for example, the determined stopping location may be provided to the third party. Alternatively or additionally, a tracking signal, such as a GPS signal or the like, may be transmitted to the third party to provide real time information concerning the location of the vehicle.

[0087] Although not shown, it is envisaged that an emergency button or switch or the like may be provided in a passenger cabin of the vehicle, which, when activated by a vehicle occupant, causes method 50 to be initiated.

[0088] In embodiments, when the occupant has been identified as unable to take control of the vehicle, the vehicle may be driven in accordance with a determined speed profile. The speed profile may be determined by the ADAS module, for example, and comprise a maximum set speed of the vehicle in dependence on the route being travelled. As such, the maximum set speed may be lower than the current speed at which the vehicle is travelling. In this case the vehicle speed may be reduced to a set speed according to a predetermined deceleration. In embodiments, a plurality of speed profiles may be stored within memory of the ADAS module.

[0089] In some embodiments, the vehicle may also provide an alert to other road users when the vehicle is being driven autonomously with an occupant deemed unable to take control of the vehicle. For example, the alert may comprise a visual or audio signal indicative of an anomalous driving condition, such as operation of the vehicle hazard lights or other flashing lights, a siren, the vehicle horn or displaying a hazard sign visible to other road users.

[0090] The method according to embodiments of the invention may therefore inhibit a vehicle, in which an occupant is deemed unable to take control of the vehicle, from stopping in a location from which it is not possible to contact a third party.

[0091] By monitoring the availability of the communication signal in real time, either continuously or just when the occupant is identified as unable to take control of the vehicle, the vehicle systems are able to determine the availability of a communication channel without the need to store historic network reception maps which may comprise large amounts of data and may also be subject to variability depending on external conditions such as the weather.

[0092] FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of an embodiment of a vehicle system 100 for performing the method 10 as described above. The system 100 is configured for use with a vehicle (shown in FIG. 4) operable in an autonomous mode of operation.

[0093] The vehicle system 100 comprises means for monitoring the condition of an occupant, which in the illustrated embodiments is in the form of an occupant condition monitoring (OCM) unit 102, means for monitoring the availability of a communication channel, which in the illustrated embodiments is in the form of a telematics control unit (TCU) 104, a control system comprising a control module 106, a vehicle control unit (VCU) 108 and actuators 110 for autonomously driving the vehicle.

[0094] The OCM unit 102 comprises features configured to determine whether an occupant of the vehicle is able to take control of the vehicle. For example, the OCM unit 102 may comprise one or more sensors (not shown) adapted to monitor one or more physiological functions of the occupant, as described above. The physiological function may include the heart rate of the occupant and/or the respiratory rate of the occupant, for example. As discussed above, such OCM units 102 are known in the art and therefore will not be discussed in detail. The OCM unit 102 then generates an occupant status signal 103 indicative of an ability of an occupant of the vehicle to take control of the vehicle.

[0095] The TCU 104 comprises means for contacting a third party via a communication channel. The TCU 104 further comprises means capable of detecting the status of the communication channel and generating a communication signal 105 indicative of the status of the communication channel. For example, the TCU 104 may comprise a transmitter/receiver 112 capable of detecting the status of the communication channel and contacting a third party. The communication signal 105 transmitted by the TCU 104 may comprise information relating to an availability of the communication channel for communication with a third party. Such information may include an indication of a signal strength of the communication channel. As described above, any one or more signal quality metrics may also be used. For example, a Received Signal Code Power (RSCP), a Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI), a Signal-to-noise Ratio (SNR), Received Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), or Received Signal Received Power (RSRP) metric may be used to determine the availability of a communication channel. The signal strength may correspond to one of strong, weak or non-existent; wherein strong signal strength indicates it is likely that a link to the communication channel may be established and/or a call over the communication channel may be completed and weak signal strength or non-existent signal strength indicates that it is unlikely that a link to the communication channel may be established and/or a call over the communication channel may be completed.

[0096] In some embodiments, the system 100 may comprise a wireless communication device such as a mobile phone or tablet comprising WiFi,™ Bluetooth™ and/or IOT capabilities, instead of or in addition to the TCU 104. The wireless communication device may be in communication with the control module 106 e.g. via a wireless connection. In embodiments, the device may replace the TCU 104 or may operate with the TCU 104 to achieve the above mentioned functionality. For example, the device may communicate with the TCU 104 via a wireless connection.

[0097] In any of the embodiments above, the communication channel may be a telecommunication network channel for contacting a service provider such as an emergency service or may be a channel for connecting with another vehicle or network capable of contacting the service provider on behalf of the vehicle. Additionally or alternatively the communication channel may be a WiFi,™ Bluetooth™ or IOT link configured for vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and/or vehicle to infrastructure (V2I) communication.

[0098] The control module 106 comprises an input 114 connected with the OCM unit 102 and TCU 104 and configured to receive the occupant status signal 103 from the OCM unit 102 and the communication signal 105 from the TCU 104. The control module 106 further comprises a processor 116 configured to determine whether the occupant is able to take control of the vehicle in dependence on the occupant status signal 103 received from the OCM unit 102. The processor 116 is further configured to determine the availability of the communication channel in dependence on the communication signal 105 from the TCU 104. The processor 116 may access data and/or instructions stored in a computer readable medium such as memory 117 of the control module 106. In embodiments, computer software 119 may be stored in memory 117, which computer software 119 is executable, for example, to perform the methods as described above in relation to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 above.

[0099] In the illustrated embodiment, the control module 106 further comprises an output 118 configured to output a signal 107 indicative of whether the occupant is able to take control of the vehicle and the status of the communication channel.

[0100] In embodiments, the processor 116 may be configured to determine a signal strength of the communication channel and determine whether the signal strength is above or below a threshold sufficient to communicate with the third party. In alternative embodiments, the signal strength may be determined by the TCU 104 and communicated with the control module 106 via communication signal 105. Although the illustrated embodiment shows the control module 106 comprising a single processor 116, it will be appreciated that one or more processors may be used to perform the functions described in relation to the control module 106 above.

[0101] The output 118 of the control module 106 is connected with the VCU 108 which may comprise an ADAS module as referenced above and is configured to receive the signal 107 indicative of whether occupant is able to take control of the vehicle and the availability of the communication channel. The VCU 108 may be configured to determine a control process in dependence on the signal received from the control module 106. The control process may comprise instructions and/or control signals 109 deliverable to the vehicle actuators 110 and/or TCU 104 in order to autonomously drive the vehicle via the actuators 110 and/or contact a third party via the communication channel. The control process may comprise instructions to perform the method 10 as described above. The VCU 108 may be in communication with the TCU 104 and actuators 110 via a CAN bus or the like.

[0102] The actuators 110 are configured to receive control signal 109 from the VCU 108 to operate various vehicle systems in accordance with the determined control process. The VCU 108 and actuators 110 may be collectively provide autonomous driving functionality and also be referred to as vehicle controllers.

[0103] Although the illustrated embodiment shows the control module 106 and VCU 108 as separate components, it will be appreciated that the control module 106 or components thereof may form part of the VCU 108 and may or may not be integral therewith.

[0104] In embodiments, the control module 106 may comprise hardware that is compatible with existing models of VCU, OCM units and TCUs such that the control module 106 may be retro-fit into existing vehicle systems without substantial modification thereto.

[0105] FIG. 4 shows schematically a vehicle 200 incorporating the control system 100 of FIG. 3. The control system 100 is substantially as described above and interacts with various vehicle systems (not shown) to perform the methods as described also in relation to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 above.

[0106] Processors such as those discussed above, generally each include instructions executable by one or more processors for carrying out the method steps described above. For example, the method steps discussed above may be embodied as computer-executable instructions.

[0107] Computer-executable instructions may be compiled or interpreted from computer programs created using a variety of programming languages and/or technologies. In general, a processor such as a microprocessor, receives instructions, for example from a memory or any other suitable computer-readable medium, and executes these instructions to perform one or more processes or methods, including one or more of the methods described above. Such instructions and other data may be stored and transmitted using a variety of computer-readable media. A computer-readable medium includes any medium that participates in providing data (e.g., instructions), which may be read by a processor.

[0108] In the illustrated embodiments the system and methods relate to determining a safe course of action when driving in an autonomous mode. However, it will be appreciated that the invention can also be applied if the vehicle is being driven in a manual mode and the driver becomes incapacitated such that they are unable to resume control of the vehicle. In this situation, the previously inactive autonomous system could take over and decide a safe stopping location.

[0109] Many modifications may be made to the above examples without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined in the accompanying claims.