US-12620235-B2 - Vehicle control system using a scanning system

US12620235B2US 12620235 B2US12620235 B2US 12620235B2US-12620235-B2

Abstract

A control system for a vehicle can include one or more controllers, and is configured to: determine a region of interest within a field-of-view of a scanning system of the vehicle; and operate the scanning system to scan portions of the field-of-view outside the region of interest at or below a nominal scanning resolution, and to scan the region of interest at an increased scanning resolution relative to the nominal scanning resolution.

Inventors

Andrew Lewin
Nigel Clarke
Mariyan ZAREV

Assignees

JAGUAR LAND ROVER LIMITED

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20210616
Priority Date: 20200617

Claims (13)

1 . A control system for a vehicle, the control system comprising one or more controllers, the control system being configured to: determine a first region of interest and a second region of interest within a field-of-view of a scanning system of the vehicle, wherein the first region of interest is in front of a first road wheel of the vehicle and the second region of interest is in front of a second road wheel of the vehicle, and wherein a location, a width, and a length of each of the first region of interest and the second region of interest are based on a current vehicle speed, driving direction, and terrain type; operate the scanning system to scan portions of the field-of-view outside the first region of interest and the second region of interest at or below a nominal scanning resolution, and to scan the first region of interest and the second region of interest at an increased scanning resolution relative to the nominal scanning resolution; receive a first signal comprising first data obtained by the scanning system related to the first region of interest and the second region of interest; analyze, via a first algorithm, the first data related to the first region of interest and the second region of interest to identify a feature within the first region of interest or the second region of interest, wherein the first data is analyzed to detect objects or features that each road wheel is expected to encounter; receive a second signal comprising second data obtained by the scanning system related to the portions of the field-of-view outside the first region of interest and the second region of interest; analyze, via a second algorithm, the second data related to the portions of the field-of-view outside the first region of interest and the second region of interest, wherein the second data is analyzed for line detection, guardrail detection, and/or detection of other vehicles; and generate a control signal to adjust operation of the vehicle in accordance with the feature identified within the first region of interest or the second region of interest, wherein the control signal is configured to adjust operation of a suspension system of the vehicle.
2 . The control system of claim 1 , wherein operating the scanning system to scan at an increased scanning resolution comprises any one or more of: reducing a scanning speed of the scanning system; increasing a scanning power of the scanning system; increasing a focal length of the scanning system; and increasing a scan frequency at which the scanning system scans the region of interest.
3 . The control system of claim 1 , wherein the objects or features that each road wheel is expected to encounter comprise a change in road surface texture, a pothole, and a stone.
4 . The control system of claim 1 , further configured to determine the first region of interest to correspond to a location directly ahead of the first road wheel of the vehicle with respect to the driving direction, such that the first region of interest includes a surface over which the first road wheel is about to travel.
5 . The control system of claim 1 , wherein analyzing the first data and analyzing the second data comprises analyzing the first data more thoroughly than the second data, including analyzing all of the first data collected, while analyzing only every second or third frame of the second data collected, and/or analyzing only a subset of the pixels of images captured of the portions of the field-of-view outside the first region of interest and the second region of interest.
6 . The control system of claim 1 , wherein operating the scanning system to scan at an increased scanning resolution comprises any one or more of: reducing a scanning speed of the scanning system; increasing a focal length of the scanning system; and increasing a scan frequency at which the scanning system scans the first region of interest and the second region of interest relative to the portions of the field-of-view outside the first region of interest and the second region of interest.
7 . The control system of claim 1 , wherein operating the scanning system to scan at an increased scanning resolution comprises reducing a speed at which mirrors or prisms of the scanning system turn when scanning the first region of interest and the second region of interest and/or controlling the mirrors or prisms to scan the first region of interest and the second region of interest more frequently than the portions of the field-of-view outside the first region of interest and the second region of interest.
8 . The control system of claim 1 , configured to: characterize the feature identified within the first region of interest or the second region of interest as any of: an irregularity in a surface over which the vehicle is travelling; an obstacle; and a pothole; and generate the control signal to adjust operation of the vehicle in accordance with the characterization of the feature identified within the first region of interest or the second region of interest.
9 . The control system of claim 1 , wherein operating the scanning system to scan portions of the field-of-view outside the first region of interest and the second region of interest at or below the nominal scanning resolution, and to scan the first region of interest and the second region of interest at the increased scanning resolution relative to the nominal scanning resolution comprises adjusting the scanning resolution between the nominal scanning resolution and the increased scanning resolution in a gradual manner.
10 . A system, comprising: a vehicle scanning system; and the control system of claim 1 , including at least a first controller, wherein the at least a first controller is arranged to output a signal for operating the scanning system to scan portions of the field-of-view outside the first region of interest and the second region of interest at or below a nominal scanning resolution, and to scan the first region of interest and the second region of interest at an increased scanning resolution relative to the nominal scanning resolution.
11 . A vehicle comprising the control system of claim 1 .
12 . A method for operating a vehicle scanning system of a vehicle, the method comprising: determining regions of interest within a field-of-view of the vehicle scanning system, the regions of interest including a respective region of interest ahead of each road wheel of the vehicle, wherein a location, a width, and a length of each region of interest are based on a current vehicle speed, driving direction, and terrain type; operating the vehicle scanning system to scan portions of the field-of-view outside the regions of interest at or below a nominal scanning resolution, and to scan the regions of interest at an increased scanning resolution relative to the nominal scanning resolution; receiving a signal comprising first data obtained by the scanning system related to the regions of interest; analyzing, via a first algorithm, the first data to identify a feature within one or both of the regions of interest, the feature including an irregularity in a surface over which the vehicle is travelling, an obstacle, or a pothole; receiving a second signal comprising second data obtained by the scanning system related to the portions of the field-of-view outside the regions of interest; analyzing, via a second algorithm, the second data, wherein the second data is analyzed for line detection, guardrail detection, and/or detection of other vehicles; and generating a control signal to adjust operation of the vehicle in accordance with the feature identified within one or both of the regions of interest, wherein the control signal is configured to adjust operation of a suspension system of the vehicle.
13 . A non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium storing instructions thereon that, when executed by one or more electronic processors, causes the one or more electronic processors to carry out the method of claim 12 .

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application is a U.S. National Phase of International Application No. PCT/EP2021/066271 entitled “VEHICLE CONTROL SYSTEM USING A SCANNING SYSTEM,” and filed on Jun. 16, 2021. International Application No. PCT/EP2021/066271 claims priority to Great Britain Patent Application No. 2009226.8 filed on Jun. 17, 2020. The entire contents of each of the above-listed applications are hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes. TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to a vehicle control system using a scanning system. Aspects of the invention relate to a control system for a vehicle, to a method for controlling a vehicle, and to a vehicle. BACKGROUND Modern cars and other vehicles are increasingly equipped with various sensing systems for exploring the vehicle surroundings, and control systems for using the information obtained by such sensing systems for improved automatic or semi-automatic control of vehicle functions, such as steering, acceleration or braking. For example, GB patent no. 2 545 652 discloses the use of a camera or lidar system to scan the road ahead of the vehicle, with the obtained input being used to vary suspension damping in dependence on surface features or terrain types detected on the road ahead. Ideally, such sensing and control systems would be able to scan the full immediate and more distant surroundings of the vehicle instantly at high resolution, process all of the obtained information quickly and adapt the vehicle control in dependence on the obtained information in an optimised manner. In reality, all sensing systems have inherent limitations: a limited field-of-view, which takes time to scan; power requirements; reduced ability to detect certain types of objects; and varying accuracy in terms of determining the position and dimensions of detected objects. For example, vehicle-mounted radar systems typically offer an angle accuracy of approximately 1°, which at a range of 200 m equates to an entire lane of traffic. Accordingly, such a radar system may be of limited use for characterising distant vehicles or other objects, which may be important when the vehicle travels at high speed. Other problems associated with sensing systems include their cost, the difficulty associated with integrating the system into the overall vehicle design, and poor reliability under certain weather and other environmental conditions. In practice, many vehicles use a combination of different sensing systems to compensate for the respective weaknesses of each individual system, each system being optimised for one or more particular tasks. However, each additional sensing system adds cost and control complexity. It is against this background that the present invention has been devised. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Aspects and embodiments of the invention provide a control system for a vehicle, a vehicle, and a method for controlling a vehicle as claimed in the appended claims. According to an aspect of the present invention there is provided a control system for a vehicle, the control system comprising one or more controllers. The control system is configured to determine a region of interest within a field-of-view of a scanning system of the vehicle. The control system is further configured to operate the scanning system to scan portions of the field-of-view outside the region of interest at or below a nominal scanning resolution, and to scan the region of interest at an increased scanning resolution relative to the nominal scanning resolution. Operating the scanning system may comprise generating a control signal that is issued to the scanning system by the control system, for example. Alternatively, the control system may be integrated into the scanning system. Optionally, the one or more controllers collectively comprise: at least one electronic processor having an electrical input for receiving signals comprising data obtained by the scanning system; and at least one memory device electrically coupled to the at least one electronic processor and having instructions stored therein. The at least one electronic processor is configured to access the at least one memory device and execute the instructions thereon so as to operate the scanning system to scan portions of the field-of-view outside the region of interest at or below a nominal scanning resolution, and to scan the region of interest at an increased scanning resolution relative to the nominal scanning resolution. With the control system according to the invention, it becomes possible to control the vehicle based on more accurate sensor information and to improve the vehicle performance and/or the comfort of the driver and other passengers, without reducing the actual field-of-view. By focusing the capacity of the scanning system on the region of interest, and paying less attention to the remainder of the field-of-view, more time and power can be used for scanning important portions of the